why do humans discriminate against mutants and not mutates?

[XPac]

I don't think it was known that Namor was a mutant until it was stated in his first appearance in The X-Men. In fact, I don't know if the general public knows that he is a mutant.

Said this earlier in the thread, but for the most part there's probably no way the general public would even know if a metahuman was a mutant or not unless he's walking around with an X on his uniform.

[Shreene]

Said this earlier in the thread, but for the most part there's probably no way the general public would even know if a metahuman was a mutant or not unless he's walking around with an X on his uniform.

Here's Moira Mactaggert wearing an X-Men uniform... Would baseline humans target her as a mutant or a mutate?

[XPac]

Here's Moira Mactaggert wearing an X-Men uniform... Would baseline humans target her as a mutant or a mutate?

Probably. It's a very reasonable conclusion to make.

[Electricmastro]

Of particular note, in Daredevils #9 (September, 1983), politician Jim Jaspers denounces superheroes, not simply mutants, but superheroes in general as monsters that threaten freedom, who must be contained, and who must be suppressed. Alan Moore planted this seed which could have caused more ripples throughout the Marvel Universe, but while the X-Men went through tragedies such as X-tinction Agenda and Operation: Zero Tolerance, the mutates seemed to have been left pretty much unaffected, unless one counts Civil War as discrimination against superheroes in general.

[Huntsman Spider]

Of particular note, in Daredevils #9 (September, 1983), politician Jim Jaspers denounces superheroes, not simply mutants, but superheroes in general as monsters that threaten freedom, who must be contained, and who must be suppressed. Alan Moore planted this seed which could have caused more ripples throughout the Marvel Universe, but while the X-Men went through tragedies such as X-tinction Agenda and Operation: Zero Tolerance, the mutates seemed to have been left pretty much unaffected, unless one counts Civil War as discrimination against superheroes in general.

Civil War would count in the sense that after the catastrophic fiasco in Stamford partially caused by the New Warriors' intervention, the public turned against all superheroes, not just the X-Men and mutants as a whole. Johnny Storm got beaten up and put in a hospital just for daring to go out in public, and in one scene early on, Spider-Man, no stranger to being hated and distrusted by the public, was taken aback by the sheer vehemence of the hatred and anger openly exhibited against superheroes. Captain America, of all people, ended up a fugitive and an outlaw for fighting against an attempt by S.H.I.E.L.D. to preemptively detain him for not supporting the Superhero (or Superhuman) Registration Act, and while Iron Man was trying to reach out to others to bolster his forces against the anti-registration forces Cap was marshalling, he --- along with Carol Danvers --- was called out in an X-Men comic tying into Civil War for the Avengers having apparently done nothing to help when the Sentinel attack on Genosha by Cassandra Nova claimed sixteen million mutant lives, or when the Purifiers blew up a bus full of young mutants who'd been depowered as a result of House of M. In a sense, Civil War could be seen as exemplifying the point of the poem written by Martin Niemoller, i.e. "They came for us first, but they'll come for you, too, in the end," and indeed, they did come for the nonmutant superheroes in Civil War.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #10 Feb 1985
"Death to the Beyonder!"
With the heroes of Battleworld preventing Galactus from trying to consume the planet,
Galactus has no choice but to consume his own worldship for sustenance.
The heroes quickly shield their eyes from the blinding flash of light.
However as they witness Galactus consuming the needed energy they suddenly spot it being diverted back to Doombase.
Captain Marvel quickly travels there at he speed of light to see what happened and witnesses Doctor Doom
bombarding himself with the energies which he is filtering through special lenses made out of Klaw's body.
She reports this new development back to the others via Professor X's telepathic link.
With the process finished, Doom is revitalized by the sheer power he has absorbed
and soon finds his perceptions have been enhanced beyond human comprehension.
After acclimatings himself, Doom suddenly senses Captain Marvel's presence in his midst.
When Xavier's psi-link is suddenly cut off the heroes all rush to the nearest shuttle, which is held aloft by Magneto's powers.

Along the way, Captain America makes a comment about Magneto living up to his "hype".
This starts a heated exchange between the two about human mutant relations.
When Cap says he is only standing by with Magneto due to the fact that the X-Men are vouching for him,

Wolverine pipes up and berates Captain America for not doing as much for mutants as he does ordinary humans.
When Wolverine becomes too heated, the X-Men pull him back to prevent a fight from happening.

While back at Doombase, Doom is debating on what to do about the Beyonder,
as he has power beyond compare but is it enough to stop the Beyonder?
Doom holds council with the severed head of Klaw and decides that
he must tempt fate and face the Beyonder even if it means his death.
Utilizing his new found power, Doom constructs a new suit of armor and departs for space.
The heroes soon arrive and find no trace of Doom and all their prisoners still locked in their cells.
Spider-Woman finds Captain Marvel who has somehow been trapped in her light form.
They also find the severed head of Klaw, and after a massive earthquake,
the disembodied villain tells them that Doom is about to face off against the Beyonder himself.
In deep space the Beyonder demands that Doom go back and not approach him,
but Doom is more determined than ever to claim this ultimate prize.

With the planet still shaking up, Mister Fantastic suggests that they try and revive Galactus and locates him in space on their monitors.
Before they can act another shockwave hits, causing part of Doombase to collapse on some of the heroes.
Amid the chaos, Colossus notices that Zsaji's village is in danger as well
and wants to go out to her but knows that she cares only for the Human Torch.
Colossus is shocked when the Torch is disinterested in helping her while trying to help Mister Fantastic from under the rubble.
Insulted by this, Colossus is about to start a fight when suddenly the planet is rocked by another massive earthquake.

While in space, Doctor Doom continues his attack on the Beyonder.
While his foe continues doubling his power to match Doom's, the monarch of Latveria refuses to surrender.
As a final effort, Doom beams an image of himself back to Earth and appears before the heroes.
He asks those who wish to defeat the Beyonder to lend them their power offering them everything they could want and more.
All they need do is take his hand. When Magneto reaches out to take it the Wasp, Hawkeye and Iron Man attack him.
Magneto is kept at bay long enough that Doom cannot maintain the image anymore and disappears.
After he is gone, Hawkeye tries to chastise the X-Men for trusting Magneto, but Captain America orders him to stand down.

Doctor Doom has been defeated. His ravaged body now lays on the surface of Battleworld.
However, soon he is enveloped in energy and his mind probed. Doom's life flashes before his eyes:
his discovery that his later mother was a witch, how he became a famous defender of his people, the accident that ruined his face,
his rise to power in Latveria and his endless quest to rescue the soul of his mother from the clutches of the demon Mephisto.
Unwilling to die, Doom suddenly finds his body being recreated and his armor repaired by the energies swirling around him.
This rebirth is causing more earthquakes that threaten to bring down Doombase around the heroes.
Captain America orders an evacuation and goes to free their prisoners so they can escape themselves.

The heroes regroup outside just as Doombase crumbles to the ground.
Suddenly there is a blinding flash of light that appears above them and changes into a massive Doctor Doom.
Doom announces that the Beyonder is dead, and shrinking back down to human size, Doom removes his mask and declares the Secret Wars over.

Story by Jim Shooter. Art by Mike Zeck and John Beatty.

[Sandy Hausler]

Said this earlier in the thread, but for the most part there's probably no way the general public would even know if a metahuman was a mutant or not unless he's walking around with an X on his uniform.

And you are absolutely correct!

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Avengers #252 Feb 1985
"Deciding Factor!"
After an anti-mutant group burns down the New Jersey home of the Vision and the Scarlet Witch,


the android Avenger overcomes his indecision and prepares to implement his plan for world control,

but he first must lure his teammates away so that they cannot interfere.
He sends Captain Marvel to inspect Thanos's starship Sanctuary II, abandoned beyond the orbit of Pluto,
while the other Avengers are dispatched to join an army unit studying the technology of the mad Titanian's desert base.
When a teleport device there causes the inhumanly strong Blood Brothers to materialize,
Captain America, the Scarlet Witch and Starfox manage to keep them busy until they are dispatched by Hercules.
Back at Avengers Mansion, meanwhile, former member Dane Whitman aka Black Knight arrives unexpectedly
and is taken captive by security devices to become the sole witness to the Vision's machinations.
Avengers Lineup: Captain America, Captain Marvel, Hercules, Scarlet Witch, Starfox and the Vision.
NOTE: The Blood Brothers previously appeared in Iron Man 91.

Script by Roger Stern. Art by Bob Hall (breakdowns) and Joe Sinnott (finishes).

[DrNewGod]

Going back to the MU's roots, I'd say the fear and resentment of the populace was aimed at super-people of every stripe. The FF and Avengers' members were given something of a pass because they were seen as being more public and acting more definitively in the public's interests. However, even those groups would often face suspicion from time to time. Spider-Man and the Hulk were often hunted and persecuted, it's just the racial subtext wasn't applied to them.

[Chris0013]

Because the writers are too lazy to give a more nuanced view of how humanity feels about mutants.

[XPac]

Going back to the MU's roots, I'd say the fear and resentment of the populace was aimed at super-people of every stripe. The FF and Avengers' members were given something of a pass because they were seen as being more public and acting more definitively in the public's interests. However, even those groups would often face suspicion from time to time. Spider-Man and the Hulk were often hunted and persecuted, it's just the racial subtext wasn't applied to them.

Civil War certainly showed that. Even the FF and Avengers are potentially one bad day away from having villagers with pitch forks and torches loitering on their front yard.

[LifeIsILL]

Funny thing is for the most part, the only way the average person would even know if a super hero is a mutant or not is if they have an X on their uniform.

But I suppose the nice thing about Civil War is that the whole fear thing spread to the entire super hero community, at least for awhile. So it slightly made more sense I guess.

They can't tell the difference between Mutant or regular superhero (besides what the media tells them)

[Inversed]

This has always been my perspective/understanding of this topic, I know it can change from person to person, or writer to writer:

The reason they may be more okay with super powered individuals rather than mutants is because most of them tend to be accidents of some kind, considered "outsiders" or "freaks", so in that aspect, them being uncategorized and separate from humans makes them appreciate them in that light.

For mutants, I believe its derived from the notion that they are the "next evolution of human", so by just existing, they are already proclaimed as being "a better version of you", right down to the gene being called "homo superior". So the fear and hatred comes from a sense of jealously and inferiority complex.

Again, its obviously still flimsy, but I think this line of thinking works much better than alot of other examples that have been brought up over the years.

[BroHomo]

Cause discrimination isn't logical

[Rosebunse]

But what about the monsters? I mean, dear God, the sewers of New York aren't just a dangerous place because of the alligators, but mostly because of the sheer number of human supremacists who not only target mutants, but also monsters and any other unfortunate weirdo living below. And very rarely does anyone do anything about it. Heck, look at "Kraven" go on a murder spree around Staten Island. And I know Morbius has been attacked and mistaken for a mutant before.