District X

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Mutant Town in X-Factor v3 #31.

District X is a place that features in Marvel Comics.

Contents

History

District X was a neighborhood in New York City that came to be primarily populated by Mutants. The rise in Manhattan's mutant population, coupled with racism among normal humans, led to mutants forming their own community in a ghetto established in the Alphabet City area of the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan. (New X-Men v1 #127)

Officers Gus Kucharsky and Ismael Ortega are assigned to New York's 11th Precinct, commonly known as District X or 'Mutant Town'. While investigating allegations that Jake Costanza is holding his mutant wife against her will and abusing her, Kucharsky falls under Mrs. Costanza's mutant mental powers and kills them both, before attempting to take his own life. Gus survives and Ortega covers for him. Gus is forced to retire early and Izzy is assigned to serve as the liaison to federal agent, Lucas Bishop. Violence erupts between rival crime lords "Shaky" Kaufman and "Filthy Frankie" Zapruder over a mutant, Toad Boy, and the addictive narcotic he produces (known as 'Toad Juice'). When Kaufman learns of the lucrative sales of 'Toad Juice' in District X, he raids Zapruder's facilities and kidnaps the Toad Boy for himself. However, it is unknown that Toad Juice can be fatal to normal humans; a theft of the drug leads to the death of over a dozen human teenagers. After the death of a human patron at the nightclub Daniel's Inferno caused by exposure to Toad Juice, the police begin a desperate investigation before other unsuspecting addicts face the same fate. This prompts a turf war between Zapruder and Kaufman. Both men are eventually arrested. When Absolom Mercator finally decides to use his powers to try to help others, his efforts backfire and he suffers an intense identity crisis. Believing that he must use his powers to destroy Mutant Town, Mercator warns his friend, Hanna Levy so that she can escape safely. The police intervene and use Lara the Illusionist to show Mr. M the devastation he could unleash. This snaps the mutant back to his senses and he willingly returns to his peaceful life of quiet isolation after a short period in jail.

When the insane Wanda Maximoff altered the world to create a mutant paradise where Homo superior ruled, District X was transformed into a rich, exclusively-mutant neighborhood named Mutopia X. Conversely, during the same time, Hell's Kitchen became a human ghetto called Sapien Town.

After M-Day, the powers of many Mutants in the area were lost leading to the region turning into a ghetto. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #490) During this time, Purity began to appear in Mutant Town and harass the reverted Mutants. (X-Men: The 198 v1 #1)

The residents of Mutant Town and of the world suffered the effects of M-Day, and most of them were stripped of their mutant abilities. The majority of the remaining powered mutants were moved to a relocation camp on the grounds of the Xavier Institute. Some former mutants remained in District X, with many, such as Quicksilver and Rictor, suffering from depression and alienation. The district became known as the Middle East Side, and lost many of its distinctive characteristics. It became increasingly depopulated as former mutants sought to live normal lives. X-Factor Investigations stayed opened and operating in Mutant Town, frequently dealing with the aftermath of the M-Day and its effects on the local community. During the Civil War and debates over the Superhuman Registration Act, Jamie Madrox and his team declared that Mutant Town would be a sanctuary for superheroes pursued by the government. Later, Mutant Town was besieged by X-Cell, a terrorist group composed of former mutants who blamed the United States government for the loss of their powers.

After the birth of the first mutant since M-Day, the neighborhood was briefly taken over by Arcade, who was working for an ex-Purifier, Taylor.

Mutant Town was finally destroyed as a 'back-up' plan by Arcade following his defeat. A series of explosions incinerated much of the neighborhood, with Arcade's force fields preventing fire-fighters from entering the area until the entire district had been destroyed. (X-Factor v3 #31) Later, Valerie Cooper announced that the ruins would be demolished and replaced with suburban housing, and that "in a few decades, no one will even know that this used to be called Mutant Town." (X-Factor v3 #32)

At one point, Jubilee worked for a clinic near or in the former Mutant Town to help depowered mutants cope and acclimate to life without powers. Because the clinic had been attacked on a few occasions, and depowered mutants were ending up dead or missing, Jubilee asked Wolverine and X-23 to help investigate. (X-23 v2 #1)

Overview

It was also known as Mutant Town and as the Middle East Side.

The neighborhood was poor, overcrowded and violent, with a high crime rate and warring mutant gangs. Most of the residents regarded it as a ghetto. It was described in District X as having the highest unemployment rate in the USA, the highest rate of illiteracy and the highest severe overcrowding outside of Los Angeles. It also had the highest crime rates in the country for narcotics, prostitution, and burglary.

Many of its inhabitants had mutations more akin to curses than gifts, further exacerbating the neighborhood's poverty and disadvantage. Many residents were immigrants, such as Bosnian immigrant Dzemal.

There were Mutants in District X from every nation on Earth consisting of every race, religion and culture. (X-Men Unlimited v1 #2) It was once a thriving community of Mutants where they could live among their own kind and feel that they belonged. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #490)

It also had a large 'underground' population, inhabiting tunnels beneath the neighborhood and living in homeless squalor.

Locations in District X included:

  • Wildkat Klub :
  • Café des Artistes :
  • Daniel's Inferno :
  • McCarthy Avenue :
  • 11th Precinct Station House :

Organizations that operated in the area included:

  • New York City Police Department :
  • X-Factor Investigations :
  • X-Cell :

Inhabitants

  • Mister M :
  • Johnny Dee :
  • Jubilee :
  • Jumbo Carnation :
  • Toad :
  • Ismael Ortega :
  • Armena Ortega :

Notes

  • District X was created by Grant Morrison and John Paul Leon where it made its fist appearance in New X-Men v1 #127 (August, 2002).
  • David Brothers writing for 4thletter! noted that: "Morrison turned mutants into a subculture, a logical extension of what happens when new elements are introduced into society. They were still oppressed, but they actually had some kind of culture to go along with their oppression. He gave them their own Chinatown, their own Little Italy, and made it a point to show that mutants, while not entirely accepted just yet, were more than just mutant paramilitary teams."
  • On Sequential Art, writer Margaret O'Connell described District X as, ""the mutant ghetto of the Marvel Universe version of New York City", and as "a slum where minor-league mutants from all over the globe – often more visibly handicapped or disfigured by their genetic abnormalities than the relatively glamorous and outwardly normal X-Men – have congregated in a disaffected and varyingly dysfunctional clump."

Alternate Versions

  • In Mutopia X v1 #1 (2005), an alternate version of District X appeared in the House of M reality set on Earth-58163 in the Multiverse. After Mutants took over the world, the district was transformed into a rich, exclusively-Mutant neighborhood named Mutopia X. Meanwhile, Hell's Kitchen became a human ghetto that came to be called Sapien Town.

In other media

Video games

  • In Marvel Heroes, Mutant Town appeared in the free MMORPG video game where it served as a playable map. It was founded after the increase in the Mutant population in New York City after Mutants felt they needed a place to call their own. However, it came under near constant attacks from the anti-Mutant Purifiers who wanted to kill all of its inhabitants.

Appearances

  • New X-Men v1: (2002)
  • X-Men Unlimited v1:
  • District X v1:
  • Uncanny X-Men v1:
  • X-Factor:

External Links

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