I utterly hate the jerkification of Prof X

[AHRNIHAL]

Well, he's a straight, white, old, rich guy. So you know... evil [sarcasm from a black man].

As for the protocols... that's just being careful. Yes, mutants are people and deserve to be treated as such. He's also para-military training them. If one or more them goes bad or are manipulated, they can deal some serious damage to everyone around them before they could be taken down by conventional means. Batman did the same thing and came under similar scrutiny. Better safe than sorry, I say.

Obviously he can do those but by doing those he lost his "saint" personal.

[ExodusCloak]

Hate to break it to you but Xavier has always been a horrible *******.

"He has the cruelty of a supervillain" Chris Claremont (1979)

"I thought he was cruel" Cyclops I believe New X-Men 138 if that's the issue right after the DPS

There's a great story in MCP 6 parts addressing Xavier mind wiping Beast from his friends and family. Xavier was very cruel and cold and calculating

If your only material is TAS then it's easy to see why people would think that but TAS covered a few years then came Onslaught.

You'd be hard pressed to find any year with him not being an *******

This is just a way of sidelining him or giving him a different role. If he was back to being nice he'd be team leader

[ExodusCloak]

He's a complete *******

"Yes. To me his character has a degree of cold dispassionate ruthelessness that is the equal of any super-villain" - Chris Claremont on Xavier. Citation below

[ExodusCloak]

Uncanny X-Men 149



Uncanny X-Men 138 - Cyclops recap.

[FUBAR007]

Not really sure why Marvel had to make a jerk of him (other than to justify Vulcan's or Danger's Mustache-Twirling), but it poisoned the roots of one of their Great Franchises.

Part of it's a shift in English-speaking culture since the 60s and again since the 80s. Silver Age Xavier's behavior was largely in line with what was acceptable at the time for a "stern authority figure." Now, he's considered a manipulative, abusive white patriarch. Starting in the late 70s, but primarily in the 80s, Claremont softened him into the well-meaning, but pragmatic father-mentor that carried over into the cartoons and movies. Under today's norms, that's viewed as just another form of white male patriarchy, albeit of the condescending rather than abusive type. Today's liberalism operates from a more anarchic sensibility--i.e. the very concept of authority is inherently hypocritical and unjust--and views minority rights, of which the X-Men mythos is a metaphor, through the lens of intersectionality, not MLK-style integrationism and universal humanism. So, Xavier's dream comes off to many, including a lot of the last 15 years of X-Men writers, as both obsolete and reactionary. At best, well-intentioned, but wrongheaded.

Another part of it is the relentless use of deconstruction and cynicism as a mode in superhero storytelling. To go where Whedon, Brubaker, et al wanted, Xavier HAD to be revealed as a villain or their story visions wouldn't work. In order for Scott and Emma to become the leaders of all mutantkind and do so in their own right, Xavier had to be torn down. They couldn't just inherit "the crown" from him because then they would've just been his students carrying out his work. For their leadership to be truly theirs, it had to be made unique to them, and so Xavier had to be made morally lesser to them and subordinate to them.

The problem with all of this, though, is that if Xavier's a bad guy--a slaver, a mind-raper, etc., the X-Men's continued existence makes no sense in-universe. Why would anyone follow this guy? Why would his former students continue to staff and support institutions (i.e. the school, the X-Men, etc.) he created? Why would they continue to affiliate themselves with such a person? Making Xavier a villain and evil hypocrite breaks the franchise at a foundational level.

I agree with your position. I prefer Xavier as the kindly, but worldly father-mentor, leader, and crusader for mutant rights. IMO, he has to be some form of that for the X-Men franchise to make any sense. But, I'm a relic. I still believe in MLK-style integrationism, tolerance, and universal human rights. That is very much out of fashion today.

For Xavier to resonate with contemporary audiences in the way he's supposed to, he'd have to be rebooted as a member of one or more real world minorities. He can't be a rich, educated, straight white guy. (Yes, he's typically portrayed as physically disabled, but to many people his whiteness outweighs that.) Marvel would need to reinvent him as a black man, or as a gay man, or as a minority woman, etc.

[PsychoEFrost]

Part of it's a shift in English-speaking culture since the 60s and again since the 80s. Silver Age Xavier's behavior was largely in line with what was acceptable at the time for a "stern authority figure." Now, he's considered a manipulative, abusive white patriarch. Starting in the late 70s, but primarily in the 80s, Claremont softened him into the well-meaning, but pragmatic father-mentor that carried over into the cartoons and movies. Under today's norms, that's viewed as just another form of white male patriarchy, albeit of the condescending rather than abusive type. Today's liberalism operates from a more anarchic sensibility--i.e. the very concept of authority is inherently hypocritical and unjust--and views minority rights, of which the X-Men mythos is a metaphor, through the lens of intersectionality, not MLK-style integrationism and universal humanism. So, Xavier's dream comes off to many, including a lot of the last 15 years of X-Men writers, as both obsolete and reactionary. At best, well-intentioned, but wrongheaded.

Another part of it is the relentless use of deconstruction and cynicism as a mode in superhero storytelling. To go where Whedon, Brubaker, et al wanted, Xavier HAD to be revealed as a villain or their story visions wouldn't work. In order for Scott and Emma to become the leaders of all mutantkind and do so in their own right, Xavier had to be torn down. They couldn't just inherit "the crown" from him because then they would've just been his students carrying out his work. For their leadership to be truly theirs, it had to be made unique to them, and so Xavier had to be made morally lesser to them and subordinate to them.

The problem with all of this, though, is that if Xavier's a bad guy--a slaver, a mind-raper, etc., the X-Men's continued existence makes no sense in-universe. Why would anyone follow this guy? Why would his former students continue to staff and support institutions (i.e. the school, the X-Men, etc.) he created? Why would they continue to affiliate themselves with such a person? Making Xavier a villain and evil hypocrite breaks the franchise at a foundational level.

I agree with your position. I prefer Xavier as the kindly, but worldly father-mentor, leader, and crusader for mutant rights. IMO, he has to be some form of that for the X-Men franchise to make any sense. But, I'm a relic. I still believe in MLK-style integrationism, tolerance, and universal human rights. That is very much out of fashion today.

For Xavier to resonate with contemporary audiences in the way he's supposed to, he'd have to be rebooted as a member of one or more real world minorities. He can't be a rich, educated, straight white guy. (Yes, he's typically portrayed as physically disabled, but to many people his whiteness outweighs that.) Marvel would need to reinvent him as a black man, or as a gay man, or as a minority woman, etc.

Agreed with you until the very end.

Saying that "universal tolerance" is out of fashion is completely incorrect and short-sighted.

This is a daily reminder to the internet at large that Tumblr does not speak for everyone.

He doesn't need to be reinvented, he just needs to be more on message than he has been.

[FUBAR007]

Saying that "universal tolerance" is out of fashion is completely incorrect and short-sighted.

This is a daily reminder to the internet at large that Tumblr does not speak for everyone.

You are far more optimistic than I. Though I admit I'm very, very jaded.

I hope you're right.

[PsychoEFrost]

You are far more optimistic than I. Though I admit I'm very, very jaded.

I hope you're right.

I am, by nature, a pessimist.

But we've made more progress towards universal human rights in the last 50 years than for the rest of human history. The trend towards universal equality is undeniable.

[spirit2011]

Nobody is saying that xavier was a jerk.

Just that what Brubacker, whedon did with Xavier was TOO EXTREME

[TheSupernaut]

Nobody is saying that xavier was a jerk.

Just that what Brubacker, whedon did with Xavier was TOO EXTREME

Exactly....

[ExodusCloak]

Xavier's dirtiest deeds are before 2000 so once again not sure what you're talking about.

[PsychoEFrost]

Xavier's dirtiest deeds are before 2000 so once again not sure what you're talking about.

Exactly this. Brubacker and Whedon only built on what had been clearly established before.

[Havok83]

Xavier's dirtiest deeds are before 2000 so once again not sure what you're talking about.

thats debatable. I think Deadly Genesis is arguably the worst thing he's done. Its only gotten worse with him since then. The Bendis stuff with secret marriage to Mystique also left a bad taste in my mouth

[PsychoEFrost]

thats debatable. I think Deadly Genesis is arguably the worst thing he's done. Its only gotten worse with him since then. The Bendis stuff with secret marriage to Mystique also left a bad taste in my mouth

I personally blame the McAvoy movies for the Bendis one.

[uebersoldat]

Well, he's a straight, white, old, rich guy. So you know... evil [sarcasm from a black man].

LOL! I nearly spit my coffee. You have my upvote but better tread carefully with that rhetoric 'round these parts mate...start a pile o fun. But to be fair, people are posting good proof that Marvel seemingly intended Xavier to be a jerk. I hate that, because my prime Xavier was during TAS days. He was always a good and caring mentor for the X-Men to me.