When Mutants Marched: How X-Men Became America’s Superhero Civil Rights Movement
Stan Lee’s X-Men debuted in 1963 as a direct allegory for the Civil Rights Movement, with Professor Xavier and Magneto embodying the contrasting philosophies of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Six decades later, the mutant metaphor still resonates, teaching new generations that fighting for justice when the world fears you is the most heroic thing anyone can do.
