X-Men

X-Men is an American comic book superhero franchise created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, first published by Marvel Comics in 1963, centered on a group of mutant humans born with superhuman abilities who are trained and led by the telepathic Professor Charles Xavier to use their powers for good while navigating a world that frequently fears and persecutes mutants as a class. The franchise has long been read as an allegory for real world prejudice and civil rights struggles, most closely associated with the philosophical divide between Xavier's pursuit of peaceful coexistence and his former friend Magneto's more militant response to anti mutant hostility, and its comics have expanded into a large family of related titles following different mutant teams across decades of interlocking continuity. Twentieth Century Fox produced a live action film series beginning with X-Men in 2000, credited with helping revive the modern superhero film genre, before the franchise's film rights returned to Marvel Studios following the Walt Disney Company's acquisition of Fox assets in 2019, and the property has also produced an influential 1990s animated television series and numerous video games.