After reading Anderson's X Men: God Loves Man Kills, I noticed the similairities between the mutants and the way black Americans were treated during the Civil Rights Era. In fact, after doing more research, Stan Lee was inspired by the civil rights movement to create two leaders that reflected two of the most influential leaders of the era: Martin Luther King and Malcom X. With Professor X's belief in approaching whites in a non-violent manner ( MLK Jr.), and Magneto's opposed beliefs ( Malcolm X), there is no doubt in mind that the mutants could represent the black Americans during such a hard time.



    The first scenario of the graphic novel focuses on two Black American children who are running away from a group of exterminators. The children are caught by the group of exterminators, known as the "Purifiers" and hanged on the school's swing-set. It is no coincidence that the killing of the two black children are parallel to the lynchings of blacks during the Civil Rights Era; Anderson possibly had the intentions of doing so, spreading a message that many blacks are treated as abnormal humans. One image in particular shows the word, "Mutie" (Anderson 3) written across the black boy's chest. The label is similar to whites writing the word, "Nigger" across the corpses of blacks after lyching them.

     The religious views of the Graphic Novel are similar to the views of a dangerous group in the Civil Rights Era, known as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). The organization used their Christian views as a way to justify their killings of black Americans, claiming that they are doing the works of the Lord. Stryker, an influential Reverend in the Graphic Novel, seem to use his Christian beliefs as a reason to kill the mutants. He believes that the mutants are "An Affront to the Lord," (Anderson 31) trying everything in his power to eliminate that species. Just like the Klansmen, Stryker had a cult, who blindly followed his beliefs of alienating the mutants. Furthermore, Stryker's contradicting sermon quotes the Bible's Genesis 1:1 verse, "God's creation of man in his own image."  This same contradictory can be seen with the Ku Klux Klan who burned crosses and recited biblical verses during their rituals of hatred and bigotry toward blacks. In fact, the "Purifiers" from the first scene of the graphic novel  reflect the beliefs of the Klansmen, as they eliminated mutants who had no right to live.


    Stryker's criticism of mutants labels them as creatures who are not human. The same judgement is seen with the images of blacks being drawn as beasts, during the Civil Rights Era, as well as prior to the era. The abnormal images of mutants can very well be seen as a representation of how certain whites view blacks. X-Man NightCrawler is drawn in an image of hideous black and bluish elf. Though he is German, the mutant's image distinctly symbolizes the perspective of many white Americans toward black Americans.White's such as the Ku Klux Klan describe blacks as animals with broad noses and bodacious lips, as the image above.

  God Loves Man Kills definitely separates the difference between the way God loves and how man love certain species. I believe that Anderson's message in the Graphic Novel is that we must accept each other for who we are, whether someone is black, white, gay, etc. Critical judgement toward one another never creates peace; it only causes more atrocities. Most importantly, if man chooses to follow the path of God, one must not alter God's words, and apply his commandments to our everyday lives.