X-Men
The
X-Men are a team of
mutant superheroes in the
Marvel Universe. They were created by writer
Stan Lee and artist
Jack Kirby, and first appeared in
The X-Men #1 (September 1963). The basic concept of the X-Men is that under a cloud of increasing anti-
mutant sentiment,
Professor Xavier created a haven at his
Westchester mansion to train young mutants to use their powers for the benefit of humanity, and to prove mutants can be heroes.
[1] Xavier recruited
Cyclops,
Iceman,
Angel,
Beast, and
Marvel Girl,
calling them "X-Men" because they possess special powers due to their
possession of the "X-gene," a gene which normal humans lack and which
gives mutants their abilities. Early on, however, the "X" in X-Men stood
for "extra" power which normal humans lacked. It was also alluded to
that mutations occurred as a result of radiation exposure. The comic was
partially inspired by the
African-American civil rights movement of the 1960s.
[2]
The first issue also introduced the team's archenemy,
Magneto, who would continue to battle the X-Men for decades throughout the comic's history, both on his own and with his
Brotherhood of Mutants (introduced in issue #4). The X-Men universe also includes such notable heroes as
Wolverine,
Storm,
Colossus,
Emma Frost,
Gambit,
Nightcrawler,
Rogue,
Psylocke and
Shadowcat. Besides the Brotherhood of Mutants, other villains that the X-Men have fought include the
Sentinels,
Apocalypse,
Mister Sinister, the
Marauders, the
Acolytes, the
Hellfire Club, the
U-Men, and the
Purifiers.
The X-Men comics have been adapted into other media, including animated
television series,
video games, and a commercially successful
series of films.
In early 1963, with the success of
Spider-Man in
Amazing Fantasy, as well as
the Hulk,
Thor,
Iron Man, and
the Fantastic Four, creator
Stan Lee devised the series title after Marvel publisher
Martin Goodman turned down the initial name, "The Mutants", stating that readers would not know what a "mutant" was.
[3] Within the
Marvel Universe, the X-Men are widely regarded to have been named after
Professor Xavier himself. Xavier however claims that the name "X-Men" was never chosen to be a self-tribute.
[4] The name is also linked to the "X-Gene," an unknown gene that causes the mutant evolution.
[citation needed]
The original explanation for the name, as provided by Xavier, is that
mutants "possess an extra power... one which ordinary humans do not!!
That is why I call my students... X-Men, for EX-tra power!".
[5]
1960s
Early
X-Men issues introduced the team's archenemy
Magneto and his
Brotherhood of Evil Mutants featuring
Mastermind,
Quicksilver,
Scarlet Witch, and
Toad. The comic focused on a common human theme of good versus evil and later included storylines and themes about
prejudice
and racism, all of which have persisted throughout the series in one
form or another. The evil side in the fight was shown in human form and
under some sympathetic beginnings via Magneto, a character who was later
revealed to have survived Nazi concentration camps only to pursue a
hatred for normal humanity. His key followers, Quicksilver and the
Scarlet Witch, were
Roma (gypsies). Only one new member of the X-Men was added,
Mimic/Calvin Rankin,
[6] but soon left due to his temporary loss of power.
[7]
The title lagged in sales behind Marvel's other comic franchises. In 1969, writer
Roy Thomas and illustrator
Neal Adams rejuvenated the comic book and gave regular roles to two recently introduced characters:
Havok/Alex Summers (who had been introduced by Roy Thomas before Adams began work on the comic) and Lorna Dane, later called
Polaris (created by
Arnold Drake and
Jim Steranko). However, these later
X-Men
issues failed to attract sales and Marvel stopped producing new stories
with issue #66, later reprinting a number of the older comics as issues
#67–93.
[8]
1970s
In
Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975), writer
Len Wein and artist
Dave Cockrum introduced a new team that then starred in a revival of
The X-Men, beginning with
issue #94.
This new team, however, differed greatly from the original. Unlike in
the early issues of the original series, the new team was not made up of
teenagers and they also had a more diverse background. Each was from a
different country with varying cultural and philosophical beliefs, and
all were already well-versed in using their mutant powers, several being
experienced in combat. The "all-new, all-different X-Men"
[9] were led by
Cyclops from the original team and consisted of the newly created
Colossus (from the
Soviet Union),
Nightcrawler (from
West Germany),
Storm (from Kenya), and
Thunderbird (a Native American from the
Apache nation), along with three previously introduced characters,
Banshee (from Ireland),
Sunfire (from Japan), and
Wolverine (from Canada), who eventually became the
breakout character
on the team and, in terms of comic sales and appearances, the most
popular X-Men character. A revamped Jean Grey soon rejoined the X-Men as
the popular
Phoenix;
Angel,
Beast,
Havok, and
Polaris also made significant guest appearances.
The revived series was illustrated by Cockrum, and later by
John Byrne, and written by
Chris Claremont. Claremont became the series' longest-running contributor.
[10]
The run met with critical acclaim and produced such early storylines as
the death of Thunderbird, the return of the Sentinels and the emergence
of Phoenix, the saga of the
Starjammers and the fight for control of the M'Kraan Crystal, the resurrection of Garokk the Petrified Man, the introduction of
Alpha Flight[11] and the
Proteus saga. Other characters introduced during this time include
Amanda Sefton,
Multiple Man,
Mystique, and
Moira MacTaggert with her genetic research facility on
Muir Island.
1980s
The 1980s began with the comic's best-known story arc, the
Dark Phoenix Saga,
which saw Phoenix manipulated by the illusionist Mastermind and
becoming corrupted with an overwhelming lust for power and destruction
as the evil Dark Phoenix. Other important storylines included
Days of Future Past, the saga of Deathbird and the
Brood, the discovery of the Morlocks, the invasion of the Dire Wraiths and
The Trial of Magneto, as well as
X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills, the partial inspiration for the 2003 movie
X2: X-Men United.[12]
By the early 1980s,
X-Men was Marvel's top-selling comic
title. Its sales were such that distributors and retailers began using
an "X-Men index", rating each comic book publication by how many orders
it garnered compared to that month's issue of
X-Men.
[13] The growing popularity of
Uncanny X-Men
and the rise of comic book specialty stores led to the introduction of a
number of ongoing spin-off series nicknamed "X-Books." The first of
these was
The New Mutants, soon followed by
Alpha Flight,
X-Factor,
Excalibur, and a solo
Wolverine title. When Claremont conceived a story arc, the
Mutant Massacre, which was too long to run in the monthly
X-Men, editor
Louise Simonson decided to have it overlap into several X-Books. The story was a major financial success,
[14] and when the later
Fall of the Mutants was similarly successful, the marketing department declared that the X-Men lineup would hold such
crossovers annually.
[15]
Throughout the decade,
Uncanny X-Men was written solely by Chris Claremont, and illustrated for long runs by John Byrne, Dave Cockrum,
Paul Smith,
John Romita, Jr., and
Marc Silvestri. Additions to the X-Men during this time were
Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat,
Dazzler,
Forge,
Longshot,
Psylocke,
Rogue,
Rachel Summers/Phoenix, and
Jubilee. In a controversial move, Professor X relocated to outer space to be with
Lilandra, Majestrix of the
Shi'ar
Empire, in 1986. Magneto then joined the X-Men in Xavier's place and
became the director of the New Mutants. This period also included the
emergence of the
Hellfire Club, the arrival of the mysterious
Madelyne Pryor, and the villains
Apocalypse,
Mister Sinister,
Mojo, and
Sabretooth.
1990s
The multiple, interlocking covers of
X-Men, vol. 2 #1 (1991). Art by
Jim Lee.
In 1991, Marvel revised the entire lineup of X-Books, centered on the launch of a second X-Men series, simply titled
X-Men. With the return of Xavier and the
original X-Men to the team, the roster was split into two strike forces: Cyclops' "Blue Team" (chronicled in
X-Men) and Storm's "Gold Team" (in
Uncanny X-Men).
Its first issues were written by longstanding X-Men writer
Chris Claremont and drawn and co-plotted by
Jim Lee.
Retailers pre-ordered over 8.1 million copies of issue #1, generating
and selling nearly $7 million (though retailers probably sold closer to 3
million copies
[16] ), making it the best-selling comic book of all-time, according to
Guinness Book of World Records, which presented honors to Claremont at the 2010
San Diego Comic-Con.
[17][18][19]
Another new X-book released at the time was
X-Force, featuring the characters from
The New Mutants, led by
Cable; it was written by
Rob Liefeld and
Fabian Nicieza. Internal friction soon split the X-books' creative teams. In a controversial move, X-Men editor
Bob Harras sided with Lee (and
Uncanny X-Men artist
Whilce Portacio) over Claremont in a dispute over plotting. Claremont left after only three issues of
X-Men, ending his 16-year run as
X-Men writer.
[20] Marvel replaced Claremont briefly with
John Byrne, who scripted both books for a few issues. Byrne was then replaced by Nicieza and
Scott Lobdell,
who would take over the majority of writing duties for the X-Men until
Lee's own departure months later when he and several other popular
artists (including former X-title artists Liefeld, Portacio, and
Marc Silvestri) would leave Marvel to form
Image Comics. Jim Lee's X-Men designs would be the basis for much of the
X-Men animated series and action figure line as well as several Capcom video games.
The 1990s saw an even greater number of X-books with numerous ongoing
series and miniseries running concurrently. X-book crossovers continued
to run annually, with "
The X-Tinction Agenda" in 1990, "
The Muir Island Saga" in 1991, "
X-Cutioner's Song" in 1992, "
Fatal Attractions" in 1993, "
Phalanx Covenant" in 1994, "Legion Quest"/"
Age of Apocalypse" in 1995, "
Onslaught" in 1996, and "
Operation: Zero Tolerance"
in 1997. Though the frequent crossovers were criticized by fans as well
as editorial and creative staff for being artificially regular,
disruptive to the direction of the individual series, and having far
less lasting impact than promised, they continued to be financially
successful.
[15] There were many new popular additions to the X-Men including
Cable,
Bishop, and
Gambit—who became one of the most popular X-Men (rivaling even
Wolverine in size of fanbase), but many of the later additions to the team came and went (
Joseph,
Maggott,
Marrow,
Cecilia Reyes, and a new
Thunderbird). Xavier's
New Mutants grew up and became
X-Force, and the next generation of students began with
Generation X, featuring Jubilee and other teenage mutants led and schooled by
Banshee and former villainess
Emma Frost at her Massachusetts Academy. In 1998,
Excalibur and
X-Factor ended and the latter was replaced with
Mutant X, starring
Havok stranded in a
parallel universe. Marvel launched a number of solo series, including
Deadpool,
Cable,
Bishop,
X-Man, and
Gambit, but few of the series would survive the decade.
2000s
In the 2000s, Claremont returned to Marvel and was put back on the primary X-Men titles during the
Revolution event. He was soon removed from the two flagship titles in early 2001 and created his own spin-off series,
X-Treme X-Men, which debuted a few months after his departure.
X-Men had its title changed at this time to
New X-Men and new writer
Grant Morrison
took over. This era is often referred to as the Morrison-era, due to
the drastic changes he made to the series, beginning with "
E Is For Extinction," where a new villainess,
Cassandra Nova, destroys
Genosha, killing sixteen million mutants. Morrison also brought reformed ex-villainess
Emma Frost
into the primary X-Men team, and opened the doors of the school by
having Xavier "out" himself to the public about being a mutant. The
bright spandex costumes that had become iconic over the previous decades
were also gone, replaced by black leather street clothes reminiscent of
the uniforms of the
X-Men movies. Morrison also added a new character,
Xorn, who would figure prominently in the climax of the writer's run. In the meantime,
Ultimate X-Men was launched, set in Marvel's revised imprint.
Chuck Austen also began his controversial run on
Uncanny X-Men.
Notable additions to the X-Men have been
Chamber,
Emma Frost,
Husk,
Northstar,
Armor,
Pixie, and
Warpath. During this decade former villains such as
Juggernaut,
Lady Mastermind,
Mystique, and
Sabretooth
became members of the X-Men for various lengths of time. Several
short-lived spin-offs and miniseries started featuring several X-Men in
solo series, such as
Emma Frost,
Gambit,
Mystique,
Nightcrawler, and
Rogue. Another book,
Exiles,
started at the same time and concluded in December 2007 but with a new
book in January 2008, "New Exiles" written by Chris Claremont.
Cable and
Deadpool's books were also rolled into one book, called
Cable & Deadpool. A third core X-Men title was also introduced called
Astonishing X-Men, written by
Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator
Joss Whedon, following Morrison's departure. Another X-Book titled
New X-Men: Academy X took its place focusing on the lives of the new young mutants at the Institute.
This period included the resurrections of
Colossus and
Psylocke, a new death for
Jean Grey, who later returned temporarily in the
X-Men: Phoenix - Endsong
miniseries, as well as Emma Frost becoming the new headmistress of the
Institute, a position that was formerly Jean Grey's before her death.
The Institute formerly ran as a large-scale school, until the
depowering
of most of the mutant population. It now serves as a safe haven to
those mutants who are still powered, and as the home of the X-Men.
The 2007–2008
Messiah Complex
crossover saw the destruction of the Xavier Institute and the
disbanding of the X-Men. Out of the crossover spun the new volumes of
X-Force, following the team led by Wolverine, and
Cable, following Cable's attempts at protecting the
Messiah child.
X-Men, vol. 2 was renamed into
X-Men: Legacy and will focus on Professor Xavier, Rogue and Gambit. The main team later reformed in
Uncanny X-Men #500, with the X-Men now operating out of a new base in San Francisco under Cyclops's leadership.
[21] Uncanny X-Men
returned to its roots as the flagship title for the X-Franchise and
served as the umbrella under which the various X-Books co-exist.
A crossover between
X-Force and
Cable series entitled
Messiah War, written by
Craig Kyle and
Chris Yost, commenced in March 2009 and served as a second part in the trilogy that began with
Messiah Complex. Matt Fraction also wrote a
Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men crossover,
Utopia, running through summer 2009, as a part of the larger
Dark Reign storyline. 2009 also saw the beginning of the new
New Mutants volume written by Zeb Wells, with the limited series
X-Infernus serving as prologue. The new volume saw some of the more prominent members of the original team reunited.
The end of 2009 and the
Nation X
storyline saw the X-Men's longtime nemesis, Magneto, renouncing his
villainous ways and joining the X-Men, which Cyclops allowed.
[22] This was much to the dismay of other members of the X-Men, such as Beast, who left the team in disgust.
[23] Magneto began to work with Namor to transform Utopia into a homeland for both mutants and Atlanteans.
[24]
Starting with issue #226,
Rogue became the main character of
X-Men: Legacy. The new series direction began in the
X-Men: Legacy Annual after the conclusion of
Utopia.
X-Force,
New Mutants, and
X-Men: Legacy were also involved in
Necrosha, a crossover in which
Selene resurrected all the mutants killed in the Genosha massacre.
X-Force contained the main storyline, while the other series handled the consequences of the prologue one-shot.
Notable story arcs of this decade are "
Revolution" (2000), "
Eve of Destruction," "
E Is For Extinction" (2001), "
Planet X," "
Here Comes Tomorrow," "
Gifted," (2004)
X-Men: Phoenix - Endsong, "
House of M," "
Decimation" (2005),
Deadly Genesis (2005–2006), "
Endangered Species" (2007), "
Messiah Complex" (2007–2008), "
Divided We Stand" (2008), "
Manifest Destiny" (2008–2009),
X-Infernus, "
Messiah War," "
Utopia," "
Nation X" and "
Necrosha" (2009). The X-Men were also involved in the "
Secret Invasion" storyline.
2010s
Notable story arcs of this decade include the 2010 storyline "
Second Coming", based on plot threads from "Messiah Complex" and "House of M",
[25][26] "
Age of X", and "
Schism" (2011), as well as "
Avengers vs. X-Men"
(2012), which provided the final closure to the long developing
storylines from the previous decade, starting with "House of M" and
"Decimation". The event ended with the death of Professor X and
reappearance of new mutants.
As constant with Marvel's release strategy at the time, many of the
X-Men titles underwent cancellation and relaunching, including
X-Force,
X-Factor,
X-Men: Legacy,
X-Men, and the long-running
Uncanny X-Men.
In the aftermath of the
Schism series, the fallout between
Wolverine and
Cyclops led to the revival and rebuilding of the original X-Mansion by Wolverine, with support from
Kitty Pryde,
Iceman, Rogue, and
Beast. The school, the
Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, was featured in a new series by
Jason Aaron titled
Wolverine and the X-Men. Aaron would move on to another new title in 2013,
Amazing X-Men, which featured many of the same X-Men members as his previous title.
In 2012, as part of the
Marvel NOW! relaunch, Marvel released a new ongoing series by
Rick Remender and
John Cassaday titled
Uncanny Avengers,
which featured a team of Avengers and X-Men members initially led by
Havok. A few weeks later, Marvel launched a new flagship X-Men series,
All-New X-Men, by
Brian Michael Bendis and
Stuart Immonen.
The series featured the original five X-Men being brought to the
present day by Beast in order to stop Cyclops and his team, now
fugitives after the "Avengers vs. X-Men" event, who are gathering new
mutants at a rapid pace while promoting a "mutant revolution". The
relaunched
Uncanny X-Men (vol. 3) features Cyclops, his team, and the new mutants, who have taken up residency in the
Weapon X facility, which they have rebuilt into a school named the New Charles Xavier School for Mutants. The 2013 crossover storyline "
Battle of the Atom",
which was developed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the X-Men
franchise, involves members of both X-Men schools as they try to decide
what to do about the time-displaced original X-Men while time travelling
X-Men from the future returned to the present to warn them of the
threat the five teenagers posed.
World of the X-Men
The X-Men exist in the
Marvel Universe
with other characters portrayed in Marvel Comics series. As such, it is
unsurprising that they often meet characters from other series, and the
global nature of the mutant concept means the scale of stories can be
highly varied.
The X-Men fight everything ranging from mutant thieves to galactic threats. Historically, the X-Men have been based in the
Xavier Institute, near Salem Center, in north-east
Westchester County, NY,
and are often depicted as a family. The X-Mansion is often depicted
with three floors and two underground levels. To the outside world, it
had acted as a higher learning institute until the 2000s, when Xavier
was publicly exposed as a mutant at which point it became a full mutant
boarding school. Xavier funds a corporation aimed at reaching mutants worldwide, though it ceased to exist following the "
Decimation."
The X-Men benefit greatly from state-of-the-art technology. For
example, Xavier is depicted tracking down mutants with a device called
Cerebro which amplifies his powers; the X-Men train within the
Danger Room,
first depicted as a room full of weapons and booby traps, now as
generating holographic simulations; and the X-Men travel in their widely
recognized and iconic
Blackbird jet.
Fictional places
The X-Men introduced several fictional locations which are regarded as important within the shared universe in which
Marvel Comics characters exist:
- Asteroid M, an asteroid made by Magneto, a mutant utopia and training facility off of the Earth's surface.
- Genosha, an island near Madagascar and a longtime apartheid regime against mutants. Given control by the U.N. to Magneto until the E Is for Extinction story.
- Madripoor, an island in South East Asia, near Singapore. Its location is shown to be in the southern portion of the Strait of Malacca, south west of Singapore.
- Muir Island, a remote island off the coast of Scotland. This is primarily known in the X-Men universe as the home of Moira MacTaggert's laboratory.
- Mutant Town (also known as District X), an area in Alphabet City, Manhattan, populated largely by mutants and beset by poverty and crime.
- Savage Land, a preserved location in Antarctica which is home to a number of extinct species, most notably dinosaurs.
- Utopia,
Cyclops had Asteroid M raised from the Pacific Ocean off the coast of
the San Francisco as a response to the rise of anti-mutant sentiment to
form a new Mutant Nation. It was abandoned after the events of Avengers
vs. X-Men.
Reflecting social issues
The conflict between mutants and normal humans is often compared to
real-world conflicts experienced by minority groups in America such as
African Americans, Jews, atheists, Communists, the
LGBT community, etc.
[28][29] It has been remarked that attitudes towards mutants do not make sense in the context of the
Marvel Universe, since non-mutants with similar powers are rarely regarded with fear;
X-Men editor
Ann Nocenti remarked that "I think that's literary, really - because there is no difference between
Colossus and
the Torch.
If a guy comes into my office in flames, or a guy comes into my office
and turns to steel, I'm going to have the same reaction. It doesn't
really matter that I know their origins. [...] as a book,
The X-Men
has always represented something different - their powers arrive at
puberty, making them analogous to the changes you go through at
adolescence - whether they're special, or out of control, or setting you
apart - the misfit identity theme."
[30] Also on an individual level, a number of X-Men serve a
metaphorical function as their powers illustrate points about the nature of the outsider.
"The X-Men are hated, feared and despised collectively by humanity
for no other reason than that they are mutants. So what we have here,
intended or not, is a book that is about racism, bigotry and prejudice."
- Racism: Although this was not initially the case, Professor X has come to be compared to civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. and Magneto to the more militant Malcolm X.[31][32][33] The X-Men’s purpose is sometimes referred to as achieving "Xavier’s dream," perhaps a reference to King’s historic "I Have a Dream" speech.[34] (Magneto, in the first film, quotes Malcolm X with the line "By any means necessary.") X-Men comic books have often portrayed mutants as victims of mob violence, evoking images of the lynching of African Americans in the age before the American civil rights movement.[35] Sentinels and anti-mutant hate groups such as Friends of Humanity, Humanity's Last Stand, the Church of Humanity and Stryker's Purifiers are thought to often represent oppressive forces like the Ku Klux Klan giving a form to denial of civil rights and amendments.[36] In the 1980s, the comic featured a plot involving the fictional island nation of Genosha, where mutants are segregated and enslaved by an apartheid state. This is widely interpreted as a reference to the situation in South Africa at the time.[37]
- Anti-Semitism: Explicitly referenced in recent decades is the comparison between anti-mutant sentiment and anti-Semitism. Magneto, a Holocaust survivor, sees the situation of mutants as similar to those of Jews in Nazi Germany.[32][38] At one point he even utters the words "never again" in a 1992 episode of the X-Men animated series. The mutant slave labor camps on the island of Genosha, in which numbers were burned into mutant's foreheads, show much in common with Nazi concentration camps,[38][39][40] as do the internment camps of the classic "Days of Future Past" storyline.[41]
In the third X-Men film, when asked by Callisto: "If you're so proud of
being a mutant, then where's your mark?" Magneto shows his
concentration camp tattoo, while mentioning that he will never let
another needle touch his skin. In the prequel film X-Men: First Class, a fourteen-year-old Magneto suffers Nazi human experimentation during his time in the camps and witnesses his mother's death by gunshot.
- Diversity:
Characters within the X-Men mythos hail from a wide variety of
nationalities. These characters also reflect religious, ethnic or sexual
minorities. Examples include Shadowcat, Sabra and Magneto who are Jewish, Dust who is a devout Muslim, Nightcrawler who is a devout Catholic, and Neal Shaara/Thunderbird who is Hindu. Storm represents two aspects of the African diaspora as her father was African American and her mother was Kenyan. Karma
was portrayed as a devout Catholic from Vietnam, who regularly attended
Mass and confession when she was introduced as a founding member of the
New Mutants.[citation needed] This team also included Wolfsbane (a devout Scots Presbyterian), Danielle Moonstar (a Cheyenne Native American) and Cannonball, and was later joined by Magma (a devout Greco-Roman classical religionist). Different nationalities included Wolverine, Aurora, Northstar and Transonic as Canadians; Colossus and Magik from Russia; Banshee and Siryn from Ireland; Gambit who is a Cajun, the original Thunderbird who was an Apache Native American; Psylocke, Wolfsbane and Chamber from the UK; Armor, Surge and Zero from Japan; Nightcrawler from Germany; Legion from Israel; Omega Sentinel, Neal Shaara, Kavita Rao and Indra from India; Velocidad from Mexico; Oya from Nigeria; Primal from Ukraine; etc.[36][42][43]
- LGBT themes: Some commentators have noted the similarities between the struggles of mutants and the LGBT community, noting the onset of special powers around puberty and the parallels between being closeted and the mutants' concealment of their powers.[44] In the comics series, gay and bisexual characters include Anole, Bling!, Destiny, Karma, Mystique, Courier, Northstar (whose marriage was depicted in the comics in 2012), Graymalkin, Rictor, Shatterstar and the Ultimate version of Colossus. In the film X2, Bobby Drake's mother asks him, "Have you ever tried not being a mutant?" after revealing that he is a mutant. Transgender issues also come up with shapechangers like Mystique, Copycat, and Courier
who can change gender at will. It has been said that the comic books
and the X-Men animated series delved into the AIDS epidemic with a
long-running plot line about the Legacy Virus,
a seemingly incurable disease thought at first to attack only mutants
(similar to the AIDS virus which at first was spread through the gay
community).[45]
- Religion: Religion is an integral part of several X-Men
storylines. It is presented as both a positive and negative force,
sometimes in the same story. The comics explore religious fundamentalism through the person of William Stryker and his Purifiers, an anti-mutant group that emerged in the 1982 graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills.
The Purifiers believe that mutants are not human beings but children of
the devil, and have attempted to exterminate them several times, most
recently in the "Childhood's End" storyline. By contrast, religion is
also central to the lives of several X-Men, such as Nightcrawler, a devout Catholic, and Dust, a devout Sunni Muslim who wears an Islamic niqāb.[42]
Subculture: In some cases, the mutants of the X-Men universe sought to create a subculture of the typical mutant society portrayed. The
Morlocks,
though mutants like those attending Xavier's school, hide away from
society within the tunnels of New York. These Morlock tunnels serve as
the backdrop for several X-Men stories, most notably
The Mutant Massacre
crossover. This band of mutants illustrates another dimension to the
comic, that of a group that further needs to isolate itself because
society won't accept it.
[47][48] In
Grant Morrison’s
stories of the early 2000s, mutants are portrayed as a distinct
subculture with "mutant bands," mutant use of code-names as their
primary form of self-identity (rather than their given birth names), and
a popular mutant fashion designer who created outfits tailored to
mutant
physiology. The series
District X takes place in an area of New York City called "Mutant Town."
[37]
These instances can also serve as analogies for the way that minority
groups establish subcultures and neighborhoods of their own that
distinguish them from the broader general culture. Director
Bryan Singer
has remarked that the X-Men franchise has served as a metaphor for
acceptance of all people for their special and unique gifts. The mutant
condition that is often kept secret from the world can be analogous to
feelings of difference and fear usually developed in everyone during
adolescence.
