I guess I don't need to elaborate about what I mean, but for the sake of completeness in my argument I will - I'm talking here about the ''mutant metaphor'', the idea that mutants and the challenges they face are meant to be representative of real-world minority groups and/or oppressed peoples.

This notion of the franchise has practically become the gospel truth, taken as conventional wisdom by large sections of the fanbase, by critics and commentators, and by many of the creators who work on the franchise and its various adaptations themselves. Back in the 2000's, the original X-men films were viewed as a metaphor for the struggles of the LGBT community. X-men First Class drew a parallel between the Civil Rights struggles of the 60's and the struggles that mutants face (which I recall Michael Fassbender talking about in an interview around the time). Magneto's backstory and characterization to a large extent relies on equating the persecution of mutants by humans to the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany, and there is certainly a degree of Holocaust imagery associated with stories like Days of Future Past.

To a large extent I definitely agree that there is a parallel, and that the struggles and experiences of mutants are in some ways similar to those faced by certain real-life groups or communities. X-men stories can definitely be used to comment on real-world issues of identity, prejudice, segregation and extremism, among others.

The problem arises when this ''mutant metaphor'' gets taken too literally and becomes the alpha and omega of the entire franchise. When we forget that mutants are, at the end of the day, a sci-fi concept used to tell a wide range of stories, as opposed to just being a metaphor for minority groups. And when we forget that some of the issues involved in the human-mutant conflict simply do not exist in the conflicts between real-world groups.

Two of my biggest issues with the ''mutant metaphor'' being the dominant interpretation of the franchise can be summed up as follows:

1. Mutants are, in-universe, supposed to be the ''next stage in human evolution'': This is an idea that has been part of the franchise since virtually its inception, and has been around longer in fact than the ''mutant metaphor'. Mutants being the next step in human evolution isn't just some mutant supremacist talk from the likes of Magneto, but a premise which the X-men and Charles Xavier, our ''heroes'', believe in as well.

Now, if mutants are considered to be to humans what we are to, say, the Neandrathal, then the ''mutant metaphor'', when taken too literally, falls apart. Is the message being sent out by the X-men franchise that real-world minority groups or oppressed groups are the ''next stage in human evolution'' who might one day ''replace'' members of majority groups? I'm pretty sure that's not the message creators want to send out or that fans want to receive! The conceit of the franchise is that mutants are the next stage in human evolution who could potentially replace humans one day and that the human-mutant conflict is an evolutionary one, while at the same time, aspects of that conflict are compared to real-world struggles between different groups. The latter only works up to a point before the former shatters the metaphor.

2. Mutants are inherently dangerous in a way real-world minority or oppressed groups aren't: I feel this is an extension of the previous point, albeit from a more ''practical'' perspective.

The hard reality is that mutants are inherently a danger to individual humans and even entire societies in a way that no real-world minority or oppressed group can ever be. Yes, members of real-world minority groups could become a ''danger'' to members of majority groups if they become radicalized and/or take some kind of violent action against them. But there's a lot that needs to happen on both sides before a conflict gets to that boiling point. A member of a real-world minority of oppressed group is ultimately just another human being like a member of the majority/oppressor group. Under ''normal'' circumstances, barring any explicit move towards violence, no one is a danger to anyone else. That's not so with mutants. Even the most innocent mutant kid, if he/she manifests their powers, could be a walking WMD. Mutant powers are, in many cases, deadlier than any weapons an ordinary human could normally come upon. A fight between an 'unarmed' human and mutant is inherently an unfair one. So measures by human groups and governments to develop anti-mutant weapons and containment measures, when viewed through the prism of the ''mutant metaphor'', may seem like discriminatory behavior at best or plans for a genocide at worst. But realistically, they are in many ways pragmatic measures taken by a population and their representatives to safeguard against a very real threat. It's hard to equate the existence of something like a Mutant Response Division with, say, the KKK, if a mutant can be capable of levelling a couple of city blocks with an energy discharge, or of controlling people's minds.

Again, I must reiterate that it's not that the ''mutant metaphor'' has absolutely NO merit and that you can't use X-men stories to shed light on real-world themes. But increasingly, on this board and elsewhere, I've seen the ''mutant metaphor'' being taken way too literally, and as the predominant feature of the franchise since Day 1. The latter is actually not true at all - contrary to popular belief, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby did not create mutants to comment on the then-contemporary Civil Rights conflict. Mutants were simply a sci-fi concept they came up with to avoid having to come up with unique origins for every super-powered character! The X-men franchise is not just a metaphor for real-world discrimination and prejudice, but can be used to tell a wide range of stories. While the franchise can and has been used as a metaphor for the plight of real-world minority and oppressed groups, taking the metaphor too literally can be problematic in a number of ways, as I've described.