Summary
- Marvel’s dark reimagining of the X-Men as a government task force reflects public fear and prejudice toward mutants in the Marvel Universe.
- “The X-Men” portrays the mutants as imprisoned criminals who are forced to serve their sentences by carrying out dangerous missions.
- The alternate reality comic “Marvel Comics X-Men #1” shows a cynical and violent version of the X-Men and questions the idea of mutants as superheroes.
The darkest version of the X-Men came in the summer of 2000, when Marvel’s mutant team was transformed into a government task force in the style of the Suicide Squad. This alternate portrayal of the X-Team was one of the most cynical and violent versions of the heroes, but also provides some sly commentary on how the Marvel Universe views mutants as a whole.
Marvel Comics X-Men #1 by Mark Millar, Sean Phillips, Duncan Fegredo, Kevin Somers, Tory Peteri, and Richard Starkings is part of one of Marvel’s strangest publishing initiatives. Supposedly, it’s comics published in the actual Marvel Universe. Marvel Comics The title shows what the average person really thinks about the superheroes that roam around in their world.
The public perception of the X-Men is characterized by fear and misunderstanding, because the team is seen as a strike team assembled at the behest of Weapon X and its leader Colonel America. Each member is an imprisoned mutant terrorist serving his sentence by completing impossible missions against his own kind.
Codename: X-Men is Marvel’s answer to the Suicide Squad
Marvel Comics X-Men #1 by Mark Millar, Sean Phillips, Duncan Fegredo, Kevin Somers, Tory Peteri and Richard Starkings
Titled “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” this alternate continuity team consists of Cyclops, Wolverine, Iceman, Deathbird, Mastermind, and the Goblin Queen version of Jean Grey. Each member is based on the public perception of them in the Marvel Universe, so while some details are known, many have been significantly altered. The inclusion of the villainous Mastermind is the most obvious example, but certain details of the other characters have been changed. Instead of firing concussive energy blasts, Cyclops is depicted with a Medusa-like “petrifying vision” that allows him to turn his opponents into stone.
Curiously, Doctor Strange is also portrayed as a mutant, a master villain on the level of Magneto, who commands a dangerous army in the Savage Land. The mysterious Colonel America gives the X-Men their mission in the opening scene to retrieve a nuclear weapon designed by Tony Stark that accidentally fell into the hands of Strange, who plans to use it against humanity. As expected, Several members of The X-Men die during the mission, including Wolverine, who sacrifices himself to prevent the bomb from falling.
Wolverine sacrifices himself for humanity in Codename: X-Men
The portrayal of the X-Men as dangerous mutated criminals who are barely controlled by the government is in keeping with the overall theme of bigotry and fear experienced by mutants in the Marvel Universe. The fact that the team has been portrayed as such in comics published in the Marvel Universe shows the deep paranoia that the general public has towards the X-Men and mutants as a whole. The fact that ordinary citizens X-Men as a school for mutants, but as a Suicide Squad-like task force says a lot about their status as superheroes in the public eye.
X-Men
The X-Men series, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, focuses on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they fight against discrimination and evil mutants that threaten humanity. The series explores themes such as diversity and acceptance through a mix of action, drama and complex characters and spans comics, animated series and blockbuster films.
