THE POPE’S COMICS: Examining The Hero Pattern: Lockheed

By Bethany W Pope

 on December 19, 2021

Welcome to “The Pope’s Comics,” our regular column by award-winning novelist, poet, and Comic Watch contributor Bethany Pope! Bethany brings a wealth of knowledge on literature, LGBTQIA+ issues history, gender, comics, and so much more. We sincerely hope you enjoy!

This week, I’m examining how Lockheed (the X-Men’s resident alien dragon) fits into the world of mythology. The form I’m using is based upon The Hero: A Study in Tradition, Myth and Dreams by Lord Raglan and it’s very useful for dissecting and analyzing the patterns found in global mythology — albeit as they are weighted and swayed by western cultural biases.

Lockheed is a fascinating character, one who has evolved far more than ‘companion’ type figures usually do, and I was surprised by how many mythical elements surfaced in his story.

Here’s the full pattern for your delectation and enjoyment:

Incidents which occur with regularity in hero-myths of all cultures:

1. Hero’s mother is a royal virgin;
2. His father is a king, and
3. Often a near relative of his mother, but
4. The circumstances of his conception are unusual, and
5. He is also reputed to be the son of a god.
6. At birth an attempt is made, usually by his father or his maternal grandfather to kill him, but
7. he is spirited away, and
8. Reared by foster -parents in a far country.
9. We are told nothing of his childhood, but
10. On reaching manhood he returns or goes to his future Kingdom.
11. After a victory over the king and/or a giant, dragon, or wild beast,
12. He marries a princess, often the daughter of his predecessor and
13. And becomes king.
14. For a time he reigns uneventfully and
15. Prescribes laws, but
16. Later he loses favor with the gods and/or his subjects, and
17. Is driven from the throne and city, after which
18. He meets with a mysterious death,
19. Often at the top of a hill,
20. His children, if any, do not succeed him.
21. His body is not buried, but nevertheless
22. He has one or more holy sepulchers.

And here’s how it applies to the character of the dragon in question. I will, of course only examine the points which directly apply to Lockheed’s story:

3. Often a near relative of his mother, but

Lockheed’s parents were both members of a relatively small ‘Flock’ of dragons, inhabiting an alien world. Because there are, comparatively, so few of them, the chances that Lockheed’s parents were at least tangentially related (and more likely, cousins) is quite high.

7. he is spirited away, and

Lockheed stowed away with the X-Men and wound up working on Earth — a planet light-years away from his Home World.

9. We are told nothing of his childhood, but

Aside from learning that Lockheed pulled a Kitty and left his first fiance at the altar, we know nothing about what he was like or what he experienced whilst growing up.

10. On reaching manhood he returns or goes to his future Kingdom.

Since Lockheed was about to marry when the X-Men came to town, and since he was already a mole for the first iteration of S.W.O.R.D, it’s safe to assume that he was an adult when he landed on the planet.

11. After a victory over the king and/or a giant, dragon, or wild beast,

There have been a great many victories for this little dragon, beginning with the Brood and continuing to the Marauders. It’s arguable that his greatest victory was disguising his sentience for such a long time — though there were hints of it dating back to his first appearance in the books. Like many ‘companion’ type characters, Lockheed is something of a trickster. He hides his true nature from everyone, even the people he’s emotionally closest to (Kate Pryde) choosing to reveal the truth of his nature (as an Omni linguistic genius) only to the people he thinks of, not as enemies or friends but rather, emotional rivals (Pete Wisdom). This is a characteristic shared with other anthropomorphized animal characters, such as Jerry the cartoon mouse, though the character trope can be traced back, in darker form, to mythological figures such as Reynard or Anansi. There’s something to be said about the fact that tricksters often have an animal, or animalistic, form. Something something ‘collective unconsciousness’. Something something ‘uncanny valley’.

12. He marries a princess, often the daughter of his predecessor and

Lockheed is currently married to a dragon named Puff. I don’t know if she’s a princess, but she is absolutely adorable.

20. His children, if any, do not succeed him.

Lockheed currently has a brood (ba-dum-tish) of dragonlets, but they have yet to perform any acts of heroism. 

Lockheed scores a total of 7 points. Not bad, for a wee dragon.

Poet, novelist, fencer, pirate, Za-Za, and Comic Watch regular contributor Bethany Pope lives in China. They also hold an MA and PhD in creative writing. Their latest novel, The Hungry and the Lost, was released December 1, 2021 from Parthian Books. You can follow them on Twitter at @theMasqueWriter.