X-Men vs. Reality Part 2: The Civil Rights Movement

Professor X has come to be compared to civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. and Magneto to Malcolm X. Professor Xavier's dream of a world where humans and mutants peacefully coexist is similar to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream. King dreams of a nation that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

Malcolm was raised by a Pan-African black preacher. Three of his father Earl Little's brothers, one of whom was lynched, died violently at the hands of white men. His family had to relocate after threats from the Ku Klux Klan. All of this affected his outlook.

Magneto sees mutants not as a dangerous minority to be subjugated but as Homo-Superior, the next stage of evolution, who should rule over the humans that have subjugated mutants. He created a separatist group called the Brotherhood. Magneto's outlook was developed through Anti-Semitic subjugation at the hands of the Nazi's during WWII. Magnus is Jewish and was a prisoner in Auschwitz. His tattoo number is 214782

When the X-Men first started out the characters were rather black and white. There was definitely a good vs. evil theme similar to most superhero stories. As the comic progressed the characters became more gray. Some X-Men stories have Magneto working with the X-Men on common goals.

I believe that Malcolm was a product of his environment that was evolving. He went from a hustler that drank, ate pork and slept with white women to a NOI leader renouncing his previous behaviors. He came to see the NOI as corrupted by Elijah Mohammed as time went by and came to worship with Muslims of all races at the end of his life. Some have postulated that his vision had he lived may have come more inline with that of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

That is possible had they both lived longer. They were both black civil rights leaders that came from black Baptist backgrounds. They both opposed the war in Vietnam and civil rights abuses. I can picture them as leaders in the Occupy Wall Street movement today. Though much like the movement I believe they would still have some differing goals.