The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in The X-Men #1 (September 1963).The X-Men #1 (July 2, 1963) Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to low sales, following its 1975 revival and subsequent direction under writer Chris Claremont, it became one of Marvel Comics's most recognizable and successful franchises. The X-Men title may refer to the superhero team itself, the eponymous comic series, or the broader franchise, which includes various solo titles and team books, such as the New Mutants, Excalibur, and X-Force.
In the Marvel Universe, mutants are humans born with a genetic trait called the X-gene, which grants them natural superhuman abilities, generally manifesting during puberty. Due to their differences from most humanity, mutants are subject to prejudice and discrimination; many X-Men stories feature social commentary on bigotry, justice, and other political themes. The X-Men have fought against various enemies, including villainous mutants, human bigots, supervillains, mystical threats, extraterrestrials, and evil artificial intelligences. In most iterations of the team, they are led by their founder, Charles Xavier / Professor X, a powerful telepath who runs a school for mutant children out of his mansion in Westchester, New York, which secretly is also the headquarters of the X-Men.
Their stories have frequently involved Magneto, a powerful mutant with control over magnetic fields, who is depicted as an old friend of and foil to Xavier, acting as an adversary or ally. An enormous cast of characters have joined the X-Men at various times. The original X-Men, introduced in 1963, are Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Warren Worthington III, and Iceman. Well-known X-Men added to the team in 1975 include Colossus, Nightcrawler, Storm, and Wolverine. The X-Men have been adapted in numerous television shows, the X-Men films, and video games.
Background and creation In 1963, following the success of the Fantastic Four, co-creator Stan Lee wanted to create another group of superheroes. Unlike Lee's earlier creations such as Spider-Man, who acquired their powers through different scientific means, Lee decided that this new group of heroes were "mutants", born with latent powers as he had grown weary of creating separate origins for each superhero.
In a 1987 interview, Kirby said:
The X-Men, I did the natural thing there. What would you do with mutants who were just plain boys and girls and certainly not dangerous? You school them. You develop their skills. So I gave them a teacher, Professor X. Of course, it was the natural thing to do, instead of disorienting or alienating people who were different from us, I made the X-Men part of the human race, which they were. Possibly, radiation, if it is beneficial, may create mutants that'll save us instead of doing us harm. I felt that if we train the mutants our way, they'll help us – and not only help us, but achieve a measure of growth in their own sense. And so, we could all live together.Conversations With The Comic Book Creators by Leonard Pitts, 1987; also published on The Kirby Effect: The Journal of the Kirby Museum website as "1986/7 Jack Kirby Interview", 6 August 2012.
Lee's initial name was "the Mutants," but Marvel publisher Martin Goodman rejected this on the grounds that readers would not know what a "mutant" was.
While the X-Men are often assumed to have been named after Professor X, the original explanation for the name, provided by Xavier in The X-Men #1 (1963), is that mutants "possess an extra power ... one which ordinary humans do not!! That is why I call my students ... X-Men, for EX-tra power!"X-Men #1
Publication history
1960s
The first issue, cover-dated September 1963, introduces the original team, with Marvel Girl presented as a new pupil at Charles Xavier's school, apparently the first female student, and meeting Cyclops, Beast, Angel, and Iceman. Cyclops, whose eyes shoot powerful beams unless they are controlled by a visor, is the central protagonist. Beast is apelike in appearance but speaks in sophisticated diction; Iceman is hedonistic and energetic; Angel comes from a wealthy background and has wings protruding from his back; and Marvel Girl is hyperfeminine. The masculine characters often express their attraction to Marvel Girl. The first issue also introduces the team's archenemy, Magneto. Magneto appears frequently throughout the series.
The X-Men issues #4 and #5 introduce Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, featuring Mastermind and Toad. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were initially introduced in issue #4 as members of the Brotherhood, but later reformed and joined the Avengers. The comic focused on a common human theme of good versus evil; issue #8 first introduces the theme of prejudice against mutants, which eventually comes to function as an allegory for racism or other forms of bigotry. Issue #12 introduces Cain Marko, the Juggernaut, Professor Xavier's stepbrother, and implies that Marko was responsible for the accident that paralyzed Xavier. Issues #14 to #16 (November 1965 - January 1966) introduce the Sentinels, mutant-hunting robots designed by Bolivar Trask. The title lagged in sales behind Marvel's other comic franchises. Writer Roy Thomas and Werner Roth replaced Lee and Kirby by issue #20 (May 1966). Issue #28 introduces Banshee; initially an antagonist, Banshee will go on to become a member of the X-Men.
In 1969, Thomas and illustrator Neal Adams briefly rejuvenated the comic book. They gave regular roles to two recently introduced characters: Alex Summers (Cyclops' brother, later known as Havok, who had been introduced by Roy Thomas before Adams began work on the comic) and Lorna Dane, later called Polaris (created by Arnold Drake and Jim Steranko). Issue #64 introduced Sunfire, a Japanese mutant. However, these later X-Men issues failed to attract sales and Marvel stopped producing new stories with issue #66 (March 1970), later reprinting a number of the older comics as issues #67–93.
1970s
In Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975), writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum introduced a new team; the new characters then featured in a reboot of the ongoing X-Men series, which Chris Claremont began writing with issue #94, with Cockrum continuing as illustrator. Cyclops was the only original member who remained; differing from the original, the group became "an international cadre of mutants with diverse and often traumatic personal histories". Unlike in the early issues of the original series, the new team was not made up of teenagers. Marvel's corporate owners, Cadence Industries, had suggested the new team should be international, feeling it needed characters with "foreign appeal". So each character was from a different country with varying cultural and philosophical beliefs, and all were already well-versed in using their mutant powers, several being experienced in combat.
The "all-new, all-different X-Men" were led by Cyclops, and consisted of the newly created Colossus (from the Soviet Union/Russia), Nightcrawler (from Germany), Storm (from Kenya), and Thunderbird (a Native American of Apache descent), and three previously introduced characters: Banshee (from Ireland), Sunfire (from Japan), and Wolverine (from Canada). Wolverine had been previously introduced as an antagonist of the Hulk. However, this team would not remain whole for long; Sunfire quit shortly after their first mission, and Thunderbird died on the next. Filling in the vacancy, a revamped Jean Grey soon rejoined the X-Men. Claremont emphasized the character development of Grey, whose powers increased dramatically as she adopted a new name, Phoenix, in issue #101 (October 1976). Angel, Beast, Iceman, Havok, and Polaris also made significant guest appearances. Claremont introduced a significant non-mutant supporting character, Moira MacTaggert, in issue #96; MacTaggert operates a genetic research facility on Muir Island. Claremont became known for his strong female characters, sometimes called "Claremont Women." The series presents Storm and Phoenix as close friends, in a manner that scholar Ramzi Fawaz views as allegorical for alliances between liberal feminists and emerging Black feminism. 1977 presented a new space opera story line, "The Phoenix Saga", that particularly emphasizes the alliance of these two characters; Fawaz calls it "arguably the most canonical story line in The X-Men'''s publishing history." The story includes the Shi'ar Empire, Lilandra Neramani, and the Starjammers.
Beginning with issue #108 (December 1977), John Byrne replaced Cockrum as the primary artist. Claremont and Byrne had previously collaborated on the Iron Fist and Luke Cage series. Their run met with critical acclaim, and produced such landmark storylines as the introduction of Alpha Flight and the Proteus saga.
Wolverine is initially overshadowed by the other characters, although he creates tension in the team as he is attracted to Jean Grey, who is Cyclops' girlfriend. While Claremont considered writing Wolverine out of the series, Byrne advocated for his continuing inclusion, partly because the character is Canadian and this is also Byrne's nationality. Wolverine became increasingly developed and popular as a character, becoming the breakout character on the team. X-Men #100 introduces the "fastball special", a combat maneuver in which the super-strong Colossus throws Wolverine at a distance as if he were a projectile weapon; this tactic recurs in many future battles. Stories of the late 1970s establish Wolverine's murky past and unstable nature, which he battles to keep in check. Wolverine's name was revealed as "Logan" in X-Men #103 (February 1977); X-Men #116 (December 1978) first introduces Wolverine's healing factor, and issue #124 (August 1979) first suggests that he has a reinforced skeleton.
1980s The 1980s began with the comic's best-known story arc, the "Dark Phoenix Saga", which saw Phoenix manipulated by Mastermind, now a member of the Hellfire Club, and becoming corrupted with an overwhelming lust for power and destruction as the evil Dark Phoenix. The Hellfire Club also included the telepathic femme fatale Emma Frost, who became an increasingly significant character. The story results in the death of Jean Grey. The disco singer mutant, Dazzler, previously introduced in her own miniseries, also appeared in the story and eventually joined the X-Men. This story arc also introduces a new character, the exuberant young girl Kitty Pryde. Thirteen years old, Pryde is Marvel's first canonically Jewish superhero. Immediately after, Claremont and Byrne created "Days of Future Past", in which Wolverine and Kitty Pryde experience a dystopian future for mutants. Mystique first encounters the X-Men in this story, becoming a recurring antagonist. Byrne left the series shortly after its completion. The Morlocks, deformed mutants who live underground, first appear in The Uncanny X-Men #169 (May 1983). In 1983, Cyclops meets Madelyne Pryor, eventually revealed as a clone of Jean Grey. Other important storylines include the saga of Deathbird and the Brood, the invasion of the Dire Wraiths and The Trial of Magneto!, as well as X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills, the partial inspiration for 20th Century Fox's film X2: X-Men United (2003). In this period, Claremont and Byrne particularly emphasized the theme that mutants are oppressed by human bigotry.