- Jean Grey (aka Marvel Girl aka Phoenix aka Dark Phoenix) The uncanny X-men #101
I have always wanted to be a superhero. I sometimes think it might still be a viable career option. I regularly spent all of my allowance on comic books (well, at least the portion that didn’t go towards Vachon blueberry pies) - would I have kept them in plastic! But I read and re-read them, usually picking them up from my bedroom floor, the covers torn off, and the corners ripped out, due to an unfortunate pica-like need during childhood to chew paper. (That may be the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever admitted in print. I don’t remember when it disappeared, but it was well into adolescence. I often wonder why I did it, and why it stopped suddenly. I haven’t ever had the impulse in at least 25 years. Weird). My best friend growing up, Koruger, and I would pretend to be superheroes for hours on end, usually choosing characters from the Legion of Super-Heroes for our intricate story lines, which would often last for days. I can remember when I bought my first X-Men comic. It was right as the Dark Phoenix saga was starting in the late 70’s, a tragic story arc if ever one there was. Suddenly, I went from being Lightning Lad to Wolverine. Here were people, born with powerful gifts, who chose to be heroes, despite the fact that they were feared and reviled by the very people they swore to protect. They were outcasts and misfits, hated for something over which they had no control – the powers with which they were born. And they also tried led normal lives, or at least lives that were as normal as possible. They ate at restaurants, they went skating at Rockefeller Centre, and they went to dance class. They fell in love and they had their hearts broken. They went to school and they went through puberty. They also had super-amazing kick-ass adventures and awesome mutant powers. As a young gay boy, I felt a tremendous kinship with the X-Men, feeling like an outcast and a misfit sometimes myself. They showed me that it was not only ok to be different, but that that very difference could bestow important responsibilities. They also showed me that no matter how alone you might feel, there were always others who felt exactly like you, and that they would be there to share your journey. The X-Men helped me through some difficult times during my adolescence, which, I know, makes me a bit of a nerd. But I actually yelped when I saw the trailer for the first movie. And occasionally, when confronted by an evil cruise director, I still secretly wish I had optic blasts. Or those really cool adamantium claws.
The cover on the left was the first issue I ever bought. I think. It was 30 years ago...
2 things caught my eye:
ReplyDelete1) In X-Men #108, Phoenix was not Dark Phoenix yet. Therefore, she can't have been Dark Phoenix in #101.
2) Has the right not taught you yet that there is no way in hell you were born gay? They have determined, through intense discussion amongst themselves, that they know better than anyone that being gay is something you choose. You MUST submit to this fact. Now.
;)