With the release of X-Men ‘97 right around the corner and Deadpool & Wolverine exploring the Fox X-Men universe one more time, the X-Men have been on fans’ minds a lot lately. The discussions about the Marvel Comics superhero team and the details known about the return of the animated series has sparked somewhat of a controversy on social media. Certain individuals are complaining that the upcoming animated series is being made to make the X-Men too progressive, or “woke” as they like to call it.

This is such an odd complaint because the X-Men have always been progressive. They’ve always had a focus on important political topics and progressive ideas. That’s kind of the whole point of them and why they were created for comics in the first place; they’re meant to represent marginalized communities who receive harassment just for existing. 

The quest for mutant rights in the comic books, cartoons, movies, and other X-Men media mirrors the real-life civil rights movement, often using Charles Xavier as a stand-in for Martin Luther King Jr. and Magneto as a reflection of Malcolm X.

There have also been plenty of queer subtext throughout the history of the X-Men. This is seen with the relationship between Mystique and Destiny, the implication that Northstar was gay before it was ever officially confirmed, and the Legacy Virus being used as an allegory for the AIDS epidemic. All of these have been featured in story arcs dating back decades ago.

X-Men has always touched on important ethical questions. Should mutants hide their powers to blend in with society or “come out” and tell the world that they’re mutants? This is an obvious metaphor for people coming out as anything other than straight. They’re seen as something that’s “not normal” according to a society set on making the world dangerous for them, and it takes great courage to announce their truth. Other important ethical questions asked in X-Men media have included “should harm come to people who do bad things or should there be an attempt to educate them?” 

Much of X-Men: The Last Stand has mutants consider taking a cure for their mutant abilities, which can be seen in multiple lights. It could be seen as a message of conformity, but it’s also heavily looked at as one touching on abortion rights and bodily autonomy. Just about every piece of X-Men media, whether it be the classic comics, the live action movies, the anime, the manga, or something else entirely, features some sort of progressive message or theme. I have plenty of other things to do so I won’t cover each and every one of them here, but you get the idea.

It only makes sense for the IP to continue to cover important progressive topics. If anything, it would feel out of place for them to stop doing so now. All this complaining that the X-Men are suddenly progressive just goes to show you just how important media literacy is.

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