[ SECRET POST #2755 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2755 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 04 pages, 094 secrets from Secret Submission Post #394.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[darkmanifest]

This is how I've always felt. I loathe fictional metaphors that use magical people who can flatten a city by blinking really hard as stand-ins for real-world minorities. Sure, there are some mutants who have mutations as unimpressive as skin color or sexual preference, but those aren't the mutants at the forefront of most of the X-Men franchise, especially in the movies.

[(Anonymous)]

AYART

Thanks for this!

From the reactions I'm getting for daring to say that I dislike the metaphor you'd think I'd proposed murdering all the mutants in the franchise, rather than simply saying tat the metaphor is broken and I dislike it. (And I actually, literally did get accused of that further down thread.)

My one consolation is that I originally opted not to respond while logged in. Finding most of these replies in my in box would've irritated me.

[darkmanifest]

Yeah, I saw that comment, it was priceless. I honestly don't get where this level of defensiveness is coming from. X-Men has its better moments, especially with the few appearances by powerless mutants like the Morlocks, but mostly its metaphor is hilariously weak, like every other story that gives minorities dangerous powers.

[hiyami]

The ones we see at the forefront are the ones who have the power to fight back and stand in for their fellow mutants. And there are only a handful of mutants who are as powerful as you describe. Most aren't more dangerous than someone with a gun or a car in their hands.

It's pretty simple narration requirement...

Also, X-Men and New Mutants usually tried to have mutants around whose powers were not destructive, like Cypher. Or the kid with the snake tongue, in the movie. They were few because in combat they'd get killed right away, so most of them didn't last long in the team, but they were there.
Some were even team members, like Warpath.

Also as someone pointed out, Morlocks. For all we know, most of them are too difformed to "pass" for humans, and also their powers are often useless in fights. Caliban's power is to detect mutants.

[darkmanifest]

There may be only a few mutants with that level of power, but there aren't any real-world minorities whatsoever with the power of a gun or car that can't be separated from their physical body. That's where the metaphor breaks down; there's no percentage, small or otherwise, of gay or black people who can move things with their minds.

I know about the mutants without powers or harmless ones, but having them in the background or on the side of most of the franchise is just throwing the metaphor a bone. The trade for all the action and excitement of the X-Men is a severely weakened message. That's okay, I don't seek out a fun adventure comic for reality, but then I shouldn't be expected to equate its issues with reality. The kid with the blue tongue and all those like him are just shoehorned in there as an afterthought following the massively destructive fighting between the powerful mutants are over, to remind us "Hey, we have a deep metaphor going on here, remember?! Pay no mind to the guy with the claws for a couple of seconds."