Equality, Progressive Politics, San Francisco ... and the X-Men?

Posted by Isaac Fitzgerald, AlterNet at 6:28 PM on August 6, 2008.

When I was a kid I read a lot of comic books. To be honest, as an adult I probably read more than average. But in all the years that I've been enjoying our modern take on mythology one thing has always bothered me: Why in the hell is it that so many superheroes live in New York City?

Sure you've got Batman and Superman, but everyone knows what city Gotham and Metropolis are actually supposed to be. As long as there have been comics, most caped crusaders have shared the location city of their HQ with the U.N. Building, and (as someone who has never lived in NYC) it's bothered me.

Well no more. Marvel's X-Men are moving out of New York City's suburbs and will now call the Bay Area home. As a proud resident of San Francisco I couldn't be more excited. But Marvel Comics didn't make such a large change to one of their most popular titles just for kicks, it seems equality politics plays a role:

Marvel Comics Executive Editor Axel Alonso says the city will be more than just a backdrop for the comic.

"The X-Men moving to San Francisco isn't just a physical move, it's a spiritual move. I love San Francisco and we want to see it really represented," says the city native during an interview last week at Isotope Comics in Hayes Valley. "Anyone who looks at the X-Men, the analogy is right there: If you're different in any way due to race or sexual orientation or just being nerdy, there's an X-Men character for you. They're about being different and finding strength in that weakened position."

[...]

Perhaps most significant, they seem to appreciate San Francisco's much publicized (and recently criticized) role as a sanctuary city.

"San Francisco is now a mutant sanctuary," X-Men group leader Cyclops proclaims, near the end of Issue 500. "Any of you -- and your family or loved ones -- are invited to join us here, and know safety and protection our kind has never known."

From immigration to sexual orientation San Francisco is a welcoming and inclusive city where many "outsiders" have found a place to call home. It makes sense that the often marginalized and misunderstood team of mutants would decide that SF would be a place where they themselves could fit in.

Of course, some conservatives have taken this move as an affront, but then again some conservatives have always had a problem with the X-Men's message of equal rights:

Parallels between the X-Men and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement have been so strong that some real-life conservative groups have denounced the comics and movies for being pro-gay rights. Here are a few themes from the X-Men comics:

-- The X-Men don't discover their super powers until puberty. They often try to hide their differences until finding others like themselves.

-- The mutants suffered (mostly in 1990s comics) from the Legacy Virus, which wasn't understood at first and killed many mutants before treatment was found.

-- Anti-mutant slurs are frequently heard in the Marvel Universe. ("Mutie" is a common one.)

-- Efforts have been made to "cure" mutants by changing them back into nonpowered humans.

-- One of the biggest struggles for the X-Men is a political: establishing rights for mutants that are equal to humans without powers.

San Francisco is a progressive community, where people can feel safe from persecution and comfortable to be themselves. So while I'm happy that a group of super heroes will find themselves somewhere besides New York, it would seem that the X-Men's move to San Francisco is more about a political message of acceptance.

(All politics aside, I still can't wait to read about Nightcrawler bamfing around the foggy Bay while Wolverine takes a break from fighting crime to gulp down a few al pastor tacos at a taqueria in the Mission district.)

Tagged as: san francisco, glbt issues, equality, x-men, liberal politics