X-Men and Philosophy

The X-Men franchise has made billions of dollars over the last forty-five years from major motion pictures, animated television shows, video games, and, of course, the best-selling comic series in American history.² The Marvel X-Verse is a large and diverse place full of complex storylines, timelines, seemingly endless characters (can you believe the first volume started with only seven?!), and—of course—philosophy.

The first X-Men comic featured Professor Xavier, Marvel Girl, Angel, Beast, Iceman, and Cyclops: five teenagers trying to learn how to control their mutant powers, or “extra” powers, at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Oh, and, of course, Magneto’s villainous yet relatable character was also introduced as part of the original cast. And right there at the beginning, the big questions were being asked: What are our obligations to one another? What does it mean to be human?

X-Men comics were one of the first Marvel series to feature female characters as the leads in multiple storylines. X-Women are shown as strong and powerful, equal to the men around them. X-Men comics also developed a diverse population of mutant superheroes that included African characters such as Storm, Native Americans like Dani Moonstar and Thunderbird, and Asian characters such as Jubilee and Lady Deathstrike. Originally, Stan Lee named the comic “The Mutants,” a less gender-specific title, but his editor thought the audience would not understand what or who a mutant was, so Lee suggested X-Men because the main characters had “extra” powers and were led by a man named Professor X. That was also a rather new concept: having a handicapped leader in Professor X, who, despite being wheelchair-bound, is still one of the most powerful, influential heroes in the X-Men series. Here, too, we can see the underlying philosophical spirit of the X-Verse: All of our traditional hierarchies are scrutinized, questioned, and reimagined. The X-Verse is a deeply philosophical place where our world is dismantled, where our assumptions are turned against us, and where, strangely, we see ourselves in ways that only mutants (and philosophers) can show us. So if you’re a human, this book is for you.