Superhero Origins: Professor X (Redux)
Superhero Origins: Professor X
Supervillain Origins: Professor Zoom
Try not to make any bald or wheelchair jokes in your head, he can hear it! Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we will explore the comic book origin of Charles Xavier, also known as Professor X. As with most comic book characters, there are often re-imaginations and different versions to a character’s past. We have chosen primarily to follow the original storyline which unfolded in 1965’s “X-Men” #12 and was expanded upon in 1966’s “X-Men” #16. In this story, it was revealed that Charles’ father, Brian Xavier, was a nuclear scientist who was accidentally killed in New Mexico during a nuclear bomb test. At the funeral, Charles’ mother was consoled by Brian’s assistant, Kurt Marko, who Charles greatly distrusted. After a few months, Marko married Charles’ mother, although Charles, who was already gifted with the ability of telepathy, rightly suspected him of wanting his mother’s wealth, position, and property. Eventually, Marko’s true motives were revealed, and he became an abusive spouse and stepfather. One day, Marko’s son from his previous marriage, Cain, arrived after being expelled from school, and he cruelly tormented Charles. Not long after Charles’ mother died, and Charles was left with Marko and his son. He overheard Cain asking his father for money, even going so far as to accuse him of causing Brian Xavier’s death. Charles confronted his step father, who denied the accusations, while an agitated Cain through several test tubes towards Charles, which caused an explosion. Kurt Marko was mortally wounded by the blast, but managed to carry both Cain and Charles to safety. As he lay dying, he promised Charles that his father’s death was an accident. Not long after his step father’s death, Charles began discovering more of his mutant abilities, which caused him to lose his hair while still a teenager. Despite this inconvenience, Charles’ powers allowed him to excel in the classroom, on the football field, and on the track. Charles would eventually found a school for all mutants to attend. After realizing that humans had discovered the presence of mutants, and noticing that a strong anti-mutant sentiment was emerging, Charles decided he needed to act. Using his mental powers to enter the FBI headquarters, Charles convinced two agents that the persecution of mutants was wrong, and offered to track down all of the mutants in the United States. One of the first mutants Charles found was Scott Summers, aka Cyclops. Charles convinced Cyclops to come with him to his mansion, where he became the first member of the X-Men. It wasn’t until 1966’s “X-Men” #20 that we learned how Charles lost the use of his legs. While preparing for a fight with the evil alien menace Lucifer, Charles revealed to Jean Grey how his first encounter with the alien resulted in the him becoming a paraplegic. Some time ago, Charles had visited a mysteriously walled city in the Himalaya, where began to suspect that the people living there were under the control of a sinister being. Using his telepathic abilities to infiltrate the city, Charles discovered that its residents lived in fear of its ruler, and he convinced them to storm the palace. After successfully capturing the palace, Charles decided to confront this evil dictator on his own. Unbeknownst to Charles, however, this dictator was in fact an alien known as Lucifer, and he had set a trap. When confronted by Xavier, Lucifer flicked a switch and a large concrete slab fell onto Charles, crushing his legs. Charles explained to Jean that his confrontation was one of the main reasons why he founded the X-Men, to help defend mankind from dangerous threats like Lucifer. Like all comic book heroes, Professor X has gone through numerous re-imaginings, perhaps none more prominent than in the Ultimate X-Men storyline. In this series, Charles was the world’s most powerful telepath and founder of the X-Men. He originally pursued the idea of a mutant society with Magneto, but was ultimately betrayed and paralyzed by his former friend. Just like in the original continuity, in this storyline Charles and the X-Men frequently come into conflict with Magneto and other villainous foes. As a telepath, Professor X has a wide range of powers, including the ability to read people’s thoughts and to project his own thoughts into people’s minds. He can also project bolts of psychic energy, which he can use to stun opponents or inflict mental trauma. One of his most important powers, however, is the ability to find any mutant in the world through Cerebro, a large machine that amplifies his powers. Although Charles admits that he does not actually need Cerebro, because his telepathic ability is so strong that he is able to detect other mutants with his brain alone, he claims that he created it for the other members of the X-Men to use. Aside from comics, Professor X has appeared in various media. He was voiced by Cedric Smith in the popular 1990’s animated series “X-Men”. He is perhaps best known, however, for playing a major role in the X-Men film franchise, where he is played by Sir Patrick Stewart in the “present” and James McAvoy in the “past”. Are you a fan of Professor X? For more comic book origins, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
