Love Throws No Stones

Kurt Wagner can’t even say the word ‘gay’. As his best friend (or now it seems his ex-best friend) points out, this homophobia is highly ironic. Kurt, or Nightcrawler as he is known by many, is a mutant, an advanced species of human, Homo superior if you will (as opposed to Homo sapiens). His mutant power is that of teleportation, with a puff of smoke he can disappear, only to reappear somewhere else. In addition to this, he also is blue, furry, and looks like a demon (complete with a tail). Yet he is still human.

In spite of this strange dichotomy, Wagner is quick to judge those who are different, in this case, homosexuals. Following Nightcrawler’s introduction in Ultimate X-Men he became fast friends with the X-Man known as Colossus (Peter Rasputin). The two were constant companions in missions and life in general. However, upon realizing that Colossus is gay, Nightcrawler makes every attempt to cut Peter out of his life completely.

The writers of Ultimate X-Men bring to mind John 8:1-11 in regards to the course that Nightcrawler’s life takes after his shunning of Colossus. After a fellow X-Man is put in a coma following a fight, Nightcrawler waits day and night at her hospital bed, transforming an unrequited crush into a full-blown obsession that culminates in his kidnapping of her once she awakes from her coma. This crazy development with Nightcrawler emphasizes his own faults, recalling Christ’s words of “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone…” (speaking of the woman caught in adultery, John 8:7, ESV). Wagner is quick to judge his friend for his homosexuality, yet he is not without sin himself.

The story of the X-Men has always been about prejudices, even since its conception in the early 1960’s. The X-Men stood as an allegory then for people of different race, they were still human but were judged because of the way they were born (in this case, not with different skin color, but with powers that set them apart from the rest of humanity). Now this group of often outlaw superheroes represents any group that is different, be it diverse races, religions, or sexualities. This has been made more explicit of late by the inclusion of X-Men who are members of all these groups: there are Hindu X-Men who fight alongside Christian ones, there are African-American and Asian mutants, and there are gay heroes as well.

I see a lot of media that includes characters of different sexuality, and to me it seems to be a sell-out in order to please every demographic. However, there seems to be rhyme to the reasoning behind the ‘all-new, all-different X-Men’. In a recent issue of Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine approaches Jean-Paul Beaubier (Northstar, a mutant with the power of super-speed), about joining the X-Men. Northstar, who is openly gay, is about as wary of the proposition as I was at first.

The scene pictured above (click the picture if you are unable to read the text) addresses my skepticism about using those that are different as nothing more than a publicity stunt. While I’m sure that the inclusion of diverse characters probably does help circulation of the comic books, I do not believe that is the primary reason they are in the series. Instead, characters like Northstar simply assist the writers behind the various X-Men series in spreading their gospel of loving those who are different. Jesus points out in Matthew 5:47 that “if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?” It says nothing about our character if we accept those that are the same. However, those who write about the X-Men put us in the position where we have to differentiate ourselves from the Gentiles so to speak. I find it refreshing that in spite of the bigotry I witness so often in real life (racism is disgusting for so many of the people I am around, yet they have no problem spitting out purely hateful comments about homosexuals) the comic book world encourages us in adopting a Christian approach towards loving others, regardless of their differences.

Of course the Bible says that homosexuality is wrong, and the fact that it is sinful cannot be argued. Various passages refer to acts of homosexuality as ‘detestable’ and ‘an abomination’ (Leviticus 20:13 and 18:22 respectively). Clearly, we as Christians should not compromise in this matter, homosexuality is against God’s will and that is the simple fact. However, Christ commands us to love our neighbors without exception. Somebody pointed out in the discussion board this week that the definition of a neighbor that Jesus provides in the parable of the Good Samaritan centers around mercy. The lawyer that is engaging Jesus in conversation, upon being asked who was the neighbor to the injured man in the story, responds that the neighbor was the one who showed the man mercy. Jesus then tells the man to go and do likewise. The definition of mercy as I understand it is when a person does not receive what they deserve. Of course sin deserves negative consequences, but as sinners ourselves it is not our place to dole out this negativity. Instead we are to show mercy to other sinners.

A recent issue of X-Factor, ended with a kiss between two gay characters. A few issues later the letters page included a very hateful and disgusted response to this. The writer of the letter detailed how he tore up the issue of the comic and sold the rest of his collection on ebay, complaining that the inclusion of gay and lesbian characters is ruining his dreams for ‘a better comic book world’. Peter David, the writer of X-Factor wrote a response to this, saying essentially that we should respect others, regardless of their sexuality and continuing to say that his idea of a better comic book world is one where diverse characters can be explored without it having to be a big deal. To some this will always be a big deal, but I am glad that the writers who tell the tales of the X-Men can acknowledge that the world is not made up of heterosexual white males. It’s not an agenda, it’s a portrayal of the world as it is. As for me, I think we should hate the sin, but love the sinner. After all, no matter what good we may do, as 1 Corinthians 13 points out, if we don’t have love, we are nothing.

‘Nuff Said!
-Cable

Multiple Issues

Jamie Madrox has the mutant power of schizophrenia. Ok, so maybe that's not accurate, but at the very least he has very many, very distinct, and very visible personalities. Madrox, otherwise known as the Multiple Man, has the power of creating a duplicate of himself any time he absorbs kinetic energy (i.e. getting punched or snapping his fingers). This allows Multiple Man to create a veritable army of Multiple Men, something quite useful in a fight. What is interesting about this power is that each duplicate, or 'dupe', of Madrox exemplifies a unique facet of Madrox's personality. For example, one dupe might be 'the funny one' or one might be 'the scholarly one', some have training as doctors while others are simply soldiers. Unfortunately, as neat as this power is, as is the case whenever the law of conservation of mass is broken, there are plenty of problems...

Whenever Madrox creates a dupe, at some point he must reabsorb it. The absorption of duplicate Jamies can be accomplished by a simple touch from the original Madrox. The dupes are usually very accommodating in regards to this process, however this is not always the case. In a recent issue of Wolverine First Class (which runs in a time line more in touch with the X-Men comic books of the 1980s) the problem of a renegade dupe arises. Madrox 'Prime' (as the true Jamie is sometimes referred to)has created a dupe who is determined to live his own life. Equally determined is Madrox Prime in his quest to reabsorb the dupe. His reasoning is that if the dupe does anything wrong he would be responsible, and as such must preempt this possibly negative scenario. Kitty Pryde, the youngest member of the X-Men, sides with the dupe in this conflict and attempts to persuade Madrox Prime from his attempts at reabsorbing the dupe, accusing him of trying to kill the dupe. Madrox retorts that it wouldn't be killing him, that "He's a part of me! He's like...a toenail clipping! Or hair! If my hair started begging not to be cut, how seriously would you take it?" Kitty's response is a very sarcastic "If your hair started talking, that would be pretty cool," and she continues making her point asking "How am I supposed to say that this guy is less deserving of life than you are...?"



This scene very much reminds me of debates on abortion. People often justify abortion by getting into technical debates over what makes a life. Unborn children are referred to as nothing more than clumps of tissue (not much different than what Madrox Prime says when he likens his dupe to hair or toenail clippings). However, these 'clumps of tissues' grow into something that can talk, and I, like Kitty, do not understand why they are considered any less deserving of life than we are.

This parallel is made even more explicit in an issue of the comic book X-Factor (#39 to be precise), the monthly series that features Multiple Man as the head of what is essentially a mutant detective agency. In this issue (many spoilers to come, though I strongly recommend that you read this series as it is very smart and thought-provoking) the character Theresa Cassiday (aka Siryn, a mutant who wields a 'sonic scream' who you might have seen briefly in the raid on the X-Mansion in the second X-Men movie) gives birth to a son...Madrox's child, quickly christened Sean. This moment of joy turns very sour when the happy couple finds out that the child's father is not exactly who it was thought...Madrox is not literally the father, instead it is one of his dupes. This is revealed when Madrox Prime takes the infant in his arms and accidentally reabsorbs him. It turns out that "the offspring of a dupe isn't really anything more than a dupe". This incident puts the already hot-headed Siryn into a murderous rage and sends Jamie towards grief-stricken insanity (he later is rescued from his own suicide attempts). Clearly this issue is not to be taken lightly. While the 'death' of Sean very much mirrors an abortion, even in the language used in referral to it, the actions taken in response to it demonstrate a sense of loss that surely does not come from the loss of some tissue. Yes, the infant dupe is easier to identify with as it takes the form of a completely developed baby, but the parallels are there. The loss of something that "isn't really anything more than a dupe" causes Jamie's fiancee to threaten to kill him upon next seeing him and drives Madrox himself on a suicidal path. The actions taken by these characters speaks louder than their words, life is precious and should not be taken.

There is one case of a dupe that is not absorbed. Jamie, in a quest to absorb all his dupes, finds one duplicate who has created a life that is entirely his own. Going by the name John Madrox, the dupe is a pastor with his own congregation, church, and family.



Needless to say, the voice that answers John from off panel in the above picture is not that of the God he is praying to. Instead he turns to find a very cynical, very depressed, Madrox Prime. In their initial encounter John makes his case and eventually convinces Jamie to not absorb him. I find it interesting that the one dupe who receives his own life becomes a priest. This alerts to the scriptural approach we should take towards the issues represented by Multiple Man. The Bible plainly states that we are not to kill (Exodus 20:13), and while people may go on and on suggesting that abortion is okay because it is nothing more than removing a clump of tissue, my thought is that it would be pretty cool if that little clump of tissue started talking...

'Nuff Said
-Cable