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
Kitty’s capability is immediately established, however, first with a “Days of Future Past” story that establishes her position of prominence in the team’s future, then immediately after that in a solo story which sees her defeating a demon by herself. 4/10
Once established, Kitty carries more and more of the viewpoint character role in the series. That role is always distributed across different characters, but never equally (see Colossus as example) and Kitty becomes Claremont’s goto. 5/10
This transition has a number of notable effects: First, it creates a greater sense of parity between the protagonist’s age and that of the series’ implied/intended audience, making immersion into the X-Men’s world that much easier for younger readers. 6/10
Second, instead of allowing Kitty to make the text more juvenile, Claremont persists in his depiction of horrific experiences - using Kitty’s sense of being overwhelmed (despite her capability) to enhance the sense of vulnerability and tension within the series overall. 7/10
Third, having an emotionally vulnerable hero take center stage in a conflict between superpowered beings presents opportunities to speak to the cost of the conflict in much more human and relatable terms, leading to a more nuanced representation of emotional toll. 8/10
Finally, we have to note that even though X-Men was already defying the masculinist norms of the superhero genre at the time of Kitty’s arrival, having a 13 year old girl serve as the protagonist of a superhero adventure comic was wholly unique. 9/10
As scholar Margaret Galvan notes: “Fighting against expectations, Pryde extends the field of what powerful superheroines look and act like.” That she did so from a position of prominence, and that it worked so well, serves as testament to the character’s legacy. 10/10

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More from @ClaremontRun

29 May
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
Read 11 tweets
28 May
In his 2006 essay “Mutant Readers, Reading Mutants: Appropriation, Assimilation and the X-Men,” scholar Neil Shyminsky capably argues that X-Men comics can be seen to appropriate and sell a narrative of disempowerment to the empowered. #xmen 1/6 Image
“Rather than reflecting…that disempowered minorities are reading about and identifying themselves in the pages of the comic book, most readers are being taught to identify with oppressions that are unfamiliar and, I would argue, unequalto their own.” 2/6 Image
For Shyminsky, this approach is problematic as it creates an implied “equivalence” between (in his example) being a geek and other forms of oppression such as “racism, sexism or homophobia.” 3/6 Image
Read 6 tweets
23 May
One of the more fundamental problems with Wein’s launch of the new X-Men was the paradox of trying to appeal to an international market while still presenting a form of colonialist cultural centralism. Claremont didn’t always escape that, but he made important strides. #xmen 1/11
GSX 1 begins with Xavier traveling the world to recruit a new batch of X-Men from their homelands, often removing them from existing hero (or goddess) roles for their respective peoples with the promise of an obligation to the world that lands them squarely in upstate NY 2/11
Once Claremont takes over, some more rational considerations appear, however. In UXM 94, for example, Sunfire leaves the X-Men immediately out of a sense of obligation for his homeland. Fans were confused by this initially, but it’s actually pretty sensible. 3/11
Read 11 tweets
26 Mar
In 2000, former Marvel EIC, Jim Shooter sat down with CBR to discuss his legacy in comics, including his enduring perspective on his infamously contentious yet mutually beneficial relationship with Claremont on UXM. He tends to ramble a bit, but here’s some highlights: #xmen 1/11
“I inherited a company that was going out of business and losing money. I turned it around. In order to turn it around, I had to do things like tighten the ship. Creative people who have lived in anarchy do not like to be suddenly told no.” 2/11
“It's funny now, talk to people like Claremont. When I first sat down and talked to people like Claremont, and I'm saying story structure, identify your characters. Introduce your characters and concepts. Stuff he knew.” 3/11
Read 11 tweets
24 Mar
In UXM’s first hand-off of penciling duties from Cockrum to Byrne, we can see an important stylistic shift in panel structuring and character framing that had strong consequences on the theme of team unity and cohesion. #xmen 1/9 Image
Cockrum was overtaxed in trying to keep up with the burden of UXM and of drawing Claremont’s enormous cast of characters (both heroes and villains). In the interest of economy, Cockrum would often isolate individual characters in individual panels through close-up. 2/9 Image
While this technique of using extensive close-ups works quite well for establishing things like intimacy, character reaction through expression, and perspective, it can have a negative effect on things like scale and sense of the group dynamic. 3/9 Image
Read 9 tweets
20 Feb
Though only briefly glimpsed at in the pages of X-Men comics, Captain Britain’s relationship to Meggan in Excalibur offers a poignant portrayal of a toxic and dysfunctional coupling in superhero comics. #xmen #excalibur 1/8
While there’s actually a pretty rich tradition of such relationships in superhero comics (Harley/Joker, Wasp/Giant Man, Reed/Sue), Brian/Meggan demonstrates a lot of self-awareness and utilizes superhero identity components to enhance the symbolism. 2/8
Meggan’s power set (empathic metamorph) serves as a metaphor. She changes her body to match the desires of those around her. In this she is quite literally adopting the toxic trait of defining herself through what her partner wants her to be. 3/8
Read 9 tweets

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