The Model Mutant

Bizarre Adventures #27 (July 1981) included three vignettes starring past or present X-Men: Iceman, Phoenix, and Nightcrawler. Iceman's story took place at a winter carnival featuring ice sculptures of numerous superheroes. In his civilian identity as Bobby Drake, the mutant hero noticed that Angel was the only X-Man with a sculpture. It doesn't seem fair,, he thought, and then used his powers to add an Iceman sculpture to the display.

At this point, Angel had a unique place among the X-Men. In spite of the public's prejudice against mutants, Angel had publicly disclosed his true identity as Warren Worthington III. His feathered wings had a favorable connotation, in contrast to Nightcrawler's blue skin and tail. Additionally, Angel's ability to fly made his mutation largely unthreatening. This combination of factors made Angel more palatable to the general public than most mutants.