X-MEN Appreciation 2019!

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The X-Men, I did the natural thing there. What would you do with mutants who were just plain boys and girls and certainly not dangerous? You school them. You develop their skills. So I gave them a teacher, Professor X. Of course, it was the natural thing to do, instead of disorienting or alienating people who were different from us, I made the X-Men part of the human race, which they were. Possibly, radiation, if it is beneficial, may create mutants that’ll save us instead of doing us harm. I felt that if we train the mutants our way, they’ll help us - and not only help us, but achieve a measure of growth in their own sense. And so, we could all live together.

Jack Kirby, "Conversations With The Comic Book Creators", Leonard Pitts, 1987, published in Kirby Effect: The Journal of the Kirby Museum, 6 August 2012.

Love 'King' Kirby's answer regarding the creation of the X-Men

[baltiroo]

This is so lame. They should have included core characters like Angel, Havok.

This was a commission and the characters were chosen specifically by the person commissioning the artist.

[baltiroo]

Ive never seen these, when were they made? anyone have bigger versions, especially the one with the guys?

This was a commission by Luciano Vecchio.

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Uncanny X-Men #243 Apr 1989
Inferno: Part 6 of 7 - "Ashes!" Guest-starring X-Factor.
Story continued from X-Factor #38...

On top of the Empire State Building, the X-Men mourn for Madelyne Pryor and talk about everything that happened during Inferno.
Suddenly Jean Grey cries out. She forms a telekinetic bubble around herself and lets nobody in.
Psylocke uses her telepathy to bring herself, Cyclops, Storm, and Wolverine inside Jean's mind.
There they are at the Blue Area of the moon and witness the last instants before Phoenix sacrificed herself.
She perishes shouting Scott's name. The X-Men see that her energy does not dissipate, but rises towards earth.
Cyclops wonders how Jean knows of these events since she is in suspended animation at Jamaica Bay at the time.
Suddenly a large fist appears and smashes the memory. It is Sinister.
Psylocke tells the others that if he destroys all memories, Jean's soul and mind will be completely obliterated.
The X-Men float through more shards of memories, which are clearly Madelyne's.
In the center, they find Jean's memories loosely assembled around an image of the mansion, which is guarded by a redheaded figure.
As the X-Men approach she looks like the Goblin Queen and fires a blast. She then turns into Jean as Marvel Girl and asks for forgiveness.
Betsy understands that Jean's condition is a result of trying to integrate two powerful individual psyches.
Storm suggests to bring Rogue into the mindscape too, since she faces a similar effect each time she uses her powers,
but Psylocke discovers that an outside force blocks her from going outside of Jean's mind.
A huge image of Sinister appears and he destroys another memory shard.
The X-Men try to fight him, but physical powers are useless.

Only Betsy's telepathy stands a chance and she succeeds in building a barrier, keeping Sinister at bay.
The others try to talk some sense into Madelyne's personality, who gained the upper hand again.
Both Scott and Logan fail. She refuses to help and is glad that the X-Men might die along with her.
Storm realizes that this isn't Madelyne at all, it is Jean who is about to give up;
she was terrified about the Phoenix force's offer and denied it with her every being.
The results were Dark Phoenix and the Goblyn Queen. Maybe it would be better if things ended right now.
Psylocke's shield breaks and Sinister gets through again. He heard the last part of Jean's fears and offers
her to break the terrible cycle by stripping her of memories and identity that have caused nothing but pain.
Madelyne refuses. She changes into Dark Phoenix, then into Jean and tells him that this is
her mind, her soul, her life and she means to keep them herself and she blocks Sinister out.

In Xavier's mansion, which he uses as a hideout, Sinister tells Malice to alert the others, since the X-Men are on their way.
Jean learned of his location during their final battle for her mind. The X-Men and X-Factor have split up into smaller teams.
The first, consisting of Jean, Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine and Archangel enter the mansion through Storm's former attic.
Psylocke and Rogue use the hangar bay as their way in.
Meanwhile Beast and Longshot brought Mr. And Mrs. Grey and baby Christopher to the X-Factor ship.
They argue which one stays behind to guard the Greys and who may go to help to fight Sinister.
The remaining mutants, Colossus, Iceman, Havok and Dazzler, approach the mansion through the Morlock tunnels beneath the Xavier estate.
They cover forty miles without a problem, but right before the mansion, they run into a demon-transformed Blockbuster.
He is faster and stronger than they remember and knocks Colossus and Iceman out before they can do anything.
In the narrow tunnels, Dazzler shoots a full force laser beam, but she has no effect.
Blockbuster grabs her, but suddenly Havok unleashes a plasma beam and kills him. Alison wonders,
because he was always afraid of doing that. Alex replies that Inferno changed him.
In the hangar bay Sabretooth sneaks up on Betsy and slams her into the ground.
He wants to rip her throat, but Psylocke reaches into his animalistic mind and stops him in mid-air and fries his mind.
Upstairs in the mansion, the first group discovers that Sinister has searched
through everything, personal and private rooms, even the Professor's office.
While they are most distracted Malice strikes and hurls metallic debris around

and Jean and Ororo quickly defeat her.

The X-Men gather in the main room and start to interrogate Polaris/Malice, who is held in one of Jean's telekinetic fields.
She refuses to reveal any information about Sinister. Storm orders Psylocke to mind-probe her and then try to separate the two women,
but Malice says that would surely kill her because the bonding is permanent.
She turns to Havok, claiming that she still loves him, and Alex asks her to prove it by giving them the needed information.
The mansion explodes, all lie around unconscious. The only one who is unhurt is Malice.
Ironically the field that held her shielded her from the impact.
Sinister comes out of hiding and pulls Jean from the debris, now he has the original to tamper with
and he orders Malice to kill the other members of the X-Men and X-Factor as Longshot arrives on the scene to stop them.

Story by Chris Claremont. Art by Marc Silvestri and Hilary Barta.

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X-Factor #39 Apr 1989
Inferno! Guest-starring the X-Men. Part 7 of 7 - "Ashes to Ashes!"
Continued from Uncanny X-Men #243...

Mr. Sinister and the Malice controlled Polaris stand in the ruins of the X-Mansion.
The members of the X-Men and X-Factor defeated and Marvel Girl his captive.
The only person standing in their way is Longshot, who despite his doubts, is able to create
a distraction with his luck powers long enough for the Beast to recover and try to fight back.
This in turn allows Cyclops to revive. Scott easily defeats Polaris and tries to turn his powers against Sinister.
However Sinister has some form of control over him. When Rogue and Psylock revive
and attempt to fight Mr. Sinister, Betsy's mental attack is fended off,
and when Rogue attempts to absorb his mind and powers, Sinister actually takes full control of her body.

During this brief possession, Cyclops sees Sinister standing over him and recalls a lost memory from his youth,
where Mr. Sinister experimented on him as a young body. As Polaris tricks Havok into "helping" her only to bind him,
Sinister explains that he had been manipulating Cyclops from the start. That he was in charge at the orphanage
and stifled Scott's early powers and implanted false memories. As Havok is binded in metal by Polaris,
he warns her that Inferno has changed him and that he is no longer afraid of using his powers.
Sinister explains that he also attempted to manipulate Jean Grey knowing that their combined DNA would create the ultimate mutant.
However when Jean had seemingly died, he instead cloned Madelyne from Jean's DNA in order to fullfill this purpose.
As Scott struggles to free himself, Colossus attempts to attack and is similarly held at bay by Polaris.

As Mr. Sinister continues to explain how he manipulated Scott at a young age, Psylocke establishes a psylink between
the scattered members of the X-Men and X-Factor, and they begin to formulate a counter attack plan.
They note that Sinister appears to be keeping Scott under his power, as though he is afraid of Scott's powers,

and figure that might be the key to defeating Mr. Sinister. Havok tells the others to let him deal with Scott and they launch their attack.
As the X-Men pile on Mr. Sinister, Storm uses her wind powers to sweep up Marvel Girl and uses rain to revive her
as the others continue to pound Mr. Sinister with their mutant abilities -- however none seem to have an effect.

As the X-Men fight on, Sabretooth comes out of the rubble of the X-Mansion
prompting Wolverine to deal with him by impaling his rival with his claws.
Havok goes to his brother and while taunting him for being weak begins to bombard Scott
with his atomic energy powers, charging Scott up with a massive amount of energy.
Sinister manages to collect Marvel Girl back and begins kissing her, the final thing to push Scott over the edge.
When the Beast pulls Marvel Girl to safety, Scott breaks through the mental barriers
and manages to blast Sinister with a full power optic blast, seemingly destroying his enemy.

In the aftermath of the battle, Alex reports that Polaris escaped and he and Scott make amends.

With the battle over, the X-Men depart from X-Factors company, telling Scott that they will
continue to fight Xavier's dreams in their own way and the two groups part as friends.

Left in the rubble of Xavier's school Scott once more reflects on how he let his dead wife down so badly.
However they all agree that they managed to save young Christopher and they will be committed to raising him together.

Story by Louise Simonson. Art by Walter Simonson and Al Milgrom.

[Mike]

My favorite X-Artist:
John Byrne
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Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1 May 1984
"The War Begins!"
After having entered a mysterious construct that appeared in Central Park in their own respective magazines
(see Amazing Spider-Man #251, Uncanny X-Men #180, Iron Man #181, Incredible Hulk #294,
Thing #10, Thor #341, Avengers #242, Captain America #292, and Fantastic Four #295),
many of Earth's heroes are instantaneously gathered together in a giant construct in space.
The heroes are Captain America, Thor, Captain Marvel, Hawkeye, Iron Man, She-Hulk, Wasp, the Fantastic Four (minus Invisible Woman),
Colossus, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Professor X, Rogue, Storm, Wolverine, Lockheed, Magneto, Spider-Man and Hulk.
They are unsure as to what or who had brought them to this place.
They introduce themselves to each other. They then realize they are not alone.
Across the way another construct appears housing the villains of Earth, according to Professor X's mental probings.
One thing the heroes do not understand, however, is why Magneto appeared in their construct and not the villains'.

In the other construct, the villains are just as confused as the heroes. After the villains introduce themselves to one another,
both ships are hurtled through space to watch a galaxy be destroyed and a new planet be created.
This causes both parties to realize that a very powerful being has summoned them all.
The villains begin to bicker with each other and a fight breaks out.
Ultron tries to destroy them all but is knocked into Galactus.
The villains are all amazed when Galactus simply drains the energy from Ultron,
then goes back to staring at the stars as if everyone is beneath him.

Suddenly, a bright light appears in space and a voice announces who has summoned them all: the Beyonder.
He tells them that he can do anything imaginable and then orders them to battle each other,
promising the winning side will receive whatever they want. Galactus refuses to obey the voice
and tries to fly towards the light to force the Beyonder to give him the power to remove his eternal hunger for planetary energy.
Doctor Doom follows Galactus and, when they get close enough, the light diminishes and they are thrown back.
The constructs are then sent to the newly-constructed planet and the two groups of fighters placed on the planet.
The heroes again question why Magneto is on their side,

and begin fighting over if they should defeat him or try to use his help.
Magneto, however, feels that he is "above" most of the heroes, and uses his magnetism to fly away.
The heroes then decide Captain America to be the leader of their group.

Meanwhile, Galactus and Doctor Doom are seen on the planet surface as well after being blasted back by the powerful light.
Galactus is unconscious as Doctor Doom returns to the rest of the villains and tries to convince
them to help him steal the Beyonder's powers instead of going along with the Beyonder's game.
The villains think Doom is simply afraid of playing the Beyonder's game after being shot back by the light,
and Doom is disgusted at their simple minds and takes off in a vehicle to seek out counsel with Mister Fantastic.
Kang uses the grounded construct's weapons and shoots down Doom's vehicle.
The heroes see it go down and move to investigate.

Finding Doctor Doom lying in the rubble, Captain America tries to help him to his feet.

Doom is unable to tolerate the heroes' pity and he attacks them in frustration, before fleeing.
Iron Man warns the heroes they are about to be attacked and the villains unleash the first assault on the final page.

Story by Jim Shooter. Art by Mike Zeck and John Beatty.

[Retcon]

Gotta cover Xtinction Agenda and Xcutioners Song.

[Tycon]

[Devaishwarya]

INFERNO is awesome! Loved the Outback team.

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Uncanny X-Men #181 May 1984
"Tokyo Story!"
Story follows the events of Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #12...

Professor X, Wolverine, Colossus, Rogue, Storm and Lockheed are all teleported
back to Earth following their ordeal on Battleworld with the Beyonder.
Along with them was a small dragon companion that had befriended Lockheed.
Upon their arrival, the dragon would grow to a massive size and fly off, while the X-Men would fall to the ground.

Learning that they have been teleported to Japan, they also learn of Lockheed's friend becoming a massive creature.
Learning that they have been gone for over a week, the Professor sends Rogue to America to check on the fate of Doug Ramsey and Kitty Pryde,
as well as make sure that the New Mutants and Cyclops are okay while they deal with the threat of the dragon they brought back with them.

As the dragon begins wrecking Tokyo, the Japanese mobilizes their military to deal with the threat.
While reports are coming in Mariko Yoshida and her cousin Sunfire learn
that the X-Men, and Wolverine, are in Japan as well to combat the creature.
The X-Men catch up with the monster and as Storm keeps it occupied, the others rescue any civilians that get in the way of danger.
Soon, Sunfire and the military arrive to deal with the monster.
However, as they battle the creature the X-Men note that their weapons have little effect on them.

Meanwhile, at the Beachcomber Hotel in Tahiti, Cyclops appears before a grief stricken Madelyne.
She is upset that he vanished out of her arms and was missing for a whole week while on their honeymoon.
However, despite this, Scott manages to calm her down and the newly weds make up.

As the battle rages on in Japan, Storm unleashes her full fury on the creature.
While down below, some wreckage lands on the Professor's legs making him panic about the potential of losing his ability to walk.
He is rescued by Colossus, while Wolverine goes off looking for others. He comes across a dying woman and her daughter Amiko.
The woman asks Wolverine to look after her, and Logan vows to keep care of the young orphaned girl.

Meanwhile, Sunfire and Storm are knocked out by the dragon and as the creature is about to kill them,
Lockheed confronts it. Blowing fire in it's face wounds the giant dragon emotionally
and it flies away with Lockheed following behind, yelling at it.
Suddenly, the creature kills itself in a massive energy burst.
In the aftermath of the battle, the X-Men realize that the creature was attempting to build a nest for itself
and Lockheed to live in together and that when Lockheed rejected the creature it committed suicide.

While in Washington D.C., Senator Robert Kelly attempts to have
legislation passed for his new Mutant Control Act supported by his colleagues.
Meeting with Senator Phillip, Kelly pressures him to support the bill.
Phillip refuses, believing that this is tantamount to legalizing slavery
and vows to do everything in his power to prevent the bill from coming into law.

He tells his colleague that he hopes that trying to motion this bill will not cause irreversible damage.

NOTE: first appearance of Amiko.

Story by Chris Claremont. Art by John Romita, Jr. and Dan Green.

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That rendition of the X-men by John Byrne makes me wish he did an X-Men project for marvel comics again.

[RachelGrey]

One of the things I am going to look forward to this fall is when the new books launch we'll probably get some beautiful team posters. This thread has so much beautiful team art.

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Still one of my favorite team images

This team featuring in X-Men TAS was beloved by many.

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The X-Men are the most powerful Team EVER!!!!!!!!!!

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I have my hopes up that the Marvel Cinematic Universe X-Men will be depicted as such whenever this super hero team will make its debut in the MCU.