Why we need X-Men now more than ever

As a kid from the 90s I was obsessed with two things: Disney movies, and X-men. I was the only person in my house who liked X-men. 

I’m the eldest, and I didn’t grow up in a comic book family. But being one of a few Latinas in the middle of Mishawaka, Indiana, X-Men proved a necessary escape. 

My family moved to Indiana in the early 90s from Puerto Rico. I remember going to elementary school and being teased every day for smelling funny or for not speaking English with my cousins. 

I felt isolated. 

I felt alone but X-Men helped me feel seen. I made other friends at school who were also outcasts and loved X-Men and every recess we would play in the playground and pretend like we were the characters.

I remember invoking Alison Sealy‘s deep Storm voice or Lenore Zaan’s southern accent, pretending to be Rogue flying in the air. X-Men provided a safe haven for outcast kids who were teased simply for looking and being different. 

Needless to say, when my friend invited me to attend the X-Men 97 premier I felt that exact same joy I had as a child eating a bowl of cereal, waiting for the X-Men to come on hearing the theme song. 

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the first season of X-Men 97 bring the same courage the original show had. The writers were unafraid to bring to the screen the pages of the comic books that we have come to love.

I think the reason why the rebooted series resonated and still resonates is because it is about having moral courage in the face of bigotry and hate. 

It teaches people the harm bigoted hate does. The character’s flaws make them relatable to us especially as adults. The X-Men’s courage reminds us of the courage we are capable of. Which is why in 2025 X-Men is even more important now. 

Civil Rights Movement Connection

X-Men first came on the scene in July 1963 during the height of the Civil Rights movement. 

During that time Black people, Chicanos, Asians, LGBTQIA, and other marginalized communities were demonized and seen as the “dangerous other.” 

Jim Crow laws were in full effect in the south, and terrible acts of violence were being done against Black bodies. 

During that same time Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were working at Marvel. Spider-man was already out, and the two started working on a team of super-hero mutants who were persecuted by humans for their differences. 

The X-men’s powers made them different and those differences stood as an allegory for what marginalized communities were going through. 

In 2000, Stan Lee spoke to The Guardian and said, “It not only made them different, but it was a good metaphor for what was happening with the Civil Rights Movement in the country at that time.” 

The metaphor extended beyond community representation. It also showcased the ideologies of some of the biggest activists at the time. 

Professor X had a vision of humans and mutants living harmoniously, a dream similar to Martin Luther King Jr. Meanwhile, Magneto bristled against Xavier’s ideals. Arguing the loud hate humans had would never allow for Xavier’s vision to become reality.  

Fast forward to the premier of X-Men 97 in 2024, and we are still having the same arguments and debates. X-Men 97 season one brought to life the pages of the comics, but it also had us briefly look at things from Magneto’s point of view. 

We are now in 2025 and the real-life Vice President of the US is making excuses over Nazi texts written by 20 and 30 year-old adults. We have steadily seen a rise in hate crimes. And we see people emboldened to express their anti-immigrant sentiments threatening ICE deportation on their neighbors. 

We need to ask was Magneto right? 

The same debates we were having in the 60s are returning now but are going by other names like “anti-woke”, or “anti-DEI”. 

So what does comic-books or cartoons have to do with any of this? Well, if the X-Men were an allegory of the Civil Rights movement, then we need them to continue to be just that. Civil Rights are currently in jeopardy. 

We don’t need the X-Men to save us. We need them to remind us of our own courage, of our own ability to come together and to stand up against forces of hate. Stan Lee himself said, Marvel’s stories are for everyone, except the bigots. 

“Those stories have room for everyone, regardless of their race, gender, religion, or color of their skin,” Lee said in a 2017 video published by Marvel. “The only things we don’t have room for are hatred, intolerance, and bigotry.”

We love Marvel heroes not because they are morally superior but because they are regular, flawed people who try to show us we can go on to do great things. 

The mutants are unique because they have powers. However, the powers are a metaphor for our differences, those difference are our strengths.

I hope X-Men 97 season two will continue to move forward to tell fearless stories. I hope these stories give this generation the moral courage to stand up against hate. There is a lot going on in the world right now, but as Stan Lee said, “Marvel has always been and always will be a reflection of the world right outside our window.”

We may not be able to fly, but together we can build a hopeful world.