X-Men Politics and Philosophies

[HarleenQuinnzel]

X-Men comics spark discussions about political issues, philosophies behind political approaches, and the flaws and advantages of political institutions. Lets have those discussions here!

Ethnic Nationalism
I'm reading Magneto Testament, and it gives insight into how the persecuted can become the persecutor by describing how Magneto was persecuted in Nazi Germany as a child. In the comic he learns, "The nail that sticks up gets hammered down." Although gifted, he is persecuted because of his Jewish genes. Later he is persecuted because of his mutant genes. This metaphor of the nail and the hammer shapes Magneto's political perspective. He believes that since those who stand out---mutants---will be hammered down by the less extraordinary for being extraordinary, mutants must "strike" first.

Magneto probably views himself as different from Hitler, but he shares the same ethnic nationalism philosophy. Hitler struck the Jews and other minorities because he saw them as a cultural, economic, and societal threat to the perfect nation. Magneto struck normal humans because he saw them as a threat to his perfect nation. Hitler thought he was helping the "superior race" just as Magneto believes he is helping the more highly evolved and superior mutants.

Check out Wolverine and the X-Men episode "Greetings from Genosha" for exposure to Magneto's "nail and hammer" philosophy of a free world. (Its the best X-Men on-screen creation ever, or at least the most well done in my opinion, and the second season was canceled! We have to fight for the project to be resurrected!)

Anywho, let me know what you think about whatever you want concerning politics in X-Men! I'm excited to hear what your have to say!

 

[bored]

I know what you're trying to say, but one cannot have "Jewish genes". It's a religion, not a race.

Other than that, you've pretty much gotten to the heart of the philosophical conundrum that has always made Magneto one of the more compelling characters in comicdon.

 

[HarleenQuinnzel]

Right. Its Hebrew My boyfriend and I were talking the other day about differences between Hitler and Magneto. We found two interesting differences. First, Magneto's past was way more trauma filled than Hitler, so his aggression towards those he fears is much more understandable. Second, Magneto is actually part of a group of people that could be called superior. They are superheroes right? What do you think?

Also, Magneto Testament includes a campaign led by comic artists to write and request that an artist named Dina Babbit get back paintings she was forced to do of tortured Jews and Nazi officer families in Auschwitz. A museum in Poland won't let her have them back because they say she was commissioned to do them. Really, she was not commissioned, but forced to paint Jews being experimented on or she would have been killed. She is now 85 years old. Here is the e-mail given in the comic in case you're interested in joining the campaign to help Dina: [email protected]

 

[bored]

"Hebrew" isn't a race, either

 

[HarleenQuinnzel]

Look it up in an encyclopedia. Jewish is both an ethnicity and a religion, but some people do not like to interchange the word because you can be Jewish and not religious. So I say Hebrew, which was what the Jews originally called themselves.

 

[HarleenQuinnzel]

Unless you have something to say on topic, take your "bored" self to another thread.

 

[bored]

Keep the attitude in check, HQ. If you want to have an in-depth conversation about a popular character's philosophy, details like that are significant (btw, I am Jewish).

Now, on topic, Magneto was basically created to be the Malcolm X to Professor Xavier's MLK. His philosophy was born of trauma and bitterness. Like I said before, he's one of the most interesting characters in the medium because of that background. It's why it's so believable when he switches between "good" and "bad" so often, or when the Beyonder interpreted him as a hero when picking the sides during the Secret Wars.

 

[venom892]

This what makes Magnet fascinating.The interesting also is in some cases unlike Hitler Magneto is right about certain people like Senator Robert Kelly.

 

[Cosmic Humor]

Magneto is truly one of the most interesting villains out there. He's a genuinely layered villain you don't see in any medium much, let alone comics.

The disturbing thing is that it leads to people reading the comics and deciding that he's actually a misunderstood hero despite, y'know, attempting genocide.

 

[kguillou]

I wouldnt say he's a "hero" but i would say he's misunderstood. I mean Magneto's done some bad bad things but he's not by any means evil like Doom or Red Skull or Thanos. Mags has a lot of redeeming qualities about him such as his compassion for mutantkind and despite his clashes with Xavier, he still loves him like brother. This makes him a very layered, complex character unlike most of marvel's other antagonists.

Then again, sometimes it depends who's writing him cause Grant Morrison tried to portray him a sociopathic, evil, supervillain. I wasnt really too gung ho about that interpretation, i prefer it when Mags is a guy who does extreme things...but you could still sorta get behind why he's doing it.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Magneto's a power-monger. That's what makes him a villain. He doesn't just want to save mutantkind, he wants to save it on his own terms and install himself as its absolute leader.

He's a lot like Lex Luthor in that regard. Lex genuinely believes humankind is capable of great things and has a magnificent destiny in store... if they would just quit relying on that goody-two-shoes Kryptonian and start relying on him. And ironically, while he believes in this great potential for humankind as a whole, he tends to treat most individual humans as vermin who aren't even fit to touch him.

They're both megalomaniacs. Idealistic megalomaniacs, but megalomaniacs nonetheless. Hell, throw Doom in there, too. He genuinely loves Latveria and her people, he just loves them on his own terms, where they must all be kept uneducated so they're entirely reliant on him and none of them can challenge him.

 

[kguillou]

Eh..."love" is a strong word. Doom "loves" Latveria the same way Darkseid "loves" the people of Apokolips. Doom would slaughter his own people for breakfast if he was in the mood for it. I think Magneto's got much more compassion for his people than Doom does his. Yes, Mags does want to lead them but he's gone through a lot of evolution since the Chris Claremont days. I think if the moment called for it, he would sacrifice himself for mutantkind if he had. Doom on the other hand, theres no way in hell he'd do that.

But yes, he's still a megalomaniac to a degree and his "compassion" doesnt excuse the horrible things he's done but i like the fact that he's changing and slowly recognizing Charle's dream.....even if Matt Fraction's prolly gona turn him evil again.

 

[HarleenQuinnzel]

Here's an interesting link I found dedicated to breaking down Magneto, what he represents, and his philosophies.

http://www.magnetowasright.com/

I found an interesting quote there of Magneto talking to Xavier:

"You are far too trusting Charles. Too niave. You have faith in the essential goodness of man. In time you will learn what I have learned. That even those you love will turn from you in horror when they discover what you truly are. Mutants will not go meekly to the gas chambers. We will fight. And we will win.[FONT=&quot]”[/FONT]
~Uncanny X-Men #161


I think whether Magneto is a hero or not is a matter of perspective. Some mutants view him as a hero just the way some blacks viewed Malcom X as a hero. Malcom X, like Magneto, wanted to separate blacks and whites and encouraged blacks to use weapons to defend themselves against whites. Magneto tries to create a separate land for mutants and encourages mutants to retaliate against non-mutants using their powers as weapons.



Magneto never left survivor mode since he left the prison camps. He does not "have faith in the essential goodness of man." He believes men are like Darwinian beasts, killing lest they be killed.



In his mutant power, he found the strength to not only help himself but "his people". He uses his power to ensure the survival of his people. He saw how Hitler used fear to manipulate Germans to eliminate Jews. Knowing history repeats itself, he believed non-mutants in power would do the same thing. He developed a preemptive defense mentality. Can he really be called a villain when his own mind tells him he must destroy or be destroyed? Why isn't he a hero when he is fighting for the survival of others?



I do think that Magneto loves mutants in a way, but not the same way Xavier loves the X-Men. I think he loves them because they are an extension of his identity. Hitler did not love Germans. He propagated the idea of pride in Aryan blood line as a way to gain supreme power. Magneto propagates the idea of pride in mutant genes for a reason more similar to Malcom X than Hitler. He saw them as a minority that would be overrun unless they embraced their unique identity. Magneto also views mutants as a progression of evolution---a natural progression into a more perfect state of being---and in the comics that's what mutants truly are.

 

[Harlekin]

Now, on topic, Magneto was basically created to be the Malcolm X to Professor Xavier's MLK.

That is an interpretation tacked on in hindsight, but when Stan Lee created him, he most certainly did not see him as the X to Xavier's MLK. He was a straight-up supervillain. Heck, Xavier's wasn't very MLK either.

 

[HarleenQuinnzel]

Yeah. I don't think he was meant to be him either. But the similarities are interesting. X-Men first class is going to take place in the 1960s so I'm guessing that's the interpretation of the character they'll take. But I don't want to spoil the movie by reading the plot synopsis on imdb so I can't be sure...