One of the ways that Claremont defines Jean as a 2nd wave feminist superhero is through her simple, consistent reluctance to fall into a domestic relationship against her wishes and to assert, instead, her independence and superheroism. #xmen 1/13
Betty Friedan is a major catalyst of American 2nd wave feminism who speaks to the confining effect of women’s forced domesticity. “Why should women accept this picture of a half-life, instead of a share in the whole of human destiny?” 2/13
We see Jean challenge this half-life early on with her assertion of power and agency in sacrificing herself to save her peers. Though a civilian at this time, she refuses Scott’s attempt to shield her and claims the role of martyr for herself – quite authoritatively. 3/13
We see it again in the Dark Phoenix Saga when she refuses to be subjugated by Mastermind within a culture that – through virtue of its dress and its colonialist aesthetic – makes it clear that women serve only subordinate roles. She also dominates Scott sexually at this time 4/13
As Dark Phoenix, Jean’s dialogue speaks metaphorically to this theme of defying domestic half-life. “I didn’t want this, my dear ones – and yet, it was something I had to do. By striking you down, I cut myself of the last ties binding me to the person I was. The life I led.” 5/13
We can find similar sentiment expressed literally in Classic X-Men #1 when she explains to Prof X why she is leaving the team: “There’s so much I want to see and do…I find myself thinking of this house as a cloister, even a prison. I’m bound here. Trapped.” 6/13
Upon her post-mortem return, she’s written primarily by Louise Simonson in the pages of X-Factor, but Claremont does occasionally handle the character (primarily in guest appearances) such as we see in UXM #261 where Jean tours the mansion ruins and finds an old photo. 7/13
Scott has proposed and Jean is reluctant. “Now it’s my turn. Scott wants to marry me! Once – not so terribly long ago – that would have made me the happiest of girls. Times I thought the way we fit together – it was almost as though things were pre-ordained.” 8/13
In Days of Future Present, Jean outright rejects Rachel’s claim as her daughter. It’s genuinely heartbreaking from Rachel’s perspective, but Jean’s choice to preserve her agency makes sense for that character’s fervent desire to be free of forced domestic obligation. 9/13
When Sue Richards compliments Jean on Rachel, Jean defies the forced application of the maternal role on her (one appropriately thrown at her by Marvel’s most famous wife and mother). “Parent?! I’m not even married….” 10/13
“…And out of nowhere I’m face to face with the product of my life to come!...It’s like all the pieces of my life are locked into place without me having the slightest say!” 11/13
The point here is that our culture (as Friedan articulates) bombards women with images of happiness achieved only “as her children's mother, her husband's wife” (Friedan) and even as the entire comics community clamoured for Jean to just marry Cyclops, she hesitates. 12/13
She also sometimes expresses fervent desire to be a wife and mom, but her skepticism toward that role and what it would cost her shows an important understanding of the problematic enforcement of domestic roles onto women. 13/13
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While the circumstances of Rogue’s absorption of the Carol Danvers persona are surreal and supernatural, they nonetheless provide an intriguing example of the concept of “restorative justice” in a manner that makes a compelling story at the same time. #xmen #rogue 1/9
Restorative justice is a system that focuses on “providing an opportunity for the parties directly affected by the crime – victims, offenders and communities – to identify and address their needs in the aftermath of a crime” instead of simple punishment. 2/9
Though more recently popularized, RJ was commonly practiced by First Nations communities in North America, forming the basis of entire judicial infrastructures (where most Western justice systems, up until recently, focused on the familiar penal structure). 3/9
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