The Synagogue Was Attacked and Our Children Were Watching
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The uncanny way this exceptional series captures the Jewish experience today.
X-Men ‘97, the Disney+ cartoon series, premiered in March to hype and anticipation from fans who grew up with the animated series of the early 90s. The X-Men comics have always dealt with deeper issues than simply “stop the bad guy.” The super-powered individuals in X-Men, known as mutants, are born that way and are hated and feared by society. This essential element makes the series, at its core, an allegory for civil rights, discrimination, and prejudice. And the 90s cartoon show did not shy away from these themes.
X-Men ‘97 picks up right where the that show left off and it does not disappoint. The series powerfully addresses the themes of hate and intolerance, resonating deeply given the skyrocketing levels of antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment.
[Major spoilers ahead.]
X-Men ‘97 begins with the recent death of the X-Men’s mentor Charles Xavier, a Martin Luther King-type figure who worked toward peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants. In Xavier’s will, he has left his estate, including the X-Men’s leadership, to his ultimate frenemy, Magneto. Magneto, a Holocaust survivor and Malcolm X-like figure, believes that humans will never accept mutants, and the only solution is the inevitable war with mutants becoming the dominant species. With Xavier’s death, Magneto has resigned to attempt to carry out his friend’s dream. But the UN comes to arrest Magneto and try him for crimes against humanity.
I started to feel pangs in my stomach. With the recent International Court of Justice hearings against Israel concerning the accusations of genocide, this UN trial against Magneto felt like it was reflecting the hate and misguided condemnation against Israel in the media leading to the proceedings in the Hague. When human protesters violently storm the UN building, the parallels between January 6th and the current protests on college campuses felt unreal. Then Magneto’s utterance concerning the interruption, “Oh to play by the rules and still they come for you,” nailed the very sentiment we all have thought when we hear the brutal lies concerning the IDF, in spite of their abundant attempts to avoid civilian casualties.
In the X-Men world, there is a fictional nation known as Genosha. Originally an oppressive regime for mutants, it has become their haven, the only place mutants can call home. The country is a vision of freedom, safety, and belonging. I remember the first time I visited Israel, knowing that most of the people around me celebrated Hanukkah instead of Christmas and that I could approach any girl I wanted (assuming I could muster the courage) and wouldn’t have to worry about the “religion talk.” It was a freeing feeling I had never felt. I could totally relate to the relief and hope the mutants felt in Genosha.
Then came the plot twist that hit me harder than any brutal Game of Thrones rug pull.
Genosha is attacked by a widespread, menacing terrorist offensive. Fan favorite Gambit dies sacrificing himself to stop the attack from going any further, leaving viewers shocking disbelief. This fictional tragedy was elevated from mindless destruction to something personal that had been lost. I couldn't shake the feelings of October 7th bubbling up again.
Amongst the rubble, two characters, Jubilee and Roberto argue over the virtue of standing proud versus hiding who they are. Roberto comments, “Look at what happens when we don’t hide. When we shove it in their face. Is it worth it, Jubilee?” It wasn’t that long ago my friend expressed that she no longer felt safe having her mezuzah outside her door. At the time, I felt that visibly standing up to antisemitism was important. But with the violent UCLA protests, for the first time I felt unsafe going to a grocery store near the campus. It was the first time I seriously considered wearing a baseball cap on top of my yarmulke. It’s so odd to see my fears being expressed by the comic book characters I grew up with.
Like the world’s reaction against Israel after 10/7, the world’s reaction to the Genosha attack didn’t prompt sympathy for the mutant cause. It did the opposite.
Like the world’s reaction against Israel after 10/7, the world’s reaction to the Genosha attack didn’t prompt sympathy for the mutant cause. It provoked the opposite – an uptick in fierce hate and aggression. Nations refused to let Mutants displaced by the brutal attack on Genosha to return to their home countries. Those who consider Israel a colonist entity demand Israeli citizens return to where they came from. They are oblivious to the fact that so many are refugees themselves who were displaced from countries they had lived in for centuries. And I’m not talking about Nazi-torn Europe, but Arab countries such as Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, and Syria. Should the worst happen to the State of Israel, I would imagine I would hear the very same news report on real television.
The new villains in the series are the Prime Sentinels. They’re humans who have (without their own knowledge) been turned into cyborgs and without warning mercilessly attack mutants. So the human colleague who claims to want to help the X-Men may be their worst enemy.
This is particularly chilling to Jewish life today. Suddenly, the institutions we grew up in, partnered with, contributed to, have started to turn to us. This Shabbat, a friend of mine came to shul wearing UCLA cufflinks. I asked him, “Are you being ironic? Or is it your alma mater?” He expressed sadness that it was the latter.
I’m seeing more non-Jewish friends share disparaging posts about Israel. Talk show hosts that have avoided the Israel/Gaza conflict thus far are praising the protests across the nation. Am I being alarmist? Surely my city won’t turn on us the way the Prime Sentinels have ambushed the X-Men. But I can’t help but hear the echoes of Berlin in the 1930s.
The most important twist is how the main characters are abandoning their idealism for extreme actions. Notably with the admission, “Magneto was right.” From the ashes of our devastating attack and the flood of condemnation and antisemitic rhetoric that followed, are we losing our idealism? Are we retreating from our Jewish identity? Are we still committed to the Jewish vision of peace and being a light unto the nations, remaining optimistic despite the most harrowing of challenges? These are questions that speak to the core of what it means to be Jewish. And it’s crazy how a resurrected cartoon show from my youth has so powerfully inspired me to remember that.
I think you mean the way "Captures the *Palestinian* experience".
Either you are just some idiotic thinktank guy spouting off war rhetoric,
or you completely fail to understand the values that X-Men was presenting to the world. Superheroes are always fighting to protect the innocent, while the super villains care only for their cause and not for the innocent.
While it is nice that you’ve found experiential truth in the show, the X-Men do not militarily subjugate an entire population of displaced people. Jews are not the only victims of bigotry, xenophobia, and persecution.
If your Jewish heritage blinds you to any reasonable criticism of the IDF and its practices, then you’ve missed the nuance in the show.
Magneto was not right. His anger was righteous but Charles pleads with him to consider the consequences of actions because he knows it is a path that only leads towards more suffering.
I think the x-men comic book was written by jews, maybe the mutents represent jews and kenosha represents israel, maybe the writers that were jewish wished the jews had the powers of magneto to fight the Nazis(may their name be erased), also one side represents living with your own kind(jews), and another side living with non jews, the comic book version of the story, is parallel about jews and israel, i don't think the comic book really represents about blacks and civil rights, i think it represents jews were are different than others, magento to me represents rabbi meir kahane(obm) and saw into the future what is happening in israel and the rest of the world this is my view how i see the comic book, i am ending with " never again"!
Magneto is an interesting figure. However there is a serious contradiction with the character. Magento has the power of the XMen. He was born with that. How could he be a Holocust survivor with that kind of power???? No way. The real Holocust victums, Jewish and non Jewish victums alike had no such power. They were helpless and they were slaughtered. There is nothing they could do about it. The world turned their backs on them and it took a WORLD WAR, for the victums to finally get some kind of justice.
In the X-Men, mutant powers don't manifest until puberty. Magneto was a child when he was in the Holocaust
Fiction - shmiction - this is all about superfluous rhetoric. The real issue is - whether or not - we recognize - what makes us Jewish. The 3500 year old Written Torah - is what makes us Jewish. We need to accept that & imprint it in our hearts & souls. Study the Written Torah & begin putting our FAITH IN G-D - PRAY that "HE" will help us - & start acting as our forefathers did against our enemies. If our enemies submit to PEACE - we need to pursue that - as shown in the Written Torah.
At the risk of 'nitpicking': Torah was given to us 9only 3336 years ago.
Chasya - It's OK to "NITPICK" - as I did FUDGE & ROUND the number up. Though in other venues - I've seen it reported as The Written Torah being given - 3500 years ago +/-. Hopefully - the point still being that - we need to THINK OUT_OF_THE_BOX - (especially when our enemies - try to shout us down & BOX US IN) - PRAY & ASK G-D TO HELP US - WITH ALL "APPROPRIATE VALIDATED HISTORICAL DOCUMENTATION & REFUTATIONS". THEN CONSTANTLY - TENACIOUSLY - ASSERTIVELY - & yes ACCURATELY - W/O ANY APOLOGIES - TELL - TEACH OUR STORY TO OUR JEWISH PEOPLE & THE WORLD. W/O the 3336 Year Old Written Torah - we CAN'T VALIDATE OUR JEWISH HERITAGE RIGHTS. BTW - the Non-Jewish RELIGIONS QUOTE FROM THE WRITTEN TORAH. IF - it's not legitimate - why - DO THEY QUOTE from it?
Sanhedrin 72a says if someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first. Judaism is not a pacifist religion. You are confusing us with those who came after, preaching pacifism while murdering us for not adopting their ways.
Was David and Goliath from the Bible the original Superman versus The Joker?
While we can take lessons from any source, regarding current events, I think it is a mistake to take their values along with any other comparisons. Yes, we are a light unto the nations, but not the light of liberalism (classic or otherwise). Our mission is to bring the light of God and Torah to the world, and to base our decisions and actions on the principles contained in Torah. Otherwise, we become just another liberal / egalitarian group with no connection to Judaism. Without the spiritual / religious dimension, what does Judaism offer that is different from liberalism?
Just FYI: Magneto isn’t Malcolm X. He’s Menachem Begin, per Chris Claremont, who created the version of the character we all know and love. Neither Professor X nor Magneto was based on the two you mention (Professor X may have been inspired a bit by Ben-Gurion), though they have often been compared to them.
Right, it does not have to do with civil rights, but Israel and Jews and different points of view about Jewish leaders