It recently occurred to me just how relevant Jason Aaron's X-Men comic books are these days. The schism between Wolverine and Cyclops and the establishment of the Jean Grey School and the new Xavier School have real world parallels in the current pedagogical debate over whether or not physical self-defense measures are necessary for students and/or faculty. Ideally, schools and students shouldn't be under threat; in reality, schools and students sometimes, but rarely, face some very grave and serious threats (VA Tech, Sandy Hook, Malala Yousafzai). My own high school faced bomb threats and had one student investigated for a shooting plot. An empty threat is nothing to be afraid of but the fear comes quickly with the threat proves real.
The X-Men are dumb because their current dispute (in the titles of All-New X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, and Wolverine and the X-Men) distracts them from the real threats they face: Mystique's new Brotherhood on one side, and the Hellfire Club and their Sentinels on the other. What are our real-world enemies that we lose sight of in our political debates? As we take sides over gun-safety legislation, who's really got us marked for termination? Do we even want to know? All the bitterness in the X-Men comics just proves that while an enemy can only hurt you, only a friend can betray you... and apparently, both can kill you. Unless you are practically unkillable like Wolverine.
R.I.P. Professor X. I wonder how long you'll stay dead this time around.
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