The X-Men stirred up the conflict by explaining and destroying | web series
Comics have been so wrapped up in an action-packed approach to things for so long that their overarching subtle political messages have lost center stage attention. Now, the simple acknowledgment of gender politics in Bo DeMaio’s highly anticipated creation and revival of the superhero saga with the upcoming X-Men ’97 series, presented under the Marvel Animation banner, has come under fire for clearly charting that route.
Just a day ago, the trailer for X-Men ’97 was released, revealing the first good look at X-Men: The Return of the Animated Series, which ran from 1992 to 1997. Along with the returning intrigue of the mutants, the creators of the Marvel universe also shared with Empire Magazine an exclusive introduction to the returning characters, one of which did not sit well with fans of the universe of superheroes.
Shapeshifter Morph, also recognized as one of Wolverine’s best buds on the team, will be featured as non-binary. The intro also suggests that he has an “interesting friendship with Wolverine,” which fueled some not-so-positive talk among fans. Although awakening was originally associated with active awareness, education, and awareness of societal injustices, racial prejudices, and discrimination, in today’s scenarios, the term is synonymous with abuse. What was once seen as a sign of compassion and social awareness is now dismissed and ridiculed for its extreme “leftist bias”.
In 2017, Stan Lee sent a message to Marvel fans about how this alternate fictional universe “has always been and always will be a reflection of the world outside our window… stories of heroism… have a place for everyone, regardless of who they are. race, sex, religion or skin color. The only thing we have no place for is hatred, intolerance and bigotry.”
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The whole point of the X-Men’s proudly proclaimed motto, “Mutant and Proud,” carries this message of acceptance. In 2000, Lee spoke to the Guardian and expressed his love for the idea that the X-Men movie “was a good metaphor for … the civil rights movement.”
The X-Men characters are generally the proud bearers of this socio-political allegory. Marvel Comics creator Fabian Nicieza confirmed the much-loved Deadpool “Marvel Jesus” persona as pansexual in a 2015 tweet: “He’s not sex and all genders.”
Those who scorn the morph’s identity change to go the Disney “Awakening” route seem to forget that Mystique, one of the leading characters in the X-Men stories, found her queerness represented allegorically through her shapeshifting powers. Despite their treatment of older live-action repertoire, these films were significantly imbued with subtle conversations surrounding Mystique’s gender fluidity.
Married to her husband in a 2012 issue of Astounding X-Men, Northstar was announced as the first openly gay character to appear in a Marvel Comics publication. After that, Iceman also came out as gay in 2015. Along the way, Marvel Comics welcomed the first transgender X-Men hero, Escapade, in 2022. Although these names are only a few that bear the badge of Queerness. Pride, the fandom minority has not yet received this liquid. These fans were called fanatics on social networks.
X-Men Controversy: Fan Reaction on Social Media
Some fans vociferously opposed the “morph non-binary” narrative in the 1990s by rejecting gender politics altogether:
“Introduction of the “message” into the politics of the 90s.
They just can’t stop”
More blunt messages blasted Disney for this: “Disney takes over: Let’s make him gay and lame.” On the same page, others also voiced their concerns about the new series possibly pushing “the relationship between Morph and Wolverine to ‘reawaken’.”
On the other hand, X-Men Updates, a major fan source, has openly taken a stand against the fantasy answers. Acknowledging the X-Men as “symbols of inclusion and diversity,” they argue that people can’t be fans if they don’t understand “little things” about them.
Others took offense and reminded people that most of these stories are about political or social power. “X Men fans are funny and pathetic,” came another reply.
It’s likely that other X-Men stories in the future, including coveted live-action hits like Deadpool and Wolverine, will offer more instances of identity politics to better represent the show. Negasonic Teenage Warhead already appeared as one such character in Deadpool 2 when he announced his girlfriend Yukio to the gang.
The X-Men characters have a long history of being “normal” people for their mutant characteristics, which in turn has led to many violent displays of oppression. Somehow, however, angry fans turned their attention to this watered-down allegory.
