X-Men Gold: no more "Minority Metaphor"???

[CuteClops]

hello, folks.

In an interview with ICv2.com , David Gabriel, Marvel’s senior vice president of sales and marketing, said: “What we heard [from retailers] was that people didn’t want any more diversity. They didn’t want female characters out there. That’s what we heard, whether we believe that or not. I don’t know that that’s really true, but that’s what we saw in sales.”

“We saw the sales of any character that was diverse, any character that was new, our female characters, anything that was not a core Marvel character, people were turning their nose up against,” he continued. “That was difficult for us because we had a lot of fresh, new, exciting ideas that we were trying to get out and nothing new really worked.”

https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/03...le-characters/

http://www.cbr.com/marvel-sales-diversity/

http://www.newsarama.com/33843-late-...diversity.html

So, now, in X-Men Prime, Kitty Pryde said:



just as Maestroneto said:

"She doesn't want to be seen as a Mutant. She wants to be seen as a hero foremost. Her identity has become secondary and, like Havok, she sees being a Mutant as merely a distraction."

here:

http://community.comicbookresources....ntity-politics

Well, In an interview with comicbook, Marc Guggenheim spoke about it.

CB - "So it would be fair to say that you’re reexamining the mutant metaphor that has been at the core of the X-Men franchise since the very beginning to determine what it means in the 21st century?"

MG - "Exactly. I think there are two ways of looking at the mission statement of X-Men Gold. One is that we're trying to go backward to go forwards. The other is is that we're trying to really produce a book that feels like the halcyon days of the X-Men, but, at the same time, has some new and interesting contributions to make."

http://comicbook.com/comics/2017/03/...heim-interview

What do you think of this? Is there any connection between what David Gabriel and Axel Alonso said and the new "non-mutant policy"?

[Tycon]

DB clarified his points on diversity and said that "retailers has told him that was the issue." I doubt this connects the two and this is more of a case of Guggenheim thinking he knows the character of Kitty Pryde. Besides, Gen X seems to be pretty diverse, in more ways than racial, which would mess with what Gabriel said.

[Valamist]

I really disagree with the idea that mutants should down-play their X-gene, so I hope that overall what Guggenheim is trying to do is simply show that they are more then just mutants, rather then implement a 'non-mutant' policy. He seems to want to show them more as traditional superheros, which is fine I guess, but I just hope it does not come off in the same way Uncanny Avengers did. That said it is already a shame he is using Kitty in this way, give the beautiful way she explained why one should be open and proud of being a mutant back in the Bendis All-New X-Men run. I guess we will have to wait until X-Men Gold really gets going to see how this plans out.

Oh, and I doubt this has anything to do with the whole 'diversity' issue that has been the topic of debate lately.

[Wiccan]

Yeah, it has nothing to do with that whole diversity issue. Guggeinheim just doesn't get it. He says shit like "Maybe people hate and don't understand the X-Men because they've been hiding and isolating!" when guess what, they've been "hiding" and "isolating" themselves exactly because of the hate, not the other way around. I hope he just really focuses on them as superheroes, cause I just can't with all the shit he would possibly say about the political stuff.

[JasonEsta]

After Trump got elected by a pretty pro racist white America emblem, did you expect anything less?

[CuteClops]

After Trump got elected by a pretty pro racist white America emblem, did you expect anything less?

well, do you remember this?

"Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter is going to officially join President Elect Donald Trump's staff."

https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/01...n-trump-staff/

http://nypost.com/2017/01/07/marvel-...affairs-staff/

[Vegan Daddy]

No, I don't think there's a connection.

As for Kitty's speech and the direction of the upcoming books, well, I don't think it has to be one or the other. You can have a balance of superhero adventure and real life allegory like so many other X-Men comics. Still, it must be difficult for a writer. On the one hand, the mutant minority metaphor has been milked dry. On the other hand, it's the substance of the franchise. Bit of a pickle.

I will say that I like Kitty's 'capitulation', as someone else on this forum put it. It's like she's denouncing her status as an outcast, like it's some childish notion that's lost its appeal. I can sympathize with that as an aging gay guy. I never cared about my sexual identity and whatever community it linked me to. I am who I am and I do what I do. The X-Men are superheroes first and foremost. Everything else is extra.

Edit: Also, think about where Kitty has been for the last few years. In space with all kinds of alien creatures who work and bond together. That kind of experience must trivialize the mutant/human conflict on Earth.

[LoganAlpha30X33]

Though it does tend to set Kitty up as a little high and mighty thinking that she has all of these great new ideas that she thinks will work just great on Earth and then can't understand why people don't just agree with her and do what she tells them to do...

[Bl00dwerK]

I hope that overall what Guggenheim is trying to do is simply show that they are more then just mutants, rather then implement a 'non-mutant' policy.

Kitty said they were ALSO going to show the world what they are. The X-Men have spent way too much time being mutants and not nearly enough time being heroes.

[Iron Fist]

to be fair, they haven't been a minority metaphor for a decade at this point.

[WallStreeter]

Yeah, it has nothing to do with that whole diversity issue. Guggeinheim just doesn't get it. He says shit like "Maybe people hate and don't understand the X-Men because they've been hiding and isolating!" when guess what, they've been "hiding" and "isolating" themselves exactly because of the hate, not the other way around. I hope he just really focuses on them as superheroes, cause I just can't with all the shit he would possibly say about the political stuff.

The XMen could have killed off the Inhumans. They didn't because they are heroes, but with all their powers and resources they can only be persecuted if they allow it.

There's 200 or so XMen: Very different from the day when there were just 5 or 8 XMen at a time.

[Ricochet Rita]

In an interview with ICv2.com , David Gabriel, Marvel’s senior vice president of sales and marketing, said: “What we heard [from retailers] was that people didn’t want any more diversity. They didn’t want female characters out there. That’s what we heard, whether we believe that or not. I don’t know that that’s really true, but that’s what we saw in sales.”

“We saw the sales of any character that was diverse, any character that was new, our female characters, anything that was not a core Marvel character, people were turning their nose up against,” he continued. “That was difficult for us because we had a lot of fresh, new, exciting ideas that we were trying to get out and nothing new really worked.”

Well, this is rather depressing.

Rather hypocrite, too, because

"Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter is going to officially join President Elect Donald Trump's staff."

They may show pretty surprised because of the 'failure' (according to their account) of their diverse titles, but truth is they're actually encouraging 'single thought' --mainly through Cinematic Universe, which is that has got a real impact in general audience. I don't see real 'diversity' in Marvel movies, no matter how much black people or women take part in them --they're still USA citizens, most times hetero, wealthy, healthy, cultivated and beautiful.

Minority empowerment is nowadays maybe more important than ever. Otherwise, our children will keep on building walls behind of which other people will die from neglect, fear and hate.

[ExodusCloak]

No connection, they haven't liked the minority metaphor since Remender was on Uncanny Avengers. That comment is related to creating legacy characters for the sake of creating legacy characters while throwing the actual character in the dumpster. Hopefully this means the O5 are gone, they're not diverse but they were a response to all the teen characters being created

[Moondoggie]

DB clarified his points on diversity and said that "retailers has told him that was the issue." I doubt this connects the two and this is more of a case of Guggenheim thinking he knows the character of Kitty Pryde. Besides, Gen X seems to be pretty diverse, in more ways than racial, which would mess with what Gabriel said.

I think people will always pick up on things and say "oh this was said so that's why this is happening!" and it'll not necessarily be true. The whole issue isn't as simple as "Comic readers hate diversity so aren't buying comics" anyway and in any case I doubt Marvel is giving up on diversity. This seems like another case of a writer trying to shake things up in a way that annoys fans.

[ExodusCloak]

The contingent of writers and editors that have always hated the metaphor is strong now. Like i said the eroding of writers who liked the metaphor Vs those who didn't Remender, Aaron etc has flipped. So now those who hate it cause to them it doesn't make sense with other superheroes in the MU have now got their way. This has nothing to do with that announcement. This has been going on since before AvX