Marvel Comics and AS

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Being an Aspie and a comic book geek, this is something I've spent a lot of mental energy thinking about ( probably too much ). It's probably wishful thinking, but bear with me...

Since superhero comics are often associated with socially awkward " geeks " who dream of having superhuman powers, a lot of major Marvel Comics superheroes look like canidates for Asperger's/High Functioning Autism. Several characters in leading roles come to mind; paticularly Mr. Fantastic, Cyclops, Spider-Man, and Bruce Banner when he's not Hulked out. Though the characters are very diverse, they have their similarities. They all started out feeling like outsiders, albeit from different backgrounds, who had skills that seperated them from the rest of the world. They're all socially awkward, intensely focused on their lives as superheroes, and extremely intelligent ( Reed and Peter in terms of scientific ability, Scott in terms of his strategic mind ). They also are living the Aspie dream; not only making something of their lives, but having successful friendships and relationships despite their inabilities to communicate with others.

Like other Aspies, the characters are very different from each other as well. Reed Richards is the ultimate scientific mind, the most brilliant man on Earth but not given to conventional speech and often very boring in his explanations of his inventions. Scott Summers is an extremely reserved, uptight, and controlled man who tends to internalize everything ( which explains why his only relationships have been with telepaths like Jean Grey and Emma Frost, who can literally read his mind ). Peter Parker has two different personas that he adopts; the shy, bookish nerd in his civilian guise, and the exuberant, wise-cracking hero in his Spider-Man suit ( similar to how many Aspies have different personalities behind the " mask " of the computer ). But they all are relatable in the sense that though they lack social graces, they try hard to make a difference, and are characters we can aspire to.

I doubt this was intentional, that Stan Lee knew about Asperger's when he created his characters, but looking at my old comics from my newly diagnosed Aspie eyes, it certainly raises questions about whether or not the present incarnations of these characters could be diagnosed, right?

I found the recent Mutant Cure x-men comics very reminiscent of the "cure for autism" debate. And I've always identified very much with Ben Grimm/Thing.

They were made that way to show a sense of realism in their character, to make the people seem more human. I've always liked Gambit myself.

I've noticed this too, and it does seem to be a particular theme in Marvel Comics... I mean Batman (DC) isn't geeky when he's not Batman... he's a suave ladykiller.

I also see a comparison between X Men and AS.

Yeah, X-Men/AS comparisons have seemed especially valid to me lately. Being autistic/Aspie gives you abilties and weaknesses other people don't have, and autistics tend to be stereotyped and discriminated against. Also, like Renagade wrote, there are stories which bring up issues autistics also face ( like the " mutant cure " Joss Whedon introduced ).

To represent myself on these forums, my buddy icon represents a comic book character who seemed like the best canidate for Asperger's/high functioning autism of any of the X-Men; Xorn. Before we knew who he really was, Xorn was an extremely kind, gentle, sensitive, and undoubtably naive mutant who had spent his life trapped in a Chinese prison. When he was released, he joined the X-Men and became the instructor for the Special Ed class of disenfranchised young mutants. His powers were that he had a black hole for a brain, so he had to constantly hide his face behind an iron mask or suck everything in; he could also heal things with his touch. He constantly assumed the best of people, even when they treated him like dirt. His description of his perceptions is as follows...

" I have no eyes to see with. My brain is a tiny sun, locked in a bottle made of thoughts and feelings and raw iron. I know things only by their LIGHT. "

Then we found out that Xorn was just arch-villain Magneto in disguise. I remember feeling a bit pissed off at the writer for that, because I really liked the guy. Another Xorn was created later on, but he just wasn't the same...

So I have reasons for my buddy icon beyond that a metal mask looks cool