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Superhero Blog
A superhero is a fictional character who is noted for feats of courage and nobility, who usually has a colorful name and costume and who possesses abilities beyond those of normal human beings. |
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June 30, 2003 | |
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X-Men The X-Men are a group of comic book superheroes featured in Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, they first appeared in X-Men #1 in September 1963, the same month as the debut of the Avengers.X-Men has grown to become one of the most hugely popular franchises in the comic book industry, producing dozens of spin-off series and turning many of the writers and artists involved in the series into industry stars. Since the early 1990s, the X-Men have been adapted into many other media, most notably two animated television series and a string of blockbuster Hollywood movies. The X-Men are mutants, human beings who, due to a quantum leap in evolution, are born with superhuman abilities. Mutants are often hated by regular humans both because of ordinary prejudice and because humans fear that mutants are destined to replace them. This fact is worsened by a number of mutants, most notably the team's arch-nemesis Magneto, who use their powers to try to disrupt and dominate human society. The X-Men were gathered by the benevolent Professor X to protect a world that hates and fears them from Magneto and other threats. The X-Men series is known for containing a richly diverse cast of characters and is perhaps the most multicultural book in comics. The team's name is derived from the fact that mutants are extra-powered due to their similarly nominal x-factor gene, and was coined by Professor Charles Xavier. In the early 1960s, Marvel Comics editor/writer Stan Lee, artist Jack Kirby and several other illustrators produced a number of superhero titles which stressed character personalities and personal conflict as much as action and adventure, including The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man. X-Men was one of the last titles of this Silver Age renaissance, appearing in September 1963. In the comic book series, the X-Men were founded by the paraplegic telepath Charles Xavier, a.k.a. Professor X. Xavier gathered the X-Men under the cover of a "School for Gifted Youngsters" at a large country estate in Westchester County, New York. Cover-billed as "the strangest heroes of all", the original X-Men consisted of five teenagers still learning to control their powers: Cyclops (Scott Summers), who emitted powerful “optics blasts” from his eyes that could only be controlled by a "ruby quartz" visor. He would become the X-Men's field leader. Marvel Girl (Jean Grey), who possessed telekinetic powers and later developed telepathy. Angel (Warren Worthington III), who flew from two feathery wings that extended from his back. Beast (Hank McCoy), a genius who possessed ape-like strength and agility. Iceman (Bobby Drake), who froze moisture in the air around him and who could cover his body with snow and later developed the ability to turn himself into solid ice. A precursor to the concept of a school for feared genetic mutants appeared in the 1953 science fiction novel Children of the Atom by Wilmar Shiras, which has been credited — though never officially confirmed — with inspiring the X-Men. The title characters of the novel were also mutants, the results of an unintended experiment in genetic mutation. The term "Children of the Atom" has also been used at times during the X-Men franchise's history, often as a subtitle for various X-Men publications and video games. Despite the philosophical concepts which appeared in X-Men, Lee has said he invented genetic "mutants" to find a way to create a number of super-powered characters without having to come up with a separate and interesting origin for each one. X-Men #1 also introduced the team's arch-nemesis, Magneto, who controlled magnetism and who felt that mutants should rule over or kill all normal humans. Magneto's character would later be fleshed out to reveal that he once shared a friendship with Professor X and that his decree that mutants must conquer or be conquered grew from his experiences as a Holocaust survivor. X-Men #4 introduced Magneto’s team, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. While a few other important villains debuted during the 1960s — such as Professor X's superhumanly strong stepbrother the Juggernaut and the mutant-hunting robot Sentinels — the X-Men often fought easily-forgotten mutant criminals, alien invaders and brutish monsters. As a result, this era is largely regarded as unremarkable and X-Men became one of the less successful Marvel series during the 1960s. Lee and Kirby departed the series in 1966, handing the reins over to Roy Thomas and Werner Roth. Roth gave up the regular art chores in 1967, and Thomas dropped the scripting slot in 1968. The title went with no long-term creative time for about a year, notable only for a pair of issues drawn by Jim Steranko. In 1969, Thomas returned, joined by fan favorite artist Neal Adams in an effort to save the series from its sagging sales. These issues are more highly regarded by fans and introduced two more X-Men: Havok (Alex Summers), Cyclops' rebellious brother who produced powerful "plasma blasts" Polaris (Lorna Dane), who possessed magnetic powers and was originally believed to be Magneto's daughter Though sales did improve while Adams illustrated the book, it was too little and too late, and Marvel stopped producing new issues of X-Men in 1969. The series continued by reprinting old issues and the X-Men appeared in other Marvel comics, but faded to near-obscurity. |
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| MARVEL, SPIDER-MAN, DOCTOR OCTOPUS and all MARVEL character names and distinctive likenesses thereof: TM & © 2003 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. MARVEL and SPIDER-MAN: Trademarks registered in the USA and certain other countries. © 2003 Sony Pictures Digital Inc. All rights reserved. |