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From: moriarty@fluke.UUCP (Andrew Sigel, posting via Moriarty)
Newsgroups: net.comics
Subject: X-Men and Darkover
Message-ID: <2640@colossus.fluke.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 27-Jan-86 11:37:09 EST
Article-I.D.: colossus.2640
Posted: Mon Jan 27 11:37:09 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 31-Jan-86 02:35:59 EST
Reply-To: sigel%umass.bitnet@WISCVM.ARPA
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Organization: UMass
Lines: 47

The red-headed telepath goes back decades, if not centuries, in fiction.
A good part of it comes from the Scottish highland tradition of
"second sight".  Certainly that's where Marion Zimmer Bradley got it
from (as she confirms in DARKOVER LANDFALL by having half the colonists
be of celtic descent); I imagine that Jean Grey got her hair color more
from contrast to the other X-Men, as she did start out with only
telekinesis, not the more common telepathic powers that are usually
associated with red hair.

As for the similarity in the form of fire of Sharra and Phoenix, it is
certainly possible that Claremont had Sharra in mind; he is known to have
been a Darkover fan, as anyone who has noticed the Shi'ar use the name
"Sharra" as an expletive (and similar other "tributes" that I can't call
to mind just now) could tell you.  However, compared to Phoenix, Sharra
is almost a wimp.  (There is, of course, the fact that both powers were
conceived of as warping the user... I could go on, but I won't.  The
major question is, how much is deliberate, how much is tribute, how much
is coincidence, and how much can you attribute to people who have used
these themes long before Bradley or Claremont picked up a pencil.  And,
certainly, I wouldn't dream of discussing the similarities in power and
outlook of Dorylis from STORMQUEEN and Ororo as Storm....)

                                      Andrew Sigel

The red-headed telepath goes back decades, if not centuries, in fiction.
A good part of it comes from the Scottish highland tradition of
"second sight".  Certainly that's where Marion Zimmer Bradley got it
from (as she confirms in DARKOVER LANDFALL by having half the colonists
be of celtic descent); I imagine that Jean Grey got her hair color more
from contrast to the other X-Men, as she did start out with only
telekinesis, not the more common telepathic powers that are usually
associated with red hair.

As for the similarity in the form of fire of Sharra and Phoenix, it is
certainly possible that Claremont had Sharra in mind; he is known to have
been a Darkover fan, as anyone who has noticed the Shi'ar use the name
"Sharra" as an expletive (and similar other "tributes" that I can't call
to mind just now) could tell you.  However, compared to Phoenix, Sharra
is almost a wimp.  (There is, of course, the fact that both powers were
conceived of as warping the user... I could go on, but I won't.  The
major question is, how much is deliberate, how much is tribute, how much
is coincidence, and how much can you attribute to people who have used
these themes long before Bradley or Claremont picked up a pencil.  And,
certainly, I wouldn't dream of discussing the similarities in power and
outlook of Dorylis from STORMQUEEN and Ororo as Storm....)

                                      Andrew Sigel