Fans of the Marvel comic book series X-Men Gold noticed coded messages aimed at Christians and Jews inserted into the artwork done by cartoonist Ardian Syaf, who is a Muslim from Indonesia.
Those references included the number “212” written on the awning of a building, a verse from the Koran, and the word “Jewelry” written on a building positioned close enough to a Jewish character’s head to emphasize “Jew.”
The Daily Mail explains:
In one scene in the book, Jewish X-Men character Kitty Pryde is seen talking to a crowd, with the 'Jew' part of the word 'jewelry' over her head, and the numbers 212 and 51 in the background.The number 212 is often used as a reference to the Muslim protest against the Christian governor of Jakarta on December 2, 2016, where 200,000 conservative Muslims rallied against Basuki Tjahaja Purnama.In another panel, Russian mutant Colossus is seen wearing a T-shirt featuring the words 'QS 5:51', said to stand for Quran Chapter 5, Verse 51.
That verse reads: “O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you - then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people.”
“I don’t hate Jews or Christians,” Syaf insisted in response to the criticism. “I worked with them for 10 years. A lot of good friends too. For all that happened I apologize sincerely.”
Another Indonesian artist and Marvel employee, Ario Anindito, criticized Syaf, stating, “What he has done in the recent X-Men book is very disrespectful and unprofessional.”
The writer for Ms Marvel, a current Muslim character, G. Willow Wilson, also a Muslim, said on Twitter, “Yeah pardon my French but f**k this guy. Kiss your career goodbye.”
Marvel has since responded with an apology:
“The mentioned artwork in X-Men Gold #1 was inserted without knowledge behind its reported meanings. These implied references do not reflect the views of the writer, editors or anyone else at Marvel and are in direct opposition of the inclusiveness of Marvel Comics and what the X-Men have stood for since their creation. This artwork will be removed from subsequent printings, digital versions, and trade paperbacks and disciplinary action is being taken.”
As TruthRevolt previously reported, sales of Marvel comics has plummeted since the push for diverse characters overtook the storylines of major characters. But Marvel is not letting the social justice superheroes go anywhere and hope that continuing to include them will trick everyone into liking them.
