X-Men Issue 1

I can't tell you how excited that I am to actually be undertaking this project.  The X-Men have been my favorite Marvel super team for almost thirty years now!  Though I have loved everything I have read from the 90s to current, I never really sat down and dedicated myself to finding these older issues to pour through.

I feel that this is because when I was a kid I had a reprint of X-Men #1, and I remember reading through it feeling that the art was sub par, and the story was weak and flat.  Looking back, I was almost spoiled by the amazing art of Jim Lee from his run with Claremont, and I felt that between those comics and the X-Men cartoon, this was just too "out of date" for me.

Honestly, that's probably how younger kids look at me now when I talk about movies I loved from the 80s.  Or when they stand back and gasp when I show them a black and white movie.

Anyway - on to issue 1!

The first spectacular issue of the X-Men is famous for so many reasons, but the artist and the writer are two of the most prolific men in Marvel comics history!  

That's right!  This issue was written by the one and only Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby!  Their efforts, aided by Paul Reinman's inking and S. Rosen's lettering, really changed the face of modern comics as we know it!

Aside from having some monumental people working on this book - we can't forget about some other important people involved in this issue...the X-Men themselves!  This team of fearless heroes is about to embark on their first ever mission against a nefarious threat!  So, who will comprise this team of homo superiors?

Charles Xavier (Professor X) - the leader of the X-Men and the founder of the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters.  He is a gifted telepath (he believes he is one of the first mutants ever) who is aiming to train a team to protect the world from evil mutant threats.  He was paralyzed in an accident when he was a child.

Slim Summers (Human Cyclops) -  he has energy beams which emit from his eyes.  He wears a visor which he can open and close to adjust the intensity of said energy beam.  He acts as a stern captain of the X-Men, keeping the other members of the team in line.

Hank McCoy (The Beast) - he is all man, with many attributes of ape.  He is strong and agile, and he knows how to use it to his advantage...he's also a huge flirt with pretty girls.

Warren Worthington the Third (Angel) - if you couldn't tell from the name, Warren is wealthy.  His power is flight by two large wings on his back, which he conceals when not in costume by several large straps which keep his wings pressed against his body.

Bobby Drake (Iceman) - he is the youngest of the X-Men, only sixteen years old, but he is determined to be challenged just as toughly as the rest of the team.  Bobby has an unusual sense of humor, and definitely knows how to lighten any serious situation.  His body can turn into snow, and he can freeze anything that comes his way.

Jean Grey (Marvel Girl) - just like Professor X, Jean has the power of telekinesis.  She is the newest addition to Professor X's team, and she's ready to show the rest of the team what she is made of!  Jean joined the school by receiving a telepathic message from Professor X.  All the X-Men have a crush on her, especially Hank McCoy.

In this issue the X-Men will be encountering their very first evil mutant, the master of magnetism himself!

Magneto - he is hellbent on proving to the puny homo sapiens that the mutant race, or homo superiors, should be in charge...and he will stop at nothing to gain control.  Magneto uses his ability to control magnetism to manipulate metal objects, create force fields around himself, and even fly.

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Professor X is running the X-Men through a very intense training when the newest member of the team arrives suddenly.  As the boys stare out the window, they are surprised and excited to learn that their newest member is a girl!

Jean Grey, aka Marvel Girl, received a telepathic message from Professor X to tell nobody but her parents that she was coming to the school.  Now, if something like that happened to me, you'd better believe that I would have to give my parents a hell of a better explanation than that before they would allow me leave...but I guess times were different back then, and if you heard magic voices you'd better listen!

After Jean meets the team, who fawns over her (especially Hank), Professor X calls the team into action!  The professor heard a concerning bulletin on the radio which requires the attention of the X-Men.

As the X-Men depart, we turn our attention to the chaos unfolding on Cape Citadel by the evil mutant Magneto.

Magneto is finally acting on the first stage of his plan for total mutant rule of the Earth.  Using his magnetic powers, Magneto takes control of a rocket that is being launched from Cape Citadel, and crashes it into the ocean.  He then leaves a warning, via skywriting, with perfect calligraphy.

Now that the humans have been made aware of his presence, Magneto amplifies his powers by directing them into an energizer (c'mon it's science right?) and launches a missile concealed within a secret silo.

  

Now that the base is on edge, Magneto makes his move.   He walks through the front gate of the base, using his powers to repel and subdue the guards and the base's general.  The base is now in his control.

However, Magneto's success will be very short lived.

The X-Men, first transported via Rolls Royce, then flown to Cape Citadel in a plane piloted by Professor X via mind control, arrive on the scene.  Cyclops blasts through Magneto's force field with his optic blast, catching Magneto off guard and stunning him.

Magneto is only stunned for a moment though - and he retaliates against the X-Men by launching missiles at them.

As the X-Men evade the missiles with ease, Magnetos sees he has been thwarted by this superhuman team, he uses magnetic repulsion to fly off and escape, leaving the X-Men victorious.

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I have to say - this was a really interesting read.  This first issue wasn't interesting because of how iconic the X-Men are, and all of it's action packed panels, but instead it was really interesting to see just how different things were in 1963 compared to today.

One thing that I really enjoyed with the X-Men is that, just like all Marvel comics, this is set in the real world and it's been assumed that we believe that these "homo superiors" actually exist.  Also, there is no "origin" story so to speak.  I think that a lot of movie studios could take lessons from this first issue.

Being dropped into this knowledge definitely leaves with questions that I want clarified (I'm almost trying to read this how I would play an RPG, player knowledge versus character knowledge.  I have a lot of X-Men knowledge, but I want to challenge myself based off questions that I have from the context of the issue.).  For example - where the heck did Charles Xavier get all this money where he can afford to own this gigantic mansion, own a Rolls Royce, as well as have a private jet?  He mentioned that he could implant ideas and suggestions into people's mind.  Perhaps this is one way Professor X acquired his wealth when he was younger?  

Also - Professor X was in an accident when he was a child which left his paralyzed.  He also mentions that his parents worked on the first A-bomb project.  Could this accident be something related to this A-bomb project gone wrong?  Could this be not only how he became paralyzed, but also how he gained his powers?

I know Marvel likes to give something great, but at the same time take something critically important to a character away.  Hmm - there's a lot to ponder here.  Professor X might just have a backstory that would be very interesting to read about.

Something that really stuck out to me while I was reading this issue was the way that the male characters spoke about the female characters...sometimes while they were in the room.  This stuck out to me because if men spoke about women this way today, we would probably be slapped across the face, or worse, slapped with a sexual harassment lawsuit.

The men quickly assumed the Jean Grey was weak, and quickly kept all their conversation about her being "pretty".  Hank McCoy was the most frequent offender of this type of dialogue, which makes me seriously bring his character into question.

However - I have to remember that in 1963 when this first issue was published, this type of behavior, while not right, was commonplace.  Here are some that were a little cringe worthy.

Don't worry, Hank get's his just desserts in the end.

Aside from the interesting interaction between characters which can be seen today as a little unusual and mildly offensive, the main motive behind the villain Magneto was actually rooted in some deep seeded fears of Americans I think.

This first issue was published in 1963.  Just a year before this comic book's release, America entered into the Cuban Missile Crisis.  For those who don't know, the Cuban Missile Crisis was a thirteen day confrontation between the USA and Russia concerning American ballistic deployment in Turkey and Italy, with a consequent Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba.  This was the closest that the Cold War ever came to escalating to a full scale nuclear war.

I love this.  I absolutely love this.  This issue, with this plot, shows Stan Lee's writing coming full to the table.  Stan was always good at not only telling a great story, but also by teaching lessons within those stories.  This direct allegory to the Cuban Missile Crisis really plays to very real fears that the American people had at this time.  It kept readers engaged, but at the same time, also showed that there will always be heroes to help where there is a need.  People will stand up and fight for what is right.

I feel that this can also be conveyed with America's current political climate at the moment.  Donald Trump being elected POTUS has scared many people, as well as many other countries.  The threat of full out nuclear war is just as real today as it was in 1962.

Let's just hope that we will have the X-Men to come to our aide as well!

Overall - while this issue is very unconventional compared to today's comic books, I really enjoyed reading this.  I learned some new things about the X-Men that I had never known before (like how Cyclops was really named Slim, and how Professor X only spoke to the team when it was very important), as well as got to see a small snippet into how different genders were looked at in the 1960s.  I also saw how politically driven these comic books were at the time, and played against people's real fears due to world events.