The current political climate of the United States (as well as the rest of the world) is an exhausting landscape filled with vitriol, fear mongering, and hyperbolic rhetoric. Comic books and other pop culture media are often seen as an escape from all the noise that fills the 24 hour news cycle, which is sort of ironic. Often times, fiction is at its best when used as an allegorical device to comment on real world struggles and social issues. The most poignant works are the ones that raise the mirror up to the audience’s face and challenges them or, at the very least, asks them to look at a current situation under a different light.

In recent years, there has been a schism among comic book fans regarding how much political allegory should permeate the medium. Fans on one side of the debate believe that artists’ personal politics should be completely devoid in their work, which, honestly, is kind of a tall order. After all, politics and art go hand in hand, especially in comic books. One of the more daring releases from Marvel Comics as of late in addressing topical issues has been one designed not to stir up more vitriol but to potentially quell it.

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Tom Taylor and Mahmund Asrar’s X-Men Red is arguably the best of the trio of primary color (gold is close enough to yellow, you guys) X-Men books. While X-Men Blue has been a fun stroll through classic age X-Men tropes, and X-Men Gold has harkened back to the madcap adventures of Chris Claremont's Uncanny era and beyond, Red has dived back into the politics that made the X-Men socially relevant: discrimination.

Despite all the giant robots, pet dragons, and intergalactic entities, The X-Men were built to be an allegory for the disenfranchised and the misunderstood. And now, with the somewhat recently resurrected Jean Grey, the comics have a figure head to rest their aspirations for peace upon without all the baggage former X-Men leaders have carried.

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There is a faction of fans out there who might cry foul and label this as “SJW Marvel pushing their agenda,” or however they demonize this sort of thing. But the thing is, what is happening in X-Men Red is nothing new. In fact, it’s a return to form for what the franchise can represent and the impact it can make. Now, to be fair, X-Men titles don’t stray from the path of exploring the ins and outs of being a member of a vastly misunderstood group of people for very long. While the real life minority groups that the X-Men have reflected during their run have changed over the decades, the message has always remained the same: painting in broad strokes creates ugly pictures.

When they first hit appeared back in 1963, the notion of mutants and how they operate within the Marvel Universe was a thinly veiled allegory of the plight of African Americans during the Civil Rights Movements. Xavier and Magneto were superhero representatives of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X, respectively. Decades later, mutants would heavily represent members of the LGBT community (and they continue to do so). Jean Grey is a reminder that no matter how hard some may bury their heads in the sand, discrimination is alive and well, no matter how it is attempted to be justified. Jean knows that the path to peace isn’t in screaming at the other side. The battle can only be won with empathy, understanding, and love.

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As cheesy as it may sound, Jean Grey’s vision of what the world can be is something that all of us (yes, you too) should strive toward. Xavier had a similar vision, but Jean has the moxie and willpower to possibly make it a reality. (Until some new terrorist mutant messes everything up; you know, that old chestnut.) She has the potential to shower the masses (mankind and mutantkind alike) with empathy and show them that despite their differences, they are all in this together. Coming to that understanding is something that should not be shunned. It should be celebrated and have comic readers everywhere saying, “Welcome back, Red.”

Even with just five (well, six, if you count the Annual) issues under its belt, X-Men Red has proven itself to be a comic with a lot on its mind. It doesn't rely on the action-packed craziness a lot of readers look for in X-Men books. While the other X-Men primary color titles (especially Gold) have touched on social aspect of mutants, none have tackled is as aggressively as Red. In the end, subtly is not this book's strong suit -- but then again, it never has been for the X-Men, either.

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