NOTE: Take some time to get accustomed to reading a comic
book, since it’s a little tricky at first. Read both words and pictures
carefully, and don’t assume the pictures merely illustrate the words (they
often show you more than the words). We’ll talk about how comic books
tell stories in class on Wednesday, along with the questions below. Read about
half of the book for class (at least to the flashback of Stryker’s wife’s
death), or feel free to read the entire story.
Answer TWO of the following:
Q1: How is Stryker under some of the delusions and sense of
grandeur as Victor Frankenstein? Though he doesn’t want to create life, what
gives him the right to destroyt it? What makes him more than a simple comic
book villain like Red Skull, Dr. Doom, etc.?
Q2: What is the advantage of telling a story about racism,
bigotry, and misunderstanding in a comic book rather than a traditional novel?
What can you do (or show) in a comic that helps underline the essential
message? Discuss a passage that seems to do this effectively.
Q3: How is this comic also about the power of the media
itself? How does Styker use the power of television to his advantage? Why isn’t
Professor X able to use the same power/ability? You might also consider how
Stryker would have used social media if this comic had been written today (it’s
from 1982).
Q4: In many ways, Kitty Pride (aka Ariel) is a lot like the
Creature, a young person who is given an education in the cruelty and hypocrisy
of life. Where do we see her tested in the same way, and what seems to prevent
her from becoming exactly what her enemies expect her to be—a blood-thirsty
mutant?
1. Reverend Stryker believes, because of a terrible misfortune, that he is burdened with glorious purpose of genocide... huh (way to recycle, Marvel). He believes, oddly enough, that because his wife died along with a baby that had some time of obvious physical defect, that mutants need to be purged. Because, according to his logic, God does terrible things because it NEEDS to happen. So, obviously, God wants HIM specifically to kill all mutants. I'm not 100% on what Red Skull or Dr. Doom's original motivation is, but from what I've seen, it probably involves self gain or vengeance. Stryker is different because of what metaphor he stands for. He is the holier-than-thou-you-can-never-be-right-because-you're-just-wrong archetype. And his goal, because moderation is for wimps, is total genocide. Which still exists today, sadly. Only he has very obvious targets that, usually, look remarkably different and have a decided effect on the world around them. He's hardly focusing on homeless people who don't have family or connections to miss them. Which polarizes his possible grunt demographic, I'm sure.
ReplyDelete2. By blowing up an issue and coating it in metaphors, you can make an argument that what you're rallying against needs to be downsized. Like "Okay, it's not like we can blow up buildings with out mind, we just kiss the same gender, calm yourself". You can even express story, plot, and characters in a visual sense, which really helps with a surprisingly large demographic. People can even look at facial expressions and never have to worry that they'll change by interpretation of the written word. Not to mention how comic books are rarely taken seriously, so people usually read them without thinking before realizing the larger message hidden within. And by then it's too late. It's already inside them *cue evil laughter*.
Yes, the comic can make complex issues--or ones that we've seen too often to properly understand--look different and in some ways, more understandable. Couching issues of race or sexuality in a mutant makes us approach the question in a much more fundamental way. What do we object to in the "monstrosities" of others? Is it the beliefs? The actions? Or simply the looks? If a 'monster' acts like an angel, which is it? Can we ever look past the horns and simply look into his or her eyes? The comic makes us do that by literally seeing them as well as reading them. If we see a mutant saving the world over and over again, he/she ceases to look like a stereotypical monster. And then it makes us question what we assume anything is supposed to look like.
DeleteQ1. I really wish we had a more in-depth look at Stryker’s origin story, even though what the comic gave us was effective. Especially in displaying the link between Mary Shelly’s work and the X-men. Like Frankenstein, Stryker is responsible for creating his son but immediately denies his obligation to care for it. He judges it by its deformities, assuming that it is evil even though, as an infant, it is a blank slate. Frankenstein acknowledged that he had two choices—to raise his creation or destroy it. Stryker took the second option immediately, and thereafter divorced himself of any guilt over his actions. He can justify going after mutants without mercy because he’s made his own sacrifices.
ReplyDeleteAnd I keep wondering if, like Frankenstein, he used the ‘mutant’ excuse to kill his wife and son for the same reason that Victor killed Elizabeth—because he wanted to all along. …It seems strange that in the frame of the car accident, they’d driven into the only sign in an otherwise flat, spacious desert. And, as in Frankenstein, we never really see the baby monster.
Q3. After the 2016 election, our attention has been drawn more than ever before to the influence of the media on politics. Not just the observer effect—I mean, the fact that a leader would present a certain face in front of the camera—but the politician actively using the media as a tool to skew perspectives in his favor. I’m not sure if I phrased that well, but I believe a man like William Stryker would thrive in this environment, and I couldn’t help but compare the frames depicting the crowds at his sermon to those of the Trump rallies.
If Stryker is a representation of a monster hiding under the guise of a good, grandfatherly man, then there’s no way that Xavier could have the same effect—because Charles is a representation of a good, grandfatherly man buried under scary qualities.
Wow, can you imagine what he would have done with social media! Well, we probably CAN imagine it quite well, can't we? :) But you're right, he realizes that people are won over by the public face of the 'crusade' even less than its message, and the problem with the mutants is that they look like everything we've been taught to fear. The "other" always does. How can we see a superhero in a 'demon' like Nightcrawler? Similarly, how can we see an American in a woman wearing a burka, which we have been taught to fear and hate? The comic reminds us that neither heroes nor villains conform to their stereotypes in books and movies...and yet we fall for the same storyline time and time again.
DeleteQ1. Stryker sees himself saving mankind from mutants. He believes he is doing god's work by purifying his race from these evolved humans. This act of purification is relatable to our modern day dictactors such as Mengistu Haile Mariam and Joseph Stalin. His ego, much like Frankenstein's, drives him towards his goal. With such a heavy topic as genocide, this is an extremely heavy social issue to be addressing in a comic book but it captures the oppressed's mindset which is still highly relatable to social issues we face today involving race and gender oppression.
ReplyDeleteQ3. This comic illustrates how the media can be influenced by polished words and fearful rhetoric seen throughout history and now even in today's American politics. In television, special targeted rhetoric is very powerful. It is condensed, and appeals to the viewers emotions and targets the publics darkest fears and insecurities. Here Stryker is appealing to the public's fear of being overpowered by this new evolved form of humans. By isolating homo superior, it separates them from the common humans making it easier to hate and be fearful of something different versus accepting their differences. Xavier isn't trying to tap into the publics emotions but defends the oppressed through words of kindness and acceptance. This is why he doesn't capture the audience like Stryker on their televised debate.
Yes, I'm glad you brought out the totalitarian reading of his character, since he wants to create a religious police state to drive out the mutants and their sympathizers (it's not called a Crusade for nothing!). The idea of fighting against a superior race of mutants is the perfect metaphor for examining our own world through a distorted mirror. Even better, the mutants are superheroes who we know are fighting to save the world from a host of superhuman villains...so it's ironic that people would fear them and try to kill them for their good deeds (much like everyone repays the Creature for trying to be kind). This is a metaphor unto itself: that the saviors of mankind are the first ones blamed for the crimes they try to oppose!
DeleteQ2: A comic book gives its artists more creative space through its different mediums. They can convey information through text and graphic, through font and the layout of the page. Because of this, I think comics can effectively address issues of racism and bigotry through more subtle means than a traditional novel. For instance, the Star of David necklace that Kitty wears is a subliminal message, or maybe more obvious to some, but either way, it might allow readers to sympathize and understand Kitty's character better than if it were simply described in a novel. It also provides the reader with a more visceral image.
ReplyDeleteQ3: Stryker uses his religious power to convince and control those that follow him. The scene where Stryker and Professor X have a debate really displays how Stryker uses media to his advantage. He knows that people will sympathize with a religious message, especially since he displays himself as a gentle preacher type. The media even seems to side with him as they talk about cutting to a commercial before Professor X has a chance to give his rebuttal. This means that the last thing in people's minds will be what Stryker said, not Professor X.
Yes, the media scene is a great one, since it shows that Stryker realizes that he has to have a public face for his cause--he has to seem like the approachable, human side of the story as opposed to Professor X's cold, intellectual side. He plays not only on fears of mutants but also on anti-intellectual fears. We've seen this recently in our own media, where one side is demonized and the public takes arms against this person as being unsympathetic, cold, intellectual, etc.
DeleteQ1: Stryker is the personification of religious fundamentalism. He is FAR worse than Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein and Stryker both thought they were doing the right thing, and Victor may have been a bit sociopathic and psychotic, but Stryker is evil. He wants to commit genocide, to kill all mutants, just because he believes it is the right thing even though he has no right do commit any such act. His character really comes across as a cookie-cutter villain complete with insanity and maliciousness.
ReplyDeleteQ2: The firs thing that comes to my mind are propaganda posters. While this comic’s intention is not to spread propaganda, it is trying to tell this story in this medium the most effective way it can. When you can see the faces of the characters with all their facial expressions and emotions and actions, it draws the reader in in a much different way that a pictureless novel does. When the mutants are being hunted down, tortured, and killed, all their pain and fear is displayed for the reader so we are able to empathize with them, and we are able to scorn the villain, aka Stryker and his lackeys.
Yes, he's much worse than Victor, though from what we see in the book the body count is about the same! He might seem like a cookie-cutter villain, but his motivation is similar to Victor's, in that he thinks he has been appointed to save humanity, and he can't see the 'devils' as anything but that, anymore than Victor can allow his own Creation to have humanity. What's scarier about Stryker is that so many people believe in his cause, unlike Victor, who only has one admirer. Stryker is the kind that can inspire millions and spread his mission throughout humanity, which is what Victor wanted to do as well, but lacked the charisma and platform (no television or other media) to do it.
DeleteQ1Stryker believes he is going God a favor by destroying the evil. He then again made a creature and judged it with all its flaws it had. He is more then just a simple cosmic book writer in the ways he makes what he says capture me and makes me think.
ReplyDeleteQ2. Telling a story with racism and etc. can bring more attention to the readers as they can think of there own believes and apply them to this cosmic keeping the reader thinking while reading. This cosmic book is read with a more wicked sense of believe rather then just a basic funny cosmic book
Marlee Lyle
Good start, but give a bit more detail--maybe use a specific scene to illustrate one of the above responses. Try to do more than just 2 sentences--i would like to see you thinking a bit more.
DeleteQ1: The commonality Stryker holds with Victor Frankenstein is that both men see themselves as higher than a normal man. Stryker sees himself as an agent of God, therefore his normaly seen evil doings of murder, are to him justified. Frankenstein similarly puts himself above man by taking the right to create life. Both men have a complex that "justifies" their horrid actions with in their own minds. Stryker is different from the average evil villain because his motives aren't directly evil. Stryker sees his doings as the will of God purging the population of earth from the disease of mutants. Obviously, even if Stryker does see his actions as such they are in no way actualy justified.
ReplyDeleteQ2: When it comes to comic Vs. "Normal" novels, comics give the author/illustrator the ability to include details about the story that would normally take the readers attention away from the main story line. A great example of this is when we can see kitty wearing the star of David necklace. The images in comics show us personality, and back story without subtracting from what the words are trying to get accross. They also give the author/illustrator the opportunity to present the reader with as much or as little detail needed to emphasise certain messages withing the text. The images of comic books greatly increase our ability to interpret the creators meaning rather than leaving all of the interpreting to the readers imagination.
-Sam McKenzie
Yes, seeing the images lets us understand not only what the artist/writer wanted us to see, but adds another dimension: a symbolism beyond the words. So while the words can suggest their own metaphors and ideas, the words can either intensity this or tell their own story. We see this throughout the comic, when the images add elements that are not implied by the words, such as Kitty's Star of David necklace (as we discussed in class), or the fact that the children killed in the beginning are African-American, and are more or less lynched in an image that reminds us of lynchings earlier in the 20th century. It makes this a more meaningful work since it is no longer just about mutants and comic book heroes.
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