"You can NOT learn about genetics by reading an 'X-Men' comic book!" "You can NOT learn about MUTANTS by reading an 'X-Men' comic book!" Inflammatory statements? Unfortunately, they're true. Following is a reprint of a letter sent to Marvel Comics along with a cartoon-illustrated genetics book. The letter in text format was posted to several relevant news groups on the Internet, E-Mailed to in- terested parties in the comics industry, and distributed at a recent comics convention; the letter continues to be made available to those interested in the subject matter. To date, E-Mail response has been divided down the middle. Half of respondents fully approved the letter and were glad something was be- ing done about the misinformation at Marvel. Most of the other half was not really negative, but suggested the letter is futile as Marvel doesn't listen to its readers (not entirely true; Marvel conducts its market re- search through reader response). Only one lone respondent suggested or implied that a certain amount of technical inaccuracy and commensurate suspension of disbelief is necessary to good storytelling. Despite the best efforts of Stan Lee, comic books continue to be treated as a, well, comical subject in mainstream conversation. The mat- ters at issue below are contributing reasons for that. -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- The following is a copy of a letter I sent the movers and shakers at Marvel, enclosed with a book on genetics to help these guys write mutant stories that are more true to life. Expect things to move and shake in the coming months. This is a letter that can NOT be ignored. If you're interested, you can order the genetics book at your local bookstore. Ask for "The Cartoon Guide to Genetics," by Larry Gonick and Mark Wheelis (updated edition, 1983, 1991, HarperCollins Publishers, New York). _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ Wilfred D. DeVoe 13 Geneva Street Salem, Ma. 01970 WDDeVoe@shore.net July 10, 1997 EDITORS: Stan Lee Jaye Gardner Bob Harras Matt Idelson Kelly Corvese Mark Powers WRITERS: Larry Hama Howard Mackie James Robinson Terry Kavanagh John Moore Scott Lobdell Ben Raab X-Mail c/o Marvel Comics Group 387 Park Avenue South New York, N. Y. 10016 Dear Gentlemen: As a long-time reader of Marvel Comics (going back to 1963), I must express serious concerns over developments I’ve seen in the "mutant" titles in the past decade, mostly in recent years. As one of your original readers I had a tremendous interest in the mystique of your comics, and felt awe and wonder as your tales and epics took us readers to strange new worlds, and showed us sensational phenomena right here on Earth. Small wonder that like many readers, I developed an interest in the sciences, and wanted to pursue a career in that area. As recently as 10 years ago I could find engineering students in a major university wearing X-Men pins. More recently, though, I’ve noticed a downturn in the quality of one ESSENTIAL dimension of your books: SCIENTIFIC ACCURACY. Since the biggest offenders in this area are the writers and editors of the "mut- ant" titles, this letter is addressed to you guys. I’m surprised that up to now no other readers have taken you to task on this matter; I can only assume that while you’ve been trying to appeal to the "gangsta" market of readers, the science students -- the scientifically literate readers -- had given up on you and moved on. And you DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE. Nowadays it seems that many if not most young readers want to be- come writers and illustrators of comic books when they grow up, rather than pursue a career in the sciences. While it’s not inherently bad to want to pursue a dream in the writing/publishing industry per se, I get the impression that this young generation of comic readers has set its sights a good deal lower than my peers and I did. Even a "mere" comic book writer, when delving into science fic- tion, must know his subject matter. Can you answer any of these ques- tions?: 1) What are the chemical differences between a gene for blue eyes and one for brown eyes at the same locus of a matching chromosome, when the brown -eye gene has mutated to a blue-eye gene with a peptide sequence identi- cal to that of the earlier-mentioned blue-eye gene? What relation does the altered peptide sequence have to the brain waves of a sentient being possessing the gene? 2) What is an epistatic gene, and what role does it play in albinism? 3) What role do alleles play in the expression of heredity? 4) When a mutant gene is in the heterozygous state, is it dominant or re- cessive? 5) What occurs in the prophase of mitosis? 6) What is the mutant ability of the descendants of England’s Queen Vic- toria? 7) Who was Gregor Mendel? 8) How many cells result from one cell during meiosis? 9) What one characteristic distinguishes organisms of differing species? 10) What is the Principle of Independent Assortment? 11) What is the difference between genotype and phenotype? I thought not. Most of you can’t answer even a single question I posed. You don’t know diddly-squat about genetics, and you’re writing about MUTANTS? Here are the answers: 1) When a gene for brown eyes at a given locus (position) on a chromosome mutates to a gene for blue eyes, with the same chain of peptides as the gene for blue eyes on a matching (homologous) chromosome, the two genes are chemically IDENTICAL. And since any given gene produces just ONE en- zyme to serve just one purpose, there is NO connection between the eye pigmentation gene and the BRAIN WAVES of the sentient being possessing the gene. Why do I even bring up the matter of the brain waves? Because some writers of Marvel "mutant" stories established this connection to explain how Cerebro works, locating "mutants" by their characteristic brain waves. 2) Epistatic genes inhibit the expression of other genes. The gene for albinism prevents the production of pigmentation in the skin, eyes, and hair. So even though the albino has numerous genes for pigmentation, no pigment appears anywhere in his/her body. 3) Alleles are simply matching genes on homologous chromosomes. The cells of every organism have two sets of chromosomes; each chromosome has a mate in the other set. Each gene on the chromosome also has a mate on the corresponding chromosome of the other set. In relation to its mate, each gene is called an allele. What role do alleles play in the expres- sion of heredity? If they are IDENTICAL genes, we say that the TYPE of gene is in the HOMOZYGOUS state; if they are different, we say the genes are in the HETEROZYGOUS state. If the genes are different, such as one gene for blue eyes and a matching gene for brown eyes, ONE gene’s proper- ties will be expressed -- that is, it is a DOMINANT gene, while the other allele is RECESSIVE. As it turns out, brown-eye genes are dominant over blue-eye genes, so a blue-eye gene must be homozygous in order to be ex- pressed. (Which leads to an interesting question: why in the world do MOST Marvel comics characters have BLUE eyes, even blacks, Indians, and east Asians? Do the colorists have some shady deal going with the blue ink manufacturers?) 4) Recessive. Mutation is a random change in DNA, so most mutations are harmful to the organism. Still, when circumstances change, as in a clim- ate upheaval, some mutant traits may actually be BENEFICIAL. So the gene pool of a population "files" the mutant gene away for future reference. Mutant genes are rarely dominant. Note: Lorna Dane when first intro- duced was called a "latent" mutant. She had two mutant traits: one for green hair, which expressed itself, and one for magnetic power, which didn’t. The latter would have been heterozygous recessive. Magneto put her through a process that apparently inhibited the non-mutant allele and allowed the mutant allele for magnetism to express itself. 5) Mitosis is the normal process of cell reproduction through division. The prophase is the beginning of this process; here the chromatin net- work, which is made up of very long thin strands, condenses into the fam- iliar X-shaped chromosomes we’ve all seen in those boring science books. 6) The male descendants of Queen Victoria had the remarkable mutant abil- ity to bleed to death. The mutant gene for hemophilia is sex-linked in the British Royal family (there are no female hemophiliacs in that fam- ily). Quick, Professor Xavier, sign up some of the House of Windsor for the X-Men! They’ll protect the world, by drowning their enemies in blood. 7) Gregor Mendel was the "Father of Genetics." He was a Catholic clergy- man, an Augustinian monk who developed tables to chart the passing of hereditary traits through generations. His research was done with pea plants. 8) Four cells result from meiosis. This is a process of creating repro- ductive cells (sperm, eggs, pollen, ovules, etc.). In sexual reproduc- tion such a germ cell must have a HAPLOID set of chromosomes -- that is, half the complete set. The starting cell in meiosis has a DIPLOID set, or a complete set. After two generations the resulting cells have hap- loid sets. No, I don’t know why two generations are needed for the mech- anism of meiosis, and neither do the researchers at this writing. 9) A species is defined as a group of organisms capable of mating and producing offspring which, when THEY reach maturity, are capable of re- producing. Horses and donkeys are different species, so their offspring, the mule, is sterile. So is Prince Namor, since Princess Fen (Homo mer- manus) and Leonard McKenzie (Homo sapiens) are different species. And since Namora, Namor’s cousin, is a product of a similar union, her own child, Namorita (Spanish diminutive in Atlantean culture? Curious.), is actually her clone. 10) The Principle of Independent Assortment is that the alleles of one gene sort out independently of the alleles of another. This was first observed by Gregor Mendel. It’s not universally true, as different types of genes exist on the same chromosome and so are linked. 11) Genotype is the type of genes an organism possesses; phenotype is the EXPRESSION of genes. A person heterozygous for brown eyes may have a genotype for brown eyes and for some recessive characteristic such as blue eyes, but the phenotype is for brown eyes. Asleep yet? The writers and editors of the mutant books MUST know these things, and much more, in order to write intelligently about the subject. I realize that a good story is about more than just science -- plot, character development, human interest are also important. But accurate science provides a firm foundation for the story. It’s not necessary to get into lengthy, complex scientific explanations for the readers’ benefit (which can bog down the story’s flow), but writers/edit- ors MUST know the concepts, and use them to guide their stories and make them true-to-life. People at Marvel apparently knew one or two facts about mutants, and then extrapolated from there to arrive at ideas that were UNTRUE or INACCURATE about mutants. Then later writers used THOSE ideas as start- ing premises and extrapolated FURTHER from the truth. To show what prob- lems you guys have, here are some premises laid down by writers, editors, and illustrators to explain or demonstrate the nature of Marvel "mut- ants": * "Mutants" usually appear to be ordinary human beings, until their mut- ations express themselves at puberty. In other words (that you won’t find in a comic book), "mutant" powers are a SECONDARY SEXUAL CHARACTER- ISTIC (Well, we can see the answer to the "'mutant' problem" right away: NEUTER the "mutants" to take away their powers. For that matter, "mut- ants" can enhance their powers by taking pills or injections of estro- gens or androgens, depending on their gender.). The puberty angle may appeal to the teen-agers among your readers, who themselves are going through physical changes that some of them perceive as "grotesque," but this premise hardly represents real-life mutation. * All "mutants" are a species separate from humanity, and ALL "mutants," regardless of the DIVERSITY of their "mutation," TOGETHER form a SINGLE species, the "mutant" race. * What forms a "mutant" is the presence of a single, specific, distinct gene on a specific locus of a specific chromosome; this is known as the "X-Factor" gene (premise established by writer Warren Ellis in "Excali- bur" last year, where he had Moira MacTaggart explain that the Legacy virus is attacking the vacant locus where "the mutant gene" would be, in her body’s cells). * The human race is known as "Homo sapien" (without an "s" at the end of "sapiens," unlike the Latin word for "wise"). * A GENE is a CHROMOSOME (premise established by writer Ben Raab in flashback issue of "What If, starring Bishop" #-1, page 8, panel 2; I quote: "...specifically, the mutant GENE known as the X-Factor CHROMO- SOME..."). * When a "mutant" uses his/her powers, his/her irises and pupils DISAP- PEAR, leaving the eyes a solid white, yellow, red, orange, green, or whatever else the artist or colorist thinks would look "cool." This even happens to Wolverine and the Sub-Mariner, whose powers have nothing to do with energy discharges. No non-mutant other than Galactus and his heralds have this trait. * Peter Parker and Bruce Banner are not "mutants," despite the fact that each learned that his respective powers had become part of his GENETIC makeup. This idea contradicts Marvel’s alleged dictionary definition of a "mutant" as an organism that has a different genetic makeup from its parents. * Marvel "mutants" are referred to as "children of the atom," implying nuclear energy. That sounds like nice poetry, but it’s not consistent with reality. While H. J. Müller first demonstrated in 1927 that x-rays (no relation to X-Men) are a mutagenic agent, other forces besides radia- tion are mutagens also, including caffeine ("Whatchou drinkin’ there, mutie?"). * There is no essential distinction between a species and a subspecies -- at least at Marvel. In real-life science, in "Homo sapiens sapiens," "Homo" (capitalized "H") is the genus, "sapiens" (lower-case "s") is the species, and the second "sapiens" is the SUBspecies. For Neanderthals, the Latin classification is "Homo sapiens neanderthalensis" -- still hu- man (Homo), still capable of producing fertile offspring with modern, Cro-Magnon and later people (sapiens), but a distinct subspecies (nean- derthalensis). At Marvel one or two writers did indicate that mutants were "Homo sapiens superior," a subspecies still capable of interbreeding with "Homo sapiens sapiens," but Marvel writers did not consistently use this designation, and Marvel editors did not hold them to it (what are editors for?). Instead, writers reverted to "homo superior" and "homo sapien" (no "s"). By the way, "superior" is a RACIST term. I would ex- pect that of Magneto, but Charles Xavier should be ashamed of himself for applying such a value judgment to mutants and perpetuating the label. Different does not necessarily mean better. * Inconsistencies exist at Marvel over whether or not genetic mutation is part of the evolutionary process. On the one hand, "mutants" are pre- sented as "the next stage in evolution." On the other hand, genetic mut- ation is treated as distinct from evolution. Both views are limited and flawed. A Hulk story written by Bill Mantlo several years ago had the High Evolutionary trying to commit suicide. He emitted a powerful radia- tion that changed the immediate environment and all organisms within it; the environment aged and the organisms evolved. Humans (Betty Ross and Rick Jones) changed into big-headed, sharp-toothed "mutants," as the High Evolutionary called them. The beings were grotesque products of the en- vironment that had no protection from radiation from outer space. Yet otherwise all organisms that were evolved or devolved by the High Evolu- tionary were never called "mutants." In fact, naturally-occurring evolu- tion consists of the processes of mutation and natural selection -- ran- dom mutations add new features to the population’s gene pool, and envir- onmental pressures either favor or work against some genes. Occasionally threshholds are crossed in leaps, in which the number of chromosomes ac- cidentally changes -- if an odd number of chromosomes results, the organ- ism is effectively sterile; if the number is even, and more than one such organism is created, a new species results. Numerous experimental models are being devised by scientists to try to explain the mechanics of this process. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Stephen Jay Gould are valuable sources of literature on this subject. (An aside: earlier in the Hulk story Bill Mantlo had his High Evolutionary change Rick and Betty into Neanderthals, which he portrayed as big, powerful, brutal, savage creatures that could take on the Hulk. Absurd! The Hulk could take on an army of caffeine-crazed gorillas and not break a sweat. Besides, popular portrayals to the contrary, Neander- thals were simply blunt-featured, big-nosed humans with rugged builds who stood about 5 feet tall, with slightly stooped posture. They knew the use of fire, buried their dead, and actually had a greater cranial capa- city than do modern humans -- that means they had bigger brains than we. But they lived in harsh conditions, and seldom lived past the age of 20; without elders, it was difficult to build a culture.) In real-life genetics the premises established by Marvel writers and editors would be considered layman’s HERESY, and any genetics re- searcher who tried to establish any of these premises could say "good- bye" to his career -- he’d be washed up. It’s customary nowadays to award a "No-Prize" to any reader who can explain why a mistake in a Marvel comic is not really a mistake. Well, forget "No-Prizes" this time. Any reader who can explain away the above Marvel misinformation deserves the Sophists’ Medal of Honor -- not a positive distinction. This letter is not meant as a simple put-down of Marvel. This is the comic book company that helped me and many other young readers culti- vate an interest in the sciences. Some of us today are in fact scien- tists -- researchers, engineers, or perhaps physicians, college profes- sors, computer software professionals. Some are well-educated, poorly- paid teachers trying to nurture in their students a sense of wonder about knowledge, others are handsomely-paid professionals who make almost as much money as John Byrne. Much of what we are is because of Marvel, so I hate to see Marvel’s knowledge base go down the tubes. Jack Kirby didn’t know a lot of science, but what little he did know was on the mark. And that little counted for a lot. So, to help Marvel enhance its knowledge base and salvage its reputation among us veteran readers and other influential circles, I’m sending with this letter a genetics book. I don’t expect you guys to have the time and patience to read a heavy, serious college textbook on the subject, so I chose a light yet very informative book, "The Cartoon Guide to Genetics," by Larry Gonick and Mark Wheelis (updated edition, 1983, 1991, HarperCollins Publishers, New York). This book is entertain- ing, far from boring, reads quickly, and can quickly get you up to speed on essential background knowledge on mutants. I also strongly urge you to make the book required reading for any new writers who sign on to the "mutant" titles. The alternative is to reject any real knowledge of genetics and continue writing/editing as you’ve been doing of late. If you choose this alternative, then call your characters something else -- call them "ultras," "x-tras," or whatever -- don’t call them mutants. Notice that throughout the letter I’ve enclosed "mutants" in quotation marks when referring to Marvel characters. There’s good reason for that. A great shame at Marvel is this statement: "You can NOT learn about mutants by reading an 'X-Men' comic book!" We can change that. To make sure that this letter and book aren’t neglected or ig- nored, I’ll be presenting them at the next major comic convention in my area, which is very soon. And copies of the letter will be posted on the Internet, E-Mailed to major distributors, and simply shared with inter- ested local comics shops. Sincerely yours, Wilfred D. DeVoe Enclosure Okay to print