The 2000 movie X-Men and its smash 2003 sequel proved that comic book sagas with complex storylines and characters are still relevant in today’s world. This summer, the uncanny mutants are back with X-Men: The Last Stand.

First, a bit of background.

The X-Men movies are based on the series launched by writer Stan Lee and illustrator Jack Kirby in 1963. The scenario is deceptively simple: an overabundance of the "X gene" has caused random mutations, spawning a race of superhumans. These powerful mutants are treated as outcasts by ordinary humans, who view them with suspicion -- and who wouldn’t be afraid of strange individuals with names like Beast, Cyclops and Professor X?

Basically, the mutants are victims of bigotry, like outsiders through the ages. The X-Men are even divided among themselves. The telepathic Professor Charles Francis Xavier is headmaster of the School for Mutants, where the X-Men learn to develop their strange powers for the good of society. However, a minority of disgruntled mutants, led by the enigmatic anti-hero Magneto, threaten to wipe out humankind.

The X-Men series is not the story of a single hero, dynamic duo or fantastic foursome, but of an entire race of exceptional beings. Kirby and Lee were likely inspired by the experiences of their own race, the Jewish people (although Stan Lee claims he created the mutation storyline to spare him from having to invent a new origin for every character). Like the comic book mutants, Jews were persecuted and treated as scapegoats. Xavier instructs his X-Men to keep their true identities hidden; likewise, Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) and Kirby (Jacob Kurtzbert) altered their Jewish names to gain acceptance within American society.

Jewish themes in the X-Men comics came to the fore in the 1980s, after Jewish writer Chris Claremont took over the series. One of his cleverly crafted back-stories depicted Magneto and Xavier as allies many years earlier, when both men treated Holocaust survivors in the same hospital in Israel, a notion that adds considerable poignancy to the X-Men mythos. Sure enough, the new movie contains a flashback scene that depicts Magneto and Xavier as former friends.

Claremont also introduced the character of a young Jewish woman named Kitty Pryde, known as Shadowcat, one of the most popular characters in the series. Fans are happy to learn that in the third film, Kitty (played by Ellen Page) gets more screen time and sees plenty of action. According to her backstory, Kitty’s paternal grandfather, Samuel Prydeman, was a European Jew who had been held in a Nazi concentration camp. Throughout the series, Kitty shows pride (pun intended) in her religion. In one captivating episode, she defeats a vampire -- not with garlic but rather with her silver Magen David necklace. In a later issue, Kitty visits the National Holocaust Memorial in Washington, D. C., where she speaks in honor of her grandparents. Later, Kitty lights a yahrzeit candle in memory of fellow mutant and sometime boyfriend, Colossus.

The biggest revelation about this summer’s sequel is that the X-Men contend with a "cure" that threatens their existence: finally, a way is found to suppress the mutant “X gene” once and for all.

The previous movies addressed the need for peaceful co-existence and conveyed a powerful message: be proud of who you are. The premise in the upcoming film is much bleaker, -– now the mutants are offered a chance to assimilate into the dominant culture. If there was a “cure” for being Jewish, it might make life easier -- but what are the implications?

No two snowflakes are alike, no two faces are alike -- and no two souls are alike. Everyone is endowed with a special blend of abilities and potential. By perfecting ourselves, we perfect the world in the Tikkun Olam process. As a community of gifted individuals, the Jewish people are called to be a "light unto the nations" (Isaiah 42:6).

Will the X-Men choose the easy way out and “cure” what makes them who they are? This summer’s movie answers those questions, but it won’t be the last we’ll hear of this compelling comic book allegory, that introduces Jewish tradition and history to a new generation.

Rabbi Simcha Weinstein is founder of the Jewish Student Foundation of Downtown Brooklyn, an educational and cultural center igniting pride and commitment through innovative educational and social experiences in an open environment. He is also author of Up, Up and Oy Vey! How Jewish History, Culture and Values Shaped the Comic Book Superhero (Leviathan Press). For more information, visit www.upupandoyvey.com.