Question for those who read Marvel Comics (or at least X-Men comics)

[Basement Cat]

Because prejudice is the central point of the X-Men. It originally was meant to represent being gay, ie its something you're born with, people hat you for it, your parents ask if you could just stop being it, you have to come out to your friends, yadda yadda. These days it could be extrapolated to represent any genetic disorder or quirk or anything that has some sort of social stigma(Note: I am not saying being gay is a disorder.)

Stan Lee stated that he came up with "mutants" (which was in the mid 60's) as a generic explanation for different characters having super powers: He was tired of having to come up with unique ways for how every super hero got their powers. The X-Factor gene served as a MacGuffin for mass producing super types.

There was zero "gay factor" involved originally[footnote]The extremely limiting Comics Code forbade such mention, in fact.[/footnote]--particularly given that in the mid-sixties there was practically zero tolerance of homosexuality, period, and concerns for homosexual rights, etc, were decades away from being considered a mainstream subject. Race and class rights were the hot topics back then. And Vietnam. Drugs.

Funny how the more things change the more they stay the same.

Early on the "X-Factor" served as a catch all against prejudice in general: Race, culture, religion, country of origin, etc.

The relationship between homosexuality and mutants was consciously and deliberately applied by the directors of X-Men movies both to combat anti-homosexual attitudes and to help non-comic book reading movie goers relate to the in-universe prejudice. "Huh? 'Can't you just stop being a mutant' sounds a lot like--OH! Now I get it!"

OT: The Meta answer is that X-comics' writers harped upon the topic because that was the X-Men's schtick. When mutants showed up in Avengers and the Fantastic Four, etc, the topic of prejudice often failed to get even a mention. It was only when Chris Claremont's run throughout the 1980's made the X-Men Marvel's best selling book that prejudice against mutants really entered the "mainstream" of other Marvel comics "in universe reality".

 

[Kenbo Slice]

DC has a similar issue with Batman. Batman solo and Justice League Batman are basically separate characters in alternate worlds.

I always thought that was weird too. JL Batman is snarky and sarcastic, even a little romantic with Wonder woman, brooding sure, but he really does seem to care about the founders at least. Hell, I think there's a moment where Batman admits he wishes he was as good a superhero as the Flash, because he just admires the fuck out of how Flash has gotten to know, personally, not just his enemies, but everyone in Central City and can actually talk his enemies out of violence rather than simply punching all of them all the time.

Then solo comic Batman comes along, impregnates Barbara Godron while her fiance, Dick, Batman's adopted son and sidekick, is on assignment and then broods so hard even the Goth kids from South Park think he's insufferable.

And I'm like...thems the same dude?

No. That solo Batman comic takes place out of the mainstream DC Comics universe. That one is a continuation of the 90's animated Batman series.

 

[WolfThomas]

The thing is that a lot of people DO mistrust superheroes. There was a whole Civil War/SHRA about it. Also the US Government and/or S.H.I.E.L.D. at multiple points has tried to have greater control over superhuman teams like the Avengers (Henry Gyrich Avenger Liason anyone).

But for the most part superheroes are just a New York thing. Sure there might be a hero or two in another US city (like Scarlet Spider briefly in Houston) or country (Alpha Flight). But for the most part they're sparse on the ground everywhere else. So people across the US and the world view the Avengers, FF, Spiderman from a distance. Like celebrities. It's different when it's the guy down the street.

Also most superheroes have their power from radiation exposure, alien artificial, technology etc things not easily reproduced. They're an anomaly. Mutants are the threat of normal humans dying out being replaced by "superior" creatures.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

My point is, why does it seem like mutants like the X-Men tend to face prejudice from most normal humans while most other Marvel superheroes with altered genes (like the Fantastic Four) do not?

You need to think of it as a metaphor for racism in our world. Mutants are "born different", even if you except the next-step-in-evolution "homo superior" business. Just as minorities are feared for their different cultures, their different manner of dress, speech, customs, etc, humans fear Marvel's mutants because they are different.

Other super-heroes weren't born different. They aren't a different race that threatens the status quo of homo sapiens dominance. They don't put their "different" children in the same schools as ours and I expect that they're forgiven on the basis that they use their abilities for good.

It's not always quite so clear cut but in its simplest form, it can be considered a parallel to the modern world's "racism". People fear "otherness" rather than the abilities mutants may or may not have.