Something rather amazing happened last week that mainstream comic book websites ignored: Marvel Editor Tom Brevoort likened Cyclops to Adolf Hilter — the infamous man responsible for killing six million Jews.
For some inexplicable reason, Mr. Brevoort thought it was a good idea to sell the upcoming “Champions” book on more political activism and “Kid Hitler.” Seriously.
Entertainment Weekly reported July 5:
BREVOORT: This is the young Scott Summers pulled from the past. In my head, he’s kind of the first challenge the group faces. Which is to say that when they get together and start to do this, what they’re doing is not just putting together a superhero team, they’re more like activists. They’re making an inclusive statement that they mean to be for all members of their generation: it’s time to get together and stand up and fix the world. This is a message that goes out and people come in response to it. Cyclops shows up and goes, “Boy I love what you’re putting down, I’d like to be a part of it.” It’s kind of like Kid Hitler showing up at the door. The older Cyclops has done some stuff. He’s a hugely divisive figure in the Marvel universe, so the first question these kids have to answer for themselves is, should we let him be a part of this? Is his very presence going to taint what we’re doing? His older self became a radical and a revolutionary and did awful things, but is it the same guy? And that’s kind of why he’s there I think. He wants to go down a different road than his older self did.
A comic book fan does not even know what has happened in the X-Men books for the past few years to understand how pathetic it is that Scott Summers is “Kid Hitler.”
- At what point in time did the Holocaust essentially become an Entertainment Weekly punchline for Mr. Brevoort? Oh that ‘Kid Hitler.’ Tune into to see if the other super-kiddies welcome him into the club after what he’s done!
- At what point did Marvel decide that it was “fun” to read heroes who earn Hitler analogies?
Marvel is in such sad shape these days that heroes seem to fight heroes more than villains, Hydra-Cap gimmicks are required for quick sales, Doctor Octopus spent over a year in Peter Parker’s body, and now Cyclops is “Kid Hitler.”
If you get a chance, ask Marvel’s writers and editors how much money they estimate Mr. Brevoort’s Holocaust analogy in Entertainment Weekly will net the company. My guess is that they will somehow try and portray you as the bad guy, but if they do then just keep in mind who you’re dealing with — men who turned Cyclops into “Kid Hitler.”
Douglas Ernst Blog 