Are the X-Men really Superheroes or are they just stupid?

also is it just me that cringes every time Charles Xavier says "come to me, my X-Men"?

I loved the X-men as a little boy. We had this decoder at the time that showed X-men: The Animated Series and the show was so cool that it only made me think two things:

1. I wish I had superpowers

2. Storm is so cool unlike this mumu girls in my school

   

Since then, I’ve watched a lot of movies based on those original characters from the cartoons: X-men Origins, X-men Days Of Future Past, X-men Apocalypse, The Dark Phoenix, Logan; and even a show called The Gifted. I’ll tell you this for free: THEY WERE ALL SHIT (Fox studios, your reward is in hell).

Recently though, I completed the first season of a cartoon called X-men '97 and it was the most nostalgic thing ever¹. For starters, my taste has NOT evolved past Storm. C’mon look at this dark-chocolate-flavoured-sweet-caramel-spandex-wearing goddess and her pristine white hair.

Sorry, I got a little bit distracted.

Asides, all THAT, I realised the world of the X-men is a lot more complicated than that little boy ever understood. Back then it was clear that the X-men are the good guys and Magneto is the bad guy but rewatching it now as a teenager, I somehow find it hard to see the X-men as superheroes.

Someone is thinking right now, what is a Magneto? How will I understand this post? Don’t worry, I got you covered. Welcome to my inaugural lecture titled:
THE X-MEN FOR DUMMIES.

Loved and revered for it’s simplicity, The X-men For Dummies is tested and trusted to take you from X-men illiterate to geek in a couples of minutes.

Strap on and let’s begin the ride.

PART 1: THE BASICS

In the world the X-men is based off, humans begin giving birth to children with a mutation known as the X-gene. It’s been happening for centuries but as time goes on, the population of people with the X-gene continues to skyrocket (it’s suspected this is due to the introduction of nuclear energy and technologies).

People with the X-gene were known as mutants and at puberty, the X-gene usually activated giving it’s carrier superhuman abilities (it might be worthwhile to mention that a lot of mutants accidentally killed their parents or friends at activation because they didn’t expect it or know how to control their powers).

The existence of mutants was mostly a secret to the general public until World War II when scientists found out about mutants and the Nazi² started hunting them down, but even then most mutants were still in hiding.

At the very heart of the X-men books and films though is the philosophical battle between two mutants: Professor Charles Xavier (also known as Professor X) and Erik Magnus Lehnsherr (also known as Magneto). Former friends, both Professor X and Magneto wanted a better life for mutant-kind where they don’t have to live in hiding anymore and are acknowledged as part of society. Problem is, their ideas of how to reach this goal were completely different.

L-R: Professor X, Magneto

Professor X believed in the possibility of a world where humans and mutants could live together in peace if mutants showed they were people too and not monsters while Magneto believed in a world where humans finally eliminated all mutant-kind or enslaved them due to fear unless mutants took their rightful place as the stronger species.

PART 2 - Professor Charles Xavier: The Man Trying To Shape The World

To achieve his dream of peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants, Professor X went on to create a school for gifted children which was in actuality, a foster home for mutant children.

He used his telepathic powers to find teenage mutants who were in hiding, and convinced their parents that their children were gifted and should be enrolled into his boarding school for gifted children.

Rather than fight bigotry head on, Xavier used the school to teach young mutants how to control their powers and integrate themselves into society. His big brain move was that humanity needed time. If he could show humans that mutants could use their powers for good then they’ll be accepted eventually, so he created the X-Men.

See Storm, she’s just serving looks. Rogue too is a fine girl oh (the girl in the middle)

The X-Men was a team of mutant superheroes created by Xavier who used their powers to pretty much protect humans from mutants and protect mutants from humans.

PART 3 - Erik Magnus Lehnsherr: The Man Shaped By The World

Before he became Magneto, Erik Magnus was just a Jewish child when the Nazi came to his home, killed all his people, killed his parents in front of him then threw him into a pit with all the dead bodies leaving him for dead.

Magnus had to survive by crawling his way up the lifeless bodies of his own people. The first time Magnus activated his powers to control electromagnetic fields, his wife left him in fear and disgust.

His experiences didn’t afford him seeing the world from the optimistic standpoint that Xavier saw it from.

Magneto believed he saw the world for what it truly was, a rat race of survival. Mutants begging for human tolerance was equivalent to them begging for extinction. While they kept putting themselves at the mercy of a weaker species, humans would keep killing them in their numbers.

So Magneto sets out on his own path for a better future for mutants which pretty much involves toppling governments, terrorism and genocide.

PART 4 - Humans: The Species Fighting To Stay Relevant

Can we really blame the humans either? They are clearly being left behind by the future. Superior beings have emerged and wouldn’t it be a little delusional to think they are safe or that they wouldn’t be replaced?
I think humans as a collective are just like Magneto. In the world as they know it, the strong oppress the weak so they refuse to let themselves be the weaker ones.

They build Sentinels, robots that hunt and eliminate mutants. They build tech capable of taking away mutants powers.

Mutants might be individually more powerful but they are still a minority group so the way forward is clear. Subdue them or be subdued.

PART 5 - The X-MEN: Superheroes?

Now guess who is stuck in the middle of all these conflicts. The X-Men.

The X-Men become the official protectors of their own oppression system, repeatedly saving humanity from Magneto.

They do this while also repeatedly saving mutants from visionary human villains who are dedicated to ending mutant-kind.

The X-Men keep quenching fires on both sides of the conflict, waiting for another fire to inevitably light up, then quench that one, then do it all over again until the end of time because they Professor X’s dream for peace has no practical plans. Not to mention, these fires amass casualties before they are quenched.

So for example, asides the normal discrimination and bigotry that mutants face from the general public, a group of humans would come up with a plan to eliminate/enslave all mutants. The X-Men would put an end to the plan but not before it ends up killing a couple hundred mutants which would then piss Magneto off that humans killed mutants, he’ll set out of a journey to destroy all humanity, his plan would kill a couple people, then the X-Men would stop Magneto before his plan is completely executed but now the humans are pissed again because Magneto killed humans and hence Magneto and all mutants and monsters and they got to go and we’re back at the beginning.

PART 6 - FINAL REMARKS

I think the mutant-human conflict is really complicated.

On one hand there’s Magneto which I think a lot of people can relate to.

Magneto reminds me of the 'I never want to get married' boy who had a front row seat to the ugliness of his parents marriage. Now all he sees is the ugliness of marriage.

Magneto reminds me of the 'You can never make me like men' girl who grew up with an awful father then went into the world with hopes that maybe it was just her dad that was awful, but it wasn’t. Now all she can see is the awfulness in men.

Magneto reminds me of the pessimist who thinks optimism is a lot of times, unrealistic delusion sprinkled with choosing to ignore the obvious. What makes them think this time will be any different? How does it make any sense to put yourself in the same situation that has once caused you pain hoping for a different result.

You know who Professor X reminds me of though? Jesus and his teachings. Doing good even when you’re repaid with evil. The difference is unlike the Professor, Jesus never taught that people would eventually be good to you if you’re good to them.

There is no doubt that Professor X and his X-Men are on the moral high ground but is their vision for peaceful coexistence unrealistic and naïve or am I just a Magneto?

The X-Men subtly touching so many intense themes in A KIDS SHOW is really nothing short of art.

To Lotoni in 2014 it was all about people in suits saving the world and stopping bad guys but to Lotoni in 2024 it’s about the conflict rooted in fear and hatred between two groups of people who are just different and how that conflict seems to only end when one group rules over or exterminates the other.

How would you end the mutant-human conflict though?

1. Fun fact, X-men '97 is a direct continuation of the original X-men animated series I used to watch that got cancelled 27 years ago. They kept the original animation style so it’s like old school, they kept the theme song, everything was just perfect. Sometimes old is truly better.

2. I feel like at this point Adolf Hitler would be in hell complaining like “C'mon now, just leave my name out of this one” because every year, multiple movies based on the World War come out to remind everyone that the Nazis were the bad people.

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If you didn’t know much about the X-Men and now you do, you’re welcome.

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