X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills

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X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills
X-Men God Loves Man Kills cover.jpg

Publisher Marvel Comics
Date 1982
Main character(s) X-Men
William Stryker
Series Marvel Graphic Novel
Creative team
Writer(s) Chris Claremont
Artist(s) Brent Anderson
ISBN ISBN 0-7851-0039-3

X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills (Marvel Graphic Novel #5) is a graphic novel published in 1982 by Marvel Comics, starring their popular superhero team the X-Men. It was written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by Brent Anderson. David Hayter (who wrote the screenplay for the first X-Men film, and co-wrote the screenplay for the second X-Men film, on which aspects of the latter film were based)[1] commented that God Loves, Man Kills is one of his favourite X-Men stories.[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] Plot

The story concerns a minister, the Reverend William Stryker, stirring up religious anti-mutant fervor and kidnapping Professor X in an attempt to eradicate all mutants. It is one of the most clear-cut examples of X-Men comics using mutant relations as a metaphor for race relations. Another notable feature is that the heroes do not fight any costumed super-villains in the story; although Magneto was featured in the Graphic Novel, he is not the X-Men's foe in this story, but rather forms an alliance with them against William Stryker. The X-Men members featured in this story are Professor X, Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Shadowcat, the team at the time the story was published. Other characters who appear are Colossus' sister, Illyana Rasputin (after she is aged by Belasco, but before she adopts the identity of Magik and/or joins the New Mutants) and the X-Men's civilian ally and friend, Stevie Hunter.

[edit] Film

Several elements of the novel's plot — most notably the name of the villain, William Stryker; the fact that the X-Men team-up with Magneto, their arch-rival; the kidnapping of Professor X and some of his X-men; and the use of Professor X to mentally kill all the mutants on earth — were used in the second X-Men film, X2.[1]

There are also differences in the storyline, however. Some of the main differences are:

  • William Stryker in the movie is a military scientist rather than a minister. The comic's Stryker was once involved in the military at one point in his life, but left that to become a preacher long before the events of the novel.
  • Both versions of Stryker have a mutant child, though in the novel, the child had already died prior to the events of the novel. In the movie, his child is still alive.
  • In the film, Stryker is responsible for Wolverine receiving his adamantium bones and claws; in the comic, they had never met prior to the events of the novel.
  • In the novel, Stryker and his men are able to kidnap Professor X, Cyclops, and Storm. In the movie, only the first two are kidnapped.

[edit] Trivia

There was also a semi-sequel to it in X-Treme X-Men in which Stryker returned. Prior to the publication of this sequel, it was unclear whether or not the story was considered part of Marvel canon.

The address of the dance studio that Kitty attends in the book is actually the address of Chris Claremont's aunt and uncle's house in Eastbourne, England.[citation needed]

[edit] References

[edit] External links