Not to write an essay, but...
No generation of mutants does a better job of subverting gender stereotypes and representing the different kinds of people kids could be than the Academy X class. None of these characters were tropes- The most self-actualized, self-sufficient woman in the cast wore an abbaya, while the woman who had to learn her own worth and step outside of her relationship's shadow was judging her for it. The most macho guy on the team's best friend was gay, and no one DARED say anything about it. When Laura was at her lowest, the writers didn't magic it away with a fix-it-all romance, they surrounded her with loving female friendships.
And, of course, the pair above. The rivalry was (is?) perfect because they were opposites, even in ways you didn't expect. On the surface, it's the suave, rich jock versus the anxious, gentle nerd... and those are powerful tropes on their own! But what sets them apart from that copy-paste story was that Julian is the kind of asshole who doesn't need the patriarchy to back it up. From Emma to Wind Dancer to X-23, women in power was clearly never a turn off for him. David, on the other hand, went through a downward spiral (that could totally be attributed to the closet... iykyk) where he felt intimidated and threatened by his girlfriend's position of power and growing independence. That's what makes readers crave more of David v. Julian- both have really likeable and really unlikeable qualities, just like real people do, because their writers refused to rely on lazy gendered tropes.
Anyways, this totally wasn't brought to you by someone calling this feminist Hellion fan misogynistic.... totally... but if it was, I think it'd be one hell of a rebuttal, no?
