Dedicated to a character who first appeared in Ultimate Spider-Man Issue 98 (2006). I'm sure you can guess who. Not a blog for m i n o r s. Trans Positive 🏳️⚧️
kazia parkerowska aka spider star is an 18 years old polish doomer art student who got bitten by a radioactive spider and then convinced (khe khe forced) into a superhero role by her kooky hippie auntie majka. woohoo. nothing better than to save the world when you don’t give an absolute shit!
X-Men (2019) #7 introduced Crucible, Krakoa's answer to the problem of millions of depowered mutants. One of the promises of Krakoa was resurrective immortality though The Five. They couldn't stop mutants being killed but they could 'right that great wrong' by returning them to life in a new body. Krakoa held different meaning for those affected by The Decimation - the return of their stolen powers, and their right to bodily autonomy and living as their true selves. Crucible was provocative and shocking for readers, but this was intentional and it's much more than senseless violence.
Melody Guthrie wants to be herself
Crucible was created to address the problem of the sheer number of mutants who were depowered and were willing to do anything to reverse that. Mass suicide or euthanasia might be acceptable to some, but it would put a massive strain on The Five's already staggering workload (primarily Genosha's 16 million dead.) Apocalypse proposed Crucible, ritual combat where the depowered mutant chooses their slayer and then fights them to the death. It also serves as a way to ensure the participant has made an informed choice before committing to a big change.
In the panels above, Apocalypse is performing ritual - call and response, confirmation of identity, baldly stating the reality, and repeatedly asking for verbal consent. It's a public/communal statement of intent and consent - so everyone can see that Melody wants this. She's not here under duress and she's willing to fight and die publicly to (re)gain the body she wants.
Her brother Sam interprets it as cruelty, but her sister Paige stops him - 'this is what she wants.' Apocalypse's words can be interpreted as cruelty, but they can also be interpreted as giving multiple opportunities to change her mind - at every stage ensuring consent and understanding is present. He stresses that a LOT of people want this opportunity and that it's a privilege. 'Do you understand?'
'Yes.' After repeat explanations, offers to back out, and establishments of consent, it's her turn to state that clearly for all to hear. To confirm that she understands and that she chooses to do this. Only then does the ritual violence commence. If nothing else, we know it's ritual because Apocalypse could kill her instantly if he wished. He doesn't wish.
Apocalypse obviously overpowers and disarms Melody, but he's not being overly cruel or brutal. Kurt and Scott are troubled, but note that the general response is positive.
After Melody is knocked down, Apocalypse pauses again to offer medical treatment and the chance to change her mind. I'd argue he's genuinely trying to convince her to accept it, but he's pleased at her reaffirming consent and understanding.
Melody is completely disarmed, her sword shattered. She's on the ground stuttering. After encouraging her to get up, only then does Apocalypse offer 'the gift,' confirming she has 'earned it.' With everyone watching he kills her in what's implied to be a single thrust. Note how Melody has injuries, but they'd be generously termed 'light.' A little blood on her face, an arm injury of some kind, but no broken bones or open wounds. Certainly no missing limbs or the kind of cuts you'd expect from that gigantic fucking sword.
It's ceremonial combat - a ritual and a test - one Melody Guthrie passed while agreeing to it every step of the way. Her family are beside themselves, but who wouldn't be when witnessing a sibling die? At the hands of an old enemy no less. As Paige said, 'this is what she wants.'
Melody, Aero, is resurrected immediately with tears of joy streaming down her face. Bathed in light she stands, overwhelmed with the feeling of being her true self again.
Before doing anything she turns to Apocalypse and thanks him for helping make her 'whole.' He acknowledges that she did the hard work but humbly accepts it when she offers thanks again. Then she does what she's been missing for so long, the reason she went through this ordeal. She 'shows them who she really [is]' and takes to the sky.
It's framed as something miraculous, divine especially contrasted with facing Apocalypse in mortal combat. He and his sword are gigantic next to her slight frame, and Nightcrawler (a sympathetic character) expresses doubts the whole time in voiceover. I think the juxtaposition of commentary plus Apocalypse's presence with Melody's POV during and after are designed to wrongfoot the reader, or at least challenge us to think about what's happening. Ultimately it's Melody's body, Melody's choice, and Melody's happiness that matter most here.
Crucible is disturbing to our sensibilities but in the context of a society with resurrective immortality and many wrongs to right, it might be the best option available. It also resonated with a lot of trans folks and others whose body doesn't match the one they were born with. I can speak on my own body dismorphia, and I say with certainty that if I had to go through Crucible to 'show who I really am' I would. In a heartbeat. Apocalypse here is kinder than 99% of doctors that gatekeep gender-affirming care of any kind.
The metaphor isn't perfect, and Krakoa isn't perfect, but Crucible is much more than grisly murder. It's food for thought, it's transhumanist parable, it's an exploration of bodily autonomy and the pain we'll endure to have it. It's Apocalypse stabbing a young woman with a giant sword. Crucible unflinchingly shows us what Krakoa's bounty might look like and invites us to think about it, to ask questions. It's uncomfortable and it's beautiful. It privileges the brave and reckless over the timid, yet depowered mutants line up for their turn.
This post feels like a place to put the list so here ya go.
The original spider force fem plot: Ultimate Jessica Drew-Parker. I like it, has a lot of upsides, very clearly a trans and sapphic character. Notable drawbacks include a Pete that is still lacking the trans aspects because he's a separate person from his clone.
Parker gets force-fem beamed from an outside source. Obvious wins to this means that Pete can't hide her changes so the people who care about her get to treat her with the care that comes with that. Bonus points if: Pete doesn't acknowledge the changes immediately because they're slow and unstoppable. Additional bonus points if she receives more love and adoration for her cute and and inescapable transformation from her partner(s). "C'mon Pete, don't you know you're way cuter looking like this. I'm gonna treat my girlfriend real nice and you're powerless to stop me."
Peter takes HRT unknowingly. There's a lot of candidates who would alter Pete's body for their own benefit, but Felicia is a case of altruism for this specific plot. Inciting incidents could be such as;
a. Peter lamenting that he thinks "he's" turning into his father. <See every artist that just makes Pete's dad identical to him, it just happens every time>
b. Peter feeling a sense of belonging in the queer community but not being able to voice on pin down exactly why "he" feels that way.
c. Peter being put in certain articles of clothing chosen by Felicia and "him" not being able to fully articulate why it feels nice to wear them.
d. The lesbians who clock Spider-man as a woman, bonus points if Pete gets her brain read by a bi-sexual woman. (There are several examples of this)
One or all of these combined create a pretty compelling case for Felicia to take matters into her own hands. The end result of course is the post above. Felicia realizing that the first 'man' she fell in love with was actually something a lot more than that.
this is literally a description of men being punished for failing to be men. hard to think of another post that disproves its own argument this quickly
women are punished by patriarchy on the basis of being women, regardless of how well or how poorly they perform womanhood. men are rewarded for performing manhood and are punished for behaving like women. the screenshot is equating the punishment of men “behaving like women” for oppressing men on the basis of being men. which is not correct
the most dangerous thing in the world is a man with nothing left to lose. [thinking] or maybe something to lose. maybe a lot of things to lose? [furrowing brow] or a spider. a really big spider with... poison teeth. [exceedingly pleased with myself] the most dangerous thing in the world is a big ass spider with poisonous fangs
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