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synergysilhouette · 9 months

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Remaking X-Men: Evolution (Season 3)

(Note: If this looks familiar, that's because this is a reupload. I've rewritten all 4 seasons, plus my own original season. Make sure to check them out!)

Continuing on with my X-Men: Evolution series remake, I decided to put all of the Apocalypse arc into this season rather than spreading it out through seasons 2-4. Take a look:

Day of Recovery--A chef’s kiss episode for me, so it’s mostly minor changes. It’s noted during the rescue mission that Daken, Polaris, and Colossus are not present, leading the teams to believe that Magneto is alive and has saved them, though the X-Men are still suspicious of the Brotherhood. Prodigy and Bobby are a duo (as Kitty has went with the Morlocks along with the rest of the New Mutants), and it’s Magik who rescues Wolverine instead of Spyke. Nightcrawler and Mystique have a brief bonding moment. Nightcrawler is disappointed that Cyclops left Mystique behind, though Destiny warns Scott that he will pay for his actions, and Havok supports him, despite having some misgivings. During her investigation with Toad, Wanda finds Psylocke and uses her abilities to revive her. While she awakens from her coma, Psylocke seems to feel more hesitant on being the Brotherhood’s side, but still uses her telepathy in order to allow the Brotherhood to live in Mystique’s house undetected by the police.

2. The Stuff of Heroes--Again we take some influence from my version of “Survival of the Fittest.” First off, Gambit goes with Rogue and Logan to the store, making out with Rogue to prevent her from being recognized and seriously injuring himself. However, they’re found out anyway. Magik accompanies Beast (who does most of the speech, being the only adult) and Storm to the summit. However, while the mutants watch, Iceman, Magik, Prodigy, Rogue, and Jean are transported into the Mojoverse and forced to battle Juggernaut and prevent him from destroying a dam–but they don’t realize they’re being televised on Earth and the dam is in their area. The rest of the X-Men are forced to defend themselves against the military. In the end, when the X-Men are transported back to Earth, Longshot attempts a failed rebellion against Mojo, who sends him and Shatterstar to Earth, though Longshot now has amnesia and the two are separated.

3. Mainstream--A few changes; Kitty is one of the students taken home, and being away from the X-Men allows her and Lance to still maintain a relationship. Bobby, like Kurt, is also unrecognized because he was in his ice form at the time he was on camera. Graydon works together with Principal Kelly (who doesn’t know about his heritage) and invites the Brotherhood back to school in place of Kelly, claiming he’s working for Mystique and has reconciled with her. Amanda becomes disillusioned with Kurt not sticking by his friends and threatens to break up with him if he doesn’t stick up for them, and Bobby decides to reveal himself as a mutant. Both Jean and David are accused by Kelly of using their powers to get achievements (which David did sometimes on tests, something he inadvertently reveals that gets him expelled, making him go to school online for the rest of the season). During the Brotherhood’s rampage, Nightcrawler tries to reconcile with Graydon, who only outs him as a mutant.

4. The Stuff of Villains--Combines elements of season 2’s “Mindbender” so that the Apocalypse saga fully occurs in season 3. Wanda is searching for Pietro, giving us flashbacks into her, his, and Polaris’ childhoods. Psylocke is trying to locate Daken, Polaris, and Colossus, but finds something blocking her. Destiny discovers Jean, Nightcrawler, Magik, and Gambit have been brainwashed to commit crimes, and Psylocke goes to the X-Men to see if there is a connection. The remaining X-Men and Psylocke rescue Quicksilver that evening before turning their attention to the brainwashed X-Men. After defeating them (but not before Mesmero gets the key), Psylocke is invited to join the X-Men, but the stress she’s experienced has her hesitant to engage in more battles. Xavier instead offers her a room at the institute with no obligation to join the X-Men (as long as she keeps going to school), to which she agrees to. She notes that for a second, she sensed the missing Acolytes and Brotherhood members, along with a powerful man she never met.

5. Blind Alley--Another great episode. In this case, Alex is kidnapped and Scott goes to find him. However, Scott is ambushed by Mystique, who steals his visor and abandons him in Mexico. Jean discovers both of the brothers are gone and a note from Scott. She rescues Alex first, during which time a man scares off Mystique, revealing himself as Mr. Sinister. He attempts to acquire a DNA sample, but is unable to do some before Mystique returns. When Mystique returns to finish Cyclops off, Jean and Havok rescue him from her. I know the episode is supposed to focus solely on Scott and Jean becoming a couple, but I thought it’d be a waste not to include Alex since he’s on the main roster in my version and he’s Scott’s brother.

6. The Toad, the Witch, and the Wardrobe--This is where everyone will hate me. First off, the Pyro that burns the bridge is actually Simon Lasker, kidnapped by Magneto and brainwashed by Mastermind to be a “fill-in” Pyro for the Brotherhood while the OG Pyro remains an Acolyte. Bobby attempts to break though to him by referencing their brief romantic relationship, allowing time for Storm to douse the flames before any major damage is done. Psylocke stays out of the fight mostly, but attempts to read Pyro’s mind, only to find the brainwashing has left his mind a fortress. Pyro II tries to escape, but Wanda captures him and finds a card. She angrily questions him about it, but unlike Pietro in the original version, is unafraid of her, goading her to visit the ski resort. After getting pep talks from Storm, Iceman, and Beast about being comfortable in his own skin, Nightcrawler and Amanda’s evening with her parents goes as well as it did originally–which is not at all. Pyro II wilingly tells Wanda where to go, only for her to be captured by Magneto. Toad enlists the help of Nightcrawler, who brings Storm, Iceman, and Prodigy with him. They all chastise Toad, who angrily accepts blame and sadly says he doesn’t care about what happens to him, but wants to save Wanda. When they enter Magneto’s sanctum, they notice how empty it is, and ponder if Magneto didn’t rescue Daken, Polaris, and Colossus. Bobby attempts to break through to Simon again, but both of the Pyros outdo him and Storm subdues them with snow. Prodigy helps Toad and Nightcrawler rescue Wanda, who has been conditioned to let her hate of Magneto go. Toad apologizes for being a nuisance to everyone and almost deceiving Wanda into kissing him, and Wanda says that she was cruel to say he had to be someone else and has to learn to care about himself more–something she was going to work on. Amanda and Nightcrawler officially break up, with Nightcrawler realizing he’s not secure enough with himself to date a non-mutant and reveal himself to the world, and that he doesn’t want Amanda to suffer because of him. They part amicably, and Storm and Iceman join them for ice cream.

7. Self Possessed--One of my favorite episodes. While Rogue flirts with Scott, it’s purely platonic, as Gambit and Rogue are on the cusp of an official relationship. A lot of Rogue’s anxieties are quelled in this version–except for the obvious split personality. Gambit is weary of Risty, but doesn’t mention it to Rogue since he sees how well they get along. Gambit and Rogue go to the concert with Risty, as well as Scott and Jean, Storm and Nightcrawler (hinting at a romantic relationship), and Havok, Magik, and Iceman. In my version, Jean and Scott are a bit more comfortable about the concert being a date. After Rogue absorbs Mystique again, she has flashbacks once more of her childhood, albeit seeing it from her adoptive mother’s eyes. She realizes that Mystique is her adoptive mother, and criticizes her for always using and manipulating Rogue, Nightcrawler, and even Graydon. Mystique acknowledges that at certain times she was driven by selfish goals (saying the whole thing in “Blind Alley” with Scott was personal, albeit reckless). She says that being friends with Graydon and Rogue was something she wanted to do because she knew they wanted nothing to do with her–in contrast to Nightcrawler, who she planned to pick up the pieces with later, knowing he’d be more forgiving. Rogue runs away, memories of her childhood flashing around her. When she uses her ability to fly, she finds Jean taking over. While Gambit and Nightcrawler try to soothe her, it is still Jean and Professor X who quell her raging mind. Psylocke visits her out of sympathy while she’s healing, while Gambit kisses her forehead. In the end, Rogue notes a conversation Mystique had with Destiny, something about “Apocalypse.”

8. X-Treme Measures--A freebie episode. It premiered earlier, but I moved it around for narrative purposes. With Spyke gone, this episode still focuses on the Morlocks–specifically taking from “Uncanny X-Men #169-170”. Making Callisto a bit more comic-accurate, she finds Angel saving humans, and invites him to join the Morlocks. When he refuses, she captures him, intent on breaking his spirit (I do want some of the “he’ll be my mate” vibes, but it could be weird since he’s a teen in my version and Callisto is still an adult). Prodigy sees this and attempts to save him, but is struck ill doing so. Storm battles Callisto in order to save both Angel and Prodigy, coming out victorious. There is a brief moment where Storm is almost overcome with hatred, and Nightcrawler talks her down from it, sharing a brief kiss with her. The X-Men invite Angel to join them, and he says he will consider it.

9. Under Lock and Key--Essentially follows the same beat, except Mesmero uses Quicksilver to get the relic instead of Gambit, Beast goes with Wolverine to track down Mystique, and the bonding scene between Rogue and Nightcrawler lasts a little longer, with Mystique’s memories giving Rogue flashbacks to her and Kurt’s childhood and discussing it with him. Gambit quietly listens in the doorway, not wanting to ruin their moment. It’s hinted that Mesmero knows the whereabouts of Magneto’s missing members, making Magneto almost kill him. Banshee also appears, and while not officially joining the X-Men, tells them that they have his number. At the end of the episode, Angel joins the New Mutants.

10. Cruise Control--Occurs in a similar way, but switching up the characters; Beast takes Storm’s role as chaperone, Storm takes Kitty’s role in having fun with Nightcrawler, and Magik takes Boom-Boom’s role, which includes making a woman’s food come to life and exposing the group as mutants (Somnus attempts to make them think they dreamt it, but very few passengers believe that). Kurt also mentions he wishes Rogue could’ve been there to enjoy the cruise. Both Magma and Rictor feel the volcanic eruption, and they team up to save the day.

11. X23--I don’t have a lot of changes for this. Obviously make Laura look more like Wolverine like she does in the comics, and give Wolverine a cathartic moment where X-23 reminds him of Daken, and he ponders if he only exists to cause pain and how he could help them. Psylocke also recalls her time in the Mojoverse and that she was an assassin while under his control.

12. Dark Horizon (Part 1)--Happens similarly, with a few changes: it’s Magik at the beginning of the episode, Graydon taunts Scott and Jean with Principal Kelly, Rogue using her powers on Wanda inadvertently loosens some of Mastermind’s brainwashing on Wanda (which also happens when Rogue uses her powers on Pyro II), it is up to Magik and Nightcrawler to find Apocalypse’s hidden room. During the investigation, Iceman attempts to break through to Pyro II, who vaguely recalls Magneto’s imprisonment.

13. Dark Horizon (Part 2)--The teams split up differently: Magik, Nightcrawler, and Prodigy; Cyclops, Pyro, and Havok; Quicksilver, Pyro II, and Iceman; Beast, Magneto, and Professor X; and Storm and Jean. During their investigation, Prodigy suspects the missing mutants are somewhere in the pyramid, and Mr. Sinister appears briefly when Scott and Jean reunite. Other than that, the episode plays out pretty similar to the OG episode.

14. Impact--It's so emotional as-is! Though I do have changes: Wanda’s hypnosis is wearing off (which explains why she’s sympathetic to Rogue and Nightcrawler’s situation) though she doesn’t remember all the painful memories yet; Magneto doesn’t disappear and is just repelled by Apocalypse; and Nightcrawler has an angry “how could you?!” With Rogue before they both break down into tears, comforted by Storm and Gambit. But neither of them see Mystique’s statue repairing itself, slowly turning her back into flesh and blood (protected by the bargain she had made to help Apocalypse).

15. Cajun Spice--Deals more with the pain Kurt and Rogue feel, having them jumping between screaming matches and depressed interactions. Nightcrawler, being who he is, attempts to find some wisdom in the experience while Rogue goes with Remy to New Orleans. The rest of the episode virtually plays out the same, but now Gambit and Rogue become an official couple while Rogue and Nightcrawler reconcile. Kurt apologizes for making Rogue feel as though her pain wasn’t justified, and Rogue apologizes for demeaning his wish to bond with his birth mother and taking away the chance. They agree that Mystique is easy to despise and love, and they wonder if she has the same feelings about them. Mystique secretly listens to this conversation.

16. Ascension (Part 1)--Remove Storm and Professor X being taken away by Apocalypse, instead they're only injured. The Four Horsemen are revealed: Daken as Death, Colossus as War, Polaris as Pestilence, and a new mutant known as Vulcan becomes famine. Mr. Sinister reveals that Vulcan is the brother of Havok and Cyclops, who he saved following the airplane crash that happened to the Summers family. Mystique reveals she’s alive to the X-Men and states that she will assist them take down Apocalypse. Everything else is the same.

17. Ascension (Part 2)--The teams in different corners of the world: Storm, Magma, Jean Grey, Multiple, Somnus, and Rictor face Death (Daken) in Egypt; Prodigy, Beast, Havok, and Cyclops face Famine (Vulcan) in China; Magik, Sunspot, Wolverine, Psylocke, and Angel face off against War (Colossus) in Mexico; and Magneto, Professor X, Gambit, Scarlet Witch, Nightcrawler and Mystique go to face Pestilence (Polaris) at the Sphinx. There’s A LOT going on–like 1 hour of stuff going on. I’d want there to be brief “Dance with Death” and “War of Swords” sequences (inspired by “X of Swords” parts 3 and 13), Magneto and Wanda trying to break through to Polaris, flashbacks to Vulcan’s (who almost wins before running out of energy) manipulation under Sinister’s tutelage and descent into madness, and a real apology from Mystique to Nightcrawler and Kurt about how awful she’s been to them. In the wake of saving the world, attitudes towards mutantkind shift a bit more positive, allowing for Jubilee, Shadowcat, and Wolfsbane to return to the New Mutants, and Prodigy being allowed to return to school. Along with this, Psylocke and Colossus join the New Mutants. It should be noted that Mr. Sinister and Vulcan survive, with Vulcan flying into space to escape Mr. Sinister.

Lemme know what you think! Be sure to tell me what your favorite episode(s) is!

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manicr · 3 years

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X-Factor: Daken

Since I did a development analysis on Daken in X-Men Blue, it feels only reasonable to do one for X-Factor, especially considering the the latest issue (#8). I had thoughts that I articulated in the tags, but I think I should try to put them together and look at Daken as a character in the whole of X-Factor.

Firstly, Daken isn’t recruited into the team, he persistently volunteers despite the objections of the team. He is presented passed out on the bar floor, drinking to deal with his feelings. Word of God states he’s depressive again and Laura being in the Vault is a big factor in that. Daken later confesses that he’s been “playing nice”, implying what he did was trying to be good and finding it a role, rather than natural. His drive to join the team seems to be desperate to distract himself from his negative feelings, needing purpose and preoccupation.

However, very in-character, he excuses himself with flippant commentary, and the fact that he finds Aurora attractive:

He, as in XMB, makes himself useful to the team with his powers and instincts, despite them not being welcoming of his presence. He persists and tries to reach out to them, even if only a little, like he’s learned to do with his sisters and what we saw in XMB. He even calls them out on their bullshit against him, and tries to “be good”. The team still doesn’t trust him, and are bothered both by his flirtatiousness and his past villainy.

He actively pursues Aurora and gets himself thrown out of Mojo-verse, however his interest isn’t just romantic/sexual, but he wants to solve what happened to her when she died. He knows she’s not telling everything. He tries to be kind and reach out to her, not forcing her to say, but curious -- maybe having his own hypothesis on what happened. He knows something is off, and can’t let it go. Seems to care enough to want to help her.

Now were three issues in and Daken has been trying his best to help, reach out and fit into a team that is not very welcoming or accepting of him. Aurora is a fixed point of interest for him, and he tries especially with her. She seems flattered by the attention at this point.

Then the X of Swords event happens, essentially without Daken though he fights in the background, and we get our first major time-jump. That jump seems noticeable in text, as there seems to be a greater comfort and trust in the team as a whole, not just towards Daken.

At a party in the Boneyard, Daken talks with Polaris, trusting her enough to ask her if the kindness he sees is real It is, and it’s a bit of an alien concept to him still. He equates it with lack of intelligence “simple-mindedness” or faking it as an act to get ahead/mask whatevers beneath. Polaris mentions his childhood trauma.

Daken also takes some ribbing from Lorna regarding his past and glum attitude, but laughs it off, but we get some foreshadowing through it. Daken’s trauma regarding snow is tied together in XF, harking to a Dark Wolverine era trauma of him as a child being forced to ‘train’ in snow by Romulus. It’ll repeat itself in XF again.

We also get to see a little of what Daken does on his spare time, drawing with charcoal: having finally found some other outlet than fighting, fucking and drinking for his feelings.

He also reaffirms his interest in Aurora, as well as his familial affection for Polaris. He shows off growth in being able to have different types of affection, to have family that he cares for when back in his own series he refused social bonds like family (in ref. to the Fantastic 4) and saw them as based on fear, social obligation, and naivete.

Themes of being trapped, trauma and abuse are repeated in XF by different characters -- it applies to all of them in different ways. The letter “Why didn’t you just leave?” that speaks of this.

It echoes trauma that Daken needed to deal with himself under Romulus control -- even when he was physically away from him. His character arch has been to find himself, and not just flippantly in his eat-prey-killing comment, but also a way out of the trauma of abuse and making himself ‘smaller’ lesser to fit with the living weapon Romulus wanted. To find and dare to feel, to feel worthy, and not fear some punishment from his abuser. Of course, this applies to so many characters in X-F, both sub-textually and directly like with Siryn and Shatterstar.

One of the major relationship changes now in the book is Daken and Northstar’s relationship. Northstar confides and trusts in Daken as a team-mate from previously having refused it. Daken in turn takes his orders and seems to want that trust:

This culminates in Northstar rescuing Daken when he was trapped and beaten by the Morrigan. And according to Aurora, Northstar is behaving towards Daken as a person he doesn’t want to lose, by yelling for him and checking on him. He explicitly cares for Daken now, even with the protectiveness he still feels for Aurora. The dying in the snow theme repeats it self.

Then there is Daken and Auroras long conversation about his powers, her feelings and his feelings. He reveals the limits of his skills and she insists on understanding, which seems to make him feel better about it. She empathizes with the burden of his skills, seeing the drawbacks.

There’s a lot of subtext regarding his relationship with his own powers, he outwardly uses them shamelessly but at the same time this implies that it’s far more fumbling, uncertain and emotionally harrowing for him. And that he’s willing to see that and feel that rather than see it as his right to do whatever or refuse his powers utterly.

The Morrigan fight is overlayed with a speech about trauma, highlighting how it directly relates to Daken. He’s traumatized. He’s been abused. He’s been rewired to be dysfunctional, to hide his pain and the suffering. And it makes him feel worthless, unloved, and that no one cares, has never cared.

Later, Daken acknowledges how poorly he felt, how helpless, and how suicidal it made him feel. Even if he thinks its hypnosis rather than his own real feelings. His description fit in with depression and trauma-related issues, the feeling over never reaching shore, of drowning, and helplessness combined with the negative-self talk, that no one cares, loves him, or will be there for him since he’s worthless and a burden. But also how he looks to Aurora for comfort to deal with that.

Generally this issue irons out issues of consent, the genuineness of both their feelings as well as Daken being more like a real friend and family member to the team, but also about revealing his trauma. To show that he is not alright, despite his flippant flirty exterior. He struggles with his past, his trauma and his feelings about himself, and the belief that he deserves to be loved, cared for and to belong. This is repeated in issue #8 which hammers these themes home once more. Daken is not alright, but he wants to be.

This is growth from early Daken who didn’t even want to admit to himself that he was abused and molded by Romulus, and using rage and hurting others as a way of dealing with his own feelings, as well as using others and himself because it didn’t matter, he didn’t and no one else did either.

The in the snow theme is repeated and his fervent desire to be saved, from everything, himself as well as everything and everyone that might harm him. He seems to believe that being loved by Aurora will save him. Which is not the healthiest approach to dealing with trauma but a very common one, latching onto other people, because he doesn’t yet have the sense of self or self-worth to believe in it unless someone else does too. This for most people a necessary step towards growing and getting better.

He also is still stuck in the abuse-trauma-victim cycle and blaming himself for being harmed, seeing that he’s somehow not being good enough and that’s why he’s being hurt. “I’ll be good” are the words of someone who has been hurt over and over again by someone who made them believe they somehow deserved it. That they were ‘bad’ and needed to be punished.

...then he is faced with the fact that he truly does believe this about himself, that he’s not over it, that he’s not yet free or saved from the feelings that the trauma left behind.

But then... he dies, self-sacrificing to save his team mates and the information they carry, knowingly risking up to a week of his memory and experiences. He uses Aurora as a morality pet, to prompt himself into action, excessive such even.

He is resurrected without the memory of any of this to the point BEFORE Northstar came for him. He knows he lost that. He knows from reports that he lost things, even if not the extent of it, and now the hurt and pain from DAYS in the snow is fresh again, without any help from Aurora to process it nor knowing for certain that she loves him, without being proved that his team cares and came for him in the end. He might now the latter in paper, but that’s not the same emotionally speaking.

So, he’s angry. He knows he’s lost things, he’s been hurt and killed. But he doesn’t have the comfort of resolving these things with his team like he did, not with his habit of hiding his pain, and feeling like a burden. So he fights instead.

So, where have we ended up at the end of issue #8 of X-Factor?

Daken has been accepted by his team, because of all of HIS hard work, reaching out and kindness

Daken has opened up about his powers and his suffering (though lost half of it to the mind transfer time gap)

He has established a relationship with Aurora with clear consent, affection, but not yet full transparency of their mutual pasts (again some lost from his perspective)

He is starting to realize that he’s not yet ‘over’ his own trauma and that he’ll need to continue working on it (some lost)

Daken isn’t a perfect character nor perfectly written, he was abused and shaped by that abuse and trauma into something vicious, that he didn’t dare change from for a long time. Instead he tried to enjoy it, to revel in it, rather than face the pain and grow. He hurt and killed a lot of people, including himself, and it’s takes years of development for him to start to grow past that old self. Getting away from Romulus was only the first step.

He needed people to make him see how fucked up he was and to motivate him to be better, from Johnny back in Dark Avengers, then Laura and Gabby, and then trying on his own, attaching to Donna for a while, before teaming up with the X-Men and then X-Factor and Aurora as support for himself. It’s pretty clear that on his own, he can’t do it, he needs help, support, structure and purpose -- as do the majority of people. I’d also recommend therapy, but he’s not there yet.

One day he might stand on his own feet when it comes to feeling good about himself and managing his own life. But right now he’s in a place where he needs a strong support system, not just his family and lovers but also friends.

#daken #daken akihiro #marvel #long post

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xavierfiles-blog · 7 years

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New Post has been published on http://www.xavierfiles.com/2017/09/22/the-b-in-x-men-is-silent-bisexuality-x-men/

The B in X-Men is Silent: Bisexuality & X-Men

This Editorial comes to us from Everett Christensen

The X-Men Franchise has taken a lot of heat for its portrayal of gay and lesbian characters. Over the past few decades the number of textually lesbian and gay X-Men has grown and with each addition created waves of controversy. Homosexual representation in the X-Men has been called pandering, out of touch, or off base. There are several critical reads that have long since suggested alternate takes on characters like Kitty Pryde, Illyana Rasputin, and Rachel Summers that cast their interactions as subtextually romantic. Several uses of the Mutant Metaphor have been an allegory for the gay experience. Somewhere between that text and the subtext, all bisexual representation has been silenced. The franchise as a whole does not approach bisexual representation with respect, despite having an incredible number of characters for whom the claim can be made and the majority of textual bisexual representation in Marvel comics.

Daken, Mystique, Psylocke, Richter, and Shatterstar. That is the current list of textual bisexual mutants unless you want to count David Allyene (depowered) or Stacy X (depowered, shown possibly repowered, no appearances since 2012). David’s bisexuality was not explored in an X-Book, nor has he appeared in the franchise since 2012. Stacy X is… regrettable. Of the remainder, Daken and Mystique are frequently cast as villainous while Psylocke, Richter, and Shatterstar are generally cast in heroic roles. All five, however, have at one time or another taken a heel and face turn, batting for both teams really. This is good for bisexual representation because bisexuality is rarely depicted in any medium including the comics these characters come from.

How rare, one might ask? Psylocke, Betsy Braddock, introduced in 1976 has over 750 appearances to her name. However, the reveal of her bisexuality took place in 2013 and has not come up since. Even with her popularity, she has appeared in no more than 125 comics since coming out as textually bisexual. Since the X-Force storyline involving her romantic entanglement with a part of Fantomex, named Cluster, that was female has resolved it also hasn’t come up again in any storylines. In fact, her relationship to Angel has been paramount in her stories. This is how bisexual voices are silenced, certainly, Psylocke hasn’t had anything to say on the topic.

This is the main issue with bisexual representation and a challenge for the perception of bisexuals everywhere. It is unreasonable and biphobic that the audience is asked to accept, without textual evidence, that one same-sex relationship means the character is bisexual. It’s arguable that is even a case for a bisexual identity in the first place as Psylocke was engaged in a heterosexual relationship with Fantomex previous to it becoming a polyamorous bisexual relationship with male Fantomex and female Cluster. Everything else is subtext. Betsy could be pansexual or any other number of niche sexualities. It seems to be the intent of the franchise that it simply be taken as read. So while she is touted as bisexual we see no evidence of it, which is par for the bisexual course, seen but not heard.

Similar difficulties exist with Mystique and Daken. Both are shown to be powerfully seductive, however, we do not get to see this seduction or romance as part of the experiences of either character. With their villainous alignment, both characters are textually represented as attracted to both men and women and see them act on that attraction. Their sexuality is used mainly as a weapon, as deceit. It is framed as transgressive and more frequently than not a violation of those they attract, furthering the stereotype of sexually greedy or untrustworthy bisexuals. Their sexuality is something that happens to others. There are no introspective moments, no quiet beats since Mystique scattered Destiny’s ashes.

But far more frequent than textual quiet or exploitation through villainization are the instances of subtextual bisexuality, of which the franchise has mountains. Kitty Pryde has been shown being seduced by Courtney Ross, her close friendships with Rachel and Illyana often read as intimate, but that’s it. There is no textual bisexuality just a lot of ‘close friends’ with a lot of ‘love’ and an unexplained ‘one of these characters has parts of the other’s soul inside of them but wait, wait it’s not gay’. It’s absurd. Claremont himself said that it was his authorial intent and he tried it, in Mekanix with some suggestive text boxes, a Sentinel interrupted near-kiss with Karma, and with Rachel in X-Men: The End. Yet Kitty isn’t out, her queerness buried under years of heterosexual text. She is far from the only victim of this silencing.

Someone out there will violently disagree, but how many ‘special friends’ does Storm really need to have before she can be out? When will Genesis and Quinten Quire makeup and make out? While the older characters and stories get a ‘CCA was bad’ stamp to give an excuse there is no reason it must continue as such. The National Health Statistics Report, Sexual Behavior, Sexual Attraction, and Sexual Orientation Among Adults Aged 18–44 in the United States: Data From the 2011–2013 National Survey of Family Growth reports 49.6% of women that self-reported as being attracted to the same sex identify as bisexual, while 20.2% of men that self-reported identify as the same. Bisexual visibility requires representation and if there is a place for that representation it’s the X-Men. This is the franchise with two gay Icemen. It can withstand addressing bisexual invisibility.

Because, of course, there is an exception that proves the rule. Rictor and Shatterstar are a great example of what a great bisexual romance looks like. In Peter David’s X-Factor the pair reunites with a passionate kiss before this of course was a long history of subtext. From that point each member of the team has their own reaction that range from problematic in implementation to inspired, Rhane tries to ‘save’ Rictor with a baby scare, Guido cracks some rather uncomfortable jokes. But what makes it fantastic is the representation of both poly and monogamous bisexuals. Shatterstar wants to experiment and sleep around, Rictor wants monogamy. It becomes part of their pathos and relationship dynamic in an arguably healthy and respectful way. There has not been any representation like that before or since.

It is in having great representation, then having it taken away, that the need becomes more obvious. With textual gayness at perhaps a peak in the franchise what better time could there be to address things like biphobia? To be clear this is not advocation that the story be slaved to depictions of sexuality. In a cast of dozens, there is room for truthful examination of the human condition aside from the wacky science fiction adventures. It is absolutely possible to do both. It is the legacy of inclusion and representation in the franchise that calls for depictions both heroic and villainous. If Marvel continues to have visible gay characters it’s just as necessary to have visible, textual, bisexual representation with depth as well.

#bi #Bisexuality #X-Men #xmen

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