Issue #14 of Excalibur features a visual and narrative sequence that offers rich potential for a sexual interpretation (within a series that relishes sexual symbolism) when perceived through that particular interpretive lens. #xmen 1/10
The centrepiece of this reading is the single panel of Rachel, rippling with energy, reaching toward Widget who is placed at the exact location of her genitals with an almost orgiastic grin upon his face in an example of what's called “yonic imagery.” 2/10
The narrative of the story only enhances the symbolism through escalating tension building to climax. The entire planet is about to collapse and Excalibur needs to power up Widget in order to escape. The dialogue includes a double entendre in “jump-start that little sucker.” 3/10
Additionally, the juxtaposition of images surrounding Rachel – a swelling tide of surging water and raw energy on either side of her, and a complete eruption of the entire planet beneath – again contribute to an orgiastic interpretation. 4/10
To be clear, the text doesn’t require this reading, and it could be incidental to intent, but the text possibly does use subconscious multimodal sexual symbolism in order to create a visceral engagement with the reader, presumably without them knowing it. 5/10
We should also note that, as much as some might like to dismiss all sexual symbolism as vulgar projection there is indeed tremendous evidence to support that this is something very intentionally integrated into the superhero industry. 6/10
As Anna Peppard notes in Supersex, “By wearing their underwear on the outside and proudly displaying their exaggeratedly hard and sensuous curves inside revealing, skin-tight costumes, virtually all the most famous superheroes openly invite erotic possibilities.” 7/10
Now, we can stop here (and good sense suggests we should considering how Twitter debates on this subject can sometimes go) but we can also go further and look at how the specifics of the sexual imagery can contribute to Rachel’s characterization. 8/10
Rachel has frequently been seen to reject sexual advances in early issues of Excalibur. Portraying the character in a form of symbolic onanism could (arguably) connect her sexuality to her emerging sense of independence – a major theme of her characterization in Excalibur. 9/10
Finally, from a representational standpoint, the excision of female sexual pleasure in mass media has been the subject of extensive scholarly work. Thus, reading Rachel’s symbolic orgasm (even if completely unintentional) can offer a rare and significant counter-discourse. 10/10
In a coincidental (by which I mean carefully coordinated) bit of brand synergy, Excalibur 14 is the subject of this weeks’s GGW podcast where we don’t talk about this at all – hence why I decided to write a thread for it and save it for today. goshgollywow.com/episode-archiv…
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As a collaborative medium, comics are sometimes denigrated for their committee approach to character-building, but a closer look at the 'committee' behind Wolverine shows how a character like Logan offers a multifaceted connection to creative genius. #xmen #wolverine 1/10
As noted by Marvel historian Sean Howe, Wolverine was first “named and conceived by Roy Thomas, who detected a need to exploit the Canadian market” before being “developed further by Len Wein and John Romita” ahead of Logan’s debut in “The Incredible Hulk.” 2/10
Throw in Claremont, and the pedigree is quite impressive already. Thomas is perhaps best known as the greatest writer of Conan comics, a character that later artists would draw from quite directly in their interpretations of Wolverine. 3/10
In UXM #220, Claremont takes a moment away from a chaotic era to touch back upon the longstanding, well-evolved relationship between Storm and Wolverine, giving readers another character-revealing scene between this iconic X-Men duo. #xmen #wolverine #storm 1/9
The scene initiates a journey of self-discovery for Ororo, one of many throughout the series but this one will specifically create the rising action for the “Fall of the Mutants’’ event. She has to go alone, but someone has to lead the X-Men in her absence. She recruits Logan 2/9
The power dynamic is foreshadowed in the simple fact that Wolverine (an archetypal hunter) has literally scaled the highest mountain to be alone, but it doesn’t matter. Even without her powers, Ororo has tracked him down. 3/9
In an introductory essay penned in 1980, John Byrne recounts his personal perspective on Jean Grey and her transformation to Phoenix. His candid account paints a less grandiose view on the cultivation of the character within the series than we normally hear. #xmen #JeanGrey 1/7
“I’ve never liked Phoenix. There, I said it...It’s not that I don’t like Jean Grey. I have an abiding fondness for readheads, and have been in love with Jean since we first ‘met,’ about a millions years ago when I was 13.” 2/7
“Granted that her power were not nearly as spectacular as Cyclops’, or Angel’s, or even Iceman’s, but she looked real good in a tight uniform and could – and did – serve to get the X-Men out of tight places.” 3/7
Placing Kitty Pryde into the position of viewpoint character has to represent one of the most groundbreaking decisions within the entirety of the Claremont run – a move that ultimately impacted the series, comics as a whole, and even Western media in powerful ways. #xmen 1/10
The Claremont run begins with Cyclops as the main viewpoint character. Kitty joins the team right at his departure and soon enough takes over as a main viewpoint character for the rest of her tenure, as reflected in our data (noting that Kitty’s only on for 70ish issues). 2/10
At the time of her arrival, Claremont had already executed a turn toward more adult-oriented stories (something that becomes even more pronounced after the death of an X-Man in DPS). It’s therefore perhaps odd to bring on a teen protagonist. 3/10
Despite having all manner of characters (good and evil) express romantic interest in her, Storm’s first canonical love is Forge, a possibly counter-intuitive choice. But this might be the point, as Forge can better connect Ororo to her humanity. #xmen 1/10
Storm is routinely courted (or abducted – or both) by the wealthiest, most powerful beings on the planet/cosmos. She could be a queen, a goddess, a vampire, you name it, but she rejects all of these suitors out of concern for her own independence. 2/10
When asked in interview why it took so long for Storm to receive a relationship partner, Claremont would often reply “because nobody was good enough for her.” 3/10
Sharon Kelly is introduced to the readers in UXM #246 and is all-but killed in that same issue. She’s a character whose entire life and especially death exist in service to the plot, but, in spite of that, Claremont gives her story complexity, contradiction, and pathos. #xmen 1/9
We are first introduced to Sharon as she arrives at the Hellfire Club during a meeting between her husband (Senator Robert Kelly) and Sebastian Shaw. It’s revealed that Sharon was a Hellfire Club servant before marrying the senator. 2/9
Her brief interaction with her former colleagues showcases the kind of class exploration that one would see in a Bronte novel or, more recently, Downton Abbey. Hers is a story of rare class mobility and the perspective that comes with seeing both sides of the class divide. 3/9