Primarily, as a general concept. The general idea of "superpowers as a direct analogy for minority groups." Do you think the metaphor works? Does the "having superpowers" detract from the comparison, or does it benefit by providing a sense of empowerment?
More specifically to the X-Men stories themselves, in what ways do you find they pull off the metaphor well, or fall short? Particularly when it comes to very ideologically-driven characters like Professor X and Magneto, what do you like or dislike about how their conflict is framed?
One thing I personally think is underdiscussed about the central metaphor is the way people take it as analogy to racism (particularly to make the Prof X:Magneto::MLK:Malcolm X comparison), or queerphobia, or ableism, when I think the most textually present metaphor (at least in the Kirby/Lee and Claremont runs) is an analogy with anti-semetism. Of course, that analogy has its own inconsistencies - mutants are usually born to human parents, where Jewish identity is familial; mutants are viewed as a new phenomenon, where Judaism is ancient - but all metaphors mapped on to mutants have some issues, and the Jewish one seems to have the least. I think the inconsistencies are purposeful on Kirby’s part, like how Captain America is a lot like a golem and acts as a hero for Jewish-Americans to fight Nazism, but isn’t textually a golem or even Jewish. It seems like he preferred to keep things indirect when taking inspiration from his Judaism in comics. Even the Thing - one of the most prominent Jewish characters in Kirby’s Marvel creations - wasn’t confirmed in-story to be Jewish until the 2000s after Kirby’s death, though it’s known through some of his unpublished work that he did think of the character as Jewish. (There’s a great little drawing he did of the Thing on a Hanukkah card)
