(This will include spoilers of the 2019-2020 “House of X” and “Powers of X” comic book events)
Anyone who knows me knows I love the X-Men. Is it because they were created as a blatant metaphor for racism in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement of the 60’s? Is it because “Giant Sized X-Men #1” introduced the diverse team of the Russian Colossus, the Scottish Banshee, the Japanese Sunfire, the African Storm, the Canadian Wolverine, the German Nightcrawler, the Native American Thunderbird, and the familiar American Cyclops? Or is because, as we all know deep down in our hearts, mutants are undeniably cool?
All of the above! Since its creation in 1963, X-Men has long remained a comic that’s adapted to the times. Professor X and Magneto largely reflect the real world ideas of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X.: one dedicated to a dream of eventual, peaceful coexistence with their persecutors, while the other believes in protecting their people from prejudice “by any means necessary”.
Magneto, possibly the most popular comic book supervillain of all-time, has been a Jewish Holocaust survivor since his origin was told in 1981, resolving to never let mutants suffer at the hands of human prejudice and fueling his worldview of mutant supremacy.
The powerful 1982 graphic novel “God Loves, Man Kills” begins with Magneto finding the bodies of two black, mutant children who were recently murdered and his resulting rage and grief. The fatal Legacy Virus, featured in stories from 1993 through 2001, targeted mutants and eventually humans in a thinly-veiled metaphor for the very real AIDS epidemic that devastated the gay community.
Entering the 2000’s, the X-Men and the hatred that mutants constantly faced became a metaphor for prejudice of all kinds, often showing mutants in situations that were pulled straight from headlines of racism and homophobia. The infamous line asked by Iceman’s mother in the movie “X2: X-Men United” is a great example of this shift to include homophobia: “Have you tried not being a mutant?” Now, I love my X-Men, and long have they remained a sanctuary for the idea that prejudice in any form is to be met with emphatic, confident resistance.
The established paradigm of the hardcore rebel Wolverine and the boy scout, goody-goody Cyclops completely shifted during “Schism”.
Still, the past twenty years of X-Men comics have been full of obstacles. The “House of M” event concluded with Scarlet Witch’s infamous “No more mutants” decree, killing and de-powering ninety percent of the world’s mutants. This lead directly to “Decimation”, where the remaining hundreds of mutants desperately defended themselves against various anti-mutant factions, namely the Purifiers: human supremacists who are the clearest parallel to the white supremacists groups of today, such as the KKK.
The established paradigm of the hardcore rebel Wolverine and the boy scout, goody-goody Cyclops completely shifted during “Schism”. Wolverine emphatically argued that mutant children should not have to be turned into child soldiers, while Cyclops maintained that the world had left them no choice but to fight.
This concluded in an issue-long, nearly dialogue-free one-on-one fight between the two (which was amazing and you should go find it right now), but the ideas that culminated here remained relevant. Cyclops developed into a radical much like Magneto, so much so that the sometimes-villain took a step back from the spotlight to allow Cyclops to lead.
And while I won’t go through the past twenty years of X-Men, I will sum it up: mutants have been struggling. Magneto’s mutant nation of Genosha was wiped out by the mutant-hunting robot Sentinels, though that was at the hands of a mutant villain by the name of Cassandra Nova. Many stories involved their mansion headquarters being invaded and nearly destroyed, with Magneto’s early 2000’s attack on the school being so devastating that future writers felt the need to absolve the villain by saying it was an impostor.
“Avengers vs. X-Men” and “Inhumans vs. X-Men” remain sore spots of the past decade, despite some fun fights, where my beloved team is often made too stupid to have a logical conversation with their long-time allies. We all know that mutants of the Marvel universe are the underdogs, but there was a collective frustration among readers: can’t the X-men get a win every now and then?
Hickman led the 2019 “House of X” and “Powers of X” comic events, and they shook the very foundation of X-Men by obliterating the status quo.
While many fans will argue that the Disney vs. Fox struggles of the past decade were a significant reason for the X-Men’s comic book struggles, and they’re probably right, the fact remains that the X-Men are the iconic metaphor for minorities in Marvel comics. With real life events not shifting towards the better in terms of racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and prejudice in general, how can the X-Men ever get a win that feels like a genuine reflection of reality?
Well, Marvel had a controversial answer in the form of the writer Johnathan Hickman. Hickman led the 2019 “House of X” and “Powers of X” comic events, and they shook the very foundation of X-Men by obliterating the status quo. Many mutants, including heroes, villains, and just ordinary people, all joined together to form the mutant, island nation of Krakoa (and yes, even the island itself is a mutant).
Former villains such as Magneto, Apocalypse, and, somehow, Mr. Sinister were given one-time amnesty if they pledged themselves to Krakoa and agreed to follow their laws. And these laws were rather simple: 1) Make More Mutants, 2) Murder No Man, 3) Respect This Sacred Land (meaning, in general, no humans are allowed).
So, let’s call a spade a spade: Krakoa is a mutant ethnostate that’s a pretty clear parallel to modern day Israel. And while some savvy readers may be saying, “Wait, didn’t Magneto already do the mutant nation thing with Genosha?” it’s got some clear, major differences. Genosha was an attempt to isolate from the world of humans, effectively saying they wanted nothing to do with them.
Krakoa is similar, but they’ve entered into the game of global politics: they’ve established trade and diplomacy with the human nations of the world, promising futuristic drugs that cure diseases and extend lifespans in exchange for acknowledging Krakoa’s sovereignty.
I love the conceptual conflict between the biological, plant-infused technology of mutants vs. the inorganic, cold metal of the Sentinels that mirrors the stubborn prejudice of their creators.
“House of X” and “Powers of X” combined to form, without a doubt, the most controversial and significant X-Men event of the past decade. Krakoa’s combination of an unapologetic ethnostate combined with their admittedly jarring, ultra-organic shift towards plant-based, biological technology and new mutant culture rocked the fan-base.
The internet exploded with thought pieces and arguments over whether the X-Men had gone too far, and whether Professor X, now clad in a solid black bodysuit and a clunky Cerebro helmet, had taken a turn towards villainy. With amnesty for longtime villains extending to positions of power in the Krakoan governing body, known as the Quiet Council, I can’t blame fans for being shook.
Though, let me make my position on the matter crystal clear: I love Krakoa. I love the conceptual conflict between the biological, plant-infused technology of mutants vs. the inorganic, cold metal of the Sentinels that mirrors the stubborn prejudice of their creators. I love the emerging mutant culture that shows how much love they have each other, and yes, there are some implications of polyamorous relationships and orgies that show they are dead-set on their “Make More Mutants” law.
And honestly, as readers are shown the connecting bedroom layout of Cyclops, Wolverine, and Jean Grey’s rooms, how can you be disappointed? I put all of my support behind their display of polyamory, which includes the iconic, loved-and-hated Emma Frost, which has taken the often tumultuous love triangles and made a sweeping declaration: who the hell cares? They’re adults with complex relationships, and they’ve chosen to embrace each other rather than to fight over each other. More power to them.
And finally, the biggest source of current X-Men fan conflict: are mutants morally right in creating Krakoa? Can a mutant ethnostate exist in the same space as Professor X’s dream, and, by logical extension of its inspiration, Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream: that the persecuted and persecutors can eventually coexist peacefully? It’s a big question, and I praise Johnathan Hickman for asking it.
Here’s my answer: although the past few decades of X-Men comics have only been a few years in the Marvel universe, the fact remains that mutants as a people have been targeted and killed, their sanctuaries constantly attacked and destroyed, and they’ve been asked constantly to be the bigger man. To defend themselves, but ultimately, to turn the other cheek in the hopes that humans will eventually learn to love them.
…Mutants are choosing to thrive in the face of hatred instead of just surviving it.
As a black man and long-time X-Men fan, the Krakoan solution makes complete sense to me. Professor X’s dream of coexistence is not contingent on mutants being eternal victims, as he himself goes on to clarify. “Do you think I don’t love you? Because I do…and I want you to always remember that,” he tells a group of human world leaders. “…there’s a small part of me that will never stop believing in that dream. There’s a part of me that will never stop believing in you.”
“But it only took one month before you tried to kill me,” he continues. Professor X sees the writing on the wall: eventually, humans will come around. He desperately clings to that dream, but mutants are choosing to thrive in the face of hatred instead of just surviving it.
And it’s rather telling that this declaration would result in some readers seeing the X-Men and mutants as the bad guys in this story: that declaring themselves worthy of a better life than endless persecution isn’t allowed by the iconic representatives of persecuted minorities everywhere.
And while I won’t make any moral statements on the actions of Israel, I will say this: the need for a long-targeted, persecuted people who have endured genocide to have their own nation that is, at the end of the day, for them is one I’ve always implicitly understood. How can you blame a people for creating a sanctuary for themselves, just one place in the world where they can confidently be free from hatred? I don’t see how anyone can argue against that.
And so, on the subject of Krakoa, are mutants morally correct in creating it? Of course they are! How can I read pages of fireworks and mutant celebration, Wolverine playing in open fields with mutant children, Exodus telling tales by a campfire, Storm embracing Cyclops and Jean Grey as her brother and sister, and Professor X and Magneto standing atop a hill, looking out over Krakoa while stating, “Look at what we’ve built” without knowing that this is the right thing for mutants to do?
Now, is the nation of Krakoa morally correct in everything they do? Well, that’s a no, but Magneto said it best: they’re just doing what they learned from humans, and they learn quickly. Krakoa as a nation is as morally gray as every other nation on Earth, and they have the same core idea as everyone else: give mutants and mutant children at least one place in the world where they know they’re safe. Who can fault them for that? Not me, and I will embrace every moment of the X-Men and this daring, new paradigm shift.
You should, too.
MasqMusings 