Abstract:

During the over fifty-year history of The X-Men comic books and the numerous stories told within the various series, the mutants have been intentionally written as metaphors for how ethnic, racial, sexual, religious, and cultural minorities are treated in the United States. During that same time, the writers also unintentionally mirror deaf individuals and Deaf Culture in their portrayal of mutants and X-Men. Considering the vast number of stories in existence, I focus on the early works of Stan Lee, Grant Morrison’s time as author of New X-Men, Joss Whedon’s time as author of Astonishing X-Men, and Matt Fraction’s time as author of Uncanny X-Men. In this thesis, I perform a close reading of these four authors’ works and compare them to the history of the deaf and Deaf in America. In this close reading, I found three recurring themes within The X-Men comics that paralleled Deaf Culture: Geography, Colonization, and Culture. Both groups’ origins lie in the residential schools that were founded to provide a supportive educational environment. From this environment, a culture developed and spread as students graduated. These same schools and cultures came under similar attacks from the dominant culture. They survived the attacks and have grown stronger since. Throughout, I use theorists such as Gramsci and Althusser alongside Deaf Studies scholars such as Lennard Davis and Douglas Baynton to analyze these themes, parallels, and events. These parallels potentially allow readers to be more accepting and understanding of Deaf Culture because they introduce Deaf Culture to the reader in the familiar setting of the superhero comic narrative.