Marvel History: The Hilarious Reason Why Stan Lee Made The X-Men Mutants
Despite debuting in "Uncanny X-Men" #1 in 1963, the titular superteam remains highly relevant, with comics starring the mutants still being published, the animated series "X-Men '97" earning critical and fan acclaim, and the live-action versions of X-Men characters being introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (see: "The Marvels" post-credits scene). Unlike most superheroes, mutants' abilities come from the X-Gene they're born with, not an accident involving a radioactive spider or a chemical explosion granting those impacted incredible powers. The late Stan Lee, who co-created the X-Men alongside Jack Kirby, admitted he was "cowardly" in not writing dramatic origins for the team members.
"I wanted to do another group of superheroes but I was getting tired now of figuring out how they get their superpowers," Lee said in a 2004 interview with the Television Academy Foundation. "I couldn't have everybody bitten by a radioactive spider or exposed to a gamma ray explosion. I took the cowardly way out. I said to myself, 'Why don't I just say they're mutants; they were born that way?
X-Men stories are filled with considerable social commentary, especially on the mistreatment of a group of people viewed as different and lesser by society, with hatred towards mutants being among the X-Men's most significant problems. According to Kirby, the artist and chief architect behind the X-Men, real-life conflict inspired the team.
Jack Kirby says the X-Men came from a real-life scare
Jack Kirby, who co-created the likes of Hulk, Doctor Doom, Black Panther, the Avengers, and the X-Men in collaboration with Lee, said the mutant team was made to parallel the rising fear of the radiation scare during the 1960s: "I created X-Men because of the radiation scare at the time," Kirby said in "Jack Kirby Collector 81." "What I did was give the beneficial side. I always feel there's hope for the human condition. Sure, I could have made it real scary. We don't know the connotations of genetics and radiation. We can create radiation, but we don't know what it's going to do. I think there's a possible path through these dangerous courses that will steer us to permanent peace and make new people of us. That's what I did with the X-Men. They were young people who enjoyed life and had a teacher."
Stan Lee might have offered a funnier response to the creation of the X-Men, claiming he was just tired of figuring out ways to create superheroes via the complications and complexities of the usual methods. But Kirby clearly saw the team as a reflection of the real world and the unknown impact of radiation scares. Regardless of the true answer, the X-Men quickly morphed into an incredibly relevant team, with people of all backgrounds connecting to its heroes and their fight to be accepted. In the process, Kirby and Lee crafted one of the most relatable and important Marvel teams ever.