Free X-Men and the Mutant Metaphor by Joseph J.; Darowski Page A

Ronald Ford which reads:
    Awright! Enough is enough! It used to be that I liked the X-Men better than any of your titles. They were mutants, feared, not trusted, always on the side of humanity fighting evil mutants. So what happens? You turn these evil-mutant fighters into crummy super-villain combaters. You’ve turned an instant hit into a flop. So bring back evil mutants—singly or in a group—in the sensational tradition of The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Their purpose is supposed to be fighting mutants such as these. Leave the super-villains to your other costumed do-gooders. C’Mon, give it some thought! (690)
    Marvel’s lighthearted response to Ford’s letter was to point out that they had previously received many letters complaining about using Magneto and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants too often in their stories.
    Though the use of mutants as a metaphor for minorities was lessened in this time, the diversity of the title actually increased. Of course, with a previously all-white cast, the likelihood of diversifying was pretty good. However, increasing the diversity of a comic book cast does not inherently include a sensitive portrayal of other cultures. The X-Men #25 (Oct. 1966) features the first significant characters to appear who are not white Americans. The main villain of the issue, El Tigre, and his two henchmen come from the fictional Central American nation of San Rico. The three villains contain many stereotypes of Latin American culture. One henchman dresses in a mariachi outfit, and the other dresses in a poncho. They wield bolos, a machete, and poisoned darts. In a comic book universe that frequently features heavy sci-fi elements for American protagonists, Central America has not yet discovered guns, much less lasers.
    Thomas would also introduce two mutants who would later become part of a more international team of X-Men. The Banshee is an Irish mutant who first appears as a villain, later becomes a sometimes ally of the X-Men, and becomes a full-fledged member of the team in the 1975 relaunch. As X-Men was nearing the end of its initial run of original issues, Thomas also introduced the Japanese mutant, Sunfire, as a villain. Banshee and Sunfire never became members of the X-Men during this period, but Havok and Polaris, two white mutants, did join the team. Appearances of minority mutants increased, but the team remained composed of entirely white American members.
    In addition to diversifying the characters appearing in the series, the back-up stories Marvel began publishing, which revealed the origins of the individual X-Men characters, had a much stronger anti-prejudice bent than the main stories did. Thomas was the writer for the majority of these back-up stories. One of the first instances of Cyclops using his powers in public is related. Cyclops uses his optic blasts to disintegrate a crate that was falling from a construction site and would have killed the crowd below. With a rather illogical reaction, the crowd immediately wants to attack Cyclops. One member of the crowd yells, “He must’a been some kind of mutant . . . a monster with deadly powers!” To which a man in a bow tie and bowler hat replies, “Then . . . he’s more dangerous than a falling crate . . . by far!” Irrational fear and hatred of mutants has returned to the title, at least in the back-up stories.
    Following the series of back-up stories that established Cylops’s origin, Iceman was the next member of the X-Men to have his past revealed beginning in back-up stories in The X-Men #44 (May 1968). When an encounter with a bully ends with Iceman revealing his mutant powers, the small town quickly turns against him.
    A couple issues later, with Gary Friedrich taking over as writer for this chapter, the imagery of the story takes an unmistakable turn toward the lynch mobs that took many African American lives. The townspeople attack the sheriff to prevent him from protecting Iceman and Cyclops and prepare to hang