Bethany W Pope
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.
The Hero Pattern: Warpath
This week, I’m examining the ways that the story of the hero known as Warpath intersects with the mythical classification system devised by Lord Raglan. The pattern that I’m using is based upon Raglan’s The Hero: A study in Tradition, Myth and Dreams. Warpath is a very interesting character, one who has transcended his rather tone deaf beginnings (seriously, my fellow white people: do some research before you write about other cultures) and become one of the most interesting, and underappreciated, characters in the X-Books.
Because I’m only going to be examining the points in the pattern which resonate with James Proudstar’s story, I’ve included a complete copy of Raglan’s Hero Pattern below:
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.
Here’s how the pattern applies to Warpath:
5. He is also reputed to be the son of a god.
James Proudstar originally used the codename Thunderbird, as a means of honoring his deceased brother. The Thunderbird is a godlike supernatural entity who appears in the mythology of several North American Indigenous peoples. The Hoc?gara people (a Souian-speaking nation) specify the legend in such a way that people who have a vision of the Thunderbird while performing a solitary ritual fast will become a War Chief. It’s telling (and not in a good way) that the Thunderbird is not usually associated with the Apache people. The original iteration of James Proudstar (and his older brother) was primarily written by white people. And while it was unusual for a Native American character to occupy a heroic role in the mainstream white culture of the time, it’s clear that none of the writers chose to do very much research about the cultures they were using.
7. he is spirited away, and
James was an original member of The Hellions, and as such he was taken from his home and placed under the care of Emma Frost in her Massachusetts Academy.
10. On reaching manhood he returns or goes to his future Kingdom.
In the case of James, this could be read two ways. If we take ‘future kingdom’ to mean the place where he spent the most time in the books, we must view X-Force as that kingdom. However, since he grew increasingly discontented with the violent ethos of that team (and since he never really ‘ruled’ there) it’s probably better to view Krakoa (and his teaching role) as the green and pleasant land he spent so many long years searching for.
11. After a victory over the king and/or a giant, dragon, or wild beast,
There have been many victories for James, but perhaps his triumph over Selene during the Necrosha event was the one that defined him the most. Before slaughtering Selene, he quite literally put the ghost of his long-dead brother to rest — an action that both symbolized and culminated his heroic growth.
13. And becomes king.
Currently, James is teaching the young mutants of Krakoa to use and utilize their powers. If the greater part of kingship is found in fostering and shepherding one’s people, Warpath is certainly a King of the new Island Nation.
14. For a time he reigns uneventfully and
James Proudstar appeared in the various X-Books regularly for the better part of thirty years. His time in the books have not been ‘uneventful’ but he’s been a consistent player in the series.
15. Prescribes laws, but
Part of the role of Teacher involves setting boundaries for your students. James is certainly doing so, now.
18. He meets with a mysterious death,
The villain Edwin Martynec injected Warpath with a poison, which killed him. Siryn was able to bring him back by performing CPR, but nevertheless James got to spend his allotted season in Hell.
19. Often at the top of a hill,
Comics deaths are almost always going to score this point. It’s a visual medium, so the deaths are almost always iconographic.
20. His children, if any, do not succeed him.
As far as we know, James has no children. But it’s comics. If Colossus can have a surprise secret baby, anyone can.
21. His body is not buried, but nevertheless
Since Syrin was able to successfully perform CPR on James, he never suffered the indignity of burial.
Warpath scores a total of 11 points, an unusual feat for a character who was formulated around the themes of revenge and redemption.
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.