#mutantandproud /DrmhvQjAm2- Comicbookgirl19 NovemBrent Anderson But as it turns 35 amid consistent talk of travel bans and extreme vetting of refugees, under an administration that has more or less given its blessing for fearmongering against transgender people, Claremont and Anderson’s story about persecuting mutants feels especially apropos. For Anderson, the book’s potential legacy took a bit longer to register. But its current relevance is also due to an eerie parallel between God Loves, Man Kills and our contentious political climate - which has seen a resurgence of xenophobia and white supremacy in the months before and after President Donald Trump’s election.Ĭlaremont, perhaps the greatest writer to ever touch the X-Men, will tell you that God Loves, Man Kills is one the works he’s proudest of. Some of that endurance is due to Claremont and Anderson’s excellent work. The graphic novel turns 35 years old this year, and like a certain adamantium-laced mutant, it’s withstood the weathering of time not only has it been reprinted several times, but it served as the source material for Bryan Singer’s 2003 film X2: X-Men United. ( New Mutants was technically the first graphic novel to focus on mutants, but God Loves was the first to feature the core X-Men characters.) The basis of the book is quintessential X-Men: a story about humanity and being a minority. God Loves, Man Kills was the first X-Men graphic novel - and it’s also an iconic piece of X-Men history. The X-Men’s wide range of powers - from teleportation to adamantium claws - are essentially rendered useless, because the battle they’re fighting is against prejudice and discrimination. Stryker uses religion to spread prejudice and hate against mutants like the X-Men, claiming they’re abominations of what God created. Written by Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson in 1982, it zooms in on a fight between Marvel’s mutants and an enigmatic religious figure named Reverend William Stryker. God Loves, Man Kills is the most important X-Men story ever told.

Leah williams chris claremont