XMEN A Comic Book Biography CREATION AND BASICS

X-MEN A Comic Book Biography

CREATION AND BASICS The X-Men #1 (Sept. 1963).

The X-Men are a fictional team of superheroes that appears in Marvel comic books. The X-Men were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, began to be published in 1963. They are among Marvel Comics' most popular creations, and can be found in many formats (movies, comics, shows, games, toys, etc. ). CREATION

The X-Men are "mutants": humans born with superhuman abilities. They fight to keep the peace between normal humans and mutants in a world where antimutant bigotry is widespread. The X-Men are also famous for their frequent encounters with their archenemies Magneto, the Brotherhood of Mutants, the mutant exterminating Sentinels, Mister Sinister, Apocalypse and the Hellfire Club.

ARCHENEMIES

Magneto – Originally named Max Eisenhardt, is a German Jewish man whose family fled to Poland in WWII where his family was executed and Max survived due to his powers but was sent to the Nazi’s Auschwitz concentration camp. There he met Magda, fell in love, and the two escaped. Magda and Max had three kids together: Anya, and twins Pietro and Wanda, who later became Quicksilver and Red Witch. His wife left him and later died. To hide from some problems that his powers caused, Max became “Erik” and eventually met Charles Xavier. The two became friends however over time they learned that their views were incompatible and their friendship suffered.

The Brotherhood was founded by Magneto, and battled the X-Men in the 1960’s but soon after disbanded. In 1981, the Brotherhood was revived under the leadership of Mystique and later by Toad. With each additional incarnation, the group abandoned its political ideology and regressed to the status of "hired goons. " Since the end of the 1990 s, several incarnations have sought to return to the political roots.

Sentinels are designed to hunt mutants. While many are capable of tactical thought, only a handful are self-aware. Sentinels are technologically advanced. They are armed (primarily with energy weapons and restraining devices), capable of flight, and can detect mutants at long range. They possess vast physical strength, and their bodies are highly resistant to damage. Some are able to alter their physical forms or reassemble and reactivate themselves after they have been destroyed.

Mister Sinister's (Nathaniel Essex) is a scientist from the 19 th century obsessed with evolution who made a pact with the ancient mutant Apocalypse to become a virtually immortal being. Mister Sinister created Cyclops' son Nathan (who became the timetraveling soldier Cable) to destroy Apocalypse.

Apocalypse was born 5000 years ago in Akkaba. He is born with the mutant X-gene, possibly the first living being on Earth to possess the gene, and a side-effect of this gives him gray skin and blue lips. Because of this, his people abandon him as an infant. A time-traveler, knowing who he is fated to become and where he is, sends an army to destroy the young Apocalypse. Vowing revenge, Apocalypse enters the time traveler’s city posing as a slave and draws the romantic attention of a woman named Nephri. On seeing the mutant's true appearance, Nephri rejects him and turns to her brother for protection. Heartbroken by this final rejection, he is enraged which causes his mutant abilities to fully emerge. Rampaging, he officially names himself Apocalypse. As the years go on, Apocalypse finds he no longer ages.

The Hellfire Club is a fictional society within the Marvel Comics Universe that often comes into confrontation with the mutant superhero team, the X-Men. Although the Club appears to merely be an international social club for wealthy elites, its clandestine Inner Circle seeks to influence world events, in accordance with their own agenda. The Hellfire Club and its Inner Circle were introduced in "The Dark Phoenix Saga", attempting to subvert the X-Men's Jean Grey. [2] This incarnation, composed most notably of Black King Sebastian Shaw and White Queen Emma Frost, would remain prominent for many years. After their initial confrontations, the Hellfire Club and the X-Men settled into an uneasy alliance.

Mystique, an X-men super villain, is of unknown age. Mystique is Nightcrawler’s mother, and the adoptive mother of Rogue. Mystique can assume the shape of other humans and animals.

ENEMIES TURNED GOOD GUYS

Quicksilver, Magneto’s son, is a villain turned good who ends up becoming an Avenger. He has super-human speed.

Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver’s twin sister, has the ability to alter reality. She often is seen working with the Avengers.

Rogue, an orphan, has the ability to absorb the life force and powers of others. Rogue often sees her abilities as a curse. Mystique adopts Rogue in her youth and raises her to be a villain for the Brotherhood of Mutants. Rogue later turns to Professor X for help with her powers.

THE X-MEN (just some of the many)

Charles Xavier (Professor X) is the founder of the X-men and a private school for mutants. He fights for peace and equality between humans and mutants and has superhuman telepathic abilities. He is highly intelligent, and comes from a wealthy family.

Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, grew up in Anchorage, Alaska until his parents were killed, while in a plane, in an attack by an alien spaceship. His parents were able to save Scott and his younger brother by fastening them into a parachute and pushing them out of the plane before dying. Cyclops leads the X-men in much of the comics, and also becomes romantically connected to Jean Grey. Cyclops’ power is optic blasts and he always worries that they will hurt his loved ones.

Jean Grey-Summers has telepathic and telekinetic powers. She is probably the most powerful of all the X-men. She is married to Cyclops, has been romantically linked to Wolverine, and has 4 children (Rachel Summers, X-man, Cable, and Stryfe).

Beast (Henry/Hank Mc. Coy) was exposed to radiation and was mutated. He has a vast intellect.

Angel (and later Archangel) is from a powerful and wealthy family. He is often labeled as a stereotypical wealthy and snobby playboy, but is actually kind. Unfortunately his wings are mutilated in an attack and Apocalypse offers him a deal in return for becoming the Horseman of Death. Various comic series have taken Angel back and forth from good to bad, dead to alive.

Iceman (Bobby Drake) is another powerful member of the X-men. Scott Summers is the one that helped introduce Iceman to the Xmen team after he was attacked by an angry mob after using his powers.

Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner) raised in Germany, is actually the son of Mystique. Nightcrawler is able to selftransport.

Storm (Ororo Munroe)is the daughter of a Kenyan princess and an American dad. After the family moved from New York to Egypt, Storm is orphaned and spent years on the streets of Cairo before becoming an Xmen.

Wolverine (Logan) was originally born James Howlett in Canada in the 1880’s. Logan spent some time growing up with wolves, after leaving his home after an incident. Logan later fought in WWI, settled in Japan, marries, and later fights in WWII where he met up with Captain America. Wolverine is able to regenerate/heal and has powerful knifelike retractable claws.

Kitty Pride (Katherine) is a mutant that is able to phase allowing her to pass through objects and levitate. Pride goes by Shadowcat in most of the series. Pride was the youngest person to join the team.

IMPORTANT TOPICS IN THE X-MEN SERIES

The conflict between mutants and normal humans is often compared to real-world conflicts experienced by minority groups in America such as African Americans, Jews, various religious (or "non-religious") groups, Communists, the LGBT community, etc. "The X-Men are hated, feared and despised collectively by humanity for no other reason that they are mutants. So what we have here, intended or not, is a book that is about racism, bigotry and prejudice. " —Uncanny X-Men writer Chris Claremont, 1981 CONFLICT

Jewish Hindu (Magneto, Shadowcat, and others) (Thunderbird) Nigerian (Oya) African and African American (Storm) Muslim Vietnamese and Catholic Native American (Danielle Moonstar) Russian (Colossus) (Karma) (Dust) Catholic (Nightcrawler) Irish (Siryn) British DIVERSITY – SOME EXAMPLES OF THE VARIETY OF DIVERSE RELIGIONS, CULTURES, AND RACES ARE INCORPORATED Cajun Israeli (Legion) (Gambit) (Psylocke)

The mutants in the X-Men comics have been portrayed as victims of racism, encountering mob violence, lynchings, hate groups (Sentinels, Friends of Humanity, etc. ), losing civil rights, and even segregation, as seen in the fictional island nation of Genosha. RACISM

Magneto, a Holocaust survivor sees the situation for mutants as much like that in Nazi Germany in WWII. In slave labor camps on Genosha, numbers are even burned into mutants’ foreheads to keep track of them. ANTI-SEMITISM

Religion is portrayed in both a positive and negative light in the X-Men. The comics have explored religious fundamentalism through anti -mutant groups, but also religion is central to the lives of some X-Men, to include Nightcrawler (Catholic) and Dust (Muslim). RELIGION

Sometimes in the efforts to ban communism, the X -Men have encountered the “Red Scare” as senators propose such anti-mutant acts such as the Mutant Registration Act which references a true historical event in which Senator Joseph Mc. Carthy created a list of Communist Party USA members who were working for the government in the late 1940’s to early 1950’s. RED SCARE AND COMMUNISM

Some actual LGBT issues are deeply rooted in the X-Men while others are more mimicking the troubles that the LGBT community has faced over the years. 1 st, the Comics Code Authority and Marvel policy prohibited the explicit portrayal of gay or bisexual characters. Mystique, a mutant super villain, has a long-term relationship with Destiny, another mutant, in the series, but for years (until the 1990’s), this information was not allowed to be portrayed in the comic stories. 2 nd – There are many similarities between the struggles of an emerging mutant and the struggles of a member of the LGBT community, especially during puberty. Many parallels exist including being closeted, concealing the truth, and also transgender or other gender issues, to include shape changers who can change gender at will, some of which have had children in different gender roles because of their shape shifting abilities. LGBT THEMES