10 Amazing Facts You Probably Didn't Know About The X-MEN

The X-Men are one of the most popular superhero teams ever created, but there's a lot we're willing to bet you don't know about the team's weird and wonderful history. These are the most mind-blowing facts...

By JoshWilding - Jul 27, 2016 08:07 AM EST

Filed Under: X-Men

Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1963, the X-Men are one of the most unique and interesting teams in comic book history. These days, they've sadly been pushed aside by Marvel Comics due to their decision to focus on properties like The Avengers and Inhumans, but with decades worth of history behind them, there's no way the X-Men's legacy will ever be overlooked or forgotten.

The team has featured literally hundreds of different members over the years and their adventures have resulted in the creation of some of the best villains ever seen within the pages of any comic book.

As you might expect then, a team with a history as storied as this have done a lot of very weird and wonderful things, and we're willing to bet that there's a lot you don't know about them. From some mind-blowing crossovers with DC Comics to the sexiest issue ever released and even some strange movie trivia, what you'll find here is a look at some of the most amazing facts about the X-Men!

10. Professor X Had An Unhealthy Obsession With The Teenage Jean Grey

Many members of the X-Men have found themselves falling for a teammate over the years, but Cyclops and Jean Grey were pretty much an item from the first time we met them. However, little did Scott Summers know that he had a romantic rival of sorts in the form of his mentor and father figure, Professor Charles Xavier! It was revealed in the pages of X-Men #4 that Charles (who had to be at least 40 at the time) had a secret desire for Jean Grey, a girl of perhaps only 15 or 16.

The leader of the superhero team didn't want to tell her how he felt because he was in a wheelchair - rather than it, you know, making him a sex offender - and Stan Lee and Jack Kirby understandably never resolved or addressed this plot thread again. That's for the best ultimately, but just think how different things might have been if they had, eh?

It feels like it's been forever since we last saw a Marvel/DC Comics crossover, and given that the two companies are competing more today than ever before, chances are that one won't happen in the foreseeable future either. However, back in 2011's Teen Titans #1, fired Uncanny X-Men writer Scott Lobdell found a unique way to take a shot at his former employers in the pages of that relaunched comic book series.

After Kid Flash attempted to help evacuate a building which was burning down, he accidentally blew it up. However, we then learn that the mansion he's just destroyed is in Westchester County, the home of the X-Men! This was clearly a nod to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, and may very well have summed up the writer's feelings about the series he was unceremoniously dropped from.

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8. They Were Nearly Named "The Merry Mutants"

As team names go, "X-Men" is pretty cool, right? Well, as creative as Stan Lee can be, his early ideas for this group of heroes was not good. The writer wanted to call them "The Merry Mutants", an idea which was shot down by Marvel's publisher not because it sounds ridiculously camp and silly, but because he was worried that readers wouldn't understand what the word mutant actually meant.

Lee tried to get "The Mutants" the green light, but that too was turned down, leading him to come up with the X-Men moniker instead. While the idea of the X-Gene would be introduced a little further down the line, Charles Xavier is quoted in the first issue as giving the team this name because they had powers humans did not, hence: "X-Men, for EX-tra power!" That's still pretty lame, but hey, it's worked out pretty well in the years since!

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7. Magneto And Professor X Were Going To Be Brothers

The relationship between Professor X and Magneto has always been fascinating to follow, though it's never quite been the bromance that Matthew Vaughn and Bryan Singer have created in the recent X-Men movies since the release of First Class in 2011. They've been allies and enemies many times over the years, but had things panned out a little differently, Charles and Erik would have been actual brothers too.

Back in 2008, Stan Lee revealed that he personally never saw Magneto as a full on villain and actually wanted to make him and Xavier part of the same family in order to bring their similarities and differences closer together. He didn't reveal why that never happened, but you have to believe that it would have shaken up the way things have since played out for these two in a major way.

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6. Amalgam Made The X-Men Even Weirder

I mentioned earlier that crossovers between Marvel and DC are a rarity these days, and perhaps this is why! In the 90s, a bizarre Amalgam Universe was created which basically mashed up heroes and villains from both companies to create new characters. More often than not, these were terrible, though in the case of the X-Men, the results were an equal mixture of batsh*t crazy and inspired.

There was Mr. X (Professor X/Martian Manhunter), Dark Claw (Wolverine/Batman), Amazon (Storm/Wonder Woman), Sparrow (Jubilee/Robin), and White Witch (Scarlet Witch/Zatanna) to name but a few, and while some of those worked better than others, this lot made for a pretty formidable team! Thankfully though, the whole thing was fairly short lived, and the X-Men were soon back to being their usual selves.

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5. The Sexiest X-Men Comic Book In History

It's not uncommon for comic book artists to throw in some sneaky Easter Eggs for fans to try and spot, but Green Lantern's Ethan Van Sciver took thinks in a very weird direction when he worked on Grant Morrison's New X-Men #118 a few years back. The artist managed to find a way to include the word "Sex" on almost every singe page, and while he would later claim that it was relevant to the context of the issue, he was probably just have some fun and looking for a way to spice up his time working on the series.

Take a look at the panel above and see if you can spot the word. Found it? Well, they're not all as easy as that, and this unique Easter Egg has made the issue a collector item of sorts. Plus, let's face it; this is far from the strangest thing which happened in this series during Morrison's run!

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4. Astonishing X-Men Featured The First Ever Gay Wedding In A Comic Book

More diversity in comic books has become a priority for both Marvel and DC Comics in recent years, but it's still surprising that the first gay marriage in the history of the medium didn't take place until an issue of Astonishing X-Men in 2012, especially as the X-Men titles have always featured a number of prominent homosexual characters.

The wedding saw Northstar (who had made headlines two decades earlier when Marvel revealed that he was gay) and his partner Kyle tie the not after gay marriage was made legal in the US, something which made this storyline particularly topical and noteworthy at the time. It was also appropriate that this took place in the pages of an X-Men comic book as prejudice against mutants has often been compared to people's prejudice against the LGBT community.

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3. Channing Tatum Nearly Played Gambit In X-Men: The Last Stand

Will Channing Tatum ever actually get to play Gambit? As of right now, the long delayed solo movie for the character (which was supposed to be in theaters this October) seems to be stuck in limbo, but it turns out that the Foxcatcher star very nearly played the Cajun character way back in 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand. Unfortunately, the movie constantly changing hands led to the character being written out, and Tatum was then too busy with G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra in 2009 to play Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

His persistent love for the hero would eventually lead to X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner seeking him out for a solo outing, but seeing as that doesn't seem to be going anywhere and the fact that the character didn't cameo in X-Men: Apocalypse as many expected, it may be best not to get too excited about that happening.

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2. X-Men #1 Remains The Biggest Selling Comic Book In History

Comic book sales were all over the place in the 90s, but regardless how ridiculous things got in terms of storylines and variant covers, many still sold in massive numbers. One such example is 1991's X-Men #1 by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee. Incredibly, Marvel Comics shifted more than seven million copies in total, and as a result, it remains the highest selling comic book in history even today.

As a result, this issue holds a Guinness World Record, and nothing has come close since. For example, even last year's Star Wars #1 only managed to shift something like a million issues, so the chances of X-Men #1 ever being topped seem slim. The downside to this is the fact that the issue is pretty much worthless as you can find dozens of copies on eBay in NM for a surprisingly reasonable price.

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1. Bryan Singer Banned The Cast Of X-Men From Reading Comic Books

Bryan Singer has often drawn the ire of fans, and that may very well stem from this particular fact rather than his habit of putting the X-Men in leather! It was in 2013 that Hugh Jackman revealed that Singer actually banned comic books from the set as he wanted the actors to only pay attention to the script. It's always been clear that Singer is a bigger fan of the animated series than source material, but the actors found a way around this by trading them under their trailer doors in secret.

Regardless of Singer's rules on set though, the franchise could have been very different as some very unexpected names were considered by 20th Century Fox before they chose him. Among them were the likes of Robert Rodriguez, Tim Burton, Richard Donner, Brett Ratner, John McTiernan, Danny Boyle, Irvin Kershner, and perhaps most worryingly, Joel Schumacher!

Which of these X-Men facts was your favourite? Have we missed any you know about? As always, be sure to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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74 Comments

1 2

Kman - 7/27/2016, 8:34 AM

Fact #1: They've never been done justice in a movie

KiLLeR939210 - 7/27/2016, 8:40 AM

u forgot that they are mutants!!!

bkmeijer2 - 7/27/2016, 8:42 AM

Thanks to number 1 my disliking of Singer is fueled even more now

MrPositive - 7/27/2016, 8:44 AM

NEXT as always

blackandyellow - 7/27/2016, 8:50 AM

tugboy - 7/27/2016, 8:56 AM

Singer has at least been way better than Ratner. But Cyclops and Rogue have never been done justice. Wolverine is good. Iceman is good. Angel has always been supbar. I like the new Beast.

1 2

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10 Amazing Facts You Probably Didn't Know About The X-MEN

The X-Men are one of the most popular superhero teams ever created, but there's a lot we're willing to bet you don't know about the team's weird and wonderful history. These are the most mind-blowing facts...

10. Professor X Had An Unhealthy Obsession With The Teenage Jean Grey

9. The Teen Titans Burned Down Their Mansion

8. They Were Nearly Named "The Merry Mutants"

7. Magneto And Professor X Were Going To Be Brothers

6. Amalgam Made The X-Men Even Weirder

5. The Sexiest X-Men Comic Book In History

4. Astonishing X-Men Featured The First Ever Gay Wedding In A Comic Book

3. Channing Tatum Nearly Played Gambit In X-Men: The Last Stand

2. X-Men #1 Remains The Biggest Selling Comic Book In History

1. Bryan Singer Banned The Cast Of X-Men From Reading Comic Books

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