The Early Years: First Class

There is a lot of change ahead for the X-Men, including a very different roster. Some founding X-Men members are dropping off the team for a while, and they will be missed. This is the end of the “good old days” of the original five: Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, and Marvel Girl. So lets look back at who these characters are and what they accomplished in their first tenure with the X-Men.

A Big Green Goodbye

The X-Men have only once chance to save Professor X, and his name is Bruce Banner. Unfortunately, his other name is The Incredible Hulk. The secret to saving Charles is locked inside the mind of a monster, and it’ll take everything they have to get it out. The X-Men have had run-ins with the Avengers in the past, but this is actually their first encounter with the Hulk. Issue 66 shows us how this team performs against the most powerful brute force on planet Earth. This is also the final issue of this titles early run, before taking a five year hiatus. The days of Scott, Bobby, Jean, Hank, and Warren end here, for now.

Origins: Beast

The next team member to get an origin story is Beast, and it’s the longest origin we’ve heard yet. It is told through vignettes that span five issues, from 49 to 53. It goes so far back that we see Hank as a little baby, instead of jumping in with him as a teenager, as with Scott and Bobby. It is a story about a strange child with gifts both mental and physical. Lets find out what Henry McCoy was like before he knew all those big words.

Beast Explained

Issue 48 gives us a glimpse into the powers of Dr. Henry McCoy, the strong man of the group. Every super hero team needs its strong man. The Avengers have Hulk. The Justice League has Superman. The Fantastic Four have the Thing. The X-Men will have many strong men in their group over the years, but Hank is the original. He is also very unique, in both his physical and mental prowess. This little vignette sheds some light on who he is and what he can do.

Up To New Tricks

Now that the X-Men have split up into smaller groups, we get to see the members having some adventures without any back up to bail them out. What kind of trouble will these teenagers get into now that school’s out? Hank and Bobby are still living on the east coast, hitting up their old haunts and girlfriends. They don’t suspect that they’re about to have an encounter with an old enemy. And why would they? What could possibly go wrong on date night?

The Gang Gets Ugly

At the end of issue 39, the team once again gets new uniforms. They’re very colorful and I guess they’re indicative of the time period, but man… this team is a fashion disaster. The blue and gold motif is gone and instead the team is a mess of primary colors. This was an attempt to make them each look more distinct, but they end up looking pretty stupid.

Licking Ka-Zar and Reading Robot Minds

Okay so the Beast is going to lick some neanderthals and it seems, from context, that Ka-Zar is actually a neanderthal and not even a lowly homo sapiens. Suck it, Ka-Zar. It’s gonna be a rollicking day for the X-Men.

X-Men Face to Face

Getting back to All New X-Men, the X-Men from 1963 are coming face to face with the X-Men from 2013. This is having a strong effect on each character, but they’re not all reacting the same way. Some of them are taking it rather well, while others are finding it hard to adjust.

The younger X-Men are shown a terrible future, where they have aged fifty years and not much of Xavier’s dream has been accomplished. They have to hear some horrible news, such as Xavier’s death at the hands of Cyclops. They are in disbelief. The present day X-Men are forced to look upon their younger selves, when they were full of so much hope and so much potential. They were kids. Such a thing forces someone to look back at how they lived their life and realize the choices that they made.

How each person reacts is a really good illustration of their personalities, so lets take this moment to get to know them each a little better.

Beast Saves the X-Men

Now I want to jump ahead fifty years to our present day. Lets talk about a current Marvel title called All New X-Men, one that premiered in November.

At this point in the Marvel Universe, the X-Men are broken and fragmented. The mansion is destroyed. Wolverine is the headmaster of the new Jean Grey School for Gifted Youth. Cyclops is leading a militant mutant revolution. Cable and Colossus are wanted by the authorities. Wolverine and Rogue are Avengers and Magneto and Emma Frost are X-Men. Charles Xavier is dead. His dream is about to die with him.

And with the one person who it seems could set this straight, Cyclops, waging a war against the human race, the X-Men feel helpless. With things looking as bleak as they ever have, Beast decides to take some drastic measures.

Beast Quits the X-Men

Shortly into issue #8 Beast and Iceman are in their civilian clothes on a busy New York City street. Suddenly there is a young child on the very top of an extremely high water tower. How in the hell does this shit happen? No time to give it any thought, the Beast is springing into action.

He does manage to save the day, but at a high cost. New Yorkers hate mutants, and they especially hate the really crafty ones who rescue children. Dirty Mutants.