15 Most Notoriously Controversial Storylines In Comic Book History

11. Kitty Pryde's Stand Against Racism

Discrimination has always been a running theme with the X-Men, with many problems facing mutants in the Marvel universe echoing real-world issues such as racism. Chris Claremont, who wrote the X-Men for 16 years, tackled the issue of racism directly by comparing the plight of mutants with other minorities, most notably African-Americans, and the various words that are used in anger. Acting as Claremont's mouthpiece to this issue was young mutant Kitty Pryde, who was no stranger to hate-mongers and bigots, having faced down Sentinels and other bigoted groups trying to wipe out her "kind". Upset with terms like "muties" and "mutie-lover", Kitty responds to an African-American man's mutant slur by throwing another slur back in his face, which was shocking to see back then, but even more shocking to see today. Kitty would speak out a number of times on the usage of words like these, equating the word "mutie" to be as big of a slur as some of the others she mentions in a few speeches that came out around this time. The controversy arose with not only Claremont's unfiltered use of the word, but his implication that the word "mutie" is just as bad as other slurs. This has sparked discussion among fans for years, with some arguing that Kitty's stance against bigotry was invalidated by her own use of the words, while other fans commended Claremont for his attempt to bring attention to the racism that exists around us.