One of the more common character tropes that Claremont uses is the idea of the being who is fighting their own dark destiny, and – more often than not – losing. 1/5 #xmen

We can probably credit the Dark Phoenix Saga with popularizing the trope in X-Men, but we also see it in Wolverine who sees himself as destined to become a savage killer; Storm who sees herself as destined to fall into a similar Dark Phoenix-like state…. 2/5

Nightcrawler who worries that he’s destined to be a demon; Illyana the same; Havok, destined to become explosive; Sunspot, destined to become a villain; Psylocke destined to lose touch with her humanity; Colossus destined to lose his values and the list goes on. 3/5

The trope is effective at creating a nicely contradictory tension – the hero must use their powers for good, but the exercise of doing good leads them closer to temptation and corruption. This effectively martyrs them in a manner that is similar to Frodo in Lord of the Rings. 4/5

This also blows up the mutant metaphor quite dramatically by having the oppressed minority group constantly sacrificing personal values for the collective good. It’s an effective device that emphasizes altruistic heroism and sympathetic suffering. 5/5