In the pages of UXM, Claremont would go on to achieve a number of highly significant comics firsts for representation, but one of his most famous comes in Iron Fist, with what is widely considered the first mainstream interracial kiss in comics’ history. #xmen#IronFist 1/11
C’s UXM resume includes what has been identified as the first African-American superheroine (Cocca 125), the first black superhero team leader (Darowski 78), and the first canonically Jewish superhero (Cronin). Misty/Danny comes before all of these, however. 2/11
The kiss comes in 1977. Really importantly, it is not a high fantasy setting, a future story, or a random kiss with no emotional attachments, but the rational fulfillment of a pre-established and carefully cultivated romantic trajectory. 3/11
Beginning in Iron Fist #1 (or earlier, depending on perspective), Claremont cultivates the Misty/Danny relationship as a fraught partnership (usually built around a shared love of Colleen Wing) then a friendship, and finally a love, declared on-panel by both characters. 4/11
The relationship also features a great deal of power and agency on the part of Misty, who is the worldly, experienced partner, in contrast to Danny’s naivety. She isn’t just there to be rescued by him; she does a lot of rescuing herself. 5/11
Misty also shows a commitment to her autonomy/agency and a sense of non-romantic priorities. She becomes angry when Danny befriends a former IRA bomb-maker and, when pressed, sticks to her ideals, abandoning Danny in a complex show of commitment to her beliefs. 6/11
Misty shows further autonomy in her existence outside of Iron Fist. She doesn’t simply orbit Danny (as many Marvel girlfriend characters live for the hero). She has her own adventures as a PI, a secret agent, and as Colleen’s partner in the Daughters of the Dragon. 7/11
One of those adventures even has Misty taking on an implicitly sexual relationship with a crime lord as part of a deep cover assignment. This removes her from the sort of fidelity/chastity dynamic that we often see in Marvel girlfriends and giving Misty sexual agency instead 8/11
Simply put then, this isn’t just AN interracial relationship; it’s actually a pretty solid one, with a fair amount of give and take between both parties by the standards of the time. 9/11
We should also note that Claremont’s approach to the relationship is race-blind (which can be good or bad, depending on perspective). Though Danny actively battles misogynist tendencies learned in K’un-Lun, nobody even comments on race in their relationship. 10/11
In all of this, Claremont shows the kind of commitment to progressive representation that would become a benchmark of his time on UXM, whilst offering numerous points of comparison to interracial X-relationships like Storm/Forge, Storm/Yukio and Logan/Mariko. 11/11
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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