X-Men #1: 20 Years Later

In 1971 the X-Men were in trouble. Marvel had stopped producing new X-Men comics and from here until 1975 would only reprint earlier stories. The title still had a loyal following, but it was not nearly as popular as the Fantastic Four or the Avengers. In 1975, this would change with one issue that would spark a nearly a two decade long sequence of events that would culminate in an (Uncanny) X-Men spin-off becoming the highest selling comic book of all time. This happened exactly 20 years ago this October and to mark the occasion, I would like to look at the history of X-Men #1, how it came about, and how this comic book represents the pinnacle of the early 90s comic collectors boom, an important event in the history of comic book collecting.

(From X-Men #6, July 1964 reprinted in The Original X-Men, November 1980)

The X-Men were created in 1963 when Stan Lee wanted another superhero team for the Marvel line-up. Until then, the Fantastic Four (created by Lee and Jack Kirby to compete with DC’s Justice League of America) was selling well and Lee wanted to keep the magic going. The challenge soon became how to create a team of superheroes instantaneously. Marvel contemporaries such as Spider-Man, Hulk or the Fantastic Four had been given their powers by acts of science gone wrong, but this was getting trickier. Lee’s answer was beautiful in its simplicity: make these new heroes born with powers activated at puberty. Thus began the long story of mutants and their struggle with the blessings and curses of genetically gifted superpowers.

(From X-Men #6, July 1964 reprinted in The Original X-Men, November 1980)

But by the mid 70s things were not working. The original X-Men looked tired and while they appeared in new comics throughout the Marvel universe, their book consisted of reprints. Seeing an opportunity Roy Thomas, the new editor-in-chief, decided to reboot the title and tapped Len Wein and Dave Cockrum to create a special Giant-Size X-Men #1 to get the ball rolling. In the story, the original X-Men were in trouble and Professor Xavier needed a new team of mutants to help them. What resulted was the good professor travelling the world searching for mutants to join a new, multinational force that would eventually save the day. In one fell swoop, X-Fans were given new characters with distinctly international personalities. The book was a success and not only injected new blood into the X-Men franchise; it turned a story about American teens into a multinational force the whole world could enjoy.

But was it enough?

(Wolverine joins the X-Men in Giant-Size X-Men #1, reprinted in Marvel Milestone Edition: Giant Size X-Men, 1991. His first appearance was actually Hulk #180, October 1974.)

It was. X-Men #98 picked up after the Giant-Size and led to a resurgence of the title. From here X-Men and the mutants took Marvel by storm and soon became one of the company’s top books. Gifted creators such as Chris Claremont and John Byrne would lead the charge and in the late 70s and 80s gave us memorable characters like Alpha Flight, Mr. Sinister and the Phoenix. By the time the speculators boom of the late 80s and early 90s rolled around, the X-Men were a dominant force in Marvel’s arsenal.

(From Uncanny X-Men #221, September 1987)

Which brings us to October 1991. Having spun off X-Men with titles such as The New Mutants and X-Factor in the 1980s, Marvel decided to launch a second X-Men title simply called X-Men. The original had become Uncanny X-Men in the 1980s and retained its number continuity, so this adjective-free book would be an altogether new line starting at number one. It also appeared, not by coincidence, at a time when comic books were achieving a popularity in the English-speaking world unheard of since the Golden Age. In a strange ‘cross-over’ the children of the Baby-Boomers were starting to earn money in part-time jobs or weekly allowances at the same time their near middle-aged parents were looking back at their youth and wishing their mothers hadn’t thrown out their copies of Fantastic Four #1 and Amazing Fantasy #15. Efforts by competitors DC with events such as the Death of Superman and its subsequent media hype also contributed to a speculator boom that had heretofore never been seen.

(One cover of X-Men #1, October 1991)

(From X-Men #1, October 1991)

But that a boom inevitably busts in a truism. From Tulipmania in the 1630s, to the South Sea Bubble in the 1700s, to the recent Subprime Mortgage Crisis in the United States and beyond, there has always been people who make speculative purchases with the hope of getting rich. Of course, by the time most of them make the purchase, it is already too late and the bubble is about to burst under the weight of unwanted tulip bulbs, unless stocks or bad mortgages.

(From X-Men #1, October 1991)

And this is exactly what happened to comic book collecting in the mid 1990s. It was nowhere near as serious as the global recession causing Subprime Mortgage Crisis, but many of the same impulses that led to 8.1 million copies of X-Men #1 being sold, also led to the house-crazed hysteria of subprime mortgages and the subsequent economic downturn we live with today. Now a complete economic analysis of the boom this is beyond the scope of this piece, but a concise explanation of this behaviour can be given using the words of Scotsman Charles Mackay in his old but still lauded book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds Men. He writes: “Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one." And while it wasn’t madness that drove middle-aged men who hadn’t collected comic books since the 1960s to buy five copies of X-Men #1, Superman #75 or Spider-Man #1, it was none-the-less a bubble of the sort we have long seen in modern economics.

Which prompts me to ask: how many copies of X-Men #1 do you have? I’m sure anyone reading this blog has at least a couple. Personally, I have four. At that time, I was both an X-Men fan, but also a speculator who believed the hype around him. Okay, maybe I didn't believe it would one day finance my house, but I did believe it would be worth something someday. Silly me; today it can be bought for 1 US dollar.

But twenty years ago it sold in uncanny quantities and because of this deserves a hearty congratulations on its twentieth birthday. Thanks for all the memories, X-Men #1! Will not soon see the likes of you again!

Marvel Comics and Physical Disabilities

When reading Giant-Size Avengers #1 (2008) recently we were struck by a panel contained in the reprint of Avengers #58 (1968) regarding physical disabilities. The sentiment of this panel's dialogue – one where people with disabilities are treated with respect and dignity – was not completely foreign in the late 60s, but it was less commonplace then as it is now. This was due to the fact that disabled people were much less common then and would often not survive the war or illness that caused their disability in the first place. Consequently they are not available to dispel the ignorance surrounding them.

(From Marvel's Avengers #58, 1968 reprinted in Giant-Size Avengers #1, 2008)

This comic also got us thinking about how disabilities have been represented in Marvel Comics over the years. We would argue that from the earliest days of Marvel, the company has done a good job at working towards the universal acceptance of people with disabilities. This short piece will look at four such disabled Marvel characters and how their disability is such an important party of their personalities and superpowers.*

We begin with an instance where a physical disability offsets massive mental strength: Professor X. Charles Xavier, one of the most prominent Marvel characters, is also a paraplegic. Over the years we have seen him walk, but he is most often in a wheelchair. It has been interesting watching the evolution of his disability too. Looking at the earliest Lee and Kirby X-Men, for example, one sees his lower extremities covered by a blanket when they are seen at all. This may have been an attempt to censor it due to the ‘physical agony’ criteria of the Comic Code Authority, but it was also probably an attempt to hide the disability or portray it as it was commonly seen at the time – hidden. As the comic progressed, however, we see the disability became more normalized and the wheelchair, once that of an infirmed person, became more like an astronaut's or captain’s chair.

(From Marvel's Uncanny X-Men #6, 1964 reprinted in The Original X-Men #12, 1980)

(From Marvel's X-Men #1, 1991)

We would count Ben Grimm aka The Thing as another disabled Marvel character. Unlike Professor X, however, whose physical disability exists to offset power, the Thing’s powers are part of his disability. Ben Grimm has massive physical strength but it has also left him (in his mind) disfigured. And make no mistake -- ‘disfigurement’ is a disability. It has seriously limited Grimm’s ability to function and, as a person living in a world where people are judged by their physical attributes, this severely limits him. Also, Grimm, unlike his Fantastic Four colleagues Reed Richards, Sue and Johnny Storm, does not have the ability to revert to his original human form and because if this he doubts the truthfulness of those who romantically love him. It was also a challenge for Reed Richards, the leader of the original space expedition, who feels guilty about causing this state of affairs.

(From Marvel's Fantastic Four #111, 1971)

(From Marvel's Fantastic Four #66, 1967)

Matt Murdock aka Daredevil, is another character whose disability is part of his power. As a young boy, Matt Murdock lived in the Hell’s Kitchen neighbourhood of New York where his father was a boxer. One day, while helping someone, he was blinded by acid that fell of a truck and this acid had a two-pronged effect: robbing him of his sight, but increasing the power of his other four senses. This, along with his natural dexterity, allowed him to become the ‘Man Without Fear’. Yet throughout the comics, Matt Murdock the vision-impared lawyer is seen not just as a brilliant jurist, but also a hero who uses his disability, along with this strength and intelligence, to bring criminals to justice.

(From Marvel's Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #1, 1993)

Finally, we look at The Vision and the above mentioned statement by Hank Pym. This is especially poignant because it matches a very interesting event in American history: the Vietnam war. In Avengers #58 we learn that The Vision was a man who had been made mechanical by the villain Ultron. Despite this, he has retained his soul and the essence of his humanity. Dr. Pym's statement and this assertion of his humanity -- while directed at The Vision was not intended for him alone.

And this was due to Vietnam. Wars and the return of soldiers have long created the need for improved limb replacements. This started on a large scale with the American Civil War, one of the first industrial-age wars and with each passing war, prosthetics improved for the returning soldiers. It was the Vietnam War however, with an increased survival rate for vets, new technologies, compounded with improved medicine and increased survival rates for other limb threatening illnesses (such as cancer) led to a growth in the demand of prosthetic limbs. One can only think that Pym is sending a message to every returning vet that he is just as much a man now as he was when he left. Have a look:

(From Marvel's Avengers #58, 1968 reprinted in Giant-Size Avengers #1, 2008)

For this Marvel deserves the thanks of disabled people everywhere. Superpowers have long been held as both a gift and curse in the Marvel Universe and by normalizing physical disabilities, Marvel did its small part to make the world more accepting of them.

(From Marvel's The 'Nam #10, 1987)

* It is not an exhaustive list and please feel free to add to this list in the comment section.