`X' MARKS THE SPOT ... FOR THIRD AND FINAL TIME.

Byline: - Bob Strauss

He may have grown up a DC comics fan. But when plans to do a film about that company's top character fell through and a Marvel superhero movie opened up, director Brett Ratner happily jumped sides.

``Look, I wanted to do `Superman,' '' admits the ``Rush Hour'' maven. But that project went through many tortuous years of development, and Ratner had to drop out. Ironically, ``X-Men'' auteur Bryan Singer wound up with the ``Superman Returns'' gig, leaving ``X-Men: The Last Stand'' for an eager Ratner.

``I put out into the universe that I wanted to do a superhero movie, and this became a great opportunity for me,'' Ratner says. ``So I am really, really excited.

In the third installment of the ``X'' saga, a cure for mutantism is discovered. Each X-Man must decide whether to keep the unique power or become like the regular folks who fear and hate them.

``It could be a cure for homosexuality or a cure for being black or a cure for being Jewish,'' Ratner says of the series' underlying, anti-prejudice metaphor. ``The concept resonates.

That should reassure fans of Singers' two entries, who are skeptical that the guy who makes those Jackie Chan/Chris Tucker comedies has the right sensibility for their troubled heroes.

``Jackie wanted to play Wolverine, and Chris wanted to play Storm,'' Ratner cracks. ``But that was impossible.''

Well, that makes us feel better. As for the reported finality of the third ``X'' entry, though, the director says to feel bad.

``There's no way they're going to make another `X-Men,' '' according to Ratner (and in contradiction to what some involved with the production have suggested). ``This is, like, the end of it; hence the title `The Last Stand.'''

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`X-Men: The Last Stand'

May 26