X2: X-Men United is not just any action-packed summer blockbuster--far from it. It represents a cultural moment, a brief opportunity to address crucial questions of difference and democracy, questions that have been with us since the founding, with new eyes. In this case, red glowing eyes.

… What we've seen in recent years is nothing less than the Sharptonization of the X-Men.

… By contrast, Xavier's adversaries, led by the brilliant and charismatic Magneto, master of magnetism, call for utter mutant supremacy or, failing that, mutant separation and sovereignty, a worldview best described as Black Power on steroids.