I have never read any of the X-Men comics, shame, but I don't really have the time for it. Still, I guess I could call myself a hardcore movie-verse fan, because I'm literally a walking Encyclopaedia on the subject. Then again, for many things that I like - favourite movies, books or games - I pride myself in becoming such an Encyclopaedia, knowing way more than is necessary.
One of such characters that I am unhealthy obsessed with is Charles Xavier from X-Men. Both the old and young versions, I mean. Of course, the obsession leans towards the younger version more, because he was much more relatable back then, not to mention that his actor, James McAvoy, is just bloody glorious with his stunning blue eyes.
Did I ever mention how much of a sucker I am for blue eyes? It's to the point that it doesn't even seem like I have a choice. There's this quote I've seen online, which was meant to be a joke, but it's pretty relevant here. "A brain is an amazing thing. It starts working from the moment you are born and never stops, except when you die or when you see an amazingly attractive guy." Given that a relatively cute guy on the street can make my brain blank out for seconds (sadly these guys don't exist in school...or it's blessing in disguise), James McAvoy's blues makes me all kinds of brain-dead. Funny, because Charles Xavier is a telepath, the furthest thing from being brain-dead.
For anyone who hasn't seen the films (shame on you), I'll try to explain Charles' character without spoiling much.
Charles Xavier is a mutant, which is a species that possesses superpowers due to a mutation in a certain gene (I forgot what it's called). His superpower is telepathy or the power to read minds and project his own thinking into other people's thoughts. Charles is an exception telepath, if telepaths aren't already amazing enough, whose telepathic range is extremely wide, but such powers doesn't come without a cost. Before he could control his powers, his telepathy caused him to sense and feel other people's emotions and thoughts without regulation. This meant that he constantly heard voices in his head and he felt people's pain and suffering on top of his own. Charles believes that mutants and humans should live as equals and his goal in life is to show and make this co-existence possible.
There's the premise of my obsession with the character.
I would think that as a telepath with uncontrolled powers, everyday of my life would be a nightmare. Despite the triviality of most of the situations I've been through, the agony I get from such situations is almost unbearable. Take that kind of pain and multiply by hundreds upon thousands, since as a telepath, you can hear other people's sadness too. When people hate you, you can't unhear it either, because their accusations sound as clear as daylight. Living in the universe of X-Men, where many humans show so much hatred towards mutants, it is inevitable that, even as a child, Charles knew and was able to see the injustice in the world and the cruelty of humans.
Yet, when compared to Erik Lehnsherr, whose hatred of humans comes from a personal grudge, Charles is ever the optimist, always believing the best of both humans and mutants. Of course, in Days of Future Past, you see that drunken and hysteric Charles, who has turned to drugs and all, but even then, he shows care and concern for humans beyond what they deserve - considering the humans are trying to kill them and all.
I don't understand why many people like Magneto more than Professor X. Yes, I often like the villains more than the goody-two-shoes, but I think in the later movies that have shown Charles in his youth, you see the vulnerable side of Charles. You see his struggles, having his dreams fall apart around him and being abandoned by his only family and best friend. Yet, you think to the old Charles and how he still continues to live his dream of harmonious relationship between human and mutant.
The key difference between him and Magneto is that Charles' hatred of anything is directed at himself, while Magneto takes it out on people around him. While Charles seems like a desperate and pitiful creature at the start of Days of Future Past when Logan just arrived, it is important to note that as much as he is abusing himself, Magneto is instead taking his brand of hatred out on humans and shedding blood everywhere.
It's an inspiration, really, that I draw from Charles Xavier as a character. That no matter how the world seems to be against him the whole time - destroying the school he created, Raven and Erik leaving him after Erik broke his spine with a bullet, his inability to control his overly strong telepathic powers leading him to alcoholism, etc - in the end, Charles never let go of his ideals. Magneto's ideals are very much shaped by his anger and hatred, and while Charles seems more naive (which I doubt because...he's a telepath), his ideals make him a much more likeable character.
So it's the appearance of the character. He has beautiful blue eyes and while he is less masculine-looking than Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy has a sweeter appearance, in my opinion at least. It's also his superpower. Telepathy is by far my favourite superpower and while I understand the dangers and cost of it, it doesn't deter me from wanting a power like that. Of course, in X-Men, a telepath is also an empath, since there seems to be no distinction between reading thoughts and emotions. It doesn't matter to me if it'll make me feel the pain of others...no, that is actually a gift.
But more than anything, it is the personality of Charles Xavier that makes him a character that I'm just utterly obsessed with. Although I'm not going to turn to drugs or alcohol any time soon, since I'm experiencing nothing as painful as he seemed to be going through between First Class and Days of Future Past. I want to be able to hold as much faith as he has towards his dreams, so much so that even in his darkest times, they are still present within him.
Also, have I mentioned how as a powerful telepath, he is capable of enslaving humankind by bending their thoughts? But Charles is no such person. He uses his telepathy to understand others and guide them, but never purposefully intrudes upon others' thoughts. Perhaps once, he used to manipulate people, out of care for them, but after the events of Days of Future Past, he also came to understand that while he can guide others to a good path, sometimes they have to find it themselves. That makes me like him even more. He is a mutant with the ability to dominate the world in the blink of an eye, but attempts to achieve his goals through other less intrusive means. His high morals, present even in his darkest times, makes me like him even more.
Charles is a character who is arrogant, as in when his younger self was first introduced, but possesses understanding and acceptance beyond a normal person's - helping and believing in humans despite all he probably knows about their hate of mutant-kind. He holds himself to high morals and never imposes his ideas on people, even though it is extremely easy for him to do so. All he has to do is to introduce that suggestion into a person's thoughts. He can even make Magneto (without his helmet of course) believe that Charles' cause is his cause, but he doesn't, because he believes in leaving other's free will intact.
I believe I've ranted enough. Despite all the apparent dislike I have for Magneto, I do believe that Charles is probably able to make him a better person, if the circumstances were different. That's the reason why Cherik - Charles x Erik - is one of my favourite shippings of all time. Sure, there isn't romance between them in the movies, but there is a brotherly love between them that is extremely apparent. You can even see that in the first few movies, in their older selves. Take for example, these quotes from the movies.
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