Jared Corbo and the Mutant Metaphor for Disability
There are a lot of ways to read the Mutant Struggles for equality. Many popular interpretations boil down to civil rights issues, gender equality, the LBGTQ+ community, etc. etc...
These are all valid readings of the texts, however one of my favorite readings of the X-Men is that of mutants as a metaphor of disability.
There's a lot of mutants whose powers function as a disability, Cyclops's glasses acting as an aid to prevent his laser beams from killing someone. Rogue being unable to touch people without hurting them. Kara Kilgrave's powers making her skin purple.
There are also lots of canonically disabled mutants, Professor X being a wheelchair user. Magneto, Aurora, and Namor all being written at least in one point of their histories as having mental health disorders. Scott, once again, his erratic powers manifesting from a head injury he acquired as a child.
However there is one mutant character who I think showcases the mutation as disability rather well and that is Radius a.k.a. Jared Corbo.
Who is this guy? Many of you may be asking.
Jared Corbo is a mutant that once was a member of Alpha Flight. He and his half brother, Adrian, were raised in the Canadian organization Hull House and later drafted into Alpha Flight, @severalmoremutants gives a much better explanation of the series in her post here.
The only thing you really need to know about him in regards to this post is that Adrian has a force field that surrounds his entire body. He cannot turn it off no matter what.
Due to the forcefield's permeance Jared cannot do basic things that most people can. This includes eating, in order to consume the nutrients to keep him alive Jared has to wear a mask that converts his meals into an energy that can surpass his forcefield, meaning he can't even taste the food he's eating.
Jared's forcefield also prevents him from being able to touch or be touched by others. Making most forms of human connection and intimacy impossible for him to access.
Jared's faces a lot of issues that many people with disabilities face on the daily. Including keeping his access to his aid. Without the mask it's impossible for Jared to eat. The mask was most likely specially made for him by Department H, meaning if Jared ever tried to quit Alpha Flight it's likely the Department would try to keep the mask as leverage, putting Jared's life at risk.
(The sad part of that being it wouldn't be the the worst thing Department H has ever done.)
This can be read as similar to disabled people having to work in dangerous, hostile, or under paying jobs or having to stay with unsafe family members in order to keep their health insurance or disability benefits.
There's no mention of what happens to Jared after Alpha Flight vol 2. He's likely one of the many mutants who lost their powers after M-Day and it's kind of a shame that we never get to see what the loss of his powers means for him as a character or how he feels if his forcefield is ever regained.
It's unlikely that we ever will. It's unlikely that Marvel will ever bring him back or if they do they'll probably claim that in the decades he was absent from print he learned to control his forcefield.
TL;DR, Marvel bring Alpha Flight back you cowards
