Spoilers X-Men '97 spoilers

[billd91]

Its true that mutant = analogy for other downtrodden groups is a long standing comic tradition.

For me the problem with that has always been, that mutants aren't just different, they represent an entirely different power dynamic. Which is why Prof X's position is just a faulty one to me.

Its not as simple as "you are different than me, I should show tolerance."

Its.... "if you sneeze wrong you can destroy my house, me, and my entire family".


If we look at one of the more recent episodes. Magneto shut down Earth....like the planet. He turned off civilization like its a light switch. And now apparently he is damaging the magnetic sphere so much that if the Xmen don't stop him Earth will be ruined.

When Xavier said to Magneto, "we are NOT gods". My immediate reaction was "um your not?".

That's not the kind of thing people can learn to tolerate, because again its not about difference, its about power, and when one group has absolute and total power over you should they choose to use it....humans are never going to be ok with that. While the Xmen want their message to be "we should love and tolerate people that are different than us", the real message of that world is "you should love and tolerate those have absolute power over you".

A very different message.

It's not just mutants who represent that power dynamic - but also the brilliant scientists, the beneficiaries of bizarre accidents, the mega-rich, etc. The core difference for mutants is they're born with it. That's why they represent groups that are discriminated against because of what they are, not who they are, or how they behave.

Another thing to consider is the genre and which characters you're supposed to identify with. Superheroes may be powerful (and this applies across all superhero types, whether mutant or not), but at the core of the stories is how they use their power. They use the to generally pursue altruist aims and while they may form a pretty high-ended elite, they use their power to help others in need whether it's by stopping a bunch of relatively petty criminals or defeating a menace bent on annihilating half the population. In other words, the moral core of the genre is that how you behave is what's important and how you should be judged, not what you are.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Its true that mutant = analogy for other downtrodden groups is a long standing comic tradition.

For me the problem with that has always been, that mutants aren't just different, they represent an entirely different power dynamic. Which is why Prof X's position is just a faulty one to me.

Its not as simple as "you are different than me, I should show tolerance."

Its.... "if you sneeze wrong you can destroy my house, me, and my entire family".

While there's something to that, its not consistent. Yes, a lot of the X-Men and their opponents are potentially very destructive (some are on the high end for the primarily Earthbound end of the Marvel Universe like Storm or Magneto) but omega, alpha and beta class mutants aren't the only ones out there. There are plenty, maybe the majority, who have abilities or traits that are for the most part either innocuous, or no more harmful than pieces of technology commonly available. Its a hard sell that Warren Worthington is some sort of special danger, let alone Tommy of the Morlocks.

If we look at one of the more recent episodes. Magneto shut down Earth....like the planet. He turned off civilization like its a light switch. And now apparently he is damaging the magnetic sphere so much that if the Xmen don't stop him Earth will be ruined.

When Xavier said to Magneto, "we are NOT gods". My immediate reaction was "um your not?".

That's not the kind of thing people can learn to tolerate, because again its not about difference, its about power, and when one group has absolute and total power over you should they choose to use it....humans are never going to be ok with that. While the Xmen want their message to be "we should love and tolerate people that are different than us", the real message of that world is "you should love and tolerate those have absolute power over you".

A very different message.

But again, mutant in the MU aren't alone in this regard. As I've commented before, why is Bobby Drake a problem but Johnny Storm isn't?

 

[Thomas Shey]

It's not just mutants who represent that power dynamic - but also the brilliant scientists, the beneficiaries of bizarre accidents, the mega-rich, etc. The core difference for mutants is they're born with it. That's why they represent groups that are discriminated against because of what they are, not who they are, or how they behave.

Yeah, this is I think much more key, its "the strange among us". That you can look at the kid next door and find out he's a mutant has a different dynamic than most other kinds of supers in the setting.

Another thing to consider is the genre and which characters you're supposed to identify with. Superheroes may be powerful (and this applies across all superhero types, whether mutant or not), but at the core of the stories is how they use their power. They use the to generally pursue altruist aims and while they may form a pretty high-ended elite, they use their power to help others in need whether it's by stopping a bunch of relatively petty criminals or defeating a menace bent on annihilating half the population. In other words, the moral core of the genre is that how you behave is what's import and how you should be judged, not what you are.

That said, there's an argument that even before getting into it more extensively in recent years, there was always a subtext of whether it was a good thing that people had to trust those with personal power on the scale of some supers, because they could only police each other. Its just that its hard to see any method of addressing that which isn't as likely to make the problem worse as better.

 

[trappedslider]

X-MEN '97 Showrunner Shares STAR TREK-Related Hint About Next Week's Season Finale - SPOILERS

With just one more episode of X-Men '97 to go, (former) showrunner Beau DeMayo has shared some Star Trek-related "homework" for next Wednesday's season finale...

comicbookmovie.com

 

[Thomas Shey]

X-MEN '97 Showrunner Shares STAR TREK-Related Hint About Next Week's Season Finale - SPOILERS

With just one more episode of X-Men '97 to go, (former) showrunner Beau DeMayo has shared some Star Trek-related "homework" for next Wednesday's season finale...

comicbookmovie.com

Well, time travel shenanigans seemed pretty likely at some point since the destruction of Genosha, honestly.

 

[Reynard]

X-Men has succeeded for 60 years in no small part because their metaphor is malleable and can reflect outsiders and the oppressed of all kinds.

Also, needs complain about the strangest things re: costume changes. In X-Men THAT'S what feels off?

Finally: OMG that last image of Ep 9.

 

[Zeromaru X]

Also, needs complain about the strangest things re: costume changes. In X-Men THAT'S what feels off?

DeMayo said he wanted to homage "Pryde of the X-men", that 80s pilot that never became its own series. That's why he used the 80s suits.

 

[Reynard]

DeMayo said he wanted to homage "Pryde of the X-men", that 80s pilot that never became its own series. That's why he used the 80s suits.

I was referring to people here worried about the "sailor moon costume changes". In a show about mutants, aliens, interdimensional television producers, and literal demons, this is what worries?

 

[Vael]

I like the costume changes, it's weird when they do everything in the same getup

 

[Helena Real]

I gotta say: after 9 episodes, and some stumbles, this series is everything I hoped for and dream about when it was first announced back in the day. And yeah, I'm your basic bitch queer who's always loved the X-Men because it feels like a story about people like me who happen to be superheroes. And that fantasy is a very powerful one.

The writing this episode was another home run. Special mention to the finger given to the Fox-Men with Cyclops' line to Bishop: "What did you expect? Black leather?"

The old costumes look AMAZING, and the whole thing had me at the edge of my seat the whole way through.

Can't wait to watch the season finale in a couple of days... And then agonize until we get new episodes—if we do,