Uncanny X-Men #17 Tries and Fails to Address Transgender Attacks, Writer Apologizes

Mutants in the X-Men have always been seen as an allegory for minorities and, for the most part, they have succeeded in using them as a metaphor. Whether you're a person of color, a member of the LGBTQ or just someone who feels like an outsider, the X-Men were always there to represent you. Last week's Uncanny X-Men #17 tried to do what the series is known for and represent a minority again but failed in a big way.

The issue revealed that former New Mutant and X-Force member Wolfsbane was killed by a group of attackers. At first, they were sexually harassing her until she revealed her mutant form. Then, they started getting angry at the fact that she was a mutant and using the language often spilled by angry men who think they have been tricked by transgender women, as noted by The Mary Sue. And then they kill her, without Wolfsbane fighting back.

As you can tell, this caused quite an outrage within the comic book fandom.

Bad enough that they tried to make this a clumsy metaphor for transgender attacks but the fact that Wolfsbane, a character capable of fighting and defending herself, just let herself be killed by a bunch of strangers was just dumb. Sure, Wolverine and a group kill these people later but that made it worse, fridging Wolfsbane so that the lead white dudes can feel bad.

Writer Matthew Rosenberg has addressed the criticism and apologized if his story has hurt anyone. We can't blame the writer for trying to address transgender attacks since they are a very real thing but to do it so poorly, especially with a character who can fight back and kill, was just wrong.

Uncanny X-Men #17 is out now if you like controversy.

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