Discussions of discrimination in superhero tv and film

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X-Men is my favorite comic property but IMO shows and films like Black Lightning, Doom Patrol, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Black Panther did better with dealing with bigotry because they were actually dealing with real bigotry and not a metaphor.

That's the inherent issue with the X-Men it's a metaphor which for all the claims of the MCU being for kids it's the X-Men that's the real kids property because that's who metaphors and allegories are for that to teach kids to not judge others for being different. But let's face it if someone haven't figured out bigotry is wrong by adulthood no Superhero movie is going to change their mind. It will take something more meaning and real for that to happen.

The 2nd issue with the X-Men as a metaphor is Mutants are a potential threat. In X-Men (2000) Rogue accidentally put a boy into a cina, Xavier told Logan he discovered as a child he could read and control minds, and Cyclops took the roof off a train station when Toad took off his visor. Can we honestly say Kelly was 100% wrong for wanting Mutant registration? He may be coming from it from a place of bigotry but there is some validation in the XCU for it and that makes mutants a poor metaphor for real minorities.

As for X-Men TAS my favorite X-Men put to film but it has aging issues. They and Spider-Man TAS another favorite of mine say destroy a ridiculous amount of times due to not being allowed to mention death.

The bolded has been my argument for a good long while now.

There is logic in saying that a good number of mutants are inherently dangerous, thus any responsible society will take steps to protect people from them. This simple fact alone makes the whole mutant metaphor fall apart. Magneto in X-men: Apocalypse nearly destroyed a good chunk of the planet, are people supposed to just fold there arms when mutants could wipe off humanity in the blink of an eye? Real life minorities aren't inherently dangerous (despite people using eugenics to try to argue otherwise) and comparing an inherently dangerous group of individuals to real life minorities just doesn't work.

That's why comparing Xavier/Magneto to MLK and Malcolm X is absolute nonsense. Magneto was created to be a supervillain and even in the movies is a pretty violent murderer, comparing the two is a terrible slight to Malcolm X and what he actually fought for.