X-Men facts for kids
Quick facts for kids X-Men |
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_No._2_Mahmud_Asrar_Variant_(Textless).jpg)
Variant cover of X-Men (Vol. 6) #2 (October 2021) (representing the first elected Krakoan X-Men team).
Depicting (clockwise from left): Synch, Wolverine, Sunfire, Marvel Girl, Rogue, Polaris, and Cyclops. Art by Mahmud Asrar. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The X-Men #1 (September 1963) |
| Created by | Stan Lee Jack Kirby |
| In-story information | |
| Base(s) | Current: The Treehouse (Krakoan base) New York City Former: Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters Westchester County, New York |
| Leader(s) | Professor X |
| Member(s) | Current: Cyclops Jean Grey Synch Firestar Iceman Havok Forge Magik Former: See: List of X-Men members |
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
They have appeared in numerous books, television shows, the 20th Century Fox X-Men films, and video games. The X-Men title may refer to the superhero team itself, the eponymous comic series, or the broader franchise including various solo titles and team books such as the New Mutants, Excalibur, and X-Force.
In the Marvel Universe, mutants are humans who are born with a genetic trait called the X-gene which grants them natural superhuman abilities. Due to their differences from the majority of humanity, mutants are subject to prejudice and discrimination and many X-Men stories feature social commentary on bigotry and justice.
The X-Men have fought against a variety of enemies, including villainous mutants, human bigots, supervillains, mystical threats, extraterrestrials, and malevolent artificial intelligences.
In most iterations of the team, they are led by their founder Charles "Professor X" Xavier, 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, variously acting as an adversary or as an ally.
The current iteration of the official X-Men team is headquartered in The Treehouse, a Krakoan base in New York City, and the roster is voted on by their fellow mutants in elections held at periodic Hellfire Galas. No longer working in secret, they fight publicly for the safety of mutants, to build bridges between Krakoa and human nations, and to protect the Earth and Solar System from extraterrestrial threats.
Background and creation
In 1963, with the success of Spider-Man, the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, and the Fantastic Four, co-creator Stan Lee wanted to create another group of superheroes but did not want to have to explain how they got their powers. In 2004, Lee recalled, "I couldn't have everybody bitten by a radioactive spider or exposed to a gamma ray explosion. And I took the cowardly way out. I said to myself, 'Why don't I just say they're mutants? They are born that way."
Lee devised the series title after Marvel publisher Martin Goodman turned down the initial name, "The Mutants," stating that readers would not know what a "mutant" was.
Within the Marvel Universe, the X-Men are widely regarded to have been named after Professor Xavier himself. The original explanation for the name, as 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!"
Publication history
Early X-Men issues introduced the original team composed of Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Angel, and Iceman, along with their archenemy Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants featuring Mastermind, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, and Toad. The comic focused on a common human theme of good versus evil and later included storylines and themes about prejudice and racism, all of which have persisted throughout the series in one form or another.
The title lagged in sales behind Marvel's other comic franchises. In 1969, writer Roy Thomas and illustrator Neal Adams rejuvenated the comic book and gave regular roles to two recently introduced characters: Havok/Alex Summers (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). However, these later X-Men issues failed to attract sales and Marvel stopped producing new stories with issue #66, later reprinting a number of the older comics as issues #67–93.
Team roster
The X-Men team lineup has varied throughout the years and splintered into several other newer teams.
The original team lineup introduced Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Angel, and Iceman as well as Professor X.
Later issues brought fan favorites and frequent members Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Kitty Pryde, Jubilee, Gambit, Emma Frost, Psylocke, Havok, Dazzler, Polaris, Bishop, Forge and Banshee, among others.
Enemies
The X-Men have a gallery of enemies they regularly face, the most common of which being Professor X’s friend-turned-enemy Magneto.
Other foes include Mystique, Emma Frost, Apocalypse, Mister Sinister, the mutant-hunting robot Sentinels, villain teams such as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and the Hellfire Club, and racism and discrimination from the human race.
Setting
The X-Men exist in the Marvel Universe along with other characters featured in Marvel Comics series and often interact with them. The X-Men/mutant corner of the Marvel Universe has been informally called "X-Universe".
Historically, the X-Men have been based in the Xavier Institute of Gifted Youngsters/X-Mansion located in Salem Center, Westchester County, New York, and are often portrayed as a family. The Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters/X-Mansion is often depicted with three floors and two underground levels. To the outside world, it acted as a higher learning institute until the 2000s, when Xavier was publicly exposed as a mutant at which point it became a known mutant boarding school. The X-Men benefit from advanced technology such as Xavier tracking down mutants with a device called Cerebro which amplifies his powers; the X-Men train within the Danger Room, first depicted as a room full of weapons and booby traps, now as generating holographic simulations; and the X-Men travel in their Blackbird jet.
Accolades
- In 2012, Complex ranked the X-Men 4th in their "10 Best Superhero Teams In Comics" list.
- In 2016, Screen Rant ranked the X-Men 3rd in their "15 Best Superhero Teams Of All Time" list.
- In 2020, CBR.com ranked the X-Men 1st in their "Marvel: 10 Most Powerful Teams" list.
- In 2021, CBR.com ranked the X-Men 2nd in their "Every Marvel Superhero Team" list and 2nd in their "Marvel: The 10 Strongest Superhero Teams" list.
- In 2022, Newsarama ranked the X-Men 3rd in their "Best superhero teams of all time" list.
See also
In Spanish: X-Men para niños
- List of Marvel Comics superhero debuts
- Doom Patrol, a similar team of super-powered misfits appearing in comics published by DC Comics.
- Harbingers/Psiots, another group of superpowered outcasts appearing in comics published by Valiant Comics.
