One theme, however, pops up on at least two occasions within his writing- dehumanization. What's funny is that he used almost identical phrasing in both occasions. The aforementioned occurrences are pictured below, in order of appearance:
What does this mean? Magneto has long believed that Mutants exist as the true inheritors of the earth (Note that he, on one occasion, told the three remaining Stepford Cuckoos that they would 'inherit the Earth'- is this a reference to their sister, Esme, or is he calling them meek?). By stating that humans are inferior, it's implied that mutants, therefore, have the right to do with humanity as they please- as beasts of burden, sources of food or entertainment, etc. Specifically, it's doing something far more profound to their human victims- dehumanizing. Often attached to the term ' compartmentalization', dehumanization is simply when one views a human being as being less than human, and are therefore undeserving of the dignity, respect and kindness that all human beings are seen as entitled to (human rights, that kind of thing). It's also famously attributed to being a large force in human rights abuses before and during WWII, especially those within concentration camps. An ordinary person would wonder at exactly how twisted one would have to be in order to perform some of the disgusting acts carried out by individuals like Mengele, let alone how one could justify participating in the extermination of innocent human beings as a member of the Nazi party. The answer, for the most part, is merely that those involved didn't see their victims as being human. Once you remove an individual's humanity, you take away their rights, ability to reason, even their capacity to love or hate or feel sadness or pain.
When the U-man pictured above states that mutant pain is different than that of humans, he's calling mutants inferior, therefore allowing his comrades to attack the school without the burden of guilt. Think about their intent- the U-men want to seize the school in order to operate it like an organ farm.
For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, I'd like to refer (only in passing) to a manga series by Akihito Yoshitomiknown as Ray. Therein, the titular character, a young woman known as Ray, grew up on an organ farm, in which children were kept in a facility that would sell off their organs to individuals, usually on the black market. The individuals working at the facility fed and watered the children, cleaned the building, harvested their organs, but never interacted with them in any other capacity, and saw them as less than human.
The U-men want Xavier's as a sort of holding place for mutants, so that their organs can be harvested at leisure. Wings, x-ray eyes, tails, claws, anything that would grant special abilities to it's host; all are sought by Sublime's followers. At different points throughout the four or so comics preceding the one this picture originates from, various U-men have displayed qualms about harming the individuals they seek to exploit- one pauses when ordered to cut off Cyclops' head, another states his remorse at having to harm the members of Xavier's in order to obtain the organs they require. Each circumstance is met with another U-man re-enforcing the concept of mutants being subhuman, which is meant to allow the individual in question to continue with his task without experiencing guilt or disgust at his own actions.
While heavy-handed (at best), Morrison satisfactorily displays the necessity of dehumanization in committing atrocities.
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