mutants

The X-Men have been enduring characters for decades because they've served as a metaphorical stand-in for the "abnormal."

Is Santa Claus the most powerful mutant in the Marvel Universe?

In Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men–which is being re-read for the thousandth time right now by many of the Nerds on Earth writing staff–he introduced a "mutant cure" sponsored by the warrior alien Ord. (The "mutant cure" plot was also the…