Nrama: In 2019, what do you see as the fundamental parts of the X-Men mythos that define the team for the modern age?
Credit: J. Scott Campbell/Sabine Rich (Marvel Comics)
Claremont: Heartbreakingly, as a concept it feels more necessary and relevant in the zeitgeist than ever.
Not long ago I wrote a story focused on Magneto in which the United States, under the mutant control act, is gathering up mutant families and imprisoning them in New Mexico “for their own safety.” Kids are put in one facility, parents are put in another, and they’ll be held until such time as its determined whether they’re a threat to the country, and if they are, they’ll be dealt with in accordance with federal policy.
And Magneto is talking about his own experiences as a younger man, gathered around people in a coffee shop who are all learning the news about the mutant control act – some saying “It’s about time, we’ve got to do something about these mutants.” Magneto goes out to the facility, he’s recognized as a mutant, they engage, and Magneto of course defeats them and dismantles the facility.
But the point is, if one group can be dealt with in this way by government fiat, what’s to stop them from going after any other group?
The thing with mutants is, they’ve always stood in for the disenfranchised and downtrodden. And no matter how hard they fight, how hard they work to live among humans, the humans always push back with new laws and new ways of hurting mutants.
What I’m saying is, when we take steps forward, they’re not irreversible, unfortunately. So how do we address the people that are hurt by that? How do we address our fellow citizens who are caught in the middle?
I don’t think there’s an easy answer, but it’s a question that I think needs to be raised. And for good or ill depending on the circumstances, X-Men is the place in comic books that question always seems to be asked.