 |
|
Continued from Page A1
|
|
 |
| Ms.
Storm and Ms. Grey were introduced to the world less than
a year apart. But in an era of whites-only super groups
and bigoted supervillains, they grew up in very different
worlds. |
| Born
in New York City to David Munroe, a photographer, and
N’Dare’, a Kenyan princess, Ms. Storm was named
“Ororo”—Kenyan for “beauty”—because
of her blue eyes, dark skin and striking white hair. When
she was six years old, her father brought the family to
Egypt so he could photograph the war-torn Middle East.
On a fateful afternoon, her parents were killed when a
fighter jet crashed into their villa. |
 Orphaned,
Ororo begged on the streets of Cairo until her superpowers
manifested at the age of thirteen during a particularly
intense puberty. She came to be worshipped as a goddess
in a remote Kenyan village, and soon after, Professor
Xavier recruited her as part of a second-generation of
X-Men to replace those kidnapped by mutant assassin Omega
Red. Among others who joined at that time were Thunderbird,
a Native American, and Sunfire, a Japanese man. Mutant
pundits groused that despite their formidable abilities,
this group reflected quotas, not awesome powers like being
able to create and slide around on an ice ramp. “Ethnicity
won out,” recalls the reality-bending overlord Apocalypse.
“Iceman had been kidnapped. Wouldn't another ice-person
have been useful? Sure. But black folks don't do ice.” |
| “It
didn't matter that Storm could summon a tsunami at will,”
said Mr. Sunfire, who has since left the X-Men and now
runs a real estate firm in Tampa. “She was always
viewed as a minority. Professor [X] was under a lot of
heat at the time from the NAACP, and many mutants thought
he was just making a statement.” Sunfire is a mutant
with the power to ionize matter into plasma through a
mentally triggered biochemical process. |
 Professor
X, the world's leading authority on genetics, mutation
and psionic powers, disagrees. “Storm was recruited
solely on her ability to control the weather,” he
said with an earnestness that seems—no, is—entirely
genuine. (The professor is the most powerful mutant on
earth, with the ability to project his thoughts into the
minds of others, including a reporter for the New York
Times.) |
| But
that's not how Ms. Grey saw things. Also known as Phoenix,
Marvel Girl, Ms. Psyche or Redd, Ms. Grey grew up privileged,
the daughter of John Grey, a history professor at Bard
College, and his wife Elaine. Race was not a frequent
topic at the Grey dinner table, and Ms. Grey knew few
minorities. (When she was ten years old, her best friend
was killed in a car crash, and Jean’s subsequent
emotional breakdown activated her latent telepathic powers,
which include levitation and mind-reading.) |
| Already
a member of the X-Men when Ms. Storm joined, Ms. Grey
was wary of the young mutant’s presence. “At
the time, a lot of superhero leagues were recruiting minorities
like Black Bolt and Black Panther. To a lot of us, we
were like, ‘Okay, now here comes 'Black Storm.’” |
| Ms.
Grey's attitude was not unique. Most of the X-Men seem
resigned to the notion that though black and white superheroes
may act polite toward one another, they are still divided
by mistrust and misunderstanding. Wolverine, an X-Man
with an adamantium skeleton and retractable claws, summed
up the prevailing sentiment: “I think we all get
along, but there are racists in the institute. I'm talking
about people at parties who have a little too much to
drink and suddenly start talking about the difference
between ‘mutants’ and ‘muties.’ I
usually beat up those people pretty bad.” |
| Even
in this environment, race still slips back in. It is there
when Alpha Flight takes on Proteus. It is there when the
Marauders, the Reavers and the Brood trap Cyclops and
Vertigo in a radioactive lair. It is there when Ms. Rogue
single-handedly vanquishes the demons from the dimension
of Limbo. |
| The
legal system, unfortunately, has been of little recourse
to minority superheroes. Senator Robert Kelly (R-NY) has
repeatedly stalled a bill that would make it a hate crime
to psionically destroy a minority mutant. Lately, Senator
Kelly has been campaigning for the Mutant Registration
Act, |
Continued on page B4
|
 |
|
|
Two generations after the end of legal discrimination,
the wider public discussion of race relations
seems muted, if not mutated. Race relations
are being defined less by political action than
by daily experience—in schools, in sports
arenas, in pop culture and in the headquarters
of superhero leagues. These encounters—race
relations in the most literal, everyday sense—make
up this series of reports, the outcome of a
yearlong examination by Times reporters.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
