X-Men is one of Marvel's flagship titles, and while I'm a fan, I can't help but notice that, once you give it some thought, the ideas presented don't make a whole lot of sense.
1. The Metaphor Falls Apart
From the get go, the X-Men were supposed to act as an allegory for oppressed minorities, African Americans and gays specifically. It preaches a message of tolerance and acceptance for those who may be different from you.
It's a nice message and all, but the parallel doesn't really work. Being a mutant isn't as simple as skin color or sexual orientation. Unlike those birth traits, mutant abilities do pose a threat.
As I mention, Cyclops can level a building by looking at it, Magneto can manipulate the magnetic field of the entire planet, and Professor X is a telepath who can not only read thoughts, but control them as well.
Xavier's plan to teach mutants to control their powers and use them responsibly is great, but the idea that humanity's fear is based solely on their own prejudicial nature is just goofy.
It's even worse because nobody calls them on this. At face value, Senator Kelly has a point, but the writers go so far to turn him into a straw politician that any ambiguity is lost.
It would be interesting to explore those elements because while the comic may have been created to act as a morality play about bigotry, there's far more at play here than simple short-sightedness on mankind's part.
2. Some Superpowers are OK and Others Aren't?
The Marvel Universe is populated with meta-humans who are granted powers that normal people can only dream of. As part of the allegory, it's said that humans hate and fear mutants. Sometimes, it's because of their appearance, while other times it's the powers themselves that instill fear.
This idea is undercut when you have characters like the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and Captain America running around. They have similar powers, but they are loved by the patrons of New York, while the X-Men are jeered.
Because of this disparity, Marvel tries to keep the two separate, but they do intersect and it still stands as a very bizarre issue in terms of story.
3. Cyclops' Power
The idea of shooting beams from your eyes is a simple one. Unlike most characters with this ability, Cyclops has no control over the beams and they fire whenever his eyes are open. The only way to stop it is through ruby quartz in his visor and a pair of custom made sunglasses for day to day wear.
How they figured that out is baffling enough, but the real kicker is that the only other way for Scott to stop the beams from firing is to close his eyes.
These beams have been shown to be quite powerful. He can level a building with no trouble. While they make a point to say that the beams are "concussive" as opposed to heat or laser based, I still find it hard to believe that such power is held back by his eyelids. It can tear through brick like a hot knife through butter, but a thin layer of skin is more than enough to contain it? Sorry, I call shenanigans.
4. No More Mutants
When the "House of M" event ended, the Scarlet Witch rewrote reality declaring that there shouldn't be any more mutants. While this did, in fact, rob several mutants of their powers, there were still a couple hundred who kept theirs...How? She said "no more mutants" not "only a couple of hundred mutants". Shouldn't they have all lost their powers? You could argue that it would mean the end of the series, but why bring it up in the first place if you're just going to ignore it completely?
5. Sentinels
The Government doesn't have the money for this. Even if they did, this is not a feasible use of tax dollars and no one would actually sign off on this sort of program.
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