"God Loves, Man Kills" part 1
Back in the the days before the internet and the more widespread proliferation of the local comic book store, there used to be these ads in comics for independent mail order comics distributors. It would usually list about a hundred different comic book titles, mostly an even mix of Marvel and DC, with a few from smaller independent companies. There would usually be between two to ten issues available for each comic, some a few years old, some as recent as last month. There would be the usual spinner rack fair like Captain America, Action Comics, and Amazing Spider-Man, as well as prestige format books you couldn't get at the local Stop-and-Rob, like Alien Legion, Akira, Cosmic Odyssey, Watchmen, the Tick, and the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series.
I never ordered anything from them, but I was always curious about what they had, especially regarding what issues were available for titles I read that I didn't own (which was most of them). Since I started paying attention to these ads in the late 1980s, the books I was most concerned with were Excalibur, X-Factor, and of course Uncanny X-Men. Something that would always catch my eye beneath the listing of available X-Men issues were the words "God Loves, Man Kills".
I didn't know what a graphic novel was at the time, but having some fairly outside-the-box thoughts on religion even at that age I was fascinated by the title. When I had regular access to a comics shop in the early 90s, I was more interested in Jim Lee's art of Wolverine doing cool stuff and of Rogue in a pair of cut offs (give me some slack, I was seventeen) than I was in GLMK's stark realism. By the time my taste in comics had matured enough to have appreciated it, most of the shine of the X-franchise had worn off for me, and I didn't read it until very recently while gleefully falling down the rabbit hole of Chris Claremont's work.
Having finally explored this classic graphic novel I'm very glad I did. Before we get started on it, though, there are a couple of things I should clarify. First God Loves Man Kills is not exclusively a Wolverine story. It's the tale of the entire X-Men team, working together equally, to face the toxic racism that targets all mutants. In fact, if any one member of the team stands out in this book it's Kitty Pryde, operating at this time under the costumed identity of Ariel. There will be a lot of issues and arcs like this, ones where Wolverine is a part of the story but isn't necessarily the focal point, that I'll be covering, especially as we progress though Claremont's run on Uncanny.
Second, while this is a very good story and a very important story, it is not a "fun" story. There are no scenes of Wolverine fighting giant spiders in hostile alien environments. There are no instances of Nightcrawler being a swashbuckling romantic. There's none of the awkward teenage almost-romance between Kitty and Colossus. Despite the fact that it contains protagonists with super powers, and remains firmly in canon, it very much has the feel of taking place as close to possible in the real world. This is a very dark story, not only about the fear that people feel toward those who are different, but about how some extreme individuals use religion as the platform to transform that fear into hatred and violence.
The book, to make my point, opens with an eleven year old boy and a nine year old girl running for their lives through an elementary school playground at night. The boy is shot in the back by as-yet unseen assailants and, though not instantly killed, is likely mortally wounded. When the girl stops to help her brother they are quickly surrounded by a trio bearing firearms and wearing tactical gear. The woman who is their leader identifies them as Purifiers, and let's the children know that their parents have already been killed. Enraged, the boy begins to activate his mutant power, which manifests as en energy crackling from his eyes, though he is quickly shot to death by the Purifiers. When the girl looks up the murderers and pleads "Why?", the Purifier leader tells her coldly "Because you have no right to live", before ending the girl's life as well.
Later that night, Magneto finds the bodies of the children hanging from the playground's swingset, signs that read "MUTIE" hung around their necks. Gently laying the children on the ground, Magneto vows to find those responsible and make them pay.
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These first three pages, in my opinion, are some of the most powerful in the entire book. The idea of young children being killed should be upsetting to anyone, but as a parent that shock becomes maginified. Coupled with this intentional feel of outrage is the fact that the children killed and essentially lynched are African American, while the Purifiers that hunt then are exclusively Caucasian, echoing the racial injustice instigated by hate groups like neo-Nazis and the KKK.
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The next scene cuts to Manhattan and the offices of the Stryker Crusade, and specifically to Reverend William Stryker, who is reading a Bible passage out loud to himself as he prepares for his next televised sermon. An excerpt of it reads "If there be found among you...Man or Woman who hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy God...then thou shalt bring forth that Man and that Woman...and shalt stone them with stones till they die". His preparations complete, Stryker begins reviewing dossiers of the then-current X-Men (Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Kitty), providing expository explanations of each character's powers. Through his external monologue, it also becomes revealed that Stryker is aware that the X-Men operate out of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, and that their faculty and students are exclusively mutants, facts that are well kept secrets at the time. When his assistant asks if the people who's images are included in the dossiers are the X-Men, Stryker replies "God willing, if all goes well, not for very much longer".
The next scene cuts to Manhattan and the offices of the Stryker Crusade, and specifically to Reverend William Stryker, who is reading a Bible passage out loud to himself as he prepares for his next televised sermon. An excerpt of it reads "If there be found among you...Man or Woman who hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy God...then thou shalt bring forth that Man and that Woman...and shalt stone them with stones till they die". His preparations complete, Stryker begins reviewing dossiers of the then-current X-Men (Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Kitty), providing expository explanations of each character's powers. Through his external monologue, it also becomes revealed that Stryker is aware that the X-Men operate out of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, and that their faculty and students are exclusively mutants, facts that are well kept secrets at the time. When his assistant asks if the people who's images are included in the dossiers are the X-Men, Stryker replies "God willing, if all goes well, not for very much longer".
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I find this scene fascinating, as with one bit of monologue we get a view into Stryker's mind and his view on violence. While I've never read the Bible personally and wouldn't presume to interpret it, I know that there are many Christians who view much of what it contains as allegory, or who take those concepts that don't mesh with modern society with a grain of salt as the product of being written thousands of years ago and being interpreted into relatively modern language hundreds of years ago. Stryker, however, clearly takes the call to murder those who "hath wrought wickedness" very literally, and is more than willing to do so.
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From Stryker's offices the scene transitions to later in the day at Stevie Hunter's dance studio, where her student Kitty Pryde is attacking a young man named Danny, while shouting "TAKE IT BACK!" The skirmish is broken up by Kitty's best friend and fellow dance student Illyana Rasputin, and by Illyana's older brother and Kitty's teammate Peter, aka Colossus. The skirmish is quickly ended, though not before Kitty, who is going out of her way to not use her phasing ability around civilians, receives a black eye for her troubles. When Stevie demands an explanation, Kitty exclaims that Danny "shot off his mouth once to often". Danny proudly tells Stevie that his parents are members of the Stryker Crusade and that "Muties are evil! They deserve whatever they get!", and to Kitty "Want to make something of it mutie lover?!" After Danny storms off, Stevie tries to console Kitty by reminding her that what Danny was spouting was "only words". Kitty responds by demanding to know if Stevie would feel the same if Danny's hateful anti-mutant rhetoric had been replaced by racial slurs against African Americans.
As Kitty, Peter, and Illyana leave, we're shown that the Purifiers have had Stevie's studio under surveillance, revealing that they not only about the powers and headquarters of the X-Men, but that they are familiar with their personal lives as well. One of the Purifiers radios into "mission central", reporting that the situation is normal and that "Operation Headhunter can proceed as scheduled".
When the three Xavier's students return to the mansion Nightcrawler and Wolverine are preparing to watch a televised debate between Professor Xavier and William Stryker. It becomes clear quickly that Xavier is losing the debate, not because of any fault in his reasoning, but because Stryker is charismatic and is appealling to the audience's emotions, while Xavier comes across as cold when dealing in terms of science and logic.
After the debate, as Xavier leaves the studio with Cyclops and Storm (both wearing civilian garb), the leader of the Purifier hit squad from the opening sequence, who is named as Anne, approaches Stryker, dressed as an employee of the studio. Their dialogue reveals that Stryker employs technological "psi-screens" that prevents Xavier from reading his thoughts, and that the Purifiers will make their move in Central Park.
True to her word, the Purifiers strike on cue. Xavier's car is hit with what appears to be a missed from a rocket launcher. The three occupants of the vehicle miraculously survive, though Xavier is stunned by the blast, and Cyclops and Storm are quickly shot before a second rocket demolishes the car.
Back at the mansion, after the rest of the team completes a Danger Room exercise, Nightcrawler answers a phone call. Stunned, he sets down the receiver and tells the others "That was the police. There's been an ... accident. Professor Xavier, Scott, and Ororo are dead".
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One of the things I enjoy about GLMK, from a purely storytelling perspective, is how we're never explicitly told via exposition that "the Stryker Crusade is a far reaching operation that has infiltrated several walks of life in American culture". We're shown it. They have their own skyscraper in the middle of Manhattan, demonstrating their financial strength alone. The fact that Stryker has classified information on the X-Men indicates that he has high ranking government contracts, possibly even in SHIELD. Its implied during Xavier's debate with Stryker that the station keeps cutting to commercial every time the professor begins to make a valid point, suggesting that Anne wasn't just posing as a member of the network's staff, but that as a member of the Purifiers she had actually infiltrated the network and was helping control the media in Stryker's favor.
I can't help thinking that this widespread influence throughout society is Claremont's metaphor for how prejudice is such an equally widespread phenomenon in American culture. Often times, as we've been learning more and more in the last twelve months here in the real world, we may begin to think that things like racism, homophobia, and sexism are on the decline, as the voice of progress becomes stronger, only the find that these elements of hatred have been just as prevalent as always, and have in fact been growing more and more quietly potent. Though this story was written thirty five years ago (and now I feel really old), I can't help consider a parallel between events that unfold later in God Loves Man Kills, and how upper middle class IT specialists and accountants came forward earlier this year in an expression of racial hatred.
We, however, will have to wait at least a couple of weeks to discuss what goes on later in GLMK. Those of you who are awesome and follow me on Twitter may have caught wind of this earlier in the week, but I simply have to much to say about this book to fit it all into one post without it being longer than my attention span wants to write at once. I'll be back with Feral Samurai in two weeks to discuss the remainder of the book, as well as my copious thoughts on its content. Beyond GLMK, look for an overview of the Brood Saga, coverage of the 1982 Wolverine miniseries, and Storm's fight to gain control over the Morlocks and to save the life of the Angel. Next week, however, you can catch my literary stylings over on my Swamp Thing blog, avatarofthegreen.blogspot.com , as I continue my coverage of Scott Syder's and Yanick Paquet's "Rotworld: the Green Kingdom".
Before I close things this week I want to give a special shout out to my newest patron, Kathrine C.H.E. Kathrine is a singer-songwriter, and you can find her work at KatherineCHEmusic.com, and follow her on Twitter @KathrineCHE. If you'd like to become a patron as well, to get early access to regular weekly posts, as well as patron-exclusive access to special monthly posts, and just to generally support someone who loves doing what he's doing, I'd love for you to join the ranks of my "Paladins" over at patreon.com/GrantRichterWrites.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about anything in this or any of the posts in my various blogs, don't hesitate to hit me up on Twitter @IamGrantRichter.
See you neXt time, Muties!
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One of the things I enjoy about GLMK, from a purely storytelling perspective, is how we're never explicitly told via exposition that "the Stryker Crusade is a far reaching operation that has infiltrated several walks of life in American culture". We're shown it. They have their own skyscraper in the middle of Manhattan, demonstrating their financial strength alone. The fact that Stryker has classified information on the X-Men indicates that he has high ranking government contracts, possibly even in SHIELD. Its implied during Xavier's debate with Stryker that the station keeps cutting to commercial every time the professor begins to make a valid point, suggesting that Anne wasn't just posing as a member of the network's staff, but that as a member of the Purifiers she had actually infiltrated the network and was helping control the media in Stryker's favor.
I can't help thinking that this widespread influence throughout society is Claremont's metaphor for how prejudice is such an equally widespread phenomenon in American culture. Often times, as we've been learning more and more in the last twelve months here in the real world, we may begin to think that things like racism, homophobia, and sexism are on the decline, as the voice of progress becomes stronger, only the find that these elements of hatred have been just as prevalent as always, and have in fact been growing more and more quietly potent. Though this story was written thirty five years ago (and now I feel really old), I can't help consider a parallel between events that unfold later in God Loves Man Kills, and how upper middle class IT specialists and accountants came forward earlier this year in an expression of racial hatred.
We, however, will have to wait at least a couple of weeks to discuss what goes on later in GLMK. Those of you who are awesome and follow me on Twitter may have caught wind of this earlier in the week, but I simply have to much to say about this book to fit it all into one post without it being longer than my attention span wants to write at once. I'll be back with Feral Samurai in two weeks to discuss the remainder of the book, as well as my copious thoughts on its content. Beyond GLMK, look for an overview of the Brood Saga, coverage of the 1982 Wolverine miniseries, and Storm's fight to gain control over the Morlocks and to save the life of the Angel. Next week, however, you can catch my literary stylings over on my Swamp Thing blog, avatarofthegreen.blogspot.com , as I continue my coverage of Scott Syder's and Yanick Paquet's "Rotworld: the Green Kingdom".
Before I close things this week I want to give a special shout out to my newest patron, Kathrine C.H.E. Kathrine is a singer-songwriter, and you can find her work at KatherineCHEmusic.com, and follow her on Twitter @KathrineCHE. If you'd like to become a patron as well, to get early access to regular weekly posts, as well as patron-exclusive access to special monthly posts, and just to generally support someone who loves doing what he's doing, I'd love for you to join the ranks of my "Paladins" over at patreon.com/GrantRichterWrites.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about anything in this or any of the posts in my various blogs, don't hesitate to hit me up on Twitter @IamGrantRichter.
See you neXt time, Muties!
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