10 Things Marvel Wants You To Forget About The X-Men

In 2017, X-Men Gold was the anticipated new chapter in Marvel’s mutant collection. After years of neglect, Marvel looked as though they’d be giving their mutants some thorough love and care. Issue one got off to a rough start, however.

Ardian Syaf was the penciler responsible for the series at the time. In the first issue, the X-Men are playing baseball and Colossus steps up to bat with his t-shirt reading “QS 5:51”. This message references a passage in the Qur’an advising Muslims not to put Christians or Jewish people in places of power. Syaf is from Jakarta in Indonesia where an election was taking place for the position of governor, which Basuki Tjahaja Purnama held at the time.

Other such messages appeared in the issue as well. “212” was printed on the front of a building that references a date that a protest against Basuki Tjahaja Purnama was to take place. In the same panel, Kitty Pryde, who’s a Jewish-American leader in the mutant community, is addressing a group of civilians. Next to her on a store is a crudely placed “Jewelry” sign.

The blatantly anti-semitic messages added by Syaf became world news. The penciller was fired by Marvel immediately for using their medium to promote his political stance.