Mickey Mouse is a mutant — "always a reflection of the culture around him"

Mickey Mouse in The Gallopin' Gaucho, c. 1928

"Mickey Mouse started as a mischievous, rebellious trickster in the late 1920s," writes Justin Papan in his newsletter, "a subversive figure who connected with audiences struggling through the Great Depression."

As the cartoon mouse's popularity grew, Disney softened Mickey: "his rough edges were smoothed over. His design became rounder, more human-like, and his once-relatable charm faded into a blank slate onto which anything could be projected. This shift made him ripe for reinvention—not just by Disney, but by the culture at large."