Is X-men name outdated?

[mikelmcknight72]

While I am very much in favor of being kind and considerate to others, I am equally opposed to political correctness and redefining words to suit ideological agendas.

From Dictionary.com, only one of the first three definitions for man is gender/age specific. The second and third are as follows:

2. a member of the species Homo sapiens or all the members of this species collectively, without regard to sex. Ex: prehistoric man.
3. the human individual as representing the species, without reference to sex; the human race; humankind. Ex: Man hopes for peace, but prepares for war.

Obviously, these are the relevant definitions for the given usage, X-Men. These definitions should inform the view we have of the intended meaning of the name X-Men. Here's why: they are doubtlessly the definitions that came to mind for the creators of the X-Men when they came up with the name. The intended meaning was obviously not gender specific on their part, and limiting yourself to the first definition, adult male, while ignoring the second and third definitions, simply shows the bias of the person doing so.

[Omega Alpha]

Prior to that asinine, ill-considered response, we ALL never even once thought to call the X-Men anything other than X-Men.
Now...all of a sudden the band wagonists and soap boxers want to be 'woke'.
Anything they use would make it sound like an off shoot of the original...like X-Factor, New Mutants, X-Force were but...they weren't the original...or, just boring and derivative.

The X-Men as a title Is. Not. Broken. It. Does. Not. Need. Changing.

Exactly. If you hate it, just go read something else.

[Frontier]

I think we are wayyyy past the point where Marvel/Disney could try and change the X-Men's entire brand name and identity that has stuck with it for decades upon decades of media, merchandise, and comics.

[bat39]

To your point: it's still the X-Men brand AND people know it. A name change shouldn't be that confusing and again, would signal a change in approach. As for regressive fans for whom the core message is clearly lost, I really don't have two shits to give about what they taste. Sorry not sorry?

Sure, it would signal a 'change in approach'. The change in question being that Marvel doesn't care for the legacy of one of their greatest franchises. The change in question is that Marvel is willing to sacrifice the X-men name to appease a certain desire for extreme political correctness. They are willing to walk away from potentially millions of dollars to make a 'point'. The point being that the word 'men' is somehow offensive - SO offensive that a multi-billion dollar franchise that has been around for nearly 60 years cannot afford to retain the name.

They called Wolverine's movie "Logan" and everybody liked it and recognized it.

There's a WORLD of difference between calling a Wolverine movie "Logan" and changing the name of the X-men brand.

Logan has long been established as Wolverine's real name (or at least, his second most recognisable alias). Since it was a character-centric movie about Logan long after his Wolverine days are behind him, the title was thematically apt. Plus, you had Hugh Jackman front and centre, so obviously even the most casual viewer knew that its a Wolverine film.

Changing the name of the X-men brand would NOT be a creative decision in this instance - it would be a socio-political decision (or rather, a ham-fisted attempt at gaining the interest and support of the extreme 'woke' crowd). And X-men is not just the title of a movie or a series - its the core name of the entire brand.

I'm all for an 'X-Women' movie starring Jean Grey, Storm, Rogue, Jubilee and more. The comic book series did well I'm told. You can have any number of spin-offs with different titles. But at its core, the franchise will always be 'X-men'.

[Indigo_Lady]

I was considering if I was even going to reply to this thread, but I am of the opinion tht "political correctness" has reached a level of complete absurdity. How many otherwise good people are being buried by social media hatred for one small stupid thing they did as a young person or one perfectly innocent misstatement.

Let's get real. I believe in female empowerment, but not to a point I would want my favorite comic book group lose their identity. I'm not threatened by word man which is often used very generically. Notice that the newest "Men in Black" movie has a female agent as the costar and they didn't attempt to change the name of the brand. X-Men is fine with me and I hope they keep it that way. Even people who aren't into comic books or even comic book movies know who they are. I'll reiterate, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

[Bl00dwerK]

Just leave the name as it is. There's nothing inherently offensive about the name and it is absolutely established. There's way more important battles to be fought than what the X-Men are called.

Let's hope the powers that be also see it that way.

[Jokerz79]

I think we are wayyyy past the point where Marvel/Disney could try and change the X-Men's entire brand name and identity that has stuck with it for decades upon decades of media, merchandise, and comics.

Exactly Quoted for Common Sense.

[Wolverine12]

Why not drop the X entirely? How about... "Inhumans?"

This made me chuckle audibly.

I don't think the name is outdated or needs to be changed. Can we have a discussion about it? Sure, absolutely there isn't anything wrong with talking about something. I think what the X-Men are about speaks volumes about their core values. They are about inclusion and people just having the right to exist even if they are different. A name change won't change their morals or beliefs.

[OblivionX33]

I think we are wayyyy past the point where Marvel/Disney could try and change the X-Men's entire brand name and identity that has stuck with it for decades upon decades of media, merchandise, and comics.

like way past

[U.N. Owen]

Why not go to the original title, the Merry Mutants?

Yes, the Merry Mutants, involving lots of angst, lots of people yelling JEAN, lots of subtext, lots of blunt text, lots more angst, angst, genocide, angst, and more angst.

[Michael Watkins]

Children of the Atom

[Frobisher]

Funny how it's always the people who rail the most about "political correctness" who are most concerned about what people should and shouldn't be allowed to do or say.

[Triniking1234]

Children of the Atom

From 2 syllables to 6?
Mein Gott.

[MYCMTSC]

Funny how it's always the people who rail the most about "political correctness" who are most concerned about what people should and shouldn't be allowed to do or say.

Right?! The suggestion of this being a topic of a conversation is also not on par with social media dog-piling, either.

[Alan2099]

Children of the Atom

If you want a title that sounds as pretentious as hell, sure.