X-Men (History) – Comic Basics

Name: X-Men

Founding Members: Professor Xavier, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Beast, Angel

First Appearance: X-Men #1 (September, 1963)

Created By: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby

Did You Know: Cyclops was the first recruit to the X-Men

A Little History

Assembled by Professor Xavier, since its debut, the X-Men have gone through multiple roster changes. However, through all the changes, one thing remains the same…their commitment to finding peace and harmony between mutants and humans.

In their debut issue, Professor Xavier summons the already assembled X-Men. The purpose of his summoning is to place them in a series of tests and challenges designed to fine-tune each of their abilities. With their training over, he then introduces them to the newest member of the team, Jean Grey, or the titled Marvel Girl. With her set to join the team, Professor Xavier explains the purpose of the team, to defend the world from evil mutants all-the-while gaining a world-class education.

Just as he finishes explaining this, Magneto, the sworn enemy of the X-Men causes a rocket to crash land. Shortly thereafter he takes control of the nearby base and claims his stake in the name of mutants. At this point, Professor Xavier sends his students (and team) to defend the Earth from Magneto. The villain proves to be a challenge that the X-Men are up to.

Cyclops alerts the villain of their presence with a quick optic blast. Some quick thinking sees Magneto launch a series of heat-seeking missiles at the team. Iceman, with his power to create ice, knocks most of them out of the air while Beast catches the last one. From here Magneto volleys some metal at Angel and Cyclops calmly destroys them. The battle ends with Cyclops setting a tanker truck afire and Magneto fleeing the scene.

While most humans are going through puberty in their teenage years, those with the ‘X’ gene are becoming aware of their powers. That is, most mutants manifest in their teen years. Some, like Jean Grey, have powers that do not change their appearance, while others like Angel grow some sort of abnormality.