The Original X-Men

The original X-Men embodied every youngster's greatest hope and fear: to be different from everyone else. They were teenage mutants, gifted with latent powers that usually did not manifest themselves until the onset of puberty, and the metaphor that equated adolescents with budding super heroes was a masterstroke. The notion that mutants were fated to be hated and feared by ordinary people emphasized the adolescent sense of isolation, and the mutants had to conceal their powers so they could remain at large to aid their ignorant persecutors. Hidden talents, however, created ethical dilemmas. Should the mutant Angel, for example, choose safety and conformity by keeping his wings hidden beneath his clothing, or should he risk self expression and fly free?

All in all, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had come up with something special when they introduced this super hero group in 1963, but somehow it didn't quite take flight. Gifted teenagers struggling in an uncomprehending world seemed a natural concept, but it was weakened by the decision to make the X-Men students. They were enrolled at Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, and it was the older and wiser Professor X who called the shots. If kids with built-in death rays still had to attend classes, what use were super powers after all? The X-Men were ordered around like ordinary teenagers, forced to wear the school uniform, and put through grueling training exercises that actually endangered their lives. The idea of sending kids into deadly combat struck an uneasy note, and minor rewards like praise and individually designed costumes didn't seem quite good enough.

The only way The X-Men could express their natural rebelliousness was to drop out of school. Most of them waited only until a new roster of adult mutants had been introduced. Subsequently, the original members were regrouped, and achieved solid success on their own as X-Factor, but by then they weren't being presented as kids anymore.