The X-Men (1963)

[Perpetual Man]

Following a lot of discussion elsewhere recently I thought I'd create a quick thread giving a bit of background on Marvel's Mutants. Any questions please fire away - I'll do my best top answer them. And any corrections too!

1963, must have been a good year for creativity (well from my perspective) - not only did November see the arrival of Doctor Who but September saw the release of a new comic from Marvel, a company really starting to make inroads on DC's near total dominance of the superhero genre.

With their more 'grounded' take on the super-human characters Marvel, under the guidance of Stan Lee was starting to turn in iconic figures - Spider-man (Lee & Ditko), Fantastic Four (Lee & Kirby), The Avengers (Lee & Kirby), not to mention the others bubbling away, (Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man)

According to the story Lee was trying to come up with another idea, working with the premise of a super hero group of kids, learning to use their powers. At the same time the amount of work he was doing, titles he was writing was draining his creativity - at least as far as origins was going - but it was still more than enough to trigger one of those oft seen stroke of genius that writers like Lee are capable of.

What if there was no origin, what if the powers were there already, what if the kids had powers as a natural part of their development.

What if they were the next step in human development? Perhaps influenced by the atomic age, but it was to be the dawn of a new era...

And so the scene was set.

A lot of what is taken for granted as part of X-Men lore was not present, but the core was there. Five students were enrolled in the exclusive Westchester School of Wheelchair bound Professor Charles Xavier and a slightly below average comic book was about to begin.

 

[Mouse]

Would someone have to start reading from the beginning to know what was going on?

 

[Perpetual Man]

Not really, (I didn't) Although I did go back and read older stuff - and there is a lot more of it today.

Now there are many different x-comics on the market, not just one.

That being said, The X-Men has been restarted quite a few times, so there are plenty of stepping on points!

 

[No One]

I haven't followed the X-men - or any comic - since the mid-nineties and the first (or second or third, etc) "re-start" of the franchise.

For me, the 80's is the best decade for it, with Chris Claremont writing (including, of course, the Dark Phoenix saga) and John Byrne's gorgeous artwork.

 

[Heck Tate]

I sure as hell didn't start from the beginning, or even read things in order even. Just picked up random comics from different volumes and series over the years and read them individually for the most part. There were tons of different plots going on but most of them were good and the huge diversity of characters means there's always so much going on. IMO the X-Men were Stan Lee's greatest work, and they were instrumental (along with the Fantastic 4) in the creation of the Marvel Universe.

 

[Yog-Sothoth]

At the same time the amount of work he was doing, titles he was writing was draining his creativity - at least as far as origins was going - but it was still more than enough to trigger one of those oft seen stroke of genius that writers like Lee are capable of.

What if there was no origin, what if the powers were there already, what if the kids had powers as a natural part of their development.

The Mutant evolution aspect is so briliant/genius, no longer would they have to brainstorm for weeks and weeks inventing scenarios of suburban kids getting bitten by radio-active insects, young men entering super-soldier programmes, or introduce heros from inter-galactic lands, no the mutant explanation literally broke down the creativity barrier and gave them unlimited space to invent new characters, and the Marvel Universe was born as a result.

Because of this Marvel has, in my opinion, surpassed D.C in terms of diversity, complexity and storylines.

 

[Heck Tate]

I'd be really hard pressed to pick one over another. I love X-Men but I also really like the Green Lanterns which are DC. Batman and Fantastic 4 are both good but from "rival" universes. Both have characters I don't really like, too. I think The Hulk sucks for instance and sometimes Superman is just ridiculously overpowered. Either way, Stan Lee pretty much single handedly created the Marvel Universe.

I would call the Green Lantern DC's similar breakthrough in bringing in an unlimited number of superheroes with a single explanation. On top of being able to bring in a new Green Lantern whenever they want, their power is literally the ability to do anything you can think of with green energy. It was their response to Marvel's Mutants, and as such both universes abound with mutants and green lanterns but have other superheroes as well.

 

[Perpetual Man]

The Mutant evolution aspect is so briliant/genius, no longer would they have to brainstorm for weeks and weeks inventing scenarios of suburban kids getting bitten by radio-active insects, young men entering super-soldier programmes, or introduce heros from inter-galactic lands, no the mutant explanation literally broke down the creativity barrier and gave them unlimited space to invent new characters, and the Marvel Universe was born as a result.

Because of this Marvel has, in my opinion, surpassed D.C in terms of diversity, complexity and storylines.

Absolutely, the idea of the mutants was pure genius.

The problem with picking up the X-Men (or any other long-running comic) is the near 50 years of continuity that goes with it, and this does not include any retro-active events that have been inserted as well! One of the reasons for this thread was just to give an overview of the comics as they happened.

More as a comparison to the films and various cartoons that have been around over the years.

 

[Perpetual Man]

The X-Men - The strangest Super-Heroes of All launched in the autumn of 1963, written (of course) by Stan Lee with art provided by the equally legendary Jack Kirby.

The cover boasts that it is in the tradition of The Fantastic Four, but it's not really, it's something a bit different, but it is almost certainly missing the power of those early FF issues.

The story introduced us to Professor Charles Xavier, teaching his young charges how to use their powers in his school. Xavier, (only in this first issue known as Dr. X), was a paraplegic, but not only above average intelligence but a horrendously powerful telepath too, instructing his students with the power of his mind.

The students were Scott Summers - Cyclops, capable of shooting beams of force from his eyes (force not heat). The only thing that kept the beams in check was special ruby quartz, used for both his glasses and visor, controlled by a button on the visor.

Warren Worthington III - The Angel, wings on his back with the ability to fly.

Henry (Hank) McCoy - The Beast, a large, super intelligent man, (no blue fur) with over-large hands and feet, extended agility and greater than average strength.

Bobby Drake - Iceman the youngest member of the team, he could cover his body in a sheath of snow, and use it to throw snow balls, and create more snow.

They were joined in the start of the issue by the stunning redhead Jean Grey - Marvel Girl, a mid-range telekinetic, who all the boys instantly fell for, with exception of Bobby who was a little too young...

The first issue very much covers a training session, which is interrupted when it is announced that an evil mutant is attacking Cape Citadel Army base, in an attempt to steal the atomic missiles stored there.

The X-Men go into action for the first time, dressed in their blue and yellow costumes, and go face to face with their own arch-nemesis Magneto.

Here Magneto is nothing more than a Doctor Doom clone, he can move metal, but is just a selfish bad guy, determined to take control of the world for his own ends (although those ends do include dominance by mutantkind)

With Professor X leading the X-Men from behind the scenes, the X-Men face off against their greatest foe, and basically get their asses kicked. It's only when Cyclops cuts loose with his power, putting out a full power optic blast that punches through the magnetic shields of their enemy that he flees, but Cyclops is rendered unconscious by his efforts.

The X-Men leave having saved the day, aided by the FBI (Seems they were all official and accepted) and the legend begins...

 

[Heck Tate]

LOL, does Angel have a bazooka on that cover?

 

[Perpetual Man]

It certainly looks like that - I think it's more likely a steel pole, but it looks more like a bazooka, and I don't know what he expects to do with it, going up against the master of magnetism...

Alex Ross did a fully painted version of the cover a few years ago, and I've got a copy on my wall (or did have)

 

[Heck Tate]

Wow, very nice. I think those original costumes makes them look a bit goonish but they figured it out eventually.

 

[Clansman]

I read The Uncanny X-Men for years. It only re-started once, actually. The original series went into sequential reprints around 1970. The series was re-started in 1975 in Giant Size X-Men No. 1:




but the new X-Men were introduced to rescue the old X-Men. The series then picked up again with the new team at issue 94. The new team was much more international, with Germans, Russians, Japanese, Canadians (Wolverine), etc., and it totally revived the franchise.

Claremont and Byrne were clearly the highlight of the series in the 1980's, and the Phoenix Saga remains one of the best all-time comic sequences. Spin offs of The Uncanny X-Men include The New Mutants (a throwback to the original idea noted by Perpetual Man above), X-Factor (first, the original X-Men team reunited, and then a total switch, but such a cool title), then Wolverine (mini series and then his own title), then just straight X-Men.....

and then I get confused.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Clansman sums it up very accurately really, beyond a certain point the X-Men just exploded outwards, and despite losing it's dominance of the comic market, there doesn't seem to be any less titles...

But I'll get to that later.

A lot later.

 

[Perpetual Man]

After the first issue Stan and Jack did, what they did so well, building on the foundations of the first issue they began to expand the X-Men universe, as far as characters went they just threw more and more 'bad guy' mutants at the reader, creating a classic roster of foes, The Vanisher, The Blob, Unus the Untouchable all appeared in the first run of issues, but perhaps most importantly Magneto returned, with the somewhat cheesily named Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, consisting of Mastermind, The Toad and the brother and sister Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, at this point the only connection they had with Magneto was his saving their lives.

Nearly as important as the brotherhood was the introduction of Professor Xavier's evil half brother, Cain Marko: The Juggernaut; while the weakest introduction was the character Lucifer, he could have been so much more, but ultimately he is remembered as a footnote, the man who broke Xavier's back some point in the past.

There were guest appearances by the Avengers and Prince Namor, and Cyclops got to lead the team for the first time when Professor X faked an injury just to see how the team could work without him.

Running through it all though was a growing theme of racial intolerance, mutants were becoming more feared by 'normal' humans, that culminated in the longest multi-part story to that point, the introduction of the giant mutant hunting robots, The Sentinels.

With the X-Men fully established, albeit not the most popular of titles, Kirby left the title with issue 18; Lee wrote on more. Issue 19 introduced the first new X-Man, Calvin Rankin The Mimic, who had the ability to... well mimic the other X-Men's abilities (all at the same time)

 

[dask]

In the early 90s Marvel offered a starting point issue where new readers could begin without the cumbersome baggage of past story lines. I jumped aboard and enjoyed the ride immensely until, I dunno, things just got too confusing to figure out. I eventually dropped it. As a kid experimenting with Marvel in the mid-60s I picked up issue 11, and the occasional issue after that, but never got into them enough to collect them regularly.

 

[Yog-Sothoth]

I'd be really hard pressed to pick one over another.

Fair enough, I have to agree to a certain extent, they do have some real gems in D.C that at times can tip the balance.

Running through it all though was a growing theme of racial intolerance, mutants were becoming more feared by 'normal' humans, that culminated in the longest multi-part story to that point, the introduction of the giant mutant hunting robots, The Sentinels.

I grew up with the 90s cartoon and the Sentinels literally gave me nightmares as a kid. I was certain one of them would one day come to my house and open the roof like a can of sardines. I think my current subconcious phobia for giant robots stems from them.

 

[alchemist]

Any questions please fire away - I'll do my best top answer them. And any corrections too!

Dear X-Men Xpert,
This has been bugging me for years, and study of the Internet has not yielded an answer....
In 1990ish, a friend lent me about 30 issues of X-Men. Unfortunately, the last one ended on a cliffhanger and I never found out what happened subsequently. Some...creatures, maybe from another dimension, took on the X-Men and kicked their asses. It looked like mankind was doomed, until only Longshot stood in their way.
What happened next?

 

[Heck Tate]

I grew up with the 90s cartoon and the Sentinels literally gave me nightmares as a kid. I was certain one of them would one day come to my house and open the roof like a can of sardines. I think my current subconcious phobia for giant robots stems from them.

But Sentinels only hunt mutants...
Wait a minute

 

[Heck Tate]

I'm curious to know when Marvel started tying most of the mutants together through family. Like Perp said, originally Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch had no ties to Magneto, but they eventually enf up becoming his kids. Similarly, either the Juggernaut or the Blob are related to Professor X (I can never remember which).

Which brings me to an entirely different question: Who wins when the Juggernaut and the Blob fight? The Blob is the unmovable object, and the Juggernaut can't be stopped once he gains momentum so what happens when he charges the Blob?