People with diseases tend to be
surrounded by a strong stigma. The word
disease itself has such a powerful negative connotation that we're automatically repulsed by the thought of it. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as “a condition of the body, in
which its functions are disturbed or deranged.” In Astonishing X-Men: Gifted, a new “cure” for
the mutation “disease” is being released by Dr. Rao. This cure, she says, is able to eradicate the
disease. Some mutants are strongly
opposed, whereas others desire it. Any mutant seeking the cure may feel alienated
from his or her own sense of self, such as Dr. McCoy. He expresses to Logan that his body isn’t
what it used to be and he feels out of control of his emotions. Dr. McCoy, and perhaps many other mutants,
just want to live the lives they used to have.
However, other mutants are
opposed to the mutant cure, and rightly so.
After all, is being a mutant so horrible? Mutation can be viewed as a quality that
simply makes a person unique—it isn’t necessarily dangerous or bad. Some mutants, such as Kitty, have rather
harmless abilities. In other cases, a
mutant only needs to learn how to control their abilities. If a mutant’s regular functions are not disrupted,
then a cure isn’t needed because mutation is not a disease.
A mutant’s choice over whether or
not to “cure” themselves is not quite as troubling as Dr. Rao’s
presentation. She begins her speech by
stating that mutants and non-mutants are equals, except that mutants have a
disease. Due to the connotation of “disease,”
she indirectly infers that mutants are defective people. She further supports the stigma surrounding
people with disease (mutants in this case) by presenting Tildie, a young girl
that uncontrollably causes her nightmares to become reality. Overall, Dr. Rao highlights the possible
danger and threat of mutation and presents it as the norm.
In the third issue, we see that
Dr. Rao may be more corrupt than what we initially made her out to be is allied with Ord (remember the alien that attacked the X-Men?). She speaks with Ord after giving a cure
sample to Dr. McCoy, and it is evident that they are working together towards
some yet-to-be-determined goal. It is
even revealed that Ord’s people helped Dr. Rao produce the cure, but she is
only “a pawn…in a grand scheme” (58).
Additionally, she’s been testing the cure on someone, causing Dr. McCoy
to call her a monster. To truly know whether or
not Dr. Rao is a monster, however, we’ll just have to finish Volume 1.
References:
[Joss Whedon (w) and John Cassaday (a).] Astonishing X-Men, Vol 1. "Gifted" #1-3. (Dec. 2012). [Marvel Comics].
"disease, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, September 2016. Web. 19 September 2016.
