But all this is just meant as a clarification, not to restart the discussion.

I’m also not sure that thinking of Hank as deformed is helpful — half the point of his struggle is that, even though he’s tempted, he doesn’t WANT to be cured. He’s proud of who he is, and of being a mutant, and I think viewing him as having a deformity is dangerous ground for the racial metaphor.

As you said, though, we’re not going to convince each other, so it might be best to put the argument to rest. Thank you for sharing your perspective.

Ok, here goes:

1.) As I said in my first comment, I never used the word “ugly.” I did use the word “pretty,” and that was probably poor word choice on my part. But the point I was trying to make was one of physical difference from the privileged norm. The original five X-Men didn’t so much have that, and I think the racial metaphor works much better when they’re a minority group that can’t “pass.”

2.) I don’t disagree with this, but I don’t see how the cat form is any less functional in that way. And while it’s true that the ape functions metaphorically like you said, based on common stereotypes and historical comparisons, the fact is that Hank WASN’T treated that way as an ape — he was popular and beloved.

3.) I talk about Hank’s Avengers history very plainly in this essay; no need for a reminder. But that’s my point — while he should have been alienated (and while his mutation WAS originally used that way, in Amazing Adventures), he wasn’t, and thus his ape form lost its metaphorical usefulness. Furthermore, the difference between Hank and the Hulk, Thing, and others is that he’s been transformed into an animal. Something very specifically sub-human. That’s why the metaphor is stronger — much stronger than it is when a person is a fantastical pile of rocks. And Hank, unlike the Thing, didn’t have any physical limitations in his ape form, so he didn’t even have that much alienation to deal with.

4.) Once again, “ugler” and “less attractive” have nothing to do with it. I’m simply saying that it’s much, much more believable for someone to have sexual interest in a human-acting monkey, which has basically the same anatomy as a human, than a cat, which is fundamentally anatomically different in important ways, particularly in the mouth and genitalia.

5.) It’s not so much about the public reaction as it is Hank’s internal feelings of alienation. The Thing still feels alienated frequently, despite the fact that the world loves him and he’s part of the “family” of the Fantastic Four. Hank feels alienated from both his society and from HIMSELF, because he’s not sure if he’s a man or an animal. And that makes a lot more sense when he’s dealing with animalistic senses and emotions and a lack of fingers.

6.) Marvel Comics have, since the beginning, come up with all sorts of pseudo-science to explain changing or developing powers. I fail to see how Morrison’s introduction of secondary mutations was at all new or different. Morrison puts enough fake science in to explain the secondary mutation. I don’t see how it’s any more unreasonable than the idea that a single gene can cause both metal skin and telekinesis in separate people is to begin with.

7.) Technically, Hank’s transformation this time was also caused by an outside agent — Sage’s intervention. She jumpstarted his mutation to save his life in X-Treme X-Men. Since the original chemical he ingested to become blue and furry was “the chemical cause of mutation,” and its effects were therefore still directly related to his original mutant gene, I don’t see how this new outside agent was any different.

8.) We’re going to have to disagree here — I hate Trish, and I’ve always hated that relationship. The thing about Trish in X-Factor was that she never really had a problem with his being blue and furry — in fact, when he transforms back, she’s most upset by the fact that he’s SMART. This always came off as creepy and awful, to me — she only liked him because he had the mind of a child? Either way, I buy that someone as conscious of her career as Trish was would be put off by the news speculating on her sexual relationship with a man who had the anatomy of a cat. Remember, this isn’t Tigra we’re talking about — Hank isn’t a cat-man. He’s just a giant cat, plain and simple, and though I don’t like Trish, I also don’t blame her for being a little freaked out. (However, the less said about the “pretending to be gay” storyline that followed, the better. I hate that almost as much as I hate the psychic affair.)

I think I’ve addressed all of your questions, but feel free to respond with your own two cents.