There is this WEIRD split in the Marvelverse where people really are like, "Oh, whatever, magical gemstones or radioactive spiders or people stepping out of ancient mythology, whatever whatever cool cool." But then you hit "mutant" and HOLY FUCK BIGOTRY CENTRAL. Now, the X-Men are specifically used as a tool to examine prejudice, and so this makes some sense, but it's still a really overblown and fairly illogical reaction within the established Marvel canon.
The best way to view that world is that if you get superpowers through exposure to some object, etc., then it's something that—in theory—anyone could get. You in particular are unlikely to have gone through gamma ray exposure that leaves you super-strong, but it COULD happen. The only way to be a mutant is to be born one, and so you have this group that will develop superpowers whether or not anything happens to them, AND they're referred to as "the next stage in human evolution." The term is even homo superior. And so you have a lot of members of humanity feeling like the mutants are coming in to Take Them Out, and they need to wipe them out first. This can play out with a religious figure preaching about what abominations they are and hacking mutants up if he gets his hands on one, or registration laws, or someone simply creating giant mutant-hunting killing machines that seek the eradication of every single one of them.
Now, the thing is: the most powerful mutants are among the most powerful beings in the Marvelverse. If you have an omega-level (read: unlimited power) mutant, they can kill the entire planet without blinking. It's understandable that you'd be scared of them. Iceman can freeze every droplet of water on earth in an instant, including inside bodies; he's only safe because he's given himself a mental block out of fear of what he could do. Jean Grey was a strong enough psionic to host a cosmic force known as the Phoenix and killed billions on another planet, and only stopped it by regaining enough control to kill herself. Gambit is actually even stronger than her, as his power turns out to be pure E=MC^2-based matter-to-energy conversion, and the only verses in which he doesn't burn up the entire planet are ones in which a supervillain hacked out part of his brain and turned him into part of his little bad guy club in the process. Even the near-omegas like Storm can create a hurricane over half the planet.
Buuuuuut. They are really rare and far between. More common are alpha and beta-level mutants, like most of the X-Men. Not unlimited power, but useful powers: Cyclops' eyebeams, Wolverine's healing ability and super senses, etc. This is the typical level of a Marvel superhero, but again: those non-mutant superpowers are the ones that, conceivably, anyone could get. (Gammas are like them, but with flaws that really make their lives hell.) These mutants are, well, Born This Way, and then you do have mutants like Magneto or Hellion saying that mutants should be superior to general humanity. It makes for a lot of tension, which is a very bad thing for....
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There is this WEIRD split in the Marvelverse where people really are like, "Oh, whatever, magical gemstones or radioactive spiders or people stepping out of ancient mythology, whatever whatever cool cool." But then you hit "mutant" and HOLY FUCK BIGOTRY CENTRAL. Now, the X-Men are specifically used as a tool to examine prejudice, and so this makes some sense, but it's still a really overblown and fairly illogical reaction within the established Marvel canon.
The best way to view that world is that if you get superpowers through exposure to some object, etc., then it's something that—in theory—anyone could get. You in particular are unlikely to have gone through gamma ray exposure that leaves you super-strong, but it COULD happen. The only way to be a mutant is to be born one, and so you have this group that will develop superpowers whether or not anything happens to them, AND they're referred to as "the next stage in human evolution." The term is even homo superior. And so you have a lot of members of humanity feeling like the mutants are coming in to Take Them Out, and they need to wipe them out first. This can play out with a religious figure preaching about what abominations they are and hacking mutants up if he gets his hands on one, or registration laws, or someone simply creating giant mutant-hunting killing machines that seek the eradication of every single one of them.
Now, the thing is: the most powerful mutants are among the most powerful beings in the Marvelverse. If you have an omega-level (read: unlimited power) mutant, they can kill the entire planet without blinking. It's understandable that you'd be scared of them. Iceman can freeze every droplet of water on earth in an instant, including inside bodies; he's only safe because he's given himself a mental block out of fear of what he could do. Jean Grey was a strong enough psionic to host a cosmic force known as the Phoenix and killed billions on another planet, and only stopped it by regaining enough control to kill herself. Gambit is actually even stronger than her, as his power turns out to be pure E=MC^2-based matter-to-energy conversion, and the only verses in which he doesn't burn up the entire planet are ones in which a supervillain hacked out part of his brain and turned him into part of his little bad guy club in the process. Even the near-omegas like Storm can create a hurricane over half the planet.
Buuuuuut. They are really rare and far between. More common are alpha and beta-level mutants, like most of the X-Men. Not unlimited power, but useful powers: Cyclops' eyebeams, Wolverine's healing ability and super senses, etc. This is the typical level of a Marvel superhero, but again: those non-mutant superpowers are the ones that, conceivably, anyone could get. (Gammas are like them, but with flaws that really make their lives hell.) These mutants are, well, Born This Way, and then you do have mutants like Magneto or Hellion saying that mutants should be superior to general humanity. It makes for a lot of tension, which is a very bad thing for....