X-Men and the Mutant Metaphor (18 page)

The “mutant menace” has suddenly become a prime target for television and tabloid exposes, and the view most often presented is so hostile I fear they’ll do lasting—possibly irreparable—harm. More mutants are born every day, Ororo. What hope have they—or humanity—in a world where they’re condemned outright as evil? (10)

After one of his evening classes, as Professor Xavier passes in front of a building with graffiti reading “MUTIE DIE!” across its side, a voice calls out “Mutie Lover!!” A group of students block his path, and when Xavier says, “Let me pass, please. I want no trouble,” one of the students replies, “Tough—we don’t want your kind at our school” (30). Because Xavier is first called a “mutie lover” and, at this point, the students have no way of knowing he is a mutant, their hatred is clearly toward someone they perceive as being sympathetic to mutants, not a mutant himself. The hatred toward mutants has spread to any who would associate with or defend them.

Professor Xavier uses his mental powers to paralyze the limbs of his attackers, but as is explained in the thought balloons, “more lurk in the shadows [. . .] there are so many—their thoughts so chaotic—hard to keep track—did I spot them all, have I frozen” (30). At this point a brick thrown by an assailant Professor Xavier had not seen strikes him in the head, and all those who had been frozen are now free to move. They quickly conclude that “[h]e must be one of ’em. The Prof’s a mutie!” and with a cry of “Waste him” they all attack. As they leave his unconscious and bloody body on the sidewalk, the gang talks among themselves saying, “The nerve o’ the sum-belly, passing himself off as a real human being,” “Hey man, he won’t be trying that again,” “He got what he deserved,” and “I dunno ’bout you all but this’s given me a thirst, how’s about we grab some brews” (30).

In subsequent issues Xavier returns to teaching after recovering from his injuries, but the students who attacked now plant a bomb in his office, which when triggered fails to kill anyone. In
The Uncanny X-Men #196
(Aug. 1985), Kitty Pryde comes upon the group of students who planted the bomb, and Phil, one of the students, says to her, “I hadn’t thought of this till now, brat, but you attend Charles Xavier’s private school upstate. You a mutie then, Pryde, like him?!” Pryde responds to Phil, who is African American, by saying, “Gee I dunno, Phill—are you a nigger?” When Phil tells her to watch her mouth, Pryde responds, “Watch yours! Especially when you use words like that and try to be intentionally hurtful” (14).

It is in this period that the first use of hate speech, complete with slang and derogatory terms for mutants, becomes common when portraying the prejudice the X-Men face. In this instance, the hate speech is drawn as an unavoidable comparison to the language directed at African Americans, though in later years it will also be used as a metaphor for hate speech directed at homosexuals.

In
The Uncanny X-Men #235
(Early Oct. 1988), Claremont and artist Rick Leonardi introduce readers to Genosha, a fictional African nation that serves as an analogue for South Africa and the issues of apartheid. In Genosha, mutants (or mutates, as they’re called after the villainous Genengineer
4
has removed their personalities and wills) are used to complete all the menial and lower-class jobs. The entire economy of Genosha is built around the pseudo-slave labor of the mutates, which props up the upper-class lifestyle of “normal” humans. However, in making the analogue so close to the real-world issues South Africa was facing, the X-Men comics ran into something similar to the “Superman problem” comic book creators faced during World War II.

During World War II, Superman comic book creators struggled with how to deal with the real-world threat in their comic books. As powerful as Superman was, it was likely he could end the war in a single issue, but readers would know World War II was still happening in real life. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman’s creators, had created “a hero powerful enough to intervene and righteous enough to recognize that the Allies were the good guys” (Tye 59). They had to find a narrative reason to keep Superman out of the war. Larry Tye explains the method they settled on: “Clark Kent tried to enlist in the Army in 1941, but during his eye exam he inadvertently read a chart in the adjoining room with his X-Ray vision” (59). The army then turned down Kent, and readers understood why he remained a reporter and not a soldier. Similarly, it was difficult to fabricate a satisfactory solution to Genosha, which was clearly reflective of real-world issues. Although the X-Men saw the injustices in front of them, they couldn’t overthrow the government and install themselves as heads of state. They showed no interest in inciting a rebellion within the lower classes. How would superheroes deal with socially, culturally, and governmentally enforced prejudice? In the end, they walked away.

Jean Baker Miller discusses some of the issues with a societally enforced dominant/subordinate relationship between groups. Particularly damaging is a process of ascription where “race, sex, nationality, religion, or other characteristics ascribed at birth” assign an individual to either the dominant or subordinate class (112). The dominant class will usually define what roles are acceptable for the subordinate class, and these roles are typically in service of the dominant class in some way. This was the case for nonwhite groups in South Africa during apartheid, and the case is allegorically presented for mutants in the Genoshan storyline. However, although superheroes can fight supervillains, it is much more difficult to fight institutionalized prejudice.

The final page of
The Uncanny X-Men #238
(Late Nov. 1988), the conclusion of the Genoshan story drawn by Marc Silvestri, features a debate about what the X-Men can do to resolve the obvious problems in Genosha. Wolverine suggests that they “[t]ear this slimeball concentration camp o’ theirs down to the bare rock an’ build somethin’ decent from the ashes.” However, Phillip Moreau, the son of the Genengineer who has been exposed to all that the ruling class does to mutates to keep them subordinate, insists that “[w]e have to give the people a chance to set things right. Tell them what I’ve seen and learned, they’ll be as revolted as I was. They’ll do what you want without having to be coerced.” Storm decides to give Phillip Moreau’s method a chance and tells the assembled leaders of Genosha, “Listen to the boy! He is one future, we are the other.” Then Storm has Havok destroy a government building as a sign of how much power the X-Men possess. Then, Storm tells Phillip that he “had best accompany us. The Genoshan government will quite likely not deal kindly with you—or your mutant rights movement—should it get its hands on you. Your case is initially best made overseas.” The X-Men and Phillip Moreau then teleport off of the island. The X-Men reject the idea of destroying the evil and oppressive government in favor of allowing the people to try to enact change from within, but then remove the one person in a position to begin that movement from the country and leave the Genoshan government, with all of its resources and systems of subordination, in complete control of the island. It is an odd ending to the story, but perhaps one of the only ones that could be written in light of the “Superman problem.” This was clearly an analogue of South Africa’s apartheid system, and to have superheroes go in and fix that problem in three issues would have been insensitive to the complexities of massive social revolutions, not to mention the real-world revolutionaries struggling to change that system.

One of the most significant stories involving gender roles is “Inferno.” Written by Chris Claremont, “Inferno” bears several thematic similarities to “The Dark Phoenix Saga.” Both stories involve a female character discovering new powers, being driven mad, threatening all of creation while adopting an evil persona, and finally dying to end the threat. In this case, Madelyne Pryor becomes the Goblin Queen and threatens to open a portal between hell and Earth. Madelyne Pryor is a clone of Jean Grey, so the similarities to “The Dark Phoenix Saga” include the physical appearance of the antagonist, not simply the themes of the story.

Pryor’s story is very convoluted. She was introduced shortly after Jean Grey’s apparent death in “The Dark Phoenix Saga.” Cyclops meets Pryor in Alaska, when he is visiting his grandparents after he has quit the X-Men to grieve for his loss of Jean Grey. Pryor could remember very little of her life before a plane crash, of which she was the sole survivor. She has the exact same appearance as Jean Grey, and Cyclops is immediately attracted to her. After a rapid courtship, Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor marry, and Cyclops retires from his superhero life. Together Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor have a child named Nathan Summers.

This idyllic life was to be short-lived because when Cyclops received a phone call that Jean Grey was alive, he immediately abandoned his wife and child. This action by Cyclops appears out of character, and it seems to have been driven simply by an editorial decision. The publisher wanted to reunite all of the original X-Men as a team in the pages of
X-Factor
, which is why the decision to resurrect Jean Grey and retcon the Phoenix storyline occurred. This also meant that Cyclops had to become a superhero again and be disentangled from the home life he had established. It seems that rather than take time to do this, the decision was made to separate Cyclops from Madelyne and Nathan as quickly as possible.

Understandably, Madelyne is upset at this turn of events. Because of her former association with Cyclops, Madelyne’s life is occasionally threatened by enemies of the X-Men, and the X-Men take Madelyne into their care to protect her. A demon, sensing Pryor’s anger, begins to manipulate her and gives her access to demonic powers. This, coupled with the revelation that she is a clone of Jean Grey, drives her fully insane, and she manifests incredible power and takes on the title of the Goblin Queen.

Much as Jean Grey’s descent into madness was accompanied by increased sexuality in terms of her actions and significantly skimpier outfits, Madelyne Pryor’s change includes both those character transformations. In
The Uncanny X-Men #239
(Dec. 1988), the issue immediately prior to the beginning of Inferno and Pryor’s adoption of the Goblin Queen persona, she sleeps with Cyclops’s brother, Havok. Just as Jean Grey approached Scott Summers early in the Dark Phoenix storyline, Pryor is the instigator of this sexual encounter. Pryor goes to Havok to seduce him, but he protests, “You’re my brother’s wife!” (21). Pryor responds, “News to him, these days. Alex, I didn’t walk out on him—I didn’t abandon our baby—I didn’t toss this commitment down the dumpster. If the marriage is over, it’s none of my doing” (22). Then, while Havok sleeps following their implied intercourse, Pryor goes to make a deal with a demon, which results in her fully becoming the Goblin Queen. And, as with Jean Grey when she was the Black Queen, the Goblin Queen’s outfit is ridiculously revealing.

Although a character such as Storm, who remains a very strong character even when losing her powers, is a progressive female portrayal in superhero comic books, some of the most famous storylines in X-Men comic books deal with a female character becoming more sexually active, gaining new powers, going mad, and becoming evil. There is a close intertwining of female sexuality and transformations into evil supervillains, which is not as apparent with male characters. Cyclops abandons his family because an old lover returns, but becomes the team leader of another group of heroes. The woman he abandons becomes a demonic supervillain that opens a portal between hell and Earth.

Notes

1. Other significant runs by writers on superhero comic books include Stan Lee’s decade as writer of
The Fantastic Four
(Jack Kirby was the artist on almost all these issues), Peter David’s time as writer of
The Incredible Hulk
, and Brian Michael Bendis’s tenure as writer of
Ultimate Spider-Man
. Certainly many other high-quality runs by writers have been omitted from this list, but these three are notable for how closely the writer and the property became associated in fans’ minds and for how favorably these runs are looked upon by fans, critics, and scholars.

2. According to Bob Layton, who wrote
X-Factor #1
, the original plan was not to have a resurrected Jean Grey on the team, but to have the four surviving original members of the X-Men as well as Dazzler. When discussions about reuiniting the X-Men circulated in the Marvel offices, John Byrne offered to resurrect Jean Grey in
The Fantastic Four
comic he was writing and drawing (the idea for how to resurrect Jean Grey originated with Kurt Busiek, a comic book fan who would later have a successful career as a writer). This late switch likely changed Cyclops’s motivations in joining X-Factor, but it made the character act incredibly callous toward his wife and son (Cronin, “Comic Book Urban Legends”).

3. In the future, Nathan Summers is raised as a soldier. He will eventually return to the X-Men’s present day as a fully grown man and become a leader of a team of mutants called X-Force and then later join the X-Men alongside his father, Jean Grey (who is not his mother, but the original source of genetic material used to clone his mother), and sometimes Rachel Summers, his sort of half-sister from a future alternate timeline.

4. The Genengineer’s name is David Moreau, likely a reference to H. G. Wells’s novel
The Island of Dr. Moreau
.

Chapter Five

Broadening the Mutant Metaphor

The Uncanny X-Men #281
(Oct. 1991) to
The Uncanny X-Men #393
(June 2001)

Creators and General Storyline

This period represents a significant change in the publication practices of Marvel concerning the X-Men franchise. Although several previous spin-off titles had been associated with the X-Men franchise, including
Dazzler
,
New Mutants
,
X-Factor
,
Wolverine
, and
Excalibur
,
those series had different focuses than did
The Uncanny X-Men
.
Dazzler
and
Wolverine
featured the adventures of a single protagonist,
New Mutants
was about a young new generation of mutants being trained in their powers, and
X-Factor
was initially envisioned as a chance to reunite the original X-Men.
Excalibur
featured a team of mutants based in Britain and employed several of Marvel’s British characters as well as popular members of
The Uncanny X-Men
who were being written out of that series. These titles were kept largely separate from one another. The team title that interacted with
The Uncanny X-Men
most often was
New Mutants
because both groups were based out of Xavier’s mansion.

In 1991 Marvel published
X-Men #1
(Oct. 1991), which was the highest-selling comic book in history. This new series was to be a second “core” X-Men title. All the previous titles had been ancillary to the adventures of the core team called the X-Men, but
X-Men
and
The Uncanny X-Men
would feature two teams of X-Men that used the same base of operations. The “Gold Team” would be in
X-Men
, and the “Blue Team” would be in
The Uncanny X-Men
. Originally, the plan was that the two teams would be completely separate, but quickly crossovers and guest stars were shared between the two titles. At this same time,
New Mutants
changed its name to
X-Force
to more closely be associated with the other X-titles and also to recognize the new direction that title was taking. No longer would that team be students; they were now soldiers led by a mysterious mutant from the future named Cable.

As previously addressed, Chris Claremont ceased writing
The Uncanny X-Men
due to creative and editorial conflicts. Jim Lee, a popular artist, wanted to take the X-Men in a direction Chris Claremont did not want to explore, and the editor gave preference to Lee. Following Claremont’s departure, Marvel brought John Byrne in to script Jim Lee’s plot outlines in hopes of connecting with the fan base that saw the Claremont-Byrne era as the height of X-Men success. Byrne would last only a few issues before frustrations caused him to quit. Unfortunately for Marvel, after a little more than a year Lee left Marvel Comics to found a new comic book company with six of the most popular artists of the time. Marvel alienated Claremont to appease Lee, who left shortly thereafter

Scott Lobdell replaced Byrne as the writer, and he had a long tenure before being replaced by Steven Seagle, then Terry Kavanagh, and eventually Chris Claremont. Almost a decade after leaving the title, and exactly one hundred issues after he left, Claremont would return to
The Uncanny X-Men
for a nine-issue run. Changes in editors and publishers at Marvel had made his return, which seemed unlikely when he first left, possible.

Artists from this period included Whilce Portacio, John Romita Jr., Andy Kubert, Tom Raney, Brandon Peterson, Joe Madureira, Chris Bachalo, Leinil Francis Yu, Adam Kubert, and Salvador LaRocca, with many other artists filling in briefly for single issues. Jim Lee did not provide art for
The Uncanny X-Men
in this period because he was drawing the second X-Men title that had recently launched, though he did co-plot the stories in
The Uncanny X-Men
while he remained at Marvel.

This period of X-Men comics begins with the X-Men having split into the Gold and Blue teams, so many of the most popular X-Men are now split between
The Uncanny X-Men
and
X-Men
. Because of this, characters such as Wolverine, Shadowcat, and Colossus appear less frequently in
The Uncanny X-Men
, though they were still appearing in other X-Men-related comic books.

General Plot Summary

One of the first storylines from this period involves Bishop, a mutant law enforcer from the future traveling back through time to the present day in pursuit of time-travelling criminals. Bishop is an African American mutant with the power to absorb energy and redirect it back out of his body in laser-like blasts. He becomes trapped in the present day, and after the X-Men help capture the criminals he was hunting, he joins the team.

The next storyline is called “X-Cutioner’s Song,” a crossover that included
The Uncanny X-Men
,
X-Men
,
X-Factor
,
and
X-Force
. This was a twelve-part story that featured one chapter in each X-title for three consecutive months. At a concert organized by a mutant pop star to promote diversity, Professor Xavier is giving a speech when he is shot by a man who looks just like the mysterious leader of X-Force, Cable. It is revealed in the course of this storyline that Cable is Nathan Summers, the child Cyclops had with Madelyne Pryor. Nathan had been infected with a disease and sent to the future for advanced medical aid. Cable, now older than Cyclops, has travelled back in time to the present. The man who shot Professor Xavier was a clone of Cable who was the child of a clone of Jean Grey—after more than thirty years, X-Men continuity was getting messily convoluted.

At this time, a new recurring threat to mutants is introduced, the Legacy Virus. The Legacy Virus is a disease that, initially, is confined to the mutant population but eventually begins to affect normal humans as well. The first victim of the Legacy Virus is Illyana Rasputin, the younger sister of Colossus. Upset over the death of his sister and the prejudice he sees all around, Colossus leaves the X-Men to join Magneto, believing that a more aggressive strategy is needed to protect mutants.

In another crossover with the other X-Men titles, this one called “Fatal Attractions,” Magneto rips the adamantium off of Wolverine’s bones and through his flesh. In reaction, Professor Xavier performs a “mindwipe” of Magneto, which leaves him in a coma. The mindwipe will later be revealed to have left a portion of Magneto’s psyche in Professor Xavier’s mind and will result in Professor Xavier going insane and becoming a supervillain, following in the footsteps of Jean Grey and Madelyne Pryor.

Jean Grey and Scott Summers are married, and Cyclops and Cable begin to establish a relationship as father and son. Banshee and a reformed Emma Frost, formerly the villainous White Queen, decide to team up to train a new class of young mutants. Introduced in the pages of
X-Men
and
The Uncanny X-Men
, this new team is spun-off into its own comic book,
Generation X
.

Professor Xavier’s insane son, going by the code name Legion, travels back in time twenty years to kill Magneto, believing that this will shape the world in a manner pleasing to his father. Instead, an alternate dystopic timeline called “The Age of Apocalypse” results. Eventually the normal timeline is restored. During this storyline, all of Marvel’s X-titles ceased publication for four months and were replaced by new titles set in the Age of Apocalypse. This study will not include this four-month replacement title in the analysis of
The Uncanny X-Men
.

After their regular timeline is restored, the X-Men are warned of an oncoming threat called Onslaught. Magneto’s base is destroyed, and out of the wreckage an amnesiac man who looks like Magneto emerges and takes the name Joseph. In a crossover that affects all the major superhero titles Marvel publishes, Onslaught attacks. It is learned that Onslaught is Professor Xavier, or rather a psychic entity created in Professor Xavier’s mind after he mindwiped Magneto. The combined efforts of Marvel’s heroes defeat Onslaught, and Professor Xavier is then taken into custody.

There are several groups organized to defend normal humans from the perceived threats of mutants at this time. One is called the Friends of Humanity, and while they have political goals, they often resemble white supremacist groups that will attack those they do not like. The Friends of Humanity beat up mutants and those related to mutants. Building on the theme of political opposition to mutant rights is the crossover event “Operation: Zero Tolerance” in which the US government, in coordination with international governments, hunts down all known mutants to try to capture or kill them. When the Prime Sentinels employed by Operation: Zero Tolerance are deemed to be out of control, the government rescinds Operation: Zero Tolerance’s authorization to act on US soil.

Dr. Cecilia Reyes joins the X-Men and is the first member of the X-Men with Latino/a heritage in
The Uncanny X-Men
, though Latino/a mutants had appeared in other mutant titles published by Marvel. The X-Men, after surviving attacks by the Shadow King, Sauron, and Alpha Flight, search for Professor Xavier, who has been in custody since Onslaught was defeated. They recover Xavier and are able to restore his powers, which had not worked since the Onslaught incident.

Magneto returns, and it is discovered that Joseph, who emerged from the wreckage of Magneto’s base, was only a clone. Joseph dies in battle. Subsequently, in a battle with Apocalypse, Cyclops seemingly sacrifices himself, though in a storyline called “The Search for Cyclops” he is rescued and returns to the team.

New Members of the X-Men

Lucas Bishop (Bishop)

Lucas Bishop, time-traveling mutant from the future, was created by John Byrne, Jim Lee, and Whilce Portacio. Although Storm was the first black member of the X-Men, Bishop is the first African American member of the team. He has the power to absorb energy and redirect it out as plasma blasts. He comes to the present day in pursuit of renegade mutants from the future, but after they are defeated he is unable to return to his time period, and he joins the X-Men. In his time the X-Men are legendary, but as a result of his time travel his memories of what he learned about the X-Men are jumbled and fleeting.

Bishop has been trained as a soldier his entire life, and in his timeline the war between mutants and humans has been much more open and devastating than what is seen in the X-Men’s present day. Bishop’s soldier-like attitude to the X-Men’s missions sometimes puts him at odds with the team, which though a fighting unit, is much more individualistic than a military unit. Adding to the tension he feels with the team, Bishop is very disciplined and organized, but sometimes struggles to take orders from the team leader when he believes he has seen a better course of action. Because of this, many find him to be arrogant and abrasive.

Emma Frost (White Queen)

Chris Claremont and John Byrne originally created the White Queen as a supervillain, but in this period she becomes yet another reformed villain who joins the X-Men, joining the likes of Banshee, Sunfire, and Rogue. In subsequent periods White Queen is a regular member of the team, but at this time she is only briefly a member of the X-Men. After one adventure with the team, she then goes with Banshee to train the next generation of mutants in a series called
Generation X
. The White Queen has psychic powers on the level of Jean Grey. Some of her most defining characteristics are her arrogance, her extremely elitist and aristocratic attitudes, and her penchant for wearing revealing outfits at all times. The White Queen was one of the first female characters in the X-Men to wear a costume that was clearly meant for seduction, and it has generally remained the most revealing costume among the X-Men. Her arrogance and independence, while grating on the other team members at times, prevent her from being any sort of wilting flower female.

Samuel Guthrie (Cannonball)

Created by Chris Claremont and Bob McLeoud, Samuel Guthrie was one of the first young mutants to be trained in the series
The New Mutants
, which premiered in 1981. Joining the X-Men represented his graduation from adolescent student to full-fledged X-Man, which had been his life’s dream. He has the power to generate concussive blasts that propel him in flight at great speeds. As he is flying his body produces a protective field so that he cannot be harmed, so he can slam into objects or foes without fear of personal injury. Guthrie is from rural Kentucky and is often treated and portrayed as simpler or more naïve than his teammates. Writers often give him a more stereotypically redneck speech pattern to denote his rural upbringing.

Joseph

Joseph is the name taken by a man who identically resembles Magneto. First appearing in
The Uncanny X-Men #327
(Dec. 1995), Joseph was created by Scott Lobdell and Roger Cruz. Because he stumbles out of the wreckage of Magneto’s old base, it is assumed that he is an amnesiac Magneto. However, it is revealed that he is a clone of Magneto, who was created by Sabra for the sole purpose of killing Magneto. Joseph’s storyline and identity is at times confusing, and it seems likely that he was originally intended to be Magneto, but later writers made the decision to have him be a clone.

Cecilia Reyes

Cecilia Reyes is a Puerto Rican doctor who reluctantly joins the X-Men after several offers. She first appeared in
X-Men Vol. 2 #65
(June 1997), which was written by Scott Lobdell and drawn by Carlos Pacheco. Marvel Comics has identified her as Afro-Latin American, and she is the first Latina to join an X-Men team. Cecilia Reyes initially chose not to join the X-Men because she wished to focus on her work in medicine and had no interest in becoming a superhero. She has the mutant ability to project a force field around her body, though the power has been expanded into a more aggressive use in some stories. The majority of the stories featuring Cecilia Reyes did not occur in
The Uncanny X-Men
, but in the other mutant titles published by Marvel. Reyes, who is a confident character and very accomplished in the field of medicine, initially avoids most of the negative stereotypes that are sometimes used in popular culture when depicting African Americans or Latinos but develops an addiction to an illegal drug in one of the few storylines in which she is featured. Professor Xavier helps her break this addiction.