Also discarded were Scott Summers’ ‘Slim’ nickname, Professor X’s remote-steering the team’s plane by telepathy, and his stalker-crush on Jean. An officially-sanctioned X-Men, after all, would hardly be “hated and feared” with FBI liaison Fred Duncan in situ. There’s the danger room for training sessions and the the Coffee-A-Go-Go (with Bernard the Beat Poet!) for relaxation, and Ka-Zar, Lord of the Savage Land revived from Marvel’s 1940s incarnation.Īspects that didn’t work were quickly jettisoned. The Vanisher the Blob Mastermind, the Toad, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver banded together as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants Unus the Untouchable. Many characters and concepts that were to become long-term components of the series originate here.

By mid-volume, the Beast’s roughneck patois is abandoned, eventually developing into the polysyllabic punditry we all loved, and he and Iceman are established as close friends. The Beast initially had a brawler’s dialect reminiscent of the Thing, and early byplay between him and Iceman was too like the Ben/Johnny relationship in FF. In their premier engagement the fledgling X-Men – particularly Marvel Girl, lacking any training – acquit themselves with distinction, thwarting Magneto’s plan.Īfter the first few issues, conscious efforts were made to downplay the more obvious Fantastic Four similarities.

We also meet Magneto, Xavier’s opposite number, whose goal is to rule, rather than protect, humanity.

Their paraplegic telepathic mentor, Professor Charles Xavier, summons them to greet a new pupil, Jean Grey (Marvel Girl), completing the initial roster. Lee’s introduction asserts that X-Men was originally going to be entitled The Mutants – a move vetoed by the publisher, who claimed no-one would know what a mutant was! Hence the name X-Men – representing an “X-Tra Power”.Īt school in Westchester, New York, we meet the student body – Scott Summers (Cyclops), Warren Worthington III (Angel), Hank McCoy (Beast) and Bobby Drake (Iceman). Following the success of the Fantastic Four, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby tried to clone their hit with the X-Men, teenagers with the common bond of mutation – humans born with extraordinary powers owing to prenatal environmental influences.

The uncanny x men masterworks stan lee