12 Shocking Real-Life Incidents That Affected Comics
8. The Outbreak Of AIDS And The Legacy Virus
One of the clearest analogies for an incident occurring in our world appears in X-Men, a comic that has been analysed in terms of its subtext perhaps more than any other. The outbreak of an AIDS-like virus strikes Mutant-kind in the form of the deadly Legacy Virus leaving a string of second tier victims and survivors in its wake. Legacy reflects the effects of AIDS on the human immune system by targeting the X-Factor within a hosts genetic coding. In humans the virus is harmless as there is no X-Factor to detect but in Mutants the effects are deadly, eventually rendering the body incapable of generating healthy cells. The parallels to AIDS are obvious, but as the X-Men have long been read as emblematic of marginalised groups within society it is worth considering that Legacy offers an extension of reading the X-Men as an analogy for the impact the outbreak of AIDS had upon the gay community in the 80s and early 90s.
As well as the odd article, I apply my "special mind" to scriptwriting for Comics, Films and Games... Oh and I cut down trees, I skip and jump, I like to press wild flow'rs, I put on women's clothing, and hang around in bars.
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