Original X-Men
[Appearance: X-Men #1 (1963) to Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975)]
In his early adulthood, telepath Charles Xavier encountered Amahl Farouk, an alias for the malevolent psychic entity Shadow King. After Charles defeated Farouk, he realized the danger posed by Farouk's kind and dedicated his life to opposing evil mutants. He met and befriended Magnus, secretly a mutant with magnetic powers. Though they became good friends, Xavier believed that mutants and humans can coexist peacefully while Magnus believed that mutants should use force to protect themselves from persecution. After they revealed their powers to each other, Magnus realized the differences in their opinions and departed. Later, Charles was rendered paraplegic at the hands of the alien Lucifer in the Himalayas and telepathically called out to a young mutant mercenary Tessa, who brought him to civilization to convalesce. Returning to America, Charles renewed friendship with ex-girlfriend Moira MacTaggert, and the two of them began to discuss founding a school for mutants to train them to use their powers.
While Charles continued his mutation studies, he was approached by Professor John Grey, a friend from Bard College, with his young daughter, whose telepathy powers manifested when her best friend, Anne Richardson, was hit by a car. Charles telepathically erected mental blocks in Jean's mind, allowing time for her powers to develop naturally. Jean became Xavier's first student. Charles soon met with FBI agent Fred Duncan, who was investigating the growing number of mutants. After Charles explained his plans for a school, Duncan provided leads on potential mutants. With these leads, and using a computerized mutant-tracking system of Xavier's design called Cyberno (later Cerebro), Xavier recruited four teenage mutants into his Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, housed in his familial mansion and estate in Salem Centre, approximately one hour from New York City. As Professor X, he began training the mutants as the team X-Men: optic-blasting Cyclops (Scott Summers); ice-manipulating Iceman (Bobby Drake); animal-like genius Beast (Hank McCoy); and the winged Angel (Warren Worthington). Jean Grey joined as Marvel Girl shortly after. Xavier also secretly recruited Tessa, sending her to infiltrate the Hellfire Club, a social club secretly ruled by a power-seeking mutant Inner Circle.
Xavier created the Danger Room, a mechanized training facility and put the X-Men through a rigorous training regime. The X-Men made their public debut when Magnus, now Magneto, tried to take over the Cape Citadel missile base in an attempt to turn its weaponry against humanity. Driving Magneto from the base, the X-Men were hailed as heroes. The X-Men went on to clash with other evil mutants such as the teleporting thief Vanisher and the obese Blob. They also fought Magneto again, now with his newly formed Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, including the illusion-casting Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), the leaping Toad (Mortimer Toynbee), and twins Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch (Pietro and Wanda Maximoff). They took over the South American nation Santo Marco, threatening to destroy it with a nuclear device. A conscience-stricken Quicksilver aided the X-Men, disarming the bomb and foiling Magneto's plans. The X-Men fought the Brotherhood several times. They also fought the force-field wielding Unus the Untouchable, encountered the heroic Avengers and befriended Ka-Zar (Kevin Plunder) during their first visit to Antarctica's hidden prehistoric Savage Land. The X-Men then fought Xavier's stepbrother, the mystically-empowered unstoppable Juggernaut. The mutant-hating Boliver Trask used his considerable fortune to create giant robot Sentinels that would capture mutants. He unveiled the Sentinels during a televised debate with Charles Xavier. However, the Sentinels concluded that the best method of protecting humanity was by ruling it, rebelling against Trask's control. After the Sentinels departed with Trask, the X-Men tracked them to their fortress, and Xavier disrupted the Sentinel's operating systems using a crystal that interfered with their transmissions. Trask sacrificed himself to destroy the Sentinel's power source, base and their leader, the Master Mold.
The X-Men son met Calvin Rankin, the Mimic, a local bully who could duplicate the abilities of anyone within his vicinity. Jean Grey graduated from Xavier's and enrolled in Metro College, remaining an X-Man. The Mimic fell under the control of the Pupper Master and attacked the X-Men, joining the team after the Pupper Master was defeated. The X-Men next faced the sonic screaming Irish mutant Banshee (Sean Cassidy), who was forced to work with would-be world conquerors Factor Three through a remote control explosive headband until the X-Men freed him. Mimic was soon dispelled from the X-Men for disobeying orders. After the machinations of the Mutant Master, Factor Three's leader, left Xavier comatose, Factor Three abducted him to Europe. The X-Men followed, and with the aid of Banshee, exposed Mutant Master as an alien, thwarting his plan to eliminate humans.
Xavier announced the X-Men's graduation from his school. Learning of a planned invasion by the alien Z'nox, Xavier recruited former Factor Three operative, the shapeshifting Changeling, to impersonate him while he began preparations for defence in isolation.He informed only Jean of his plans. When the Changeling, as Xavier, died fighting Grotesk, Fred Duncan ordered the X-Men to disband. While in San Francisco, Iceman encountered Lorna Dane, a latent mutant hypnotized by the mutant Mesmero. Mesmero activated Lorna's magnetic powers and hypnotized her into believing herself Magneto's daughter, unaware that this was true. During battles with Mesmero and a Magneto android, Lorna was convinced she was not Magneto's daughter, and sided with the X-Men. After the X-Men returned to the Xavier mansion, they attended the college graduation of Cyclops' younger brother Alex, who was soon kidnapped by professor Ahmet Abdol, who wanted to stop Alex's DNA from inhibiting his own ability to absorb and redirect cosmic energy. Unknown to both, the immortal Apocalypse (En Sabah Nur) and the evil geneticist Mr. Sinister (Nathaniel Essex) had tampered with their DNA years before, granting both the same destructive powers. During the subsequent battle between the X-Men and Abdol (now the Living Pharoah), Alex's own powers were unleashed. Fearing that he would endanger others, Alex fled from the X-Men.
Bolivar Trask's son, Larry, unknowingly a mutant, soon rebuilt the Sentinels. He sent them to capture mutants worldwide, including Lorna and Alex. When Larry's mutant nature was revealed, the Sentinels went rogue, enacting plans to kill all mutants. Cyclops stopped the Sentinels by telling them that they should stop mutants by targeting the primary source of mutations, the Sun. The Sentinels flew to the Sun and were destroyed. Trask's memories of his powers were erased. The X-Men next encountered Dr. Karl Lykos, a mutant vampire that fed on others' vitality. Upon feeding on Alex, Karl became the pterodactyl-like Sauron. The X-men then returned to the Savage Land to face Magneto and the Savage Land Mutates that he had empowered. They returned to America to encounter the Japanese flame wielding mutant Sunfire (Shiro Yoshida), and were joined by Lorna (Polaris) and Alex (Havok). After discovering Xavier alive, the team helped him in repelling the Z'nox invasion. Xavier was rendered comatose in the process until a device created by Bruce Banner (Hulk) revived him.
Unknown to Xavier, his immense psychic feat in repelling the Z'nox invasion linked his link to the alien Shi'ar princess Lilandra in another galaxy. Iceman left the team, resenting Xavier's deceptions. The rest of the team encountered Magneto in the Savage Land again. The team then encountered the African weather-manipulating mutant Ororo Munroe (later known as Storm), helping her defeat Deluge (Mzungu). Iceman rejoined the team in time to face the Brotherhood once more, then worked with the Fantastic Four in battling an alliance between Magneto and the prince of Atlantis, Namor.
Professor X (Charles Xavier)
Cyclops (Scott Summers)
Iceman (Bobby Drake)
Beast (Henry 'Hank' McCoy)
Angel (Warren Worthington III)
Marvel Girl (Jean Grey)
Late Additions
Mimic (Calvin Rankin)
[Joined in X-Men #27 (1966);
Left in X-Men #29 (1967)]
Changeling (Kevin Sydney)
[Active as Professor X in X-Men #40 (1968);
Died in X-Men #42 (1968)]
Polaris (Lorna Dane)
[Joined in X-Men #60 (1969)]
Havok (Alexander Summers)
[Joined in X-Men #65 (1970)]
| Issues | Team Roster |
|---|---|
| #1-59 (1963–1969) | Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, Jean Grey (as Marvel Girl) |
| #60-64 (1969–1970) | Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, Jean Grey, Polaris |
| #65-66 (1970) | Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Havok, Iceman, Jean Grey, Polaris |
| #67-93 (1970–1975) | The comic continued publication only as reprints of earlier stories. (Although the characters did make guest appearances in a number of other Marvel comics). |
| Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men, Vol. 1 | The X-Men #1-10 | May 2002 | 0-7851-0845-9 |
| Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men, Vol. 2 | The X-Men #11-21 | November 2003 | 0-7851-0983-8 |
| Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men, Vol. 3 | The X-Men #22-31 | September 2003 | 0-7851-1269-3 |
| Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men, Vol. 4 | The X-Men #32-42 | September 2004 | 0-7851-1607-9 |
| Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men, Vol. 5 | The X-Men #43-53; The Avengers (vol.1) #53; Ka-Zar#2-3; Marvel Tales #30 | July 2005 | 0-7851-1787-3 |
| Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men, Vol. 6 | The X-Men #54-66 | January 2006 | 0-7851-2056-4 |
Xavier Secret Team
[Appearance: X-Men: Deadly Genesis #4 (2006, flashback) to X-Men: Deadly Genesis #6 (2006, flashback)]
Formed prior to Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975)]
Xavier and MacTaggert began training a new group of students including the adaptable Darwin, earth-moving Petra, time-altering Sway and energy-manipulating Vulcan. After a training session between Cyclops and Vulcan, Xavier realized that they are brothers. Unknown to them, Vulcan was born after Cyclops' parents had been abducted by the Shi'ar years before. Xavier kept the identity of Vulcan secret. The Beast soon left the X-Men to pursue a career in genetics research.
Later, Xavier sent the X-Men to investigate a new mutant, which turned out to be the living island Krakoa, a rudimentary collective animal consciousness. After Krakoa captured the X-Men, Xavier recruited MacTaggert's students to rescue them. He telepathically provided months of training instantly and informed Vulcan of his relation to Cyclops. However, the mission turned into a disaster when the whole team was seemingly killed.
Vulcan (Gabriel Summers)
[Trapped in space]
Darwin (Amando Munoz)
[Trapped in space]
Petra (Petra Kristensen)
[Killed]
Sway (Suzanne Chan)
[Killed]
All-New, All-Different X-Men
[Appearance: Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975) to Uncanny X-Men #137 (1980)]
Using Cerebro, Xavier recruited mutants from around the world: the elf-like teleporter Nightcrawler; super strong and swift Native American Thunderbird; metal bodied Russian powerhouse Colossus; Banshee, Sunfire and Ororo Munroe, now known as Storm. He traveled to Canada to convince the animalistic Wolverine to quit his Canadian government position and join the X-Men. Wolverine tried to assassinate Xavier as per his mental programming by Romulus but Xavier was able to subdue and telepathically remove the programming from Wolverine's mind. The new team managed to rescue the original X-Men, after which they used their powers to hurl Krakoa into space. Unknown to them, Vulcan and Darwin had survived and laid in suspended animation in an island fragment now floating in orbit. Xavier erased Cyclops's memory of MacTaggert's students to protect him from the trauma.
Most of the original X-Men left, with only Cyclops remaining to help train the new recruits, minus Sunfire who resigned. The new team fought Count Luchino Nefaria and his Ani-Men, who had taken over the North American Air Defense (NORAD) at the Cheyenne Mountain. Thunderbird died in an explosion while trying to prevent Nefaria's escape. Later, Jean Grey, Banshee and Wolverine were kidnapped by Steven Lang's Sentinels and held captive in his orbital base. The X-Men rescued their members and defeated Lang. However, Jean Grey was exposed to massive radiation while piloting their damaged shuttle back to Earth, which seemingly transformed her into the far more powerful Phoenix. Unknown to all, the cosmic Phoenix Force was impersonating Jean to experience humanity, sending the real Jean to heal in suspended animation in New York's Jamaica Bay. The X-Men next faced Juggernaut and Banshee's cousin Black Tom Cassidy during a holiday trip to Banshee's home in Ireland, before fighting Magneto on MacTaggert's Muir Island facility off the coast of Scotland, freeing MacTaggert's son, the reality warping Kevin.
The Shi'ar princess Lilandra sought out Xavier via their psychic bond, requesting his aid against her mad brother and emperor, D'Ken. The X-Men traveled to the Shi'ar galaxy where they faced the super-powered Shi'ar Imperial Guard. The team successfully saved the universe by preventing D'Ken from using the ancient M'Krann crystal to unravel reality, after which D'Ken was rendered comatose by the crystal. Lilandra replaced him as Shi'ar ruler. The team returned to Earth to fight Magneto and were believed dead. A grief-stricken Xavier traveled to Shi'ar space to mourn. In actuality, the X-Men journeyed to the Savage Land, then Japan, where Banshee injured himself while saving Japan from Moses Magnum. On their way back to America, they were attacked by the Canadian superteam Alpha Flight, assigned to return Wolverine to Canadian service. Alpha Flight was unsuccessful but the two teams became allies. The X-Men went on to fight Kevin MacTaggert (Proteus) which ended with his seeming death at the hands of Colossus. The injured and powerless Banshee remained on Muir to recover and comfort Moira, whom he had a romantic interest in.
The X-Men were reunited with Xavier in America and were sent to investigate two new mutants, teenager Kitty Pryde, who can phase through solid matter, and light-manipulating singer, Dazzler. However, the Hellfire Club also tried to recruit them, clashing with the X-Men at both locations. Mastermind, the ex-Brotherhood member and now a Hellfire Club Inner Circle candidate, tried to seduce Phoenix using his illusions. He succeeded in bringing Phoenix into the Hellfire Club but it served to destabilized the Phoenix Force's sanity. Becoming the Dark Phoenix, it consumed a star, killing the D'bari star system's five billion inhabitants. Xavier telepathically helped Jean's will within the Dark Phoenix consciousness regain control. However, the Shi'ar empress Lilandra declared the Phoenix too dangerous to live. Xavier challenged the Shi'ar to a duel for Phoenix's life, pitting the X-Men against the Imperial Guard. During the duel, the Phoenix feared that her dark side would regain control, choosing to destroy its physical form, seemingly committing suicide. A grieving Cyclops left the team.
Professor X (Charles Xavier)
Cyclops (Scott Summers)
Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner)
Wolverine (James Howlett)
Banshee (Sean Cassidy)
[Left in X-Men #129 (1980)]
Storm (Ororo Munroe)
Sunfire (Shiro Yoshida)
[Left in X-Men #94 (1975)]
Colossus (Piotr Rasputin)
Thunderbird (James Proudstar)
[Killed in X-Men #95 (1975)]
Late Additions
Phoenix, impersonated Jean Grey
[Joined in X-Men #101 (1976);
Killed in Uncanny X-Men #137 (1980)]
| Issues | Team Roster |
|---|---|
| #94-95 (1975) | Banshee, Colossus, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Storm, Thunderbird, Wolverine |
| #96-128 (1975–1979) | Banshee, Colossus, Cyclops, Jean Grey (as Phoenix starting in #101), Nightcrawler, Storm, Wolverine |
| #129-138 (1980) | Colossus, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Jean Grey (as Phoenix), Storm, Wolverine |
| Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 1 | Giant-Size X-Men #1; Uncanny X-Men #94-100 | December 2003 | 0-7851-1192-1 |
| Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 2 | Uncanny X-Men #101-110 | December 2004 | 0-7851-1193-X |
| Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 3 | Uncanny X-Men #111-121 | March 2004 | 0-7851-1194-8 |
| Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 4 | Uncanny X-Men #122-131, Annual #3 | October 2004 | 0-7851-1630-3 |
| Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 5 | Uncanny X-Men #132-140, Annual #4; Phoenix: The Untold Story | January 2005 | 0-7851-1698-2 |
Continued in X-Men in the 80s
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