Assistant Editor's Comic Book Questions Thread

Professor Snugglesworth · March 2011

Yeah, that always bugged the crap out of me too. What's to stop people from accusing Thor and The Wasp from being mutants? Heck, isn't Captain America, the most beloved of Earth's heroes, technically a mutation of some sort? Even so, what's to stop a random tabloid asking that very question?

CJG · March 2011

The other groups could have better PR.

I figure everyone would want to be a mutant so they can have "cool powers" and be "special". The whole hatred of mutants thing doesn't wash with other heroes being adored and there's really no difference. It's a mighty fine hair to split that Captain America got a dose of chemicals while a mutant was just born that way and Cap's cool, while the other one is a "stinking mutie".

Has the whole analogy of mutant as persecuted minority outlived it's believability?

Antimatter · March 2011

Try to understand it from the point of view of John Q. Public: The other heroes were random accidents. It could happen to anyone, but you've no need of worrying about every person getting into a random accident and getting these abilities. They're special, but they're so few.

Mutants are here to REPLACE YOU. They've got amazing superpowers, there's more and more of them everyday, and some day there won't be a normal human left... and some of them want to accelerate the process.

You really don't think that'd be disconcerting from the point of view of someone living in this world?

TeaSpoon · March 2011

That makes no sense, though. Sure, I would be afraid of mutant terrorists and teenagers with the power to destroy continents, but I wouldn't be afraid of mutants replacing us. It's like being afraid our children will replace us. Yes, it's going to happen, but they're our children.

If mutants did exist, I would be worried if my kid wasn't a mutant and was being left behind in the evolutionary arms race. I would expose him or her to so much radiation. So much.

spookymuffin · March 2011

The main play on mutants has always been that they have these strange powers and they can possibly use them to harm you or your way of life. The first X-Men movie had the senator saying something along the lines of a little girl being able to walk through walls, so what stops her from walking into a bank, or even your own home? But if a freak accident happened to create this "hero" that did the same thing, why is the mutant to be hated?

I'd love to see an X-Men centered event where the public changes and accepts the X-Men as heroes, so we can finally get away from this.

Solar · March 2011

Also the early Avengers got away with it more because they were lead by Captain America

Who gets a free ride because he is Captain America

The Fantastic Four purposefully turn themselves into a media attraction to avoid persecution

but apart from that super-heroes are hardly trusted and loved. Spider-Man, Hulk, the X-Men, Daredevil etc, they are all seen as dangerous by the public.

spookymuffin · March 2011

SHIELD is a prime example of superhumans being accepted by society, being a government funded agency. So if you have SHIELD agents that can do things like create earthquakes and read minds, why is it such a scary thing to have mutants that do the same things?

Robos A Go Go · March 2011

spookymuffin wrote: »

SHIELD is a prime example of superhumans being accepted by society, being a government funded agency. So if you have SHIELD agents that can do things like create earthquakes and read minds, why is it such a scary thing to have mutants that do the same things?

Has there ever been a story about public perception of SHIELD? I imagine that, if people knew the full extent of their operations and capabilities, they'd be even more terrified.

Warrant-less wiretapping has nothing on telepathic spies.

Munch · March 2011

TeaSpoon wrote: »

That makes no sense, though. Sure, I would be afraid of mutant terrorists and teenagers with the power to destroy continents, but I wouldn't be afraid of mutants replacing us. It's like being afraid our children will replace us. Yes, it's going to happen, but they're our children.

If mutants did exist, I would be worried if my kid wasn't a mutant and was being left behind in the evolutionary arms race. I would expose him or her to so much radiation. So much.

Think about it like this: All those people yelling about how soon, there will be more blacks/hispanics than whites in America? Or who cry over how "the gay agenda" will brainwash their children?

Those are the kinds of people who hate mutants, in the Marvel U. Those that fear their way of life being taken away, and replaced with something that's alien to them. There are probably a ton of people who don't care/are accepting of mutants, but those people don't make for an interesting story.

Antimatter · March 2011

thank you, Munch

Furu · March 2011

Munch wrote: »

TeaSpoon wrote: »

That makes no sense, though. Sure, I would be afraid of mutant terrorists and teenagers with the power to destroy continents, but I wouldn't be afraid of mutants replacing us. It's like being afraid our children will replace us. Yes, it's going to happen, but they're our children.

If mutants did exist, I would be worried if my kid wasn't a mutant and was being left behind in the evolutionary arms race. I would expose him or her to so much radiation. So much.

Think about it like this: All those people yelling about how soon, there will be more blacks/hispanics than whites in America? Or who cry over how "the gay agenda" will brainwash their children?

Those are the kinds of people who hate mutants, in the Marvel U. Those that fear their way of life being taken away, and replaced with something that's alien to them. There are probably a ton of people who don't care/are accepting of mutants, but those people don't make for an interesting story.

I'm glad you posted this so I didn't have to.

Another thing to keep in mind that there are maybe, what, a hundred active superhumans at any given time tops? Compare this to the pre-House of M mutant population, which was several million. Until New X-Men mutants replacing humanity wasn't just an irrational fear, it was an eventuality.

Professor Snugglesworth · March 2011

My earlier question still stands: has there ever been an Avengers story where they utilize Sentinels to take out hostile mutants, or other supervillains? Those killing machines have to be just as useful against regular, non-mutant threats, right?

Magna Inferno · March 2011

Professor Snugglesworth wrote: »

My earlier question still stands: has there ever been an Avengers story where they utilize Sentinels to take out hostile mutants, or other supervillains? Those killing machines have to be just as useful against regular, non-mutant threats, right?

Pretty sure The Avengers have almost always "frowned" on sentinels, since they are usually buddy / buddy with the x-men. If there ever was a time for something like that to happen, it should have been during Dark Reign.

Fencingsax · March 2011

Magna Inferno wrote: »

Professor Snugglesworth wrote: »

My earlier question still stands: has there ever been an Avengers story where they utilize Sentinels to take out hostile mutants, or other supervillains? Those killing machines have to be just as useful against regular, non-mutant threats, right?

Pretty sure The Avengers have almost always "frowned" on sentinels, since they are usually buddy / buddy with the x-men. If there ever was a time for something like that to happen, it should have been during Dark Reign.

Not enough to actually, say, try to do anything about them, but they strongly disapproved.

Hensler · March 2011

Professor Snugglesworth wrote: »

My earlier question still stands: has there ever been an Avengers story where they utilize Sentinels to take out hostile mutants, or other supervillains? Those killing machines have to be just as useful against regular, non-mutant threats, right?

Closest thing I can think of was when War Machine got put in charge of the Sentinel program and was assigned to "protect" the X-mansion.

Fencingsax · March 2011

Hensler wrote: »

Professor Snugglesworth wrote: »

My earlier question still stands: has there ever been an Avengers story where they utilize Sentinels to take out hostile mutants, or other supervillains? Those killing machines have to be just as useful against regular, non-mutant threats, right?

Closest thing I can think of was when War Machine got put in charge of the Sentinel program and was assigned to "protect" the X-mansion.

And then the Sentinels destroyed the mansion about as many times as they did when they were bad guys.

That is the reason why Iron Man can't get anything done. He has great ideas, but all of the people Iron Man relies on are either incompetent, traitors, or both.

Professor Snugglesworth · March 2011

You'd think Tony would do all the mutants a solid and buy all rights to the Sentinel program just so he can turn it into vaporware.

The Lovely Bastard · March 2011

hey

hey

you do not call rhodey incompetent

Furu · March 2011

Yeah the O.N.E. Sentinel squadron was hilariously incompetent at their jobs to the point of being a running gag in Yost/Kyle's New X-Men run.

Ringo · March 2011

Robos A Go Go wrote: »

spookymuffin wrote: »

SHIELD is a prime example of superhumans being accepted by society, being a government funded agency. So if you have SHIELD agents that can do things like create earthquakes and read minds, why is it such a scary thing to have mutants that do the same things?

Has there ever been a story about public perception of SHIELD? I imagine that, if people knew the full extent of their operations and capabilities, they'd be even more terrified.

Warrant-less wiretapping has nothing on telepathic spies.

Think of how many movies we have where the NSA, CIA, or any other slightly shadowy government organization is the villian. Mercury Rising and Enemy of the State just off the top of my head. The Good Shepherd for one that at least draws (loosely) from actual events. We have government agencies that are protrayed in the common media narrative as at best 'probably evil', and it's not like there's some massive outcry to persecute CIA agents. Most people just would rather not think about it.

I'd assume SHIELD fits into this mold very nicely in the Marvel Universe.

Penny Arcade

Assistant Editor's Comic Book Questions Thread

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