Mutants and HIV

[protogarrett]

 The controversial scene.

Tags: Char:Paige Guthrie/Husk, Char: Nurse Annie, Group: X-Men


She says that it's because mutant genetics and the HIV virus aren't compatible.

Now for a long time I had serious issues with this scene. However, now that I mull it over it doesn't bother me. Look at it this way; mutants aren't humans, thus why would a disease that affects humans affect them? Yes, we've seen mutants with cancer and the flu but that doesn't mean every disease would cross species. Yes, there might be other implications here and all kinds of subtext, depending what he author intended and what the reader wants to invest based on his or her experiences.

Plus, the two HIV positive people I know enjoyed it as it brought the topic of HIV/AIDS to the forefront and got a lot of people to talk about it. Furthermore, their response was, "Well, she isn't human. Plus all mutants also look like supermodels, so obviously the genes are a bit different."

So... yeah. My two cents.

Would love to hear other ideas, but if we can keep it from a flame and hate thread and actually discuss the topic at hand, that would be great. Let's avoid Austen hate, Nurse Annie hate, etc. and sticl to the proposed issue. 

Comments

[geoffsebesta]

I was wrong -- Daken doesn't count either. He's the second-gen in the equation. Wolverine's the product of two humans. Daken is a human-mutant hybrid. And he's sixty and has no children.

So actually Quicksilver is your only example.

[freezer]

If one is allowed to bring Exiles into the discussion, Nightcrawler and Wanda both count (via Nocturne).

[geoffsebesta]

I think the fact that human-mutant hybrids producing viable offspring only occurs in alternate realities (which includes time travel, all the futures we know in the MU are alternate reality) is revealing in and of itself.

I also think that last sentence was a serious run-on. :)

[icon_uk]

Doesn't matter whether it's revealing or not, it establishes that mutants offspring are fertile.

[geoffsebesta]

Not in this reality!

[daningram.insanejournal.com]

Tell that to Clan Akkaba

[geoffsebesta]

Oh yeah, they're probably about as related to Apocalypse as the Shia are to Mohammed. :) Nevertheless, that's interesting evidence. Do the descendents of Clan Akkaba have super-powers?

BTW, is Apocalype a Celestial-generated mutant? If not, they are not relevanPr

[geoffsebesta]

Oh yeah, they're probably about as related to Apocalypse as the Shia are to Mohammed. :) Nevertheless, that's interesting evidence. Do the descendents of Clan Akkaba have super-powers?

BTW, is Apocalype a Celestial-generated mutant? If not, his children are not relevant. Pr

[daningram.insanejournal.com]

Err, no. The clan is made up of Appoccy's sons, grand sons and so on. And Appoccy's a mutant, though all mutants are Celestial generated, so that question's kinda pointless.

[geoffsebesta]

ack! it was sending them and telling me it wasn't! so sorry, not on my normal computer. Sorry to spam ya.

[freezer]

Or it means Marvel writers don't like dealing with kids - especially when one parent isn't a super hero.

[geoffsebesta]

See ns_d for a longer reply to this, but 1) you can definitely say that Marvel writers are an "extradimensional force affecting Marvel characters" and 2) whenever possible canon explanations should be found.

Obviously the real answer is "because it's a made-up story." But that's hardly sporting, is it?