"X-Men As J Men"

“What makes Magneto tick?” A question asked by X-Men’s author, Chris Claremont. After reading much about X-Men, specifically Magneto, this quote can be explained and elaborated upon. I think the underlying ideas of the X-Men comic were really smart and can be admired for being displayed so artistically. I liked that X-Men differed from other Jewish comics by linking Magneto with actual history of Jewish oppression. Not only can the whole idea of X-Men being mutants relate to how Holocaust victims were treated during WWII, but Magneto’s past experience with the concentration camps also shows us glimpses of the horrors of the Holocaust.

To answer the question previously stated, Magneto himself as a person is strong and powerful yet at the same time, full of hurt and pain from his Holocaust experience. According to BOS, Magneto ticks like a clock and the heavy metal and machinery located in concentration camps. Magneto’s past is what drives him to “tick and tamper with things (144).” This is his character and it developed because of his harsh past.

Not only did Claremont write about the hardships faced by Holocaust victims and survivors, but he expressed the general problem that society has at accepting those who are different, or “mutant.” Baron’s article “X-Men As J Men,” repeatedly discusses the importance of treating everyone as equals, and uses the “Holocaust as a metaphor for the vulnerability of any minority group.” Not only can we connect X-Men to different ethnic groups being treated unfairly, but the X-Men were also a way to target teens. Claremont’s use of the mutants being freaks of nature, allowed younger adults going through puberty to reflect and feel like they could relate.

The bottom line is that in some way we are all “mutant” and therefore we shouldn’t treat one group of people differently or any lesser just because it’s easier. Like X-Men (film) director Bryan Singer said in the article, “all kinds of people should live in as much peace and harmony as humanly possible on this planet, regardless of their differences.”