That there is a quote from Wolverine. One of my favorites too. It’s from the classic/90’s X-Men issue titled The Big Dare, where Logan challenges (or should I say dares) Kurt to walk around town without his Image Inducer. Said tool was a way for Kurt to blend in as a normal person since he did not inherit the ability to transform. This was not meant to be malicious, but an attempt to help Kurt feel more comfortable with and accept himself for his appearance.
Kurt accepts this challenge, begrudgingly, feeling a sense of dread given how people treated him in the past. However, he soon realizes that most of the people in the town don’t seem to mind his appearance. This is surprising to Kurt, but a welcomed one. There are a few people who do give him hassle, but Logan, being his Logan-y self, steps in to defend his friend. Despite this, Kurt actually appreciates Logan’s encouragement, thanking him.
This is what I’d like to consider the start of a character arc for Kurt. One that explores acceptance and confidence. As well as recovery from the trauma attached to his appearance.
This post will go over the image inducer. Why he has it, where he has it, and who helps him stop using it in order for him to embrace himself for who he is.
When it comes to Kurt, there are a few things I feel he represents. Mainly never judging people based on their appearances. Because of his appearance, he gets judged and sometimes even attacked because of it. People fear his “demonic” looks and considering he almost died because of it (and people thinking he killed Stefan and a group of people, when it was just the former), it’s easy to see why he would develop a sense of fear and self consciousness due to his appearance.
As such, he feels he has to hide who he is. Hence, the Image Inducer was given to him. The reason for it, outside of it changing his appearance, was to do that for him, since he did not inherit Mystique’s transformation abilities. However, while it was meant to be a secure comfort for him and help him hide, it wasn’t an ideal way for him to accept himself and embrace his appearance regardless of what people say.
And if there’s one person who was on top of helping him with loving and accepting his appearance, it was Logan. That’s not to say Kurt didn’t contribute with loving himself as himself, or that Logan was the only reason that he stopped using the Image Inducer. Logan just happened to play a significant role in it.
The Big Dare was the first instance. Another example being in Wolverine (2003) #6 (the issue known for it’s cover). Where Logan flat out tells Kurt to turn the inducer off with the bartender, who was also a mutant, showing her own quirk, proving that Kurt’s natural appearance wouldn’t get judged there. I would say this issue was a big turning point for Kurt since I can’t think of a time since that he used it (though I could be wrong).
It’s also worth noting that Nightcrawler isn’t always hiding behind it. Of course, we get to see him in his fuzzy blue glory more times than not. But it’s usually when he was with the X-Men, on a mission, or maybe even hiding under layers of clothing (I’m picturing a I once came across with him wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a coat). So while the Image Inducer might not have had frequent use, it did have significance and opened a discussion when needed.
The Image Inducer was used when writers wanted to address Kurt’s self consciousness and his struggle with people fearing him because of his appearance. And it wasn’t just in the comics. Now X2 had him briefly disguised in the intro, but I don’t think it was due to ab image inducer, rather makeup.
It got more use in the X-Men Evolution animated series, where it was meant to act as a disguise while he was at school. And while that was a sound reason, it could also cause problems with him and his appearance. I’ll it, it has been a while since I’ve watched the series, but I can think of one or two instances where his appearance with and without the Image Inducer. For instance, he does choose not to use it in front of Amanda Sefton in Shadow Dance, the season 2 episode where he gets scared to teleport due to slowing it down, entering the Brimstone Dimension for a longer period, and almost getting killed by creatures there. Amanda had seen him shift between his “normal” form and his true form. She never told him until this episode, proving that she could keep it a secret, but also wasn’t afraid of Kurt’s true appearance. Something he was worried about when he asked her to the Sadie Hawkins Dance (Scott does point out how she would probably be able to feel that he only had three fingers. Furred ones at that. Hence why he was initially wearing gloves to the dance). Him feeling conflicted about his appearance might have been addressed again in a later episode (though it’s been a while since I watched it, so I’m not 100% certain).
These days, Kurt seems to have dropped the Image Inducer entirely. And I’d like to think a combination of Logan helping, his friends’ acceptance, and loving himself for who he is, is what caused it. And while not as big of a character arc as some, I think it’s an important one. Him letting go of everyone’s fear, his included, and the need to hide from the public, I think was a perfect arc for him and what he represents.
I’ll it, this may be a condensed version of events. However, I thought it would be neat to point out how Kurt grew from hiding behind an image inducer and how he no longer does. I hole you enjoyed it.
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