Jamie Madrox - the Multiple Man - used his power to go to medical school and law school at the same time, among other things.
Of course, he’s one of the mutants who didn’t go to Xavier’s school.
At that, Dazzler was secretly using her powers to earn a living – providing a kick-ass light show for impressed concertgoers – until she met the X-Men, after which she came out as a mutant and people stopped showing up in droves to buy tickets.
They deal with this in X-3, the old cartoon and in comics (most of the Morlocks were pretty useless in a fight, for instance)
Personally, I’m against mutant registration - registration of minorities has never been a good thing, historically, why should we think it’ll be OK in this instance? Will the symbol be a nice yellow Xin a triangle?
As for control - if a mutant commits a crime, by all means, treat him as a criminal. But before that, hell no. Plus, on a strictly personal note - look at Civil War - who were the pro-registration figureheads? Stark, Richards and Pym - IMO, 3 of the Marvel Universe’s biggest dicks. Also, all a) not mutants and b) Middle-aged White Men. Smell the privilege.
It would make more sense if they registered and controlled us.
The example that came to my mind was the jokers from the Wild Cards series. They are physically freakish, but the great majority of them have no powers at all - unsurprisingly, they are often treated badly.
A lighter look at such integration into society can be found in Aaron Williams’ PS238.
Actually, I think that in the Marvel universe, it’s supposed to be the case that most mutants aren’t particularly suited to combat. We just see more of the ones who are, because they’re the ones that make for interesting comic books.
Not to mention the Deuces, who aren’t freakish but have minor powers: one can change his skin color, another can change into a puddle – and Fidel Castro changed the course of world history by quietly cashing in on his slightly superhuman pitching abilities instead of heading back to Cuba.
Incidentally, there’s THE GOLDEN AGE, where a WWII-era superhero receives the Medal of Honor and enters the Senate, calling on his fellow costumed to crimefighters to likewise put aside their dual identities and join his Federal Bureau of Superheroes: the Atom and Robotman and Johnny Thunder and Dan the Dyna-Mite promptly sign on before Hourman announces he’ll reveal the secret formula of his sixty-minutes-of-superstrength-per-day pills.
It doesn’t end well.
And what if Thor, the Hulk, Magneto or the Dark Phoenix tell them to **** off? Then what? Virtually indestructible, ridiculously powerful, who will MAKE them do anything?
(I know I named two non-mutatnts but the point is the same).
Actually, Thor and the Hulk can indeed be beaten. They are really, really strong but still mortal (ish). Thor can be killed with sufficient force. The Hulk has other weaknesses. They’re extremely dangerous, but not necessarily unique threats in context. But even so, you missed the point: you may not succeed at controlling extremely dangerous people. But you’d be a complete fool not to at least try, especially when the lives of millions may be on the line.
I hjave three reponses:
First, I didn’t recommend bigotry. You may note that what I explicitly supported was finding information. While this may be unpleasantly invasive, at least at first, it’s also the only way to bridge the gap.
Second, mutants (or superhumans, however you want to look at it) represent an entirely new kind of threat. People will demand a way to understand it until they are satisfied it isn’t really dangerous, or at least that the danger can be mitigated. This is not immoral. Mutant abilities need to be understood so that other people can prepare, both emotionally and materially.
Third, regardless of the question of right or wrong, people must take action to defend themselves. Some mutants are not just “dangerous”. If they aren’t controlled or stopped, they can end life on Earth. As in, there’s no coming back. No recovery, no survival period. Even on a lesser scale, there are affair number of mutants who can end entire civilizations. A threat on that scale must be stopped no matter what it may require. There can be no tolerance in that instance, because even one “mistake” is The End.
And guess what? That requires understanding what these powers can do, how they can be countered, how individuals with them can be captured or subdued, and at least a rough society consensus on how it should be handled. This will require a consider amount of public awareness. But more to the point, black people do not have remarkable abilities that no mere mortal may possess. Except for Michael Jordan.
Actually, this is not so. Even with the various retcons, the dangerous mutants have almost universally been assholes regardless and frequently started out as petty criminals or mercenary thugs. Most or all have had opportunities to stop being villains but didn’t. In fact, when originally conceived mutants were almost entirely unknown and could not have been shunned for their supposed “gifts”.
Shockingly, I didn’t actually say I supported that. But if you planned on reading my posts you’d have probably started with the first.
All registration or just government registration? Because, hey, Eric and Charles built a device that can locate every mutant on the planet, whether they want to be identified or not, and even kill them remotely. Mutant rights don’t exclude you from their recruiting efforts. Back when I was reading comics and Cerebro popped Kitty Pryde’s address in Chicago, she had rival telepath-equipped mutant groups at her home the next day trying to get custody under false pretenses (“Your daughter’s eligible for a full scholarship at an exclusive private school!”), and that doesn’t include Magneto’s slimy pitch that sounds suspiciously like some Master Race speeches another guy used to make.
Heck, half the anti-mutant plots start with trying to access data and tracking tech those two already collected and created without permission or due process, rather than rounding people up.
Anti-mutant prejudice was a stand in for racism back when the comic first started in 1963. So it’s not really a recent desire at all.
There’s a role playing game called Mutant City Blues where player characters are super powered detectives investigating crimes involving super powered people either as victims or suspects. It’s a little different from Marvel’s universe in that there’s nobody as powerful as Colossus, Magneto or Professor X though there are individuals with similar powers on a lower scale. A SWAT team will be able to handle most super powered individuals before they did too much damage. Also, there are a limited number of powers in the game and a “logical” pattern to the types of powers individuals have. i.e. Someone with underwater breathing is unlikely to have pyrokineses.
Anyway, these super powered folks are supposed to register when their powers manifest. When they fail to do so and are caught most juries aren’t willing to punish them with anything more than a slap on the wrist provided they weren’t hurting anyone. There are some class of powers where you not only have to register but you have to tell the government where you’re going. Stuff like teleportation, radiation powers and those with the ability to spread diseases around tend to get the attention of the intelligence community.
Oh, come on. They’re just dead. That’s a temporary inconvenience, at best.
There is a huge difference between “brown people” and mutants. Like you said, different mutants have different powers. “Brown people” aren’t born with any different powers from one another, so dealing with mutants is totally different.
I get the feeling that you assume the mutant registration process would be incompetent. Let’s assume that’s not the case. So, if it was done in an intelligent and tactful manner, it could actually benefit both the mutants and the group orchestrating the registration. Mutants could keep their powers and identity a secret from the public, and they might be offered a job, anonymously, if their powers are deemed useful. There are many ways to go about this without making the mutants feel like they’re being discriminated against. Maybe there is criteria you have to meet before you’re even required to register.
On a moral/ ethical point. I think they should have to have their powers registered with the proper authorities, because of the potentially dangerous implications. For example, how could you use Mystique’s powers without being deceitful? What would be the point of letting someone like that go unnoticed? Maybe she could be trained to be the ultimate spy or something…
Actress? Singer? Model?
It’s still deceitful, but I think I see your point, it could be used to protect your identity.
Ah, but that’s not my point at all.
Take, say, Christian Bale: he famously slims down like crazy for The Machinist, gets to looking really muscular in time for Batman Begins, slims back down to play an emaciated POW in Rescue Dawn, goes back up to make a lot of money in Dark Knight, and then drops back down to win an Oscar as a skinny junkie in The Fighter.
And we of course always know it’s Bale; he doesn’t hide his identity when collecting paychecks and praise by changing his voice and his appearance; he makes absolutely sure his name is on proud display right there in the credits.
So if he had Mystique’s powers – and only ever used 'em to be really handsome in between going for a distinctive look for his latest role – would we even notice? We’d still always know it’s him; we just wouldn’t know he’s a mutant.
Your absolutely right. There is a responsible and productive way to use Mystique’s powers. But what’s to stop Christian Bale from using those powers to transform into Ben Affleck, to sabotage his role as the new batman, and making himself look better??? Lol
Regardless of intent, mutants should still have to register their powers privately to prevent super villains and superheroes. There is no need for vigilantes when they could just as easily work with/for law enforcement agencies.