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The Scroll

No. 81: X-Men

Jewish revenge, mainstreamed

By Len Small|December 5, 2011|3comments
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No. 80: The Squid and the Whale → ← No. 82: Inglourious Basterds
(Twentieth Century Fox)

2000, dir. Bryan Singer. In this comic-book blockbuster’s opening scene, a boy and his family are split apart at a concentration camp in 1940s Poland—a moment that triggers the boy’s latent mutant super-powers. He grows up to become the powerful villain Magneto, marvelously played by Ian McKellen. Director Bryan Singer uses Magneto’s origin to frame a McCarthy-esque senator’s attempts to round up mutants, turning a Red Scare plot into a universal meditation on otherness. But who are the good guys? While the X-Men debate assimilation, Magneto wants to beat back those who would persecute his kind. This film mainstreamed the concept of Jewish revenge.
No. 80: The Squid and the Whale → ← No. 82: Inglourious Basterds
  • Michael

    Query: Is this a more “Jewish” film than X-Men: The New Class? Admittedly, it’s more of an action film with all the metaphorical power of a lumberjack.

  • Dan Klein

    Why you gotta hate on the metaphorical power of lumberjacks?

  • MethanP

    As most of the originators of Marvel & DC comics were/are Jews, one could claim any material from them as Jewish

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No. 81: X-Men

Jewish revenge, mainstreamed