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The contrast between Psylocke’s preposterously effeminate puffy pink costume and her warrior’s spirit might be explained through the concept of “the feminine masquerade” a theory that posits the subversive power of over-the-top portrayals of femininity. #xmen 1/8
“…emotions that remind me of me. They relate to people, they relate to circumstances, they relate to situations, like people I know. They are like people I know.’ Well, bingo. The moment you have that connection, it becomes so much easier to take that next step to…” 3/4
“People are not picking up the book to see the action,” Claremont explains. “People are picking up the book to see the characters. The most memorable fan letters I would get would be from people who said, ‘What I see with these fictional characters are moments, behaviours,…” 2/4
Dyson’s overarching conclusion is that “The X-Men play, then, raised the possibility of new images of gender and of power.” More specifically, Dyson recounts how two particular girls broke off and started their own X-Men game. 6/9
In 1994, at the peak of the popularity of X-Men TAS, scholar Anne Haas Dyson conducted an ethnography looking at X-Men role playing in the recess culture of one primary school. The results are absolutely fascinating. 2/9
The point, then, is just that this simple little scene – executed efficiently and with expert control of romantic tension – lays a lot of the groundwork for what would go on to become, arguably, the most enduring couple in X-Men’s history. 8/8
We also see Rogue’s capacity to knock Gambit off-balance himself, metaphorically enhanced through Gambit’s supernatural agility. She affects him, knocks him out of his normal way, just as she will change his way of life utterly in the years to come. 7/8
Rogue defensively reminds Gambit that she can’t touch people, but instead of recoiling, Gambit extends his hand even closer, noting “Maybe. Maybe not. Wan’ take the risk li’l river rat?” – a response that leaves Rogue visibly flabbergasted. 4/8
The setting is the pool on Asteroid M. It begins with Rogue taking a big screaming leap off the high-dive, something we see Rogue do in a pair of iconic Rogue issues: UXM 185 and 269. It’s sort of how she finds her bliss, analogous to Storm’s plants or Piotr’s painting. 2/8
Rogue and Gambit have become an iconic Marvel Couple, and though it wasn’t Claremont who developed the romance between these two characters that he created, the author did script their first flirtation in the pages of X-Men 3. #xmen 1/8