Superheros

Professor X

2008-07-11T04:15:00.000-07:00

Charles Francis Xavier, also known as Professor X, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero known as the leader and founder of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men #1 (September 1963).

Throughout most of his comic book history, Xavier is paraplegic, although his body houses one of the world's most powerful mutant minds. A high-level telepath, Xavier can read, control and influence human minds. A scientific genius, he is also a leading authority on genetics, mutation, and psionic powers. English Golden Globe nominated actor Patrick Stewart portrayed Professor X throughout the X-Men films.

Publication information
Professor X
Professor Charles Xavier. Art by Aaron Lopresti
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	X-Men #1 (Sep. 1963)
Created by	Stan Lee Jack Kirby
In story information
Alter ego	Charles Francis Xavier
Species	Human Mutant
Team affiliations	X-Men Illuminati Genoshan Excalibur Cadre K Brotherhood of Mutants Shi'ar Imperium Starjammers The Twelve
Notable aliases	Onslaught, Consort-Royal, Founder, X, Warlord, Entity
Abilities	Telepathy Mind reading and control Memory alteration Mental bolts Induced paralysis Illusion casting Astral projection

Character

Xavier’s goals are to promote the peaceful affirmation of mutant rights, to mediate the co-existence of mutants and humans and to protect society from antagonistic mutants, including his old friend, the militant Magneto. To achieve these aims, he founded Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters (later named the Xavier Institute) to teach mutants to explore and control their powers. Its first group of students was the original X-Men. Xavier's students consider him a visionary and often refer to their mission as "Xavier's dream". He is highly regarded by others in the Marvel universe, respected by various governments and trusted by several other superhero teams, including the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. However, he also has a manipulative streak which has resulted in several significant fallings-out with allies and students.

He also often acts as a public advocate for mutant rights and is the authority most of the Marvel superhero community turns to for advice on mutants. However, his status as a mutant himself and leader of the X-Men has only recently become public.

In the comics' history, the X-Men rarely operate without Xavier. He also appears in both X-Men animated series and in many video games, although usually as a non-playable character because he can't use his legs. Patrick Stewart plays him in the 2000s film series, as well as providing his voice in some of the X-Men videogames (including some not connected to the film series). Tracy Morgan parodied him in the 2008 film Superhero Movie.

According to BusinessWeek, Charles Xavier is listed as one of the top ten most intelligent fictional characters in American comics.

Fictional character biography

Origin

Charles Francis Xavier was born in New York City to the wealthy Brian Xavier, a well-respected nuclear scientist, and Sharon Xavier. After Brian dies in an accident, his science partner Kurt Marko comforts and marries the grieving Sharon. When Xavier's telepathic mutant powers emerge, he discovers Kurt cares only about his mother's money.

A young Charles Xavier. Art by Jack Kirby.

After the wedding, Kurt moves in with the Xaviers, bringing with him his son Cain. Kurt quickly grows neglectful of Sharon, driving her to alcoholism, and abuses both Sharon and Cain. Cain takes out his frustrations and insecurities on his stepbrother. Charles once uses his telepathic powers to read Cain's mind and explore the extent of his psychological damage, which only leads to Cain becoming more aggressive toward him and Charles feeling Cain's pain firsthand.

Sharon dies soon after, and a fight erupts between Cain and Charles that causes some of Kurt's lab equipment to explode. Mortally wounded, Kurt drags the two children out before dying.

With help from his powers and his natural genius, Xavier becomes an excellent student and athlete, though he gives up the latter, believing his powers give him an unfair advantage. He enters Bard College at the age of 16 and graduates with a degree in biology two years later. In graduate studies he receives Ph.D.s in Genetics, Biophysics, and Psychology with a two year residence at Oxford University. He is later appointed Adjunct Professor at Columbia University.

At graduate school, he meets a Scottish girl named Moira Kinross, a fellow genetics student with whom he falls in love. The two agree to get married, but soon, Xavier is drafted into the Korean War. He carves himself a niche in search and rescue missions alongside Shadowcat's father, Carmen Pryde, and witnesses Cain's transformation into Juggernaut. During the war, he receives a letter from Moira telling him that she is breaking up with him. He later discovers that Moira married her old boyfriend Joseph MacTaggert, who abuses her.

The First Evil Mutant

Deeply depressed when Moira broke off their engagement without explanation, Xavier began traveling around the world after leaving the army. In Cairo, he meets a young girl named Ororo Munroe, who is a pickpocket, and the Shadow King, a powerful mutant who is posing as an Egyptian crime lord. Xavier defeats the Shadow King, barely escaping with his life. This encounter leads to Xavier's decision to devote his life to protecting humanity from evil mutants and safeguarding innocent mutants from human oppression.

Xavier and Magneto part ways due to the differences in their beliefs on how to help mutants. Art by Carlos Pacheco.

Meeting Magneto

Xavier visits his friend Daniel Shomron, who runs a clinic for traumatized Holocaust victims in Haifa, Israel. There, he meets Erik Lehnsherr, who becomes Magneto, a Holocaust survivor who works as a volunteer in the clinic, and Gabrielle Haller, a woman driven into a catatonic coma by the trauma she experienced. Xavier uses his mental powers to break her out of her catatonia and the two fall in love. Xavier and Magneto become good friends, although neither immediately reveals to the other that he is a mutant. The two hold lengthy debates hypothesizing what will happen if humanity is faced with a new super-powered race of humans. While Xavier is optimistic, Magneto's experiences in the Holocaust lead him to believe that humanity will ultimately oppress the new race of humans as they have done with other minorities. The two friends reveal their powers to each other when they fight Nazi Baron Wolfgang von Strucker and his HYDRA agents, who kidnap Gabrielle because she knows the location of their secret cache of gold. Magneto attempts to kill Strucker but Xavier stops him. Realizing that his and Xavier's views on mutant-human relations are incompatible, Magneto leaves with the gold. Charles stays in Israel for some time, but he and Gabrielle separate on good terms, neither knowing that she is pregnant with his son, who grows up to become the mutant Legion.

Lucifer

In a strange town near the Himalayas, Xavier encounters an alien calling himself Lucifer, the advance scout for an invasion by his race, and foils his plans. In retaliation, Lucifer drops a huge stone block on Xavier, crippling his legs. After Lucifer leaves, a young woman named Sage hears Xavier's telepathic cries for help and rescues him, bringing him to safety, beginning a long alliance between the two. In a hospital in India he is brought to an American nurse, Amelia Voght, who looks after him and, as she sees to his recovery, they fall in love. When he is released from the hospital the two move into an apartment in Bombay together. Amelia is troubled to find Charles studying mutation, as she is a mutant and unsettled by it, though she calms when he reveals himself to be a mutant as well. They eventually move to the United States, living on Xavier's family estate. But the night Scott Summers moves into Xavier's mansion, Amelia leaves him, believing Charles would have changed his view and that mutants should lay low. Yet he is recruiting them to what she believes is a lost cause. Charles tries to force her to stay with his mental powers, but immediately ashamed by this, lets her go. She later becomes a disciple of Magneto.

The X-Men

Over the years, Charles makes a name for himself as geneticist and psychologist, apparently renowned enough that the Greys were referred to him when no other expert could help their catatonic daughter, Jean. Xavier trains her in the use of her telekinesis, while inhibiting her telepathic abilities until she matures. Around this time, he also starts working with fellow mutation expert, Karl Lykos, as well as Moira MacTaggert again, who built a mutant research station on Muir Island. Apparently, Charles had gotten over Moira in his travels to the Greek island of Kirinos. Xavier discusses his candidates for recruitment to his personal strike force, the X-Men, with Moira, including those he passes over, which are Kurt Wagner, Piotr Rasputin, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, and Ororo Munroe. Xavier also trains Tessa to spy on Sebastian Shaw.^[16]^[17]^[18]

Xavier founds Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, which provides a safe haven for mutants and teaches them to master their abilities. In addition, he seeks to foster mutant-human relations by providing his superhero team, the X-Men, as an example of mutants acting in good faith, as he told FBI agent Fred Duncan.^[19] With his inherited fortune, he uses his ancestral mansion in Salem Center, Westchester County, New York as a base of operations with technologically advanced facilities, including the Danger Room - later, Fantomex mentions that Xavier is a billionaire with a net worth of 3.5 billion dollars. Presenting the image of a stern teacher, Xavier makes his students endure a rigorous training regime.

Xavier's first five students are Marvel Girl, Cyclops, Beast, Iceman, and Angel, who become the original X-Men.

Throughout most of his time with the team, Xavier uses his telepathic powers to keep in constant contact with his students and provides instructions and advice when needed. In addition, he uses a special machine called Cerebro, which enhances his ability to detect mutants and to allow the team to find new students in need of the school.

Among the obstacles Xavier faces is his old friend, Magneto, who has grown into an advocate of mutant superiority since their last encounter and who believes the only solution to mutant persecution is domination over humanity.

When anthropologist Bolivar Trask resurfaces the "mutant problem", Xavier counters him in a televised debate, however, he appears arrogant and Trask sends his mutant-hunting robot Sentinels to terrorize mutants. The X-Men dispatch them, but Trask sees the error in his ways too late as he is killed by his creations.

At one point, Xavier seemingly dies during the X-Men's battle with the sub-human Grotesk, but it is later revealed that Xavier arranged for a reformed former villain named Changeling to impersonate him while he went into hiding to plan a defense against an invasion by the extraterrestrial Z'Nox, imparting a portion of his telepathic abilities to the Changeling to complete the disguise.

New Team and Shi'ar

When the X-Men are captured by the sentient island Krakoa, Xavier assembles a new team to rescue them, including Banshee, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Storm, and Wolverine. After the mission, the older team of X-Men, except for Cyclops, leave the school, believing they no longer belong there, and Xavier mentors the new X-Men.

Xavier forms a psychic bond across galaxies with Princess Lilandra from the Shi'ar Empire. When they finally meet, it is love at first sight. She implores the professor to stop her mad brother, Shi'ar Emperor D'Ken, and he instantly aids her by deploying his X-Men. When Jean Grey returns from the Savage Land to tell him that all the X-Men are dead, he shuts down the school and travels with Lilandra to her kingdom, where she is crowned Empress and he is treated like a child or a trophy husband.

Xavier senses the changes taking place in Jean Grey, and returns to Earth to help. Shortly thereafter he battles his pupil after she becomes Dark Phoenix and destroys a populated planet in the Shi'ar Empire. It hurts Xavier to be on the opposite side of Lilandra, but he has no other choice but to challenge the Shi'ar Imperial Guard to a duel over the fate of the Phoenix. Xavier would have lost against the greater power of the Dark Phoenix, but thanks to the help Jean Grey gives him (fighting her Phoenix persona), Xavier emerges victorious; she later commits suicide in order to prevent herself from endangering more innocent lives.

Xavier walks again. Art by Paul Smith and Bob Wiacek.

The Brood

When the X-Men fight members of the extraterrestrial race known as the Brood, Xavier is captured by them, and implanted with a Brood egg, which places Xavier under the Brood's control. During this time, Xavier assembles a team of younger mutants called The New Mutants, secretly intended to be prime hosts for reproduction of the aliens. The X-Men discover this and return to free Xavier, but they are too late to prevent his body from being destroyed with a Brood Queen in its place, however, his soul remains intact. The X-Men and Starjammers subdue this monstrous creature containing Xavier's essence, but the only way to restore him is to clone a new body using tissue samples he donated to the Starjammers. This new body possesses functional legs, though the psychosomatic pain Xavier experienced after living so long as a paraplegic takes some time to subside. Subsequently, he even joins the X-Men in the field, but later decides not to continue this practice after realizing that his place is at the school.

More Injuries

After taking a teaching position at Columbia University in Uncanny X-Men #192, Xavier is severely injured and left for dead as the victim of a hate crime. Callisto and her Morlocks, a group of underground-dwelling mutants, get him to safety. One of the Morlocks partially restores Xavier's health, but Callisto warns Xavier that he isn't fully healed and that he must spend more time recuperating and restrain himself from exerting his full strength or powers, or his health might fail again. Xavier hides his injuries from the others and resumes his life.

Legion

Charles meets with former lover Gabrielle Haller on Muir Isle and discovers that they had a child. The boy, David, is autistic and suffers from multiple personality disorder and has vast psionic powers like his father. After helping him and his team to escape from David's mind, Xavier promises he will always be there for him.

Shi'ar Again!

A reformed Magneto is arrested and put on trial. Xavier attends the trial to defend his friend. Andrea and Andreas Strucker, the children of presumed dead Baron von Strucker, crash the courtroom to attack Magneto and Xavier. Xavier is seriously injured. Dying, he asks a shocked Magneto to look after the X-Men for him. Lilandra, who has a psychic bond with Xavier, feels that he is in great danger and heads to Earth. There, she takes Xavier with her so Shi'ar advanced technology can heal him.

Xavier leaves Magneto in charge of the school, but some of the X-Men are unwilling to forgive their former enemy. Cyclops loses a duel for the leadership of the X-Men against Storm, leaving them, and later, the original five X-Men form a team called X-Factor.

In the meantime, Charles becomes stranded in space with the Starjammers, but he is reunited with his lover Lilandra and relishes his carefree lifestyle. Xavier joins Lilandra in her cause to overthrow her sister Deathbird, taking on the powers of Phoenix temporarily wherein he is named Bald Phoenix, but sees that he must return to help the X-Men.

X-Cutioner's Song

A healthy Xavier returns from the Shi'ar Empire and resumes his responsibilities. In a battle with his old foe, the Shadow King, in the "Muir Island Saga", Xavier’s back is broken, returning him to his former paraplegic state. In the following months, Xavier rebuilds the mansion, which previously was rebuilt with Shi'ar technology, and restructures the X-Men into two teams.

While holding a mutant rights speech, Xavier is nearly assassinated by Stryfe in the guise of Cable, being infected with a fatal techno-organic virus. For reasons of his own, the villain Apocalypse saves him. As a temporary side-effect he gains full use of his legs and devotes his precious time to the youngest recruit on his team, Jubilee.

Generation X and the Xavier Institute For Higher Learning

With all his students now highly trained adults, Professor Xavier renames his school the Xavier Institute For Higher Learning. Also, he assumes control of a private institution, the Massachusetts Academy, making it a new School for Gifted Youngsters. Another group of young mutants is trained here, Generation X, with Banshee and Emma Frost as headmaster and headmistress, respectively.

Onslaught

Professor X is for a time the unknowing host of the evil psionic entity Onslaught, the result of a previous battle with Magneto. In that battle, Magneto uses his powers to rip out the adamantium bonded to Wolverine's skeleton, and a furious Xavier wipes Magneto's mind, leaving him in a coma.^[47]^[14]^[48] From the psychic trauma of Xavier using his powers so violently and the mixing of Magneto's and Xavier's repressed anger, Onslaught is born. Onslaught wreaks havoc, destroying much of Manhattan, until many of Marvel's superheroes—including the Avengers, the Fantastic Four and the Hulk—destroy him. Xavier is left without his telepathy and, overcome with guilt, leaves the X-Men and is incarcerated for his actions. He later returns to the X-Men after Operation: Zero Tolerance, in which he is shocked by the cruel act of being turned over to the mutant-hating Bastion, and following a clash with the sentient Cerebro and a team of impostor X-Men.

Magneto War

Xavier questions his dream again and Magneto shortly thereafter is confronted by the X-Men. After the battle, the UN concedes Genosha to Magnus, and Wolverine is angered by Xavier stopping him from getting his revenge on Magneto. Charles and Logan are later trapped in a dimension with different laws of physics, wherein they have to coordinate their moves together and, in the process, gain a better understanding of the other's views.

The Twelve and Cadre K

Apocalypse kidnaps the fabled "Twelve", twelve special mutants, Xavier included, whose combined energies would grant him omnipotence. After Apocalypse's defeat with the help of Skrull mutants, Xavier goes with the young Skrulls known as Cadre K to train them and free them from their oppressors, and eventually returns to aid in Legacy Virus research.

Moira's death

Mystique and her Brotherhood start a deadly assault on Muir Isle by releasing an altered form of the Legacy Virus, all in retaliation against the election campaign of Robert Kelly, a seeming mutant-hater. Mystique blows up Moira MacTaggert's laboratory complex, fatally wounding her. Charles goes to the astral plane to meet with her and retrieve information on the cure to the Legacy Virus, but after gathering the information does not want to leave her alone. If not for Jean pulling him back, the professor would have died with his first love, who states she has no regrets.

Crucifixion

As the Legacy Virus is cured, many infected Genoshan mutants recover overnight, providing Magneto, current ruler of Genosha, with an army to start the third World War. He demands Earth's governments to accept him as their leader, and abducts and crucifies Xavier in Magda Square for all to see. Though a loyal member of Magneto's Acolytes, Amelia Voght can't stand to see her former lover punished in such a manner and sets him free. Jean Grey and rather untrained newcomers, as most of the team are elsewhere, distract Magneto and Wolverine guts him. Xavier is too late to intervene.

Cassandra Nova

Xavier's evil twin Cassandra Nova, whom Xavier attempted to kill while they were both in their mother's womb, orders a group of rogue Sentinels to destroy the independent mutant nation of Genosha. Magneto, who is Genosha's leader, appears to die along with the vast majority of the nation's inhabitants. Nova then takes over Xavier's body. Posing as Xavier, she reveals his mutation to the world, something he needed to do but did not want to sully his reputation over, before going into space and crippling the Shi'ar Empire. The X-Men restore Xavier, but Lilandra, believing that too much disaster has come from the Shi'ar's involvement with the X-Men, annuls her marriage to Xavier. Lilandra previously had gone insane and tried to assassinate Charles on a trip to Mumbai. During this period, a mutant named Xorn joins the X-Men. Xorn uses his healing power to restore Xavier's use of his legs.

Juggernaut reformed

When the X-Men receive a distress call from a Scottish island, they are surprised to find Juggernaut with nowhere to go, as the island was destroyed by his further mutated partner in crime, Black Tom Cassidy, who died. Xavier reaches out to his stepbrother and offers him a place in his mansion, with Cain reluctantly accepting. The Juggernaut redeems himself over the next few weeks and joins the X-Men. Xavier finds out that Cain's father preferred him to his own flesh and blood and that they both thought they deserved the abuse they incurred by Kurt; Cain believed this because his father loved someone else's child more than him, and Charles felt guilty about getting in the way. That it is why neither of them stopped Kurt Marko with their powers.^[65]

X-Corporation and "Xorn's" Betrayal

Now outed as a mutant, Xavier makes speeches to the public about mutant tolerance. He also founds the X-Corporation, or X-Corp (not to be confused with the X-Corps), with offices all over the world. The purpose of the X-Corp is to watch over mutant rights and help mutants in need. As a result of being outed, the school no longer hides the fact that it is a school for mutants and it opens its doors for more mutant (and even human) students to come in. A student named Quentin Quire and members of his gang start a riot at the Xavier Institute during an open house at the school. As a result, Quire and two other students are killed. Uncertain about his dream's validity, Xavier announces that he will step down as headmaster and be succeeded by Jean Grey. Afterwards, Xorn reveals himself to be Magneto, having apparently not died in the Sentinel raid on Genosha. "Magneto" re-paralyzes Xavier, kidnaps him, and destroys the X-Mansion (killing several of the students). Then Xorn/Magneto assaults New York, where Cyclops, Fantomex and a few students confront him. After the rest of the X-Men arrive, Wolverine decapitates Xorn/Magneto, who shortly before killed Jean with an electromagnetically induced stroke. With Jean dead, Xavier leaves the school to Cyclops and Emma Frost, to bury Xorn/Magneto in Genosha. There he meets the real Magneto, who mysteriously survived Cassandra Nova's assault. The two resolve their differences and attempt to restore their friendship, leading a team of mutants, "The Genoshan Excalibur," to rebuild and restore order to the destroyed island nation.

"Danger"

At the mansion, the Danger Room, the X-Men’s simulated reality training chamber, gains sentience, christens itself "Danger", assumes a humanoid form, and attacks the X-Men before leaving to kill Xavier. With Magneto's help, Xavier holds off Danger until the X-Men arrive. Danger flees, but not before revealing to Colossus that Xavier has known it to be sentient ever since he upgraded it. Colossus is especially offended by this because he had been held captive and experimented upon by Danger's ally, Ord of the Breakworld. Ashamed, Xavier tries to explain to them that by the time he realized what was happening, he could see no other course. The disgusted X-Men leave.

House of M

Magneto's daughter, the Scarlet Witch, suffers a mental breakdown and causes the death of several Avengers. Magneto brings her to Xavier and asks him to use his mental powers to help her. Although aided by Dr. Strange and the appearance of Cassandra Nova, Xavier is unsuccessful. Xavier orders a meeting of the X-Men and Avengers to decide Wanda's fate.^[71] Her brother Quicksilver, believing the heroes plan to kill her, speeds off to Genosha and convinces Wanda that she could right the wrongs she inflicted by using her powers to alter reality.

Wanda somehow forces a tearful Xavier to reveal to her the heart's desires of Magneto, the assembled New Avengers, and the X-Men, then uses her powers to make them all real. Thanks to Magneto, though, this reimagined world is a place where a much more numerous mutantkind are the dominant species, humans a disenfranchised and oppressed 'silent majority', and Magneto himself rules supreme. In this reality, the only proof that Charles Xavier ever existed is a secret monument in Magneto's palace garden.

After mutant Layla Miller restores the memories of some of the X-Men and Avengers, they head to Genosha where they discover that Magneto has erected a memorial garden for Xavier commemorating his death. They are horrified until Cloak fades into the grave and discovers there is no body inside. After a battle, Scarlet Witch again uses her powers to restore reality and, as a slight against her father, causes 91.4 percent of mutants to lose their powers, leaving the mutant race on the brink of extinction and causing the lost powers to become an energy mass, the Collective. With reality restored, Xavier is still missing and the X-Men are unable to detect him with .

Vulcan

It is revealed that prior to sending the new team of X-Men to rescue the others on Krakoa, he had sent another team composed of Moira's students, one of whom was Cyclops' and Havok's long-lost brother Vulcan. After the team freed Cyclops and Vulcan revealed their connection, the team was killed. Cyclops escaped, but when he made it back to Xavier, Xavier wiped the traumatizing knowledge that his newfound brother had died saving him from Cyclops' brain. He then assembled another new team of X-Men to rescue the others on Krakoa, and no one else knew anything about Moira's students.

Later, when the Collective energy mass revives Vulcan, the enraged youth attacks the X-Men, causing Xavier to come out of hiding. He has had the use of his legs restored to him after the "House of M" reality was undone, presumably by Wanda, although he is no longer a mutant and has lost his mental powers. Vulcan gets Xavier to tell the X-Men what he had done. After Vulcan is defeated and flies off into space, Cyclops tells Xavier that he is no longer wanted at the X-Mansion for what he did, though some of the other students are more forgiving.

In spite of Cyclops' feelings, Xavier nevertheless forms a new team consisting of Havok, Nightcrawler, Marvel Girl III, Polaris, Warpath and Darwin to confront Vulcan before he can enact his vengeance against the Shi'ar empire. While en route to the Shi'ar home world, he is abducted by agents of the Shi'ar Vice Chancellor K'Tor. He is later thrown into the M'Kraan Crystal by Vulcan after Vulcan's marriage to Deathbird on the World With No Name. Darwin follows Charles into the crystal and pulls him out. This somehow restores his lost telepathy, and then he, Nightcrawler, Warpath, Darwin and Hepzibah escape to Earth, with help from his lover, Lilandra. This leaves Havok, Polaris and Rachel behind but they form a new Starjammers with Ch'od, Raza and Korvus.

Return To Earth

Upon returning, he begins a search for his missing associate Magneto, hoping to find him before the US government does. He is still team leader and his team now consists of Nightcrawler, Warpath, Storm, Hepzibah and Caliban.

Xavier talks to Val Cooper about what has happened to Caliban and how the O*N*E wants him. Later while the rest of the team begin looking for the Morlocks, who have been taken control of by Masque, who is also looking for Magneto, Charles and Nightcrawler leave in a X-Jet to find Magneto.^[77] They are unnoticed by the Sentinels as Xavier places some sort of cloaking device on the plane. Charles and Kurt travel to where someone claimed to see Erik. They arrive at a graveyard in Germany and they find out that Erik was looking at the headstone of one of his former loyal henchmen who had died since M-Day. Their search is cut short once they find out the Morlocks plan to blow up a church. The team stops the Morlocks and returns to the mansion.

World War Hulk

Charles' search for more mutants is interrupted by the Hulk, who wishes to see him. Those who need it are re-directed to the subbasement for protection. The X-Men on hand are defeated. Before a back-up team arrives, Xavier confronts the Hulk. He looks into Hulk's mind and sees what happened to him and is shocked. The Hulk asks him a question: "What would he have said if he'd been there?", referring to the Illuminati's decision on his own fate during a clandestine meeting.

The Professor then admits to the Hulk and to the X-Men, that he would have banished the Hulk for some extended time for the Illuminati to find a cure, but would not have agreed to permanent exile. He confesses to them that he made some mistakes that harmed his students, so he is willing to give himself up. However the X-Men, now seeing their mentor conceding his mistake, are not willing to give up the Professor without a fight. While the Hulk is winning, the escaping students telepathically call for X-Factor, Uncanny X-Men, and Excalibur. Excalibur member Cain Marko, the former Juggernaut, teleports into battle. He and Wolverine are swiftly defeated.

The Hulk tries to fight off the extended X-family, as Jamie Madrox and his duplicates gather up the X-Men. Various attempts are made to slow the Hulk down, from implanting him with knives to crashing the Blackbird into him. Cain makes a last plea with the Cyttorak gem to re-power him, but it is unable to do so until Cain embraces his former identity. After he does so the Juggernaut returns to full power and both entities stall each other. The Juggernaut is momentarily distracted by Xavier and since the Hulk is short on time before the countdown, the latter simply decides to use the Juggernaut's nearly unstoppable momentum against him by stepping out of the way in combination with an additional push, letting him walk deep into the nearby lake.

With his opponent temporarily disposed of, the Hulk heads towards Xavier, who once again surrenders. The X-Men rally again. The New X-Men member Mercury attacks, and the brief battle leads them towards the graveyard housing all mutants passed away since M-day.

With Mercury's words The Hulk reaches the conclusion that both Xavier and the X-Men have suffered enough, and leaves the mansion in peace. During the aftermath, the Juggernaut warns Xavier not to follow him, as he isn't going to like what he sees. The mini-series ends with Cyclops overseeing the care of the wounded, dealing with the injuries without Xavier's help. However, Cyclops is also seen reaching out to comfort Xavier as well.

Secret Invasion

Professor X was at the meeting of the Illuminati when it came to the discussion about the Skrulls planning an invasion by taking out Earth's heroes and posing as them. He claims he was unable to distinguish that Black Bolt had been replaced by a Skrull.

Messiah Complex

While using Cerebro and talking to Beast, Charles detects a new mutant so powerful it fries Cerebro's system. He asks Cyclops to send out a team to find out about the mutant. Once the team have come back empty handed, he argues with Scott for not telling him about the team he deployed to find former Acolytes. Scott tells him outright that he doesn't need him to run the X-Men anymore. This upsets Charles and annoys him later on when he overhears Cyclops briefing X-Factor on the situation. He also approaches the New X-Men in an attempt to help them figure out a non-violent way to help against the Purifiers, but is quickly rebuked by Surge, who questions where he was when they were getting attacked the first time, and that they didn't need to learn from him. Charles questions Cyclops' decision to send X-Force to hunt down his own son, Cable, in front of the students. Cyclops then tells Xavier that he is a distraction that will keep getting in the way and that he must leave the mansion. Xavier is contacted by Cable, who lost the mutant newborn to the traitorous actions of Bishop, who in turn lost the child to the Marauders, and tells him that he is the only one who can help Cable save the . In the final fight, Xavier is accidentally shot in the head by Bishop. Immediately afterward Xavier's body disappears and Cyclops declares that there are no more X-Men.

X-Men: Legacy

It is revealed that Professor Xavier survived the gunshot inflicted by Bishop but he is in a . He is kidnapped by Exodus with the help of Tempo and a now unpossessed Karima Shapandar. Exodus tried to heal Xavier but while in the coma, Xavier fights Exodus. In the end, Exodus approaches Magneto himself, who is apparently still depowered.

Magneto and Karima Shapandar are able to stir out Xavier's memories, coaxing him out of his coma, but slightly confused and partly amnesiac. Later, as Exodus confronts Magneto about Joanna Cargill's fate (previously Magneto was forced to fire a surgical laser beam in her eye, brain damaging her, to thwart her attempted killing of Xavier), and he is about to kill him, Xavier drags him on the Astral Plane, putting his own restored mind at stake. After a harrowing psionic battle between the two, Xavier defeated Exodus, who revealed to him that the reason he abducted and restored his mind is that he wanted Xavier to lead the Acolytes and find the mutant messiah child (now under the guardianship of Cable) in order to indoctrinate her into their cause. Xavier, disgusted with Exodus' words, calls him a fool and refuses to help him. After he, Magneto and Karima depart from the Acolytes' base, he leaves them both in order to try and regain his lost memories by visiting people from his past. During the battle between him and Exodus, Emma's telepathy picks up on the fight, realizes that Xavier is alive and tells Cyclops.

The first person Charles visit is Carter Ryking, who had gone insane after losing his powers. Charles reads Carter's memories and discovers that when the two were children they were used as test subjects by one Nathan Milbury, with the approval of Charles' father, Doctor Brian Xavier, also a member of the Black Womb Project. Afterwards, he discovered he's been targeted by assassins. During Carter's memory, Mister Sinister's energy diamond is seen on Milbury's forehead which, along with the name, indicate that Milbury is Mister Sinister and has also been manipulating Charles's life as well.

Charles eventually discovers Sinister had set up himself, Sebastian Shaw, Juggernaut, and Ryking as potential new hosts as children. Bleeding to death slowly, he apparently gives in to Sinister, becoming the new Mr. Sinister.

Powers and abilities

Cerebro, as seen in the X-Men films.

Professor X is a mutant who possesses vast telepathic powers, and is among the most powerful telepaths in the Marvel Universe

Professor X is able to perceive the thoughts of others or project his own thoughts within a radius of approximately 250 miles (402 km). With extreme effort, he can greatly extend the range of his telepathy. He can learn foreign languages by reading the language centers of the brain of someone adept, and alternately "teach" languages to others in the same manner; Xavier once trained a new group of mutants mentally, subjectively making them experience months of training together, while only hours passed in the real world.^[83]

He can manipulate the minds of others, warp perceptions to make himself seem invisible, project illusions, cause loss of particular memories, and induce pain or temporary mental and/or physical paralysis. Within close range, he can manipulate almost any number of minds for such simple feats. However, he can only take full possession of one other mind at a time, and must strictly be within that person's physical presence. He has displayed telepathic prowess sufficient to confront Ego the Living Planet, while aided by Cadre K as well as confront and narrowly defeat Exodus.

He can cause total amnesia. He can also project powerful mental 'bolts,' enabling him to stun the mind of another person into unconsciousness or even cause death. These 'bolts' inflict damage only upon other minds, having a negligible effect on non-mental beings, if any. The manner in which Xavier's powers function indicates that his telepathy is physical in some way, as it can be enhanced by physical means (e.g., Cerebro) and can be disrupted by physical means (e.g., Magneto's alteration of the Earth's magnetic field).

Xavier can perceive the distinct mental presence/brain waves of other superhuman mutants within a small radius of himself. To detect mutants beyond this radius, he must amplify his powers through Cerebro and subsequently Cerebra, machines of his own design which are sensitive to the psychic/physical energies produced by the mind. Professor X also possesses low-level telekinetic abilities, though these seem to no longer exist. They seem to be part of his genes however, as Cassandra Nova has telekinetic abilities and is basically a clone of Xavier.

Professor X can project his 'astral form' into a psychic 'dimension' known as the 'astral plane.' There, he can use his powers to create objects, control his surroundings, and even control and destroy the astral forms of others. He cannot project this form over long distances.

Uncanny X-Men writer Ed Brubaker has claimed that, after being de-powered by the Scarlet Witch, and then re-powered by the M'Kraan Crystal, Charles' telepathy is more powerful than was previously known. However, the extent of this enhancement is unknown.

Charles is a genius with multiple doctorates. He is a world-renowned geneticist, an expert in mutation, possesses considerable knowledge of life sciences, and is the inventor of Cerebro.

During his travels in Asia, Xavier learned martial arts, acquiring "refined combat skills" according to Magneto. When these skills are coordinated in tandem with his telepathic abilities, Xavier is a dangerous unarmed combatant, capable of sensing the intentions of others and countering them with superhuman efficiency. He also has extensive knowledge of pressure points

Dark side

The Dark side of Xavier emerging.
Art by Bob Brown & Dave Cockrum.

In a number of comics, especially more so in recent years, Xavier is shown to have a dark side, a part of himself that he struggles to suppress. Perhaps the most notable appearance of this character element is in the Onslaught storyline, in which the crossover event's antagonist is a physical manifestation of that dark side. Also, Onslaught is created in the most violent act Xavier claims to have done: erasing the mind of Magneto. In X-Men #106 (August 1977), the new X-Men fight images of the original team, which have been created by what Xavier says is his "evil self ... who would use his powers for personal gain and conquest," which he says he is normally able to keep in check. In the 1984 four-part series titled The X-Men and the Micronauts, Xavier's dark desires manifest themselves as the Entity and threaten to destroy the Micronauts' universe.

In other instances, Xavier is shown to be secretive and manipulative. During the Onslaught storyline, the X-Men find Xavier's files, the "Xavier Protocols", which detail how to kill many of the characters, including Xavier himself, should the need ever arise, such as if they went rogue.^[90] Astonishing X-Men vol. 3, #12 (August 2005) reveals that when Xavier realizes that the Danger Room has become sentient, he keeps it trapped and experiments on it for years, an act that Cyclops calls "the oppression of a new life" and equates to humanity's treatment of mutants. In X-Men: Deadly Genesis #6, a de-powered Xavier is forced to admit that he had sent a group of hastily trained young mutants to Krakoa to save the original X-Men, resulting in their deaths. Because one of the mutants is Cyclops' brother Vulcan, Xavier erased Cyclops' memory of the event. He further manipulated the rescue team of new X-Men by making them think the meaningless noises the island made were intelligible speech—evidence that the island was alive—to match the new memories he had given Cyclops.

Xavier has multiple secrets that he hides from the X-Men beyond the Krakoa and Danger incidents. Since the inception of the X-Men, he has created and maintained a network of mutant espionage agents to work in dealings that are too dubious for the public eye of the X-Men, even entrapping Mystique into helping him (even though she killed his dear friend, Moira McTaggert). He has also been part of the secret Illuminati society responsible for shooting Bruce Banner into space.

In the Mutant X comic book series, set outside the Marvel Universe continuity, Xavier travels the world capturing telepaths for the purpose of stealing their mental energy. Xavier takes control of S.H.I.E.L.D., captures Gambit's daughter, and attempts to kill the X-Men with a nuclear strike. An alternate-reality version of Xavier is the enemy in the first story arc of the Exiles series. In Ultimate X-Men, Xavier frequently lies to other characters, including the X-Men, or even manipulates them when he feels it is necessary. Xavier tells the American president that he has killed Magneto, but instead he has blocked Magneto's memories and created a new personality and memories for him, along with a new life working with mentally challenged children. In issue #65, unbeknownst to the rest of the team, he directs Angel to become his mole in Emma Frost's Academy of Tomorrow in the guise of expelling the student. In Ultimate X-Men #58, he defuses a hostage situation by hiring the mutant bank robbers for a mission in which the X-Men cannot be implicated, and making the police believe they have killed them.

In the film X-Men: The Last Stand, Wolverine questions Xavier's ethics when he discovers that the professor instituted mental blocks in the mind of Jean Grey to subdue her uncontrollable powers, thus creating her alternate personality, the Phoenix. Xavier states that he does not have to answer to him and that he chose the lesser of two evils, as the Phoenix persona is dangerous.

Romantic interests

A brilliant student intent on undertaking graduate studies, Xavier enters England's Oxford University, where he meets and falls in love with a young Scotswoman named Moira Kinross with a brilliant mind that matches his own. Their passionate discussions on genetic mutation give way to an equally passionate romance. They plan to be married, but after finishing his work at Oxford, Xavier is drafted and sent to Asia. It has also been hinted that Mister Sinister interferes with Moira's and Xavier's relationship as he is posing as a professor at Oxford at the time. Deeply depressed when Moira breaks off their engagement without explanation, Xavier begins traveling abroad after leaving the army. He later discovers that Moira married her old boyfriend Joseph MacTaggert, who abuses her. He eventually renews his friendship with Moira MacTaggert, who is now a renowned geneticist, and they begin discussing the idea of founding a school for mutants. Charles' ex-fiancée turns up as a lifetime friend who interacts with the X-Men often. He nearly follows her to death to be with her when she is fatally injured.

Xavier goes to Haifa, Israel, where he falls in love with Gabrielle Haller, a catatonic Holocaust victim he forces back to awareness. Xavier and Haller are unaware when he leaves Israel that she is pregnant with his son, who would become the autistic mutant known as Legion. They separate on good terms.

American nurse Amelia Voght helps him recover from his debilitating injuries from his assault by Lucifer in India. She makes cheering him up in the hospital her pet project. They live together both in Bombay and Westchester, but she then leaves as Xavier gathers students. Xavier feels he failed her, and in a passing "maddened panic" tries to force her to stay, with her feeling betrayed. He encounters her again as an Acolyte of Magneto, and eventually she saves his life.

Charles becomes romantically interested in Teri Martin, the mother of a young mutant girl he is trying to help, after the Z'Nox incident, but he decides that he has no room for romance at the time (X-Men: Hidden Years #1-22).

Shi'ar Princess-Majestrix Lilandra forms an intense psychic bond with Xavier across the vast distance that separates their two planets, which leads her to him after she flees her Empire, in search of help against her villainous brother. Xavier has dreamt of her and Lilandra has known they were soul mates. They fall in love at first sight. Later, he helps overthrow her sister as well to return the throne to Lilandra. They are wed until the Shi'ar Counsel annuls their marriage on the grounds that involvement with Xavier has caused trouble for the Empire. However, as seen in the recent Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire storyline, Lilandra still loves him, despite their troubles. No child has resulted from the union in the canon universe (he and Lilandra do have a child together in X-Men: The End).

In one instance in the start of Uncanny X-Men (issue #3), Professor X privately reflects upon his love for Jean Grey, but does not pursue it due to his feeling inadequate about being in a wheelchair, and the age difference and sacredness of the teacher-student relationship.^[91] Although Xavier never again displays a romantic interest in Jean, the idea that he once entertained this thought becomes one of his "dark secrets" and is revisited when the Professor's dark side manifests in the form of Onslaught and reveals it to Jean. There is debate, however, that it is more a loving father-figure relationship, as Professor X has known Jean from the age of 11. He also loves her in Ultimate X-Men as it is said in the Phoenix arc and in the Cable arc.

Inspirations

Professor Xavier's character development has been inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr.,^[92] and from inspection of the name, may also be a derivative of St. Francis Xavier, Marie François Xavier Bichat, or Charles Xavier from Vladimir Nabokov's 1962 book Pale Fire. Writer Scott Lobdell established Xavier's middle name to be Francis in Uncanny X-Men #328 (January 1996).

Stan Lee has stated that the physical inspiration of Professor Xavier was from Academy Award-winning actor Yul Brynner.

Wolverine

2008-07-11T04:06:00.000-07:00

Wolverine (born James Howlett and commonly known as Logan) is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero who has been a member of several teams, including the X-Men and the New Avengers. He was created by writer Len Wein and Marvel art director John Romita Sr., who designed the character, and was first drawn for publication by Herb Trimpe.

Wolverine had a cameo appearance on the last page of Incredible Hulk #180 (October 1974) and his first "full" appearance in Incredible Hulk #181 (November 1974). X-Men writer Chris Claremont played a significant role in the character's subsequent development as well as artist/writer John Byrne, who insisted on making the character older than the other X-Men. Frank Miller also helped to revise the character in the early 1980s with the eponymous limited series in which Wolverine's catch phrase, "I'm the best there is at what I do, but what I do isn't very nice", was first written.

A mutant, Wolverine possesses animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, retracting bone claws, and a healing factor that allows him to recover from virtually any wound. This healing ability enabled the supersoldier program Weapon X to bond the near indestructible metal alloy adamantium to his skeletal system. He is also a master of hand-to-hand combat and martial arts.

Wolverine joined the X-Men's "All New, All Different" roster in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975). Wolverine was typical of the many tough anti-authority anti-heroes that emerged in American popular culture after the Vietnam War; his willingness to use deadly force and his brooding nature became standard characteristics for comic book anti-heroes by the end of the 1980s. As a result, the character became the clear favorite for fans of the increasingly popular X-Men franchise. He has been featured in his own solo comic since 1988 and he has been a central character in every X-Men adaptation, including animated television series, video games, and the live action 20th Century Fox X-Men film series, in which he is played by Hugh Jackman.

Publication information
Wolverine
Cover of New Avengers #5 (March 2005) Art by David Finch
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Incredible Hulk #180-181 (Oct.-Nov. 1974)
Created by	Len Wein John Romita, Sr.
In story information
Alter ego	James Howlett
Species	Human Mutant
Team affiliations	X-Men New Avengers X-Force S.H.I.E.L.D. Horsemen of Apocalypse Alpha Flight Weapon X Weapon Plus Department H HYDRA The Hand New Fantastic Four
Notable aliases	Logan, Patch, The Ol' Canucklehead, Canada, Wildboy, Shorty, Weapon X, Weapon Ten, Death, Mutate #9601, Jim Logan, Emilio Garra, Weapon Chi, Experiment X, Agent Ten, Peter Richards, Mai' keth, Wolvie
Abilities	Regenerative healing factor Superhuman senses, strength, stamina, agility, and reflexes Adamantium-laced skeletal structure with retractable claws Expert martial artist

Publication history

Wolverine made his debut in a battle against the Hulk. The Incredible Hulk #181 (Nov 1974). Art by Herb Trimpe.

Wolverine first appeared in the final "teaser" panel of The Incredible Hulk #180 (cover date October 1974) written by Len Wein and penciled by Herb Trimpe. The character then appeared in a number of advertisements in various Marvel Comics publications in early July (cover date November) before making his first major appearance in Hulk #181 (cover date November 1974) again by Wein and Trimpe. John Romita, Sr. designed Wolverine's yellow-and-blue costume. The character's introduction was ambiguous, revealing little beyond his being a superhuman agent of the Canadian government. In these appearances, he does not retract his claws, although Len Wein stated they had always been envisioned as retractable. He appears briefly in the finale to this story in Hulk #182.

Wolverine's next appearance was in 1975's Giant-Size X-Men #1, written by Wein and penciled by Dave Cockrum, in which Wolverine is recruited for a new squad. Gil Kane, who drew the cover of the comic, accidentally drew Wolverine's mask wrong, with larger headpieces. Dave Cockrum liked Kane's alteration (believing it to be similar to Batman's mask) and decided to incorporate it into his own artwork for the actual story. Cockrum was also the first artist to draw Wolverine without his mask, and the distinctive hairstyle became a trademark of the character.

A revival of X-Men followed, beginning with Uncanny X-Men #94 (August 1975), drawn by Cockrum and written by Chris Claremont. In Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine is initially overshadowed by the other characters, although he does create tension in the team as he has a crush on Cyclops' girlfriend, Jean Grey. As the series progressed, Claremont and Cockrum (who preferred Nightcrawler^[8]) considered dropping Wolverine from the series; Cockrum's successor, artist John Byrne, championed the character, later explaining, as a Canadian himself, he did not want to see a Canadian character dropped. Byrne created Alpha Flight, a group of Canadian superheroes who try to recapture Wolverine due to the expense their government incurred training him. Later stories gradually establish Wolverine's murky past and unstable nature, which he battles to keep in check. Byrne also designed a new brown-and-tan costume for Wolverine, but retained the distinctive Cockrum cowl.

Following Byrne's departure, Wolverine remained in X-Men. The character's growing popularity led to a solo, four-issue limited series, Wolverine (Sept.-December 1982), by Claremont and Frank Miller, followed by the six-issue Kitty Pryde and Wolverine by Claremont and Al Milgrom (November 1984 - April 1985). Marvel launched an ongoing solo book written by Claremont with art by John Buscema in November 1988. It ran for 189 issues. Larry Hama later took over the series and had an extensive run. Other writers who wrote for the two Wolverine ongoing series include Peter David, Archie Goodwin, Erik Larsen, Frank Tieri, Greg Rucka, and Mark Millar. Many popular artists have also worked on the series, including John Byrne, Marc Silvestri, Mark Texeira, Adam Kubert, Leinil Francis Yu, Rob Liefeld, Sean Chen, Darick Robertson, John Romita, Jr., and Humberto Ramos. During the 1990s, the character was revealed to have bone claws, after his adamantium is ripped out by Magneto in X-Men #25, which was inspired by a passing joke of Peter David's.

In addition to the Wolverine series and appearances in the various X-Men series, two other storylines expand upon the character's past: "Weapon X", by writer-artist Barry Windsor-Smith, serialized in Marvel Comics Presents #72-84 (1991); and Origin, a six-issue limited series by co-writers Joe Quesada, Paul Jenkins, and Bill Jemas and artist Andy Kubert (November 2001 - July 2002). A second solo series, Wolverine: Origins, written by Daniel Way with art by Steve Dillon, spun out of and runs concurrently with the second Wolverine solo series.

Wolverine's first intended origin

Co-creator Len Wein originally intended for Logan to be a mutated wolverine cub, evolved to humanoid form by the High Evolutionary. In X-Men #98, a biological analysis of Wolverine suggests that he was in some way different from the other X-Men, and in X-Men #103, Wolverine says he doesn't believe in leprechauns, to which the leprechaun replies, "Maybe leprechauns don't believe in talkin' wolverines, either." In a reprint of Hulk #180-181, titled Incredible Hulk and Wolverine, an interview with Cockrum supports the claim that Wolverine was intended to be a mutated wolverine. Cockrum said he considered having the High Evolutionary play a vital role in making Wolverine a human. He wanted Wolverine to be the age of a young adult, with superhuman strength and agility similar to Spider-Man. This changed when Cockrum saw John Romita Sr. draw a mask-less Wolverine as a hairy 40-year-old. Creator Len Wein originally intended the claws to be retractable and part of Wolverine's gloves, and both gloves and claws would be made of adamantium. This idea was later nixed by Claremont because he believed anyone could then become Wolverine by wearing the gloves. The claws are first revealed to be part of Wolverine's anatomy in X-Men #98.

Wolverine's second intended origin

Byrne said (as stated in interviews and on his website) that he drew a possible face for Wolverine - but then learned that John Romita Sr. had already drawn one for him (Wolverine's face, drawn by Cockrum, can be seen in Uncanny X-Men #98, long before Byrne started). Later, Byrne used the drawing for Sabretooth's face (an enemy of Iron Fist, who Claremont was also currently writing). Byrne then came up with the idea of Sabretooth being Wolverine's father (they both had similar healing abilities and raging tempers). Together, Byrne and Claremont came up with Wolverine being around 60 and having served in World War II after escaping from Sabretooth (who was around 120 years old and had been abusing him for decades - explaining his rages). The plan had been for Wolverine to have been almost crushed in an accident; at which point he would discover (when attempting to stand for the first time after recovering) that his healing factor does not work on bones - his legs immediately break. He then spends over a decade in a hospital bed, almost going mad (another reason for his berserker rages) when the Canadian Government approaches him with the idea of replacing his skeleton one bone at a time with solid adamantium - the claws being an extra surprise. This origin too was never used.

Fictional character biography

Born in 19th century Canada to rich plantation owners, James Howlett grows into manhood on a mining colony in Northern Alberta, adopting the name "Logan", which is the last name of the plantation groundskeeper, Thomas Logan and his son Dog. Logan leaves the colony and lives for a time in the wilderness among wolves, until returning to civilization, residing with the Blackfoot Indians. Following the death of his Blackfoot paramour, Silver Fox, he is ushered into a Canadian military unit. Logan then spends some time in Madripoor, developing his "Patch" persona; before settling in Japan, where he marries and has a son.

During World War II, Logan teams with Captain America versus HYDRA, and continues a career as a soldier-of-fortune/adventurer. Logan works for the First Canadian Parachute Battalion and the CIA before being recruited for Team X.

As a member of Team X, Logan is given false memory implants. He continues on the team, until he is able to break free of the mental control and joins the Canadian Defense Ministry. Logan is subsequently kidnapped by Weapon X, where he remains captive and experimented on, until his rescue by the Winter Soldier, after which he returns to the Canadian wilderness.

Logan is eventually discovered by James and Heather Hudson, who help him recover his humanity. Following his recovery, Logan, this time under the supervision of Department H, once again works for Canadian Intelligence. Logan becomes Wolverine, one of Canada's first superheroes. In his first mission, he is dispatched to stop the destruction caused by a brawl between the Hulk and the Wendigo.

Professor X recruits Wolverine to a new team of X-Men. Disillusioned with his Canadian intelligence work and intrigued by Xavier's offer, Logan resigns from Department H. Logan continues to adventure as a superhero, eventually recovering his memories.

In X-Men #25 (1993), at the culmination of the "Fatal Attractions" crossover, the supervillain Magneto forcibly removes the adamantium from Wolverine's skeleton. This massive trauma causes his healing factor to burn out and also leads to the discovery that his claws are actually bone. Wolverine leaves the X-Men for a time, embarking on a series of adventures during which his healing factor returns, greatly increased in power. After his return to the X-Men, Cable's son Genesis kidnaps Wolverine and attempts to re-bond adamantium to his skeleton.^[18] This is unsuccessful and causes Wolverine's mutation to accelerate out of control. He is temporarily changed into a semi-sentient beast-like form in which he gains greater physical power than ever before, at the price of part of his humanity; he kills Genesis shortly after this occurs. Finally, the villain Apocalypse captures Wolverine, brainwashes him, and has the adamantium rebonded to his skeleton successfully. Wolverine overcomes Apocalypse's programming and returns to the X-Men.

Powers and abilities

Wolverine is a mutant with a number of both natural and artificial improvements to his physiology. His primary mutant power is an accelerated healing process typically referred to as his mutant healing factor that regenerates damaged or destroyed areas of his body far beyond the capabilities of an ordinary human. This renders him virtually immune to nearly all toxins and diseases. However, he still suffers the immediate effects of such substances; he has been shown to become intoxicated after significant dosages of alcoholic beverages, and has been incapacitated on several occasions with drugs and poisons.

Depictions of the speed and extent of injury to which Wolverine can heal vary. Originally, this was portrayed as accelerated healing of minor wounds, but writers have increased this ability over years to the point that he can fully regenerate nearly any damaged or destroyed bodily tissue. One of the more extreme examples of Wolverine's healing factor shows the total regeneration of his soft body tissue, within a matter of minutes, after having it incinerated from his skeleton. Wolverine survives the explosion due to the protection his adamantium-laced skull provides to his brain. It has been stated in the Xavier Protocols, a series of profiles created by Xavier that lists the strengths and weaknesses of the X-Men, that Wolverine's healing factor is increased to "incredible levels" and that the only way to stop him is to decapitate him and remove his head from the vicinity of his body. His healing factor also dramatically slows his aging process; despite being born in the late 1800s, he has the appearance and vitality of a man in his physical prime. Though he now has all of his memories, his healing abilities can provide increased recovery from psychological trauma by suppressing memories in which he experiences profound duress.

Wolverine also has superhumanly acute senses of sight, smell, and hearing. He can see with perfect clarity at greater distances than an ordinary human, even in near-total darkness. His hearing is enhanced in a similar manner, allowing him to both hear sounds ordinary humans can't and also hear to greater distances. Wolverine is able to use his sense of smell to track targets by scent, even if the scent has been eroded somewhat over time by natural factors. This sense also allows him to identify shapeshifting mutants despite other forms they may take.

Wolverine's physical appearance displays animal-like mutations, including pronounced canines and three retractable bone claws housed within each forearm. While originally depicted as surgically placed implants of the Weapon X Program ,, the claws are later revealed to be part of his natural, mutant anatomy. The claws are much harder than normal bone and can cut substances as durable as most metals, wood, and some varieties of stone. Wolverine's hands do not have openings for the claws to move through: they cut through his flesh every time he extrudes them.

Wolverine's entire skeleton, including his claws, is molecularly infused with adamantium, rendering it practically indestructible. Due to the adamantium coating, the claws can cut almost any known solid material. The only known exceptions are adamantium itself and Captain America's shield, which is the only substance in the Marvel Universe known to be even more durable than adamantium. Wolverine's ability to slice completely through a substance depends upon both the amount of force he can exert and the thickness of the substance. The adamantium also weights his blows, dramatically increasing the effectiveness of his punches and kicks.

Wolverine's healing factor also affects a number of his physical attributes by increasing them to superhuman levels. His stamina is sufficiently heightened to the point he can exert himself for numerous hours, even after exposure to powerful tranquilizers. Wolverine's agility and reflexes are also enhanced to levels that are beyond the physical limits of the finest human athlete. Due to his healing factor's constant regenerative qualities, he can push his muscles beyond the limits of the human body without injury. This, coupled by the constant demand placed on his muscles by over one hundred pounds of adamantium, grants him some degree of superhuman strength. Since the presence of the adamantium negates the natural structural limits of his bones, he can lift or move weight that would otherwise damage a human skeleton. He is strong enough to break steel chains and lift a dozen men above his head with one arm and throw them through a wall.

Due to high level psionic shields implanted by Professor Charles Xavier, Wolverine's mind is highly resistant to level 9 telepathic assault and probing.

Skills and personality

During his time in Japan and other countries, Wolverine becomes an expert of virtually all forms of martial arts. He is proficient with most weaponry, including firearms, though he is partial to bladed weapons. He has demonstrated sufficient skills to defeat the likes of Shang-Chi and Captain America in single combat. He also has a wide knowledge of the body and pressure points. He is also an accomplished pilot and highly skilled in the field of espionage and covert operations.

Wolverine sometimes lapses into a "berserker rage" while in close combat. In this state he lashes out with the intensity and aggression of an enraged animal and is even more resistant to psionic attack. Though he loathes it, he acknowledges that it has saved his life many times.

In contrast to his brutish nature, Wolverine is actually extremely intelligent. Due to his increased lifespan, he has traveled the world and amassed an intimate amount of knowledge of foreign languages and cultures. Wolverine is often depicted as a gruff loner, often taking leaves from the X-Men to deal with personal issues or problems.

He can speak English, Japanese, Russian, Chinese, Cheyenne, Spanish, Arabic, and Lakota; he also has some knowledge of French, Thai, Vietnamese, German and Portuguese. When Forge monitors Wolverine's vitals during a Danger Room training session, he calls Logan's physical and mental state "equivalent of an Olympic-level gymnast performing a gold medal routine while simultaneously beating four chess computers in his head."

Despite his apparent ease at taking lives, he does not enjoy killing or giving into his berserker rages. Logan adheres to a firm code of personal honor and morality. He is often irreverent and rebellious, particularly towards authority, though he is a reliable ally and capable leader. He has had romantic, platonic, and even paternal relationships over the decades with numerous women.

Other versions

As one of Marvel's flagship characters, Wolverine has seen many adaptations and reimaginings. For example, an issue of Exiles featured a planet of Wolverines. In the Marvel Mangaverse, Wolverine is even the founder of the X-Men. In Marvel Zombies, Wolverine appears zombified alongside Marvel's other major players. The Ultimate Marvel line of comics sought to ingrain Wolverine into its Ultimate X-Men title from the onset.

In other media

Wolverine is the only X-Men character to be included in every media adaptation of the X-Men franchise, including film, television, computer and video games, and is the only one to have starred in his own video games (e.g., X2: Wolverine's Revenge).

Marvel Studios recently announced that an X-Men spin-off movie based on Wolverine, titled X-Men Origins: Wolverine, is currently in production and will have Hugh Jackman reprise his role as Wolverine. Gavin Hood will be directing the film, which will be released worldwide on May 1, 2009. Troye Mellet will play the young Wolverine.^[44] In the game Marvel Ultimate Alliance Wolverine stars as one of the four main heroes.

Wolverine has been confirmed to appear in Spider-Man: Web of Shadows.

Parodies

In the Fairly Odd Parents episode "Big Superhero Wish!", Timmy wishes the world was like a giant comic book. This wish turned Vicky (Timmy's cruel baby sitter) into a supervillian known as The "Baby Shredder". She was hired by "Nega-Chin" to take out the superheroes so they could take over the world. Links in her powers and haircut prove that she is obviously a parody of Wolverine.

Another example is shown in the television show, "Family Guy", in which the Griffin family comes in contact with radioactive waste, obtaining powers. Meg Griffin, turns out to have the ability to elongate her nails, playing off Wolverine's ability.

X-Statix

2008-07-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

X-Statix was the name of a fictional team of mutant superheroes in Marvel Comics, specifically designed to be media superstars. The team, created by Peter Milligan and Mike Allred, first appears in X-Force #116 and originally assumed the moniker X-Force, taking over for the more traditional superhero team after most of them are seemingly killed in an explosion.

In 2001, the X-Men family of titles were being revamped by the newly appointed Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada, with the aim to make the titles more critically and commercially successful. Former Vertigo editor Axel Alonso hired writer Peter Milligan, best known for his surreal, post-modernist comics such as Rogan Gosh and Shade, the Changing Man, and Madman artist Mike Allred, as the new creative team for X-Force, starting with issue #116. X-Force prior to Millgan and Allred's first issue sold well but rarely had been the critical success Quesada wanted.

From their first issue of X-Force things were changed right away; gone was the previous team and replacing them were characters more like popstars or reality TV contestants than traditional superheroes. The title was laced with Milligan's satirical take on the superhero team as well as general cynicism toward the entire genre. Milligan and Allred would regularly play with killing off the title characters: In their first issue, they wiped out the entire team with only two exceptions.

The unused cover to X-Statix #15, showing Princess Diana as one of the team members. The cover would later be altered so Henrietta Hunter would take her place. Art by Mike Allred.

This dramatic revision of the series was not universally accepted. Many readers wanted "their" X-Force back, a complaint Milligan later parodied in the pages of the title. However, sales had increased and the title was receiving mainstream media coverage in the likes of Rolling Stone magazine.

X-Force was canceled with issue 129 in 2002 and re-named X-Statix; it restarted with a new issue #1. X-Statix carried on the same themes as X-Force, but with an increasingly satirical tone. Milligan planned to deploy Princess Diana as a character in a story-arc beginning in X-Statix #13: she was slated to return from the dead as a mutant superhero. However, when news of this leaked out to the media, a series of objections followed, most notably from the British tabloid newspaper The Daily Mail. Quesada and Marvel announced that they would alter the character, replacing her with a fictional pop star named Henrietta Hunter.

Although sales of the title peaked during this time, this effect was not to last long. After a story-arc that pitted X-Statix against The Avengers, low sales prompted the title's cancellation with issue #26, published in 2004. In the last issue Milligan and Allred killed off the entire team, serving up one one last parody of the superhero genre, while tying up the remaining plot threads.

Marvel Comics published X-Statix Presents: Dead Girl in 2006. In the 5 issue mini-series, Dead Girl teams with Doctor Strange to combat a group of villains who have returned from the dead. The series is written by Milligan, with covers by Allred. The storyline (which features the return of The Anarchist, The Orphan, and U-Go-Girl) parodies the manner in which creators in the industry handle death in comic books, with popular characters often brought back from the dead.

Detailed roster

The team was a group of colorfully dressed and emotionally immature young mutants put together and marketed to be superstars first by the mysterious Coach and later by media mogul Spike Freeman. Some of the members included:

Anarchist, the team's self-proclaimed "token" Black Canadian, whose acid-like sweat enabled him to fire acidic energy bolts.
Bloke, a mutant with the ability to change the color of his skin, like a chameleon; certain color changes would enhance his strength. He revealed himself to be gay shortly before his death, although his first appearance was laden with blatant references to his homosexuality.
Dead Girl, a literal dead girl who could reform her body and control its parts when dismembered, and could "read" the memories of dead bodies.
Doop, a green, floating spheroid creature of unknown origins who spoke in a "language" all his own (represented in text by a special font), and who served as X-Force's cameraman. It was hinted many times that he might have been manipulating the team or that he was trying to control them in some clandestine way but nothing was ever resolved or proven.
El Guapo, a sexy male mutant with a flying skateboard that had a mind of its own.
Henrietta Hunter, an inexplicably reanimated woman with enhanced physical abilities and empathy. Originally intended to be Princess Diana.
Mysterious Fan Boy, the self-proclaimed greatest fan of X-Statix, he basically blackmailed his way into gaining team membership. When Orphan had had enough of him, he conscripted long-time ally Lacuna to inject him with a serum that would stop his heart. He had limited reality-warping powers and some of the acts he performed were illusion casting, animating dead bodies, rearranging items on a molecular level, creating explosions, and healing injuries.
Orphan, aka Mister Sensitive, the team's de facto leader, a suicidal mutant with purple skin and two antennae protruding from his forehead who possessed heightened senses, superhuman speed, and the ability to levitate.
Phat, an (eventually) openly gay Eminem pastiche who could harden, soften and increase the size of any part of his body by expanding his subcutaneous fat layer.
Saint Anna, an Irish-Argentinian mutant with the ability to levitate and control the motion of objects as well as physically and mentally heal others.
Spike, a controversial African American character who made fun of Anarchist for being white inside, even though his skin is black. He is capable of extending thin spikes from his body or launching them as projectiles.
U-Go Girl, a blue-skinned, redhead, narcoleptic teleporter who was once romantically linked to Zeitgeist and then to Orphan.
Venus Dee Milo, whose body was made entirely of crackling red energy that allowed her to teleport, project concussive blasts of energy, and heal minor wounds.
Vivisector, a bookish scholar who could transform himself into a wolf-like creature with enhanced senses, speed, agility, and razor sharp fangs and claws, and who briefly became Phat's lover.

Mentors

Coach, manipulative mentor of the team when it was still named X-Force. He has only one arm and red eyes. He was once called "The Arm" but it was never fully explained why. He had the second X-Force eradicated to start a new one. He had X-Statix capture a young mutant named Paco Perez to sell to Pharmaceutical companies but Orphan intervened and sent the boy away. He then tried to have Orphan killed but was eventually killed by a gunshot from U-Go Girl.
Spike Freeman, is an amoral billionaire with an addiction to thrills (he once voluntarily played Russian roulette). He assists the team by auditioning new members and by doing the team's public relations. Orphan kills him after he advocates the murders of innocent people.

Allies

Lacuna, a young girl named Woodstock who set out to prove that she was worthy of membership into the then X-force by playing pranks on the members with the help of her powers. Even though she was more than capable, Orphan rejected her but on occasion would call upon her for help. When Orphan finally came to her to offer her membership, she declined, preferring instead to take up a spot as a talk show host where she would expose the secrets of the stars. Her powers allow her to walk between the moments of time while everything else remains still.
Professor X, mentor of the X-Men who assisted X-Statix on certain occasions. He constructed special suits to accommodate Orphan and Venus Dee Milo's mutations.
Wolverine, an old friend of Doop who aided Orphan in taking down Coach and his back-up team. Wolverine also accompanied Doop in searching for the Pink Mink.

X-Force

In Milligan and Allred's first issue of X-Force, nearly the entire team was killed off in an incident called the Boyz 'R Us massacre. This precursory team, of which only U-Go Girl and Anarchist survived, also included:

Battering Ram, who had superhuman strength, and durability as well as a thick skull which sported two ram-like horns and purple skin.
Gin Genie, who could direct seismic energy from her body but only when she had consumed alcohol.
La Nuit, a Frenchman who could generate a cloak of dark energy around him that would disperse light and control objects.
Plazm, a living, lighter than air, liquid man who could control metabolic functions upon contact with another or through a spray from his hands.
Sluk, who has a face composed of tentacles (he was actually dead before the Milligan run even began, but is seen on a videotape).
Zeitgeist, the team leader who could vomit acidic ooze from his mouth. He conspired with Coach to have his teammates killed in the Boys R Us massacre, but he was caught in the crossfire and killed as well. He previously had a one-night stand with U-Go Girl.

Trade paperbacks

X-Force vol. 1: New Beginnings (Marvel, 2001; issues #116-120)
X-Force vol. 2: The Final Chapter (Marvel, 2002; issues #121-129)
X-Statix vol. 1: Good Omens (Marvel, 2002; issues #1-5)
X-Statix vol. 2: Good Guys & Bad Guys (Marvel, 2003; issues #6-10, Wolverine/Doop #1-2 and X-Men Unlimited #41)
X-Statix vol. 3: Back From the Dead (Marvel, 2004; issues #11-18)
X-Statix vol. 4: X-Statix vs. The Avengers (Marvel, 2004; issues #19-26)
X-Statix Presents: Dead Girl (Marvel, 2006; issues #1-5)

Airboy

2008-07-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

Airboy is a fictional aviator hero of an American comic book series initially published by Hillman Periodicals during the World War II-era time period that fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books. He was created by writer Charles Biro with scripter Dick Wood and artist Al Camy.

Publication history

Golden Age

Airboy originated in the second issue of Air Fighters Comics. The first issue of the title, cover-dated November 1941, had been a collection of aviation adventures. After that first issue sold poorly, the comic was retooled, and a year later vol. 1, #2 (Nov. 1942) introduced an entirely new set of heroes, including the cover-featured Airboy.

Airboy made Air Fighters Comics (renamed Airboy Comics with vol. 2, #11, Dec. 1945) a top seller through the 1940s. In the early issues, Biro wrote the scripts with Dave Wood and drew the covers, while Dan Barry and Fred Kida worked as main illustrators. The book also contained backup stories about other aviators, including Skywolf, Iron Ace, the Black Angel, the Bald Eagle, the Flying Dutchman, the Flying Fool, and the prototypical comic book swamp monster, The Heap. Airboy's most frequently recurring antagonist was the German aviatrix Valkyrie, who fought on the side of the Axis but then defected to the Allies.

Hillman went out of business in the 1950s. The first run of Airboy Comics' ended with vol. 10, #4 (May 1953).

Modern era

Reprints Air Fighters Comics Volume 2 no. 2, Nov. 1943; Air Fighters Comics Volume 2 no. 7; Airboy Comics Volume 2 no. 12; Airboy Comics Volume 2 no. 12; Airboy Comics Volume 3 no. 6; Airboy Comics Volume 3 no. 12 In 1986, Eclipse Comics published a new Airboy series, updated to the modern era, starring the son of the original character. The strip reintroduced many of the supporting characters from the old book, such as Valkyrie and a Japanese fighter pilot named Hirota, and guest-starred many of the characters who had appeared as backups in the original comics. Chuck Dixon scripted with the occasional assistance of Tim Truman, with Truman, Ron Randall and Stan Woch the main illustrators. The second Airboy series ended in 1989 after 50 issues. Eclipse ceased operations in the early 1990s, and its characters were acquired by Todd McFarlane.

Spin-offs from the Eclipse series include the one-shots Air Fighters Meet Sgt. Strike, Airboy-Mr. Monster Special, Airboy Meets the Prowler, Airboy Vs. the Airmaidens, Airmaidens Special (starring Black Angel, La Lupina, and Valkyrie), and Target: Airboy (also featuring Clint from Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters.) Three-issue miniseries were printed for Skywolf and two for Valkyrie - The Eternal and Prisoner of the Past. In addition, Misery and Zzed were villains in the Total Eclipse mini-series and its tie-in The Seraphim Objective. The Eternal was collected as a trade paperback, as were Airboy 1-5 entitled The Return of Valkyrie.

Starting in 1988, Eclipse also published Air Fighters Classics to reprint Golden Age stories of Airboy and his related cast of characters which ran bimonthly for six issues. In addition, two issues were reprinted in 1973 and a trade paperback entitled Valkyrie!: From the Pages of Air Fighters and the Airboy was published in 1982 with stories from Air Fighters Comics Volume 2 #2 and Volume 2 #7; Airboy Comics Volume 2 #12, Volume 2 #12, Volume 3 #6, and Volume 3 #12.

In 2007, Moonstone Books announced plans to revive the World War II character in new stories written by 1980s Airboy writer Dixon.

Fictional character biography

The first Airboy was David ("Davy") Nelson II, the son of an expert pilot and, despite his youth, a crack flyer himself. His friend, inventor and Franciscan monk Brother Francis Martier, had created a highly maneuverable prototype aircraft that flew by flapping its wings, like a bird. Martier, however, was killed while testing it, and Davy inherited both the plane and a uniform, which had apparently been in Martier's family since the French Revolution. Davy soon christened himself "Airboy", and in his seemingly sentient new plane, "Birdie", helped the Allies during World War II.

Airboy confronted such weird antagonists as intelligent rats, the mysterious Misery — whose Airtomb imprisoned the souls of dead pilots — and his cleavage-baring Nazi archnemesis, Valkyrie, a German aviatrix who later became his ally.

The second Airboy was his son, David Nelson III, who took on the costume and name after his father died.

Footnotes

^ Comicon.com (June 6, 2007): "Moonstone Has Airboy with Dixon Scripting", by Jennifer M. Contino

References

Who are Superheroes??

2008-06-30T07:14:00.000-07:00

A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is a fictional character "of unprecedented physical prowess dedicated to acts of derring-do in the public interest". Since the debut of the prototypal superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas — have dominated American comic books and crossed over into other media. A female superhero is sometimes called a superheroine.

By most definitions, characters need not have actual superhuman powers to be deemed superheroes, although sometimes terms such as costumed crimefighters are used to refer to those without such powers who have many other common traits of superheroes.

The two-word version of the term is a trademark co-owned by DC Comics and Marvel Comics

In superhero role-playing games, such as Hero Games' Champions, Green Ronin Publishing's Mutants and Masterminds or Cryptic Studios' MMORPG City Of Heroes, superheroes are informally organized into categories or archetypes based on their skills and abilities. Since comic book and role-playing fandom often overlap, these labels have carried over into discussions of superheroes outside the context of games:

Plastic Man's shapeshifting abilities have often been used for humorous effect. Plastic Man #17 (May 1949). Cover art by Jack Cole.

Armored Hero: A gadgeteer whose powers are derived from a suit of powered armor, e.g. Iron Man, Steel, Rocket Red.
Blaster: A hero whose main power is a distance attack, usually an "energy blast" e.g., Cyclops, Starfire, Static.
Brick/Tank: A character with a superhuman degree of strength and endurance and usually an oversized, muscular body, e.g., Robotman, Hercules, The Thing, The Hulk, Colossus, Mr. Incredible, and Savage Dragon. Almost every superhero team has one member of this variety, a fact X-Factor's Guido Carosella noted when he took the codename "Strong Guy" at a reporter's suggestion that was his role in the team.
Dominus: A hero who controls a giant robot, a subtype common in Japanese superhero and science fiction media, e.g. Megas XLR, Big Guy,S.T.R.I.P.E. from the series Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. is a good example of an American comics Dominus.
Elementalist: A hero who controls some natural element or part of the natural world, e.g., Storm (weather), Polaris (magnetism), Swamp Thing (vegetation), the Human Torch (fire).
Gadgeteer: A hero who invents special equipment that often imitates superpowers, e.g., Nite Owl, Amazo.
Healers: A hero who is able to quickly recover from serious injury e.g. Deadpool, Wolverine, Lobo, Xombi. Characters like Mr. Immortal possess a healing factor so advanced that they are truly immortal.
Mage: A hero who is trained in the use of magic e.g., Doctor Fate, Doctor Strange, Zatanna, most Magical Girls.
Marksman: A hero who uses projectile weapons, typically guns, bows and arrows or throwing blades, e.g., Punisher, Rose Tattoo, Green Arrow, Speedy, Hawkeye.
Martial Artist: A hero whose physical abilities are mostly human rather than superhuman but whose hand-to-hand combat skills are phenomenal. Some of these characters are actually superhuman (Iron Fist and Daredevil), while others are human beings who are extremely skilled and athletic (Batman and related characters, Elektra, and Shang Chi).
Mentalist: A hero who possesses psionic abilities, such as telekinesis, telepathy and extra-sensory perception, e.g., Professor X, Jean Grey, Saturn Girl.
Possessed: A hero that harbors an entity inside of him/herself. e.g. The Spectre, Ghost Rider
Shapeshifter: A hero who can manipulate his/her own body to suit his/her needs, such as stretching (Mister Fantastic, Plastic Man, Elongated Man), or disguise (Changeling, Mystique). Other such shapeshifters can transform into animals as a means of combat (Beast Boy). Characters like The Mask also share lots of these traits as well.
Size changer: A shapeshifter who can alter his/her size, e.g., the Atom (shrinking only), Colossal Boy, Garganta (growth only), Hank Pym, Elasti-Girl (both).
Slasher: A hero whose main power is some form of hand-to-hand cutting weapon, either devices, such as knives or swords (Zorro), Gladiator, or natural, such as claws (Wolverine).
Speedster: A hero possessing superhuman speed and reflexes, e.g., The Flash, Quicksilver.

These categories often overlap. For instance, Batman is both a skilled martial artist and gadgeteer and Hellboy has the strength and durability of a brick and the and some mystic abilities or powers, as a mage. Wolverine also fits into a healing category. Very powerful characters, such as Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Dr. Manhattan and the Silver Surfer can be listed in many categories, and are sometimes in a category all their own, known as "original," as they were some of the earliest heroes in comics.