Cesare

stickthisbig:

I’m not into genocide or anything, I just think it’s… unrealistic to expect that certain individuals will not/should not be killed on sight, and this is a Known Issue in my character. So honestly, re: Shaw I… kinda gotta go with Erik.

Yeah, there’s the thing: Shaw is a clear and present danger type situation. If they let him go, they know for a fact he’s going to hurt other people— he’s said so, and hell, Charles is in his head, he can read the guy’s mind and see he’s a sociopath. What was Charles planning to do, freeze Shaw and then stand there with his fingers on his forehead holding the guy forever? Maybe he could’ve knocked him out psychically, but once Shaw woke up, what would they do with him? You can put Magneto in a plastic prison, but Shaw can smash anything you put him in. It’s death or permanent sedation, so, death with a slightly cleaner conscience if it works, and an unacceptable risk that it won’t work. So I feel like Paraprosdokia makes a good point: “Charles knows that killing everyone so far hasn’t given Erik what he needs, and that each time he kills he loses more of himself…” So the pleading isn’t Charles wanting to spare Shaw, but begging Erik not to be the one to kill him. Not necessarily contending that Shaw shouldn’t be killed, because I just don’t see any way around that.

And yeah, Charles is way too often a cipher (god I love using that word, I never have enough chances), because the elevator speech of his whole characterization is “He is Professor X and he leads the X-Men.”

“He’s Professor X and he leads the X-Men! He wants peace, so he rounds up some teenage mutants and teaches them how to fight as a team. Then he sends them out to defend humans from violent mutants!” … “For peace!”

And Charles- especially movie!Charles- has a lot of the same potential to be sort of blasé about using his powers in potentially harmful ways.

“Would you like to see another magic trick? Get in the car.”

The only thing that would’ve made that better/worse is if Moira or Raven gave Charles a look and he shrugged, “What? I asked first.”

Actually, though, maybe it’s better/worse that no one questioned him at all.