Saturday, January 28, 2006

On Marvel's Mutants and Biology, Part 2

There are two problems for me when talking about inheritance. One, genetics is not my field of study. Two, I don't have a real good idea if the secret behind mutants has been throughly revealed. As far as I can remember, there is this one gene, with two possible alleles. Get one allele, you're Homo sapiens. Get the other, congratulations, you're Homo superior! You now have a lifetime of hatred, fear, mistrust, and attempts on your life to look forward to! So based on that assumption, I'm trying to figure out whether mutants should have powers similar to, or vastly different from their siblings, and/or parents. I mean, I don't know that it's ever been discussed why one mutant gets skin that sheds every four hours, while another gets enough telekinetic power to lift a mountain, as well as an annoying inability to stay dead.

I mentioned the Guthrie's in the previous post, so let's take a look at them. Their mother is apparently human. Their father, who knows? Prior to joking about Apocalypse, I suggested it might be Mimic, except I find out today he wasn't a mutant. Len suggested tampering by Mr. Sinister, and that they could become his new Marauders. Whatever the case, look at these powers.

Sam can form a "blast field" around himself and others, rendering himself invulnerable, as well as allowing him to fly.

Paige can change the composition of her skin to steel, rubber, rock, etc.

Jeremy has wings like Archangel's, a healing factor, and hypersonic vocal cords that make him a really good singer.

Little Guthrie (Josh?) can shoot beams from his eyes, which can burn things. I mean, what's the common denominator here, people?

Compare that to the Greys. Jean is a telepath/telekinetic. Her daughter Rachel? Telepath/telekinetic. Her son, Nathan? Telepath/telekinetic. Meanwhile, neither of them seems to have inherited their father's powers. Maybe that has something to do with being time-displaced?

Magneto has one daughter that had his powers. Another one could run real fast, a third could alter probabilities, and the fourth, who is dead, was human. Their mother was human. I just don't get how it works.

I suppose ultimately, that the best explanation would be that the key to mutation doesn't lie on just one gene. That it actually involves several different genes, like eye color, perhaps one that determines whether you are a mutant, and activates the ones that determine your powers.

It's just somehow, it all seems meesed up. I mean I know siblings can be very different or similar to each other, likewise between parents and children. For whatever reason, mutation just seems like it would be something that would stay fairly similar within a family line.

Am I just overthinking this?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your forgetting the fact that there's a Homo Supreme out there.

Mr. Immortal.

He's supposedly the ultimate being who will live until the universe dies at which time he will learn the answer to the question.

But the reason for his power is that death won't take him.

CalvinPitt said...

Ah yes. But is GLA Misassembled in continuity?

Plus, that doesn't sound like a trait he could pass on to any offspring, so from a biological strict standpoint, he'd be a species of one. Which isn't a bad thing, there's a subspecies of Galapagos turtle in the same boat.

kalinara said...

:-) Actually you reminded me of something I always thought vaguely interesting. During some time travelling adventure or another with Jean and Scott...Scott was actually the one with the headache, implying some sort of bizarre time-sensitivity. Fuck if I can remember which story it was though.

But it could be somewhat inherited after all.

And whatever it is, Sinister clearly sees something in the Summers DNA as he went so far as to create Madelyne Prior to ensure that *both* Jean Grey and Scott Summers's genes were passed to offspring. (While Havok's got semi-related plasma bursts and the brothers seem to be immune to each others' powers...)

Anonymous said...

Well I don't see why GLA wouldn't be in continuity. Maybe the X-Mas special where it has Squrriel Girl taking on and beating Thanos, MODOK, and others by herself isn't in continuity.

But it should be.

CalvinPitt said...

Squirrel girl beating Thanos? I agree that should be in continuity, if only because it would explain why Thanos always strikes out with Death.

If you were Death, would you date a guy who is supposedly a badass, but loses to Squirrel Girl?

I would however, probably date Squirrely Girl, as long as she leaves the rodents behind on dates. That would just be creepy.

Anonymous said...

just to let u no but polaris was th only biological daughter of magneto quicksilver and scarlett witch were adopted so they wouldnt of had a power like his