User:Crazy runner/Sandbox

Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL

The conflict between mutants and normal humans is often compared to conflicts experienced by minority groups in America such as African Americans, Jews, Communists, LGBT characters, etc. Also on an individual level, a number of X-Men serve a metaphorical function as their powers illustrate points about the nature of the outsider.

"The X-Men are hated, feared and despised collectively by humanity for no other reason than that they are mutants. So what we have here, intended or not, is a book that is about racism, bigotry and prejudice."

Uncanny X-Men writer Chris Claremont, 1981

• Racism: Professor X has come to be compared to civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. and Magneto to the more militant Malcolm X. The X-Men’s purpose is sometimes referred to as achieving "Xavier’s dream," perhaps a reference to King’s historic "I Have a Dream" speech. Magneto, in the first film, quotes Malcolm X with the line "By any means necessary." X-Men comic books have often portrayed mutants as victims of mob violence, evoking images of the lynching of African Americans in the age before the American civil rights movement. Sentinels and anti-mutant hate groups such as Friends of Humanity, Humanity's Last Stand, the Church of Humanity and Stryker's Purifiers are thought to often represent oppressive forces like the KKK giving a form to denial of civil rights and amendments. In the 1980s, the comic featured a plot involving the fictional island nation of Genosha, where mutants were segregated and enslaved by an apartheid state. This is widely interpreted as having been a reference to the situation in South Africa at the time.

• Anti-Semitism: Explicitly referenced in recent decades is the comparison between anti-mutant sentiment and anti-Semitism. Magneto, a Holocaust survivor, sees the situation of mutants as similar to those of Jews in Nazi Germany. At one point he even utters the words "never again" in a 1992 episode of the X-Men animated series. The mutant slave labor camps on the island of Genosha, in which numbers were burned into mutant's foreheads, show much in common with Nazi concentration camps, as do the internment camps of the classic "Days of Future Past" storyline. Another notable reference is in the third X-Men film, when asked by Callisto: "If you're so proud of being a mutant, then where's your mark?" Magneto shows his concentration camp tattoo, while mentioning that he will never let another needle touch his skin.

• Diversity: Characters within the X-Men mythos hail from a wide variety of nationalities. These characters also reflect religious, ethnic or sexual minorities. Examples include Shadowcat, Sabra and Magneto who are Jewish, Dust who is a devout Muslim, Nightcrawler who is a devout Catholic, and Neal Shaara/Thunderbird who is Hindu. Storm (Ororo Munroe) represents two aspects of the African diaspora as her father was African American and her mother was Kenyan. Karma was portrayed as a devout Catholic from Vietnam, who regularly attended Mass and confession when she was introduced as a founding member of the New Mutants. This team also included Wolfsbane (a devout Scots Presbyterian), Danielle Moonstar (a Cheyenne Native American) and Cannonball, and was later joined by Magma (a devout Greco-Roman classical religionist). Different nationalities included Wolverine as a Canadian, Colossus from Russia, Banshee from Ireland, Gambit who is a Cajun, the original Thunderbird who was an Apache Native American, Psylocke from the U.K., Armor from Japan, Nightcrawler from Germany, Omega Sentinel and Indra from India, etc.

• LGBT themes: Another metaphor that has been applied by some to the X-Men is that of LGBT. Comparisons have been made by some between the mutants' situation, including concealment of their powers and the age they realize these powers, and homosexuality. In the comics series, gay and bisexual characters include Anole, Destiny, Karma, Mystique, Courier, Northstar, Graymalkin, Rictor, Shatterstar and the Ultimate version of Colossus. Transgender issues also come up with shapechangers like Mystique, Copycat, and Courier who can change gender at will. It has been said that the comic books and the X-Men animated series delved into the AIDS epidemic with a long-running plot line about the Legacy Virus, a seemingly incurable disease thought at first to attack only mutants (similar to the AIDS virus which at first was spread through the gay community).

• Red Scare: Occasionally, undercurrents of the "Red Scare" are present. Senator Robert Kelly's proposal of a Mutant Registration Act is similar to the efforts of United States Congress to try to ban Communism in the United States. In the 2000 X-Men film, Kelly exclaims, "We must know who these mutants are and what they can do," even brandishing a "list" of known mutants (a reference to Senator Joseph McCarthy's list of Communist Party USA members who were working in the government).

• Religion: Religion is an integral part of several X-Men storylines. It is presented as both a positive and negative force, sometimes in the same story. The comics explore religious fundamentalism through the person of William Stryker and his Purifiers, an anti-mutant group that emerged in the 1982 graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills. The Purifiers believe that mutants are not human beings but children of the devil, and have attempted to exterminate them several times, most recently in the "Childhood's End" storyline. By contrast, religion is also central to the lives of several X-Men, such as Nightcrawler, a devout Catholic, and Dust, a devout Sunni Muslim who observes Islamic Hijab.

• Subculture: In some cases, the mutants of the X-Men universe sought to create a subculture of the typical mutant society portrayed. The X-Men comics first introduced a band of mutants called the Morlocks. This group, though mutants like those attending Xavier's school, sought to hide away from society within the tunnels of New York. These Morlock tunnels served as the backdrop for several X-Men stories, most notably The Mutant Massacre crossover. This band of mutants illustrates another dimension to the comic, that of a group that further needs to isolate itself because society won't accept it. In Grant Morrison’s stories of the early 2000s, mutants are portrayed as a distinct subculture with "mutant bands," mutant use of code-names as their primary form of self identity (rather than their given birth names), and a popular mutant fashion designer who created outfits tailored to mutant physiology. The series District X takes place in an area of New York City called "Mutant Town." These instances can also serve as analogies for the way that minority groups establish subcultures and neighborhoods of their own that distinguish them from the broader general culture. Director Bryan Singer has remarked that the X-Men franchise has served as a metaphor for acceptance of all people for their special and unique gifts. The mutant condition that is often kept secret from the world can be analogous to feelings of difference and fear usually developed in everyone during adolescence.

http://books.google.com/books?hl=fr&lr=&id=t1Gsqgt8GoQC&oi=fnd&pg=PA53&dq=%22X-Men%22+Klu+Klux+Klan&ots=3DnvcvvQ6b&sig=GpHQItRiyXNq3PunIe6IQcGRqYo#v=onepage&q=X-Men&f=false http://books.google.com/books?hl=fr&lr=&id=RJ-XSNgfDR8C&oi=fnd&pg=PA171&dq=%22X-Men%22+religious+fundamentalism&ots=wgIvcwihS7&sig=QHGbkaNtcqEQAz-VR4nEITFTMCM#v=onepage&q=X-Men&f=false http://books.google.com/books?hl=fr&lr=&id=bK-ax5Ttj3wC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=%22X-Men%22+anti-semitism+magneto&ots=2OWOirZXkG&sig=0naycMRpD2-vx9oYplSJDvCKJ14#v=onepage&q=%22X-Men%22%20anti-semitism%20magneto&f=false http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2006/10/the-movie-review-x-men-the-last-stand/69068/ http://books.google.com/books?id=RdXhjmRFCIwC&dq=%22X-Men%22+%22LGBT%22&lr=&hl=fr&source=gbs_navlinks_s http://wxy.seu.edu.cn/humanities/sociology/htmledit/uploadfile/system/20100830/20100830030322671.pdf#page=84

http://www.joeacevedo.com/docs/customzone/customcon/customcon3/steinberger.htm http://elcalabozodelcomic.wordpress.com/category/crossovers/

Crazy runner/Sandbox
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Limited series
Genre	Superhero
Publication date	March – June 2009
No. of issues	4
Main character(s)	Barbara Morse/Mockingbird Clint Barton/Hawkeye/Ronin
Creative team
Written by	Jim McCann
Artist(s)	David Lopez Jo Chen (cover)
Inker(s)	Alvaro Lopez
Letterer(s)	Dave Lanphear
Colorist(s)	Daniele Rudoni
Collected editions
New Avengers: The Reunion	ISBN 9780785138556

New Avengers: The Reunion is a 4-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics, in March-June 2009. Written by Jim McCann and illustrated by David Lopez, the series follows the adventures of Barbara Morse/Mockingbird and Clint Barton/Ronin.

After the events of Secret Invasion, the fallen Avenger Mockingbird returned from Skrull captivity to join the New Avengers team. During the Dark Reign period, she tries to readjust to her new life with Clint Barton's help.

Publication

A preview of the series was introduced in Dark Reign: New Nation (December 17, 2008).

The series is composed of four issues:

• New Avengers: The Reunion #1 - The Lady Vanishes (March 4, 2009)
• New Avengers: The Reunion #2 - Kiss Me Deadly (April 1, 2009)
• New Avengers: The Reunion #3 - Double Indemnity (May 6, 2009)
• New Avengers: The Reunion #4 - The Avenger Who Came in From the Cold (June 3, 2009)

Due to the success of the sales, Marvel Comics launched a second printing variant of New Avengers: The Reunion #1 - The Lady Vanishes which was on sale in April 8, 2009.

The trade paperback New Avengers: The Reunion collecting New Avengers Reunion #1-4 and material from Dark Reign: New Nation was published in March 2010.

Summary

Bucky Barnes, the new Captain America, warns Clint Barton than his ex-wife Bobbi may not be the same. Mockingbird infiltrates a hospital in New Jersey. Ronin joins her but she doesn't want her ex-husband to be there. They discover a secret facility controled by Advanced Idea Mechanics. The organization had manufactured a biological weapon that they plan to use in Zaragoza, Spain. The bomb is already in ... They go to a safehouse, created when she was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, where she keeps an armory. They discuss her motivation. Ronin uses a net to trap her then calls New Avengers.

Reception

• "McCann keeps the pace brisk and the mystery deep in this first issue; an issue that leaves you wondering which end is up by the end... I'm sticking with this one until the end to find out what happens with both." – Ain't It Cool News, Aintitcool.com
• "This is an Avengers reunion; a family reunion, and there is heart in this issue that goes beyond Clint and Bobbi." – Jay Tomio, Bookspotcentral.com
• "McCann does an excellent job… spinning conflicting webs of reality and nostalgia. David Lopez does a fantastic job of using facial expressions and mannerisms to capture the argumentative tone McCann is going for. From a storytelling standpoint, Lopez doesn't miss a beat." – Daniel Crown, IGN.com
• "I think the book is written wonderfully." – Paul Brian McCoy, Comicsbulletin.com

New Avengers: Reunion is introspective. Jim McCann explores the complicated Hawkeye and Mockingbird relationship. 7.4 out of 10

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=19336

Sequel

Marvel launched in June 2010 Hawkeye and Mockingbird as part of Marvel Comic's Heroic Age, which reunite McCann and Lopez for the continued adventures of the couple of heroes.

External links

• Comic Books From New Avengers: The Reunion at Marvel Comics
• New Avengers: The Reunion at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
• New Avengers: The Reunion at Comic Vine
• New Avengers: The Reunion at IGN
• Marvel Hotline: New Avengers: The Reunion #1 on YouTube

Giganta. An amalgamation of DC's Giganta and Marvel's Gargantua. Panthera. An amalgamation of DC's Cheetah and Marvel's Puma. Professor Psycho. An amalgamation of DC's Doctor Psycho and Marvel's Professor Power.

http://books.google.fr/books?id=iqpljSw6bYcC&pg=PA196&dq=Sheena+jungle&hl=fr&ei=iU6ETaWJN8nusgbjjZGPAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=Sheena%20jungle&f=false

Greystone
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	X-Factor #140
Created by	Howard Mackie
In-story information
Alter ego	Devlin Greystone
Species	Human Mutant
Team affiliations	X-Factor X.S.E.
Notable aliases	Brian Young
Abilities	Increase his size, density, durability, strength, and stamina exponentially but at the cost of his appearance

Devlin Greystone is a fictional Māori character in the Marvel universe who was part of the second incarnation of X-Factor. He first appeared in X-Factor #140.

Fictional character biography

Greystone is from the same alternate future as Bishop, Archer, Fixx, and Shard. He is a member of the Xavier Underground Enforcers (XUE), a rogue branch of the Xavier's Security Enforcers (XSE) who wanted to travel back in time and change their future.

When he was a child, Greystone lived with his mother in a type of mutant concentration camp. As part of their punishment, each prisoner was required to have an "M" branded over their right eye to outwardly signify their status as a mutant. During his branding process by an evil man named Micah, Greystone panicked and—due to the large amount of stress—manifested his mutant power years before the traditional onset at puberty. This resulted in him breaking the machine (leaving him with only a partial brand), and trying to break out with his mother. Micah shot and killed her and was about to kill Greystone too if not for the incitement of the Summers Rebellion which ultimately led to mutant freedom. However, this was not as grand as it seemed, for Greystone became an orphan and a street urchin outside of the confines of the camp.

Upon discovering that Shard was in the present, the X.U.E. managed to travel back in time due to the psionic link Fixx created between the members of the X.U.E. which Shard was also a member of, and inhabited the bodies of three recently deceased people. Greystone inhabited the body of the adolescent teen Brian Young.

While looking in the newspaper one day, Greystone happens to see the picture of a young boy named Micah. He immediately recognizes him as the same Micah who murdered his mother and concocts a plan to murder the child, thus averting his future and his mother's death. He, along with Fixx and Archer, track down the boy and Greystone tries to kill him. Archer and Fixx convince him that it is unethical to condemn the child for crimes he has not yet committed and the trio leaves. They had tried to change the future but instead ended up joining X-Factor.

Greystone slowly developed temporal insanity, believing that his mission was accomplished, and he could go home to a better world and be reunited with his mother, who might theoretically be alive. In an attempt to return to his own time, Greystone built a flying time machine, but due to shoddy craftmanship and unsound theories, the craft exploded, seemingly killing Greystone and Havok, who was attempting to stop him.

Powers and abilities

Greystone can increase his body mass, density, durability, stamina and strength exponentially but at a price: the bigger he gets, the more deformed and horrific-looking he becomes. Greystone can appear as his host body or in his original body—humorously a small, white child—also carrying the memories from both bodies.

External links

• Character biography at Uncannyxmen.net
• Greystone on the Marvel Universe character biography wiki

[[Category:Marvel Comics superheroes]][[Category:Fictional Māori people]][[Category:Fictional_New_Zealand_people]][[Category:Marvel Comics mutants]][[Category:Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength]]

http://blogcritics.org/books/article/comic-review-jackpot-1-by-marc/ http://www.comicbookbin.com/Ultimate_X-Men_094.html http://www.comicbookbin.com/theloners001.html http://www.google.com/custom?domains=comicsbulletin.com&sitesearch=comicsbulletin.com&q=Mutant+Growth+Hormone&sa.x=0&sa.y=0&client=pub-8028184139890232&forid=1&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=ISO-8859-1&cof=GALT%3A%23008000%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23336699%3BVLC%3A663399%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BLBGC%3A336699%3BALC%3A0000FF%3BLC%3A0000FF%3BT%3A000000%3BGFNT%3A0000FF%3BGIMP%3A0000FF%3BFORID%3A1%3B&hl=en http://weeklycomicbookreview.com/2008/07/18/amazing-spider-man-566-review/ http://weeklycomicbookreview.com/2008/10/31/amazing-spider-man-annual-1-review/ http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080726-marvel-ultimate.html

Crazy runner/Sandbox
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
In story information
Type	Drug

Mutant growth hormone (MGH) is a fictional drug in the

.

The drug is extracted from genetic material taken from genetic mutants or mutates, and it is usually presented in pill form.

Effects

MGH grants temporary powers to whoever takes it, described as a "temporary genetic shift". Usually, when the source is unspecified, the effect is increased strength and aggression. If someone who already has superhuman powers takes MGH, those powers are enhanced.

History

The first appearance of MGH is in Amazing Adventures (vol. 2) #11 created by Dr. Hank McCoy, also known as the X-Man Beast. McCoy discovered what would later become MGH while working for the Brand Corporation. He consumed it in an effort to protect his fledgling discovery from a rival scientist. The (not yet addictive) drug caused Beast to grow gray fur (which later turned blue) all over his body and acquire sharp ears, elongated canine teeth, claws, enhanced senses and an accelerated healing factor. When he could not reverse the mutation, McCoy came to accept his fate, though his actions continue to haunt him to this day.

In one supposed appearance of the drug, it was passed around to a party crowd which gave them all very familiar powers and caused them to run amok. The drug was not named, but it could easily have been MGH. A drug with very similar uses was being sold by the Vanisher soon after.

MGH came to prominence in comics written by Brian Michael Bendis. It was central to the plots of the Lowlife story arc in Daredevil, in which the Owl was refining his own mutant genetic material and building a criminal empire by dealing it (his dealers claimed it was from Spider-Man).

In the The Underneath arc of Alias, Mattie Franklin, the third Spider-Woman, was exploited as the source of the material. This storyline is being followed up in The Loners miniseries, in which Mattie, Darkhawk and Ricochet target the MGH dealers and the mutant Nekra.

Patriot of the Young Avengers was revealed as a user of MGH. Having no superpowers of his own, he misled his teammates into believing he had inherited his grandfather Isaiah Bradley's superpowers, when in fact Patriot was regularly taking MGH in order to be as effective as his teammates in battle. (He took the drug from street distributors and manufacturers whom he apprehended.) When this secret was revealed, he quit the drug and the team, though he later rejoined, obtaining powers similar to the ones he claimed from a blood transfusion by his grandfather. At this time it was also revealed that the criminal Mister Hyde was producing a derivative of the formula that granted him his powers as a form of MGH.

The Runaways have also encountered the drug on their jaunt to New York City. Cloak, of Cloak and Dagger, was pursued by the New Avengers after being caught on tape savagely beating Dagger, an attack which landed her in the hospital. It was later revealed that Reginald Mantz, an orderly at that same hospital, was the one behind the attack, mimicking Cloak's powers using MGH. (Deluded, Mantz considered Dagger to be his "girlfriend.")

Wolverine discovered that Nitro had been taking MGH to boost his power, which allowed him to devastate Stamford, killing over 600 people. Said event would lead to the Superhuman Registration Act and the superhero Civil War.

Alexander Bont, a pre-Kingpin criminal leader sent to prison by young Daredevil, consumed the drug after release from prison as means to get revenge on the superhero. In his case, the effect of the MGH was too much for his elderly body to endure, and his heart exploded.

In Uncanny X-Men #490; Endangered Species chapter 10, it was revealed that after the events of M-Day all stock of MGH that was obtained from previously-powered mutants was no longer viable. However, all of the MGH taken from still-powered mutants is fine.

Other versions

"Banshee" (Ultimate Marvel)

In the Ultimate X-Men #94, a drug similar to MGH called Banshee is introduced. When taken by mutants, the drug enhances their powers. Its effects on non-mutant superhumans has not yet been shown, but it has been stated that "gives normal humans temporary powers. Flight. Invisibility." but also that one human who thought he was intangible jumped in front of a train, with deadly results.

History

The Ultimate version of Alpha Flight kidnaps Northstar, after neutralizing the X-Men with near god-like powers. When Colossus begins to mount a plan to rescue him, it is discovered that he has been using a type of Mutant Growth Hormone named Banshee that has granted him his incredible strength; although his mutation allows him to turn his body into steel, without the Banshee he would not have the strength to move. At the end of the issue, Ultimate Rogue, Angel, Nightcrawler, and Dazzler have all taken Banshee to aid Colossus in his rescue of Northstar, dramatically changing their appearances.

Wolverine goes to Spider-Man to figure out why he was tested positive for Banshee. Spider-Man/Peter Parker is able to determine that someone used Wolverine's DNA as the basis for Banshee. It is revealed that Charles Xavier and Magneto developed Banshee, but Xavier cancelled the project when he realized its addictive effects. Moira MacTaggert with support from Magneto began production to fund her facility.

Parallels with the reality

In an interview with Comic Book Resources, the writer Aron Coleite explains that in his Ultimate X-Men story arc, "Absolute Power", the parallels between the Banshee drug and Major League Baseball’s human growth hormone (HGH) scandal are not accidental.

I'm not an idiot, I knew those players were using steroids, I knew that's what was going on -- there's no way people can pitch like that, that they can hit like that. I knew it was all going on, but even so to have that confirmed. I couldn't believe how angry I was, how betrayed I felt, you know? Because I'm a lifelong fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers, there are so many people on that list that I didn't want to believe were doing steroids! I was so in denial about it, but when it happened it all made sense -- unfortunately -- and it sullied their accomplishments, and years of emotional investing in them was kind of thrown away. I thought, well, these people were heroes to me, they were heroes to a lot of kids. What would happen if my other heroes were caught using drugs? How would I react? How would the characters react? The idea sprung from there.

— Aron Coleite

There are two sides to the argument. The argument is, yeah, people shouldn't use steroids, but the other side of that is, if everybody's using then you need to stay competitive. That was Colossus's rational argument, that there are dangerous people out there and we need every advantage that we can get. We can't necessarily just rely on our training or our mutations.

— Aron Coleite

See also

• List of comic book drugs

External links

• Mutant Growth Hormone at Marvel Wikia
• Mutant Growth Hormone at Comic Vine