For much of Marvel's history, the X-men have represented a social commentary aspect of their mythos. The X-men have always been seen as a metaphor for minorities and persecuted groups while still being the costumed heroes we comic book fans know and love. I've made some effort to capture that social commentary aspect in the X-men Supreme fanfiction series, but I've avoided getting too political until the events of X-men Supreme Volume 3: Ashes of Hope. Fittingly enough, during this election season I'm telling a story of how the struggles of the X-men and mutants have become a key issue in a presidential election. Senator Robert Kelly is trying to ride the fear and hatred stirred by mutants from the events of X-men Supreme Volumes 1 and 2 right into the White House. The previous landmark 50th issue of X-men Supreme set the stage for a conflict that is as dangerous as it is political. Now a new kind of battle is ready to unfold and it begins in the pages of Issue 51: Stirring Outrage. I've prepared a quick preview to show what can be expected.
“Leave me alone! What do you asshats want from me?!” a desperate teenage girl cried out into a dreary night.
“You’re already an abomination, mutant! You’re not doing yourself any favors by running from human justice!”
They were words of sheer hatred. Megan Gwynn, or Pixie as some called her, had been hearing it for much of her life going back to her days in Wales, England. The bigotry she faced back home was bad, but she never faced anything like this before. These people were operating on a whole new level of hatred. She didn’t know who they were or where they came from, but they were all wearing the same uniforms with the emblems ‘Friends of Humanity’ embroider on their shirts. Despite the name, they hardly seemed friendly.
Running desperately through the dirty alleys of East Harlem, she struggled to remember how this all started. She wasn’t in a friendly area to begin with. This was a shady part of town, but one in which mutants tended to congregate. They had to with all the prejudice they had been facing. It had been especially hard for her. She recently lost her father in a mining accident and had been living off the inheritance with a few other mutants in a shelter. It was a rough life, especially when it was hard to hide her mutation. They were nothing fancy. She had insect-like butterfly wings on her back that she could use to fly and elf-like ears. It seemed like a benign power, but these guys didn’t seem to care.
She had just left a small restaurant frequented by mutants and was heading back to the shelter. Along the way she noticed these strange men following her. The next thing she knew she was surrounded. They started pushing her and intimidating her, knowing full well she was a mutant trying to hide her mutancy. When they ripped off her jacket and revealed her wings, it was the excuse they needed to start chasing her. Why they singled her was beyond her. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“Over here! She’s heading around the back!” one of the men chasing her said.
“Good! That means she’s got nowhere left to hide!”
Pixie was in dire need of a breather. She had been running for her life for a full fifteen minutes. There were just too many of these guys. They were swift and coordinated, setting them apart from other anti-mutant hecklers. They were trying to corner her, leading her down an ally that had no escape. It was going from bad to worse and the young mutant was really starting to panic.
‘Who the hell are these guys? I know it’s been bad for mutants lately, but these guys…they take hatred and mix in an extra dose of crazy! And here I was thinking Americans were friendly to mutants and the Welsh!’
Pixie saw more of these men down towards the end of the alley. Now she was being chased from behind and from up ahead. She had no choice but to run into a smaller, adjacent alley where garbage had piled up. It led her straight into a dead end. Now she was facing a hoard of anti-mutant zealots on one end and a brick wall on the other.
Leaning against the wall and gasping for air, Pixie knew they officially had her trapped. Fear and frustration took over as she turned around to face her attackers. They were closing in, their eyes full of hate and disgust. Some of them were armed with baseball bats, metal pipes, and brass knuckles. She wasn’t sure if they were going to kill her or just beat her to a pulp. Whatever their intent, she had to get away.
“End of the line, mutant scum!” said one of the men, “Time to face the pure hand of humanity!”
“Why?! What did I ever do to you blokes?!” Pixie cried desperately
“You were born!”
It was hatred of the worst kind. There was no reason behind it. They just hated what she was. It was a hate Pixie knew she could not get around.
“Brace yourself, mutant bitch! Cooperate and we’ll make this quick!” said the same man.
“Says you!” Pixie spat angrily, “These wings aren’t just for show, you know! Although they could be!”
Gathering what strength she had left, Pixie flexed her wings and took to the air. Up above she saw clear, open sky. They would not be able to follow her here. Or so she thought.
“See you later you mutant hating jerks!” she taunted, “You don’t like mutants? Take it up with Charles Darwin!”
“She’s getting away!” said one of them.
“Not for long, she isn’t!”
Pixie was just about to clear the building. Then one of the armed men stepped forth from the crowd a pointed a specially made hunting rifle up at her. She was tired so she wasn’t flying very fast. Before she could get too far, he got off three well-aimed shots. The first two missed, but the third one hit her right in the upper part of her wings. As soon as Pixie felt this, she went tumbling back towards the ground below in a world of pain.
“Ahhhhhhhhhh!” she cried out.
Her wing was bleeding. She could feel the blood drip down onto her shirt. She tried to grab onto the ledge of the building to keep herself from falling back into the ally. But her fingertips barely grazed it, leaving her nowhere to go but down.
She struck the hard pavement below with a hard thud. She landed on her side, feeling a sharp snap in her left leg as she landed. She definitely broke a few bones. She could even feel one protruding from her skin. It was painful in a terrible way. But the pain was secondary to her fear. Only half-conscious and unable to move, she watched as the angry men surrounded her on all sides.
“Please… don’t,” Pixie begged, blood now dripping from her mouth.
“Save your breath. The Friends of Humanity show mercy only to our fellow humans. And you are most certainly not human!”
In addition, I've done a quick update to the Goblin Queen section of my pics section. I've noticed that Madelyne Pryor is a pretty popular character in the annuls of X-men. I promise I'll do my best to fill her section as I have the other X-women!
While I strive to make the X-men Supreme fanfiction series the highest of quality, I also try to make it relevant as the real comics so often are. Part of what makes Marvel awesome is their willingness to tackle real-world issues. X-men Supreme will address those issues in many unique ways that you won't find outside this fanfiction series. If you have any feedback or commentary of your own for how I'm handling this or any other element of the X-men Supreme fanfiction series, please contact me and I'll be happy to discss this with you! Thank you everybody for your kind support. Until next time, take care and best wishes!
Jack
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