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Charles Xavier was a powerful mutant telepath, as well as the founder and leader of the X-Men, a group of mutant heroes dedicated to fighting for peaceful co-existence between humans and mutants.

Origins[]

When Charles was young, his mother Sharon remarried, wedding Kurt Marko. Sharon was an ill woman, and both she and Charles adored Kurt, unaware that Kurt had only married Sharon for her money. Kurt had a son of his own, Cain Marko. While Charles liked and cared for his step-brother and attempted to befriend him, Cain, who was abused by his father, hated and envied Charles since his father seemed to love him more.[2]

Charles' telepathic abilities began to manifest in his childhood, causing him to involuntarily read others' minds and plaguing him with headaches. After reading Cain's mind, his step-brother outed him as a mutant and bullied him relentlessly, ensuring that everyone around Charles hated him as much as Cain did.[2]

Still attempting to hide his mutant gifts, Charles studied medicine with the dream of becoming a family doctor.[3] At some point after his studies, he joined the army. While in the army, he met a Scottish girl by the name of Moira. The two fell in love, and after Xavier proposed to her, they became engaged. While Charles was deployed, Moira fell in love with Joe MacTaggert. She sent Charles a letter, returning his engagement ring and ending their relationship.[4]

At some point during his travels, Xavier went to Egypt where he encountered the young thief Ororo Munroe. Ororo, and all street urchins in Cairo, had been enslaved by the Shadow King, a telepathic mutant who viewed non-mutant lifeforms as worthy only of exploitation. The Shadow King invited Xavier to his table, and the two spoke. Xavier disagreed with his methods and world view, and the two engaged in telepathic combat. Xavier prevailed, and trapped the Shadow King within the Astral Plane. Ororo, who would one day become his pupil under the name Storm, and the other children of Cairo were freed.[5]

Xavier also travelled to a war-torn country to work at a psychiatric hospital, using his telepathic powers to help people. While there, he met and befriended an aide named Magnus. When invading soldiers who had remained in the country after the war attacked the hospital and kidnapped a young woman that the two men had befriended, they went off to rescue her, revealing to each other that they both possessed mutant abilities. Magnus, who had lost his family in the war, tried to kill the soldiers, but Xavier stopped him. He tried to reason with Magnus, saying that further violence would solve nothing, but Magnus scoffed at his notions of peace and left.

Magnus, taking the name Magneto after his powers of magnetism, started gathering mutant followers and attacking human society. Xavier stopped him, and Magneto disappeared for many years, going underground to gather his strength.[6]

Xavier's battles with Magneto would cost him the use of his legs. He recuperated in a hospital in India, where he met a mutant nurse by the name of Amelia Voght. Xavier was bitter and frustrated, but Amelia helped nurse him back to health and made sure he did not give in to self-pity. They soon fell in love, and Amelia returned with him to America.[7]

The X-Men[]

After his encounter with the Shadow King, Xavier had grown to believe that humanity needed protection from those who would use their gifts to harm others. Seeking to provide an example of mutants who used their powers for the benefit of the world, he created the X-Men, a group of mutant heroes under his tutelage. Xavier trained the X-Men in the use of their powers and dispatched them on various missions. One of his first students was Robert Drake, also known as "Iceman". Xavier was often a stern teacher, which led him to clash with Bobby. After a particularly dangerous mission, where Xavier nearly lost one of his other pupils, Polaris, Iceman argued with the Professor and left the team together with Polaris. It would be years before Bobby and Xavier reconciled, after Xavier and the X-Men aided an adult Bobby in tracking down Polaris, who was believed to be kidnapped.[8]

Charles' dedication to his X-Men soon cost him his relationship with Amelia. Amelia hated her mutant powers and wanted Xavier to live a sheltered life with her. When Xavier would not give up the X-Men for her, she left, leaving Xavier heartbroken. He sealed away his emotions and lived only for the X-Men and his dream of human-mutant coexistence.[7]

Night of the Sentinels[]

When Xavier's X-Men rescued the young mutant Jubilee from mutant hunting Sentinel robots, Xavier and the X-Men discovered that the Mutant Control Agency was leaking information on registered mutants to the Sentinels, who would hunt down and capture the targeted mutants. Xavier ordered the X-Men to break into to the agency and erase its records, in order to prevent more mutants from being targeted. The mission was a success, but at a great cost, as two of the X-Men were lost; Beast captured and imprisoned and Morph killed.[9] The X-Men regrouped, and managed to destroy the Sentinel factory.[10]

Return of Magneto[]

Having spent years gathering his strength and plotting to bring about war between humanity and mutantkind, Xavier's old nemesis Magneto returned. He planned to provoke a war by stealing nuclear weapons and firing them on human targets, but was temporarily foiled by the X-Men. Magneto soon struck again, now attacking a chemical factory in the hopes of drawing Xavier out. He made short work of the X-Men, but Xavier managed to use his telepathic powers to defeat Magneto, by forcing him to relive traumatic memories of his childhood, prompting him to flee.[11][12]

The Cure[]

Learning of the development of a "cure" for mutants by Dr. Gottfried Adler, Xavier travelled to Muir Island to meet with Adler and his colleague and ex-fiancé, Moira MacTaggert. When Adler refused to see him, Xavier attempted to probe his mind, only to be stopped by a powerful presence.[13] The cure was revealed to be a scam, perpetrated by an ancient being known as Apocalypse, who planned to use it to enslave mutants and force them to do his bidding. Xavier had his X-Men intervene, and they managed to stop Apocalypse's schemes.[13]

Days of Future Past[]

When the time-traveler Lucas Bishop travelled to the present to warn the X-Men of an assassin who was plotting to assassinate someone in Washington, an event which would bring about a dark future ruled by the Sentinels, Xavier probed his mind to see if he was telling the truth. Xavier learned that Bishop was indeed from the future, and that his warnings of a traitor within the X-Men had to be taken seriously, even when Bishop accused one of Xavier's X-Men; Gambit, of being the traitor. Xavier travelled to Washington to participate in the Senate hearings on mutant affairs, backed up by the X-Men.[14]

It was soon uncovered that the assassin was the shapeshifting mutant Mystique who had impersonated Gambit in order to assassinate Senator Robert Kelly. When the X-Men foiled the assassination, Xavier was invited to Kelly's office to speak with him, only to find that Kelly had been kidnapped by Magneto.[14]

Fearing that anti-mutant hysteria would sweep the nation if Kelly were not found, Xavier used Cerebro to locate Magneto. The X-Men arrived there, only to find that Kelly had again been kidnapped by the Sentinels, with Magneto left wounded. The X-Men brought him back to the mansion, as Xavier used Cerebro to find one of the men behind the Sentinels by digging through Gambit's memories of a previous incident on the island of Genosha. After finding the location of the Sentinel base, Xavier and the X-Men departed to rescue Kelly, despite Magneto's warnings that they would be throwing their lives away.[15]

The X-Men stormed the base in an all-out assault, with Xavier providing air support from the Blackbird. His plane was shot down by the Sentinels, but he was rescued by Magneto, who had experienced a change of heart, and had come to aid the X-Men. Together, the two old friends managed to destroy the Master Mold, ending the Sentinel threat. Magneto declared them even, and left. Having successfully saved Senator Kelly, the X-Men gained a powerful political ally.[15]

The Savage Land[]

Xavier received a distress call from an injured Magneto, begging Charles to travel to a set of coordinates in Antarctica. Unbeknownst to Xavier, this was in fact a scheme by Mr. Sinister. Using former X-Man Morph, whom Sinister had found and revived, he tricked Xavier and Magneto to both travel to the Savage Land, where they would be rendered powerless and could be captured by Sinister for use in his experiments. Upon arrival, Xavier and Magneto were ambushed. They found themselves unable to use their mutant powers, but to Xavier's surprise, he had regained the use of his legs.[16]

The two old friends were forced to work together to survive the hazards of the Savage Land without their powers. They were hunted by Sinister's mutates, superhumans once created by Magneto. After painstakingly making their way back to Xavier's ship, only to be captured, they were rescued by Ka-Zar. He helped lead them into Magneto's old citadel, now Sinister's base of operations, so that they could rescue Ka-Zar's people, who had been enslaved or captured by Sinister. The trio were surprised to encounter all of the mutates, and Mr. Sinister and his Nasty Boys, who easily captured Magneto and Xavier while Ka-Zar fled.[17]

Sinister forced Xavier to summon the X-Men so that he could capture them as well, plotting to use all the captured mutants' genetic material in order to create a race of super-mutants subservient to him. While initially captured, the X-Men succeeded in disabling Sinister's power-suppression equipment, allowing them and Xavier to break free from Sinister, defeat his mutates, and destroy his corporeal form.[18]

With the battle won, Xavier asked Magneto to join him in his work to fight for the betterment of both humanity and mutantkind. Magneto declined, telling him they each had their own destiny and that only the future would prove which of them was right. The two parted as friends once again. Morph, who had broken free from Sinister's programming, received Xavier's aid in rebuilding his shattered psyche.[18]

The Phoenix[]

After an encounter with an alien spaceship within the Morlock tunnels, Xavier found himself telepathically linked to a mysterious alien creature.[19] Xavier was plagued by visions as the creature begged him for help. Knowing only that an event of great importance was soon to occur in space, he dispatched the X-Men to sneak aboard a space-shuttle piloted by Dr. Corbeau. Xavier's vision proved correct, as the X-Men foiled a scheme by the alien Erik the Red.[20] The X-Men nearly died as they piloted the shuttle on a crash course back to Earth. In order to save them, Jean Grey found herself bonded with a mysterious entity known as the Phoenix.[21] Xavier clashed with his X-Men, particularly Cyclops, who blamed the Professor for sending the X-Men into combat unprepared.[21]

As Xavier suffered yet another debilitating vision, the safeguards he had put on his mind to control his powers weakened, unleashing his "dark side", the sum total of his subconscious destructive urges. He lashed out at his X-Men, until Jean was able to awaken him telepathically. Not trusting himself to be around his X-Men, he departed for Muir Island, where he hoped to recuperate.[21]

Here, he finally encountered the alien who had haunted his visions: Lilandra Neramani, princess of the Shi'ar Empire. Lilandra explained that her brother, Emperor D'ken had gone mad with power, and sought to use the ancient M'kraan Crystal as a weapon of unparalleled destruction. Lilandra stole the crystal and fled to Earth, finding herself drawn to Xavier, with whom she shared a mysterious link. Xavier vowed to aid her, but they were interrupted by his brother Cain Marko, now working for Davan Shakari. Cain hurled Xavier out of a window, and kidnapped Lilandra. Xavier narrowly escaped death as he was saved by Banshee.[21][22]

He summoned his X-Men for help, and they pursued Lilandra to Cassidy Keep. The X-Men fought a losing battle against the Juggernaut and his associate Black Tom Cassidy, but the battle was suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Gladiator, leader of the emperor's guard. Before Gladiator could take Lilandra and the crystal, Jean intervened. The Phoenix now possessing her was revealed to be the ancient guardian of the M'kraan Crystal. She managed to defeat Gladiator, and teleported the X-Men onto Lilandra's ship.[22][23]

Before the X-Men had the chance to get their bearings, Lilandra's ship was attacked by the Starjammers, intergalactic pirates who stole the crystal, hoping to use it to get close to D'ken, so that they could kill him. The plan went awry, and D'ken got his hand on the crystal, cracking it and causing it to absorb him and all others nearby.[23] As the crystal rapidly began to suck in its surroundings, which would eventually result in the destruction of the galaxy, the X-Men, Imperial Guard and Jean fought against D'ken, who had gained godlike powers inside the crystal. Jean succeeded in freeing all those trapped within the crystal, except D'ken, and repaired the crack, trapping him within forever. In order to prevent the crystal from ever falling into the wrong hands, she decided to sacrifice herself and bring it into the Sun, where no one could reach it. Xavier comforted a heartbroken Cyclops, telling him the story of the mythological phoenix, and suggesting that perhaps it symbolized the fact that hope could never die.[24]

Dark Phoenix[]

To the shock of Xavier and the other X-Men, Jean survived her journey into the heart of the Sun and returned to Earth. She was taken to Muir Island for treatment, where Xavier and Moira soon learned that the Phoenix was gaining ever more control over Jean. The Phoenix had grown intoxicated and corrupted by the human emotions it felt through Jean, and refused to leave her body. Believing it best she continue her therapy at home, Xavier brought her back to the mansion. Xavier used his powers to try and help Jean control the Phoenix, but unbeknownst to him, another telepath by the name of Emma Frost had penetrated his security systems while he had been weakened, and had learned of the Phoenix, sharing the information with her associates in the Inner Circle.[25]

The Inner Circle, through Emma's telepathy and Mastermind's powers of illusion, manipulated Jean and the Phoenix in an attempt to claim her boundless power for themselves. They succeeded for a time, turning the Phoenix over to their side. The Phoenix soon broke free of their illusions and grew bored of their games, leaving them in the middle of a battle with the X-Men.[26]

Corrupted even further by the evil of the Inner Circle, the Phoenix made short work of the X-Men and departed to an uninhabited star-system, consuming the local star. She was witnessed by a Shi'ar vessel. Worried that the Phoenix might destroy an inhabited star-system next, Lilandra dispatched her Imperial Guard to Earth, so that they could kill her.[27] When the Phoenix returned to Earth, Xavier and the X-Men set a trap for her, hoping to stop her without killing Jean. When their first plan failed, Xavier engaged the Phoenix in telepathic combat. The Phoenix took the upper hand, but with aid from Jean herself Xavier managed to bury it deep within Jean's mind.[27]

Just when the battle had concluded, Lilandra and the Imperial Guard arrived to seize Jean. Xavier pleaded with Lilandra to reconsider, but she refused him, answering that her duties as empress went beyond their bond. When Lilandra was undeterred by Charles' pleading, he issued a challenge that she was bound to honor; a trial of combat between the X-Men and Imperial Guard, with Jean's life in the balance. The Imperial Guard defeated the X-Men, but due to the stress of the battle the Phoenix emerged once again. It easily dispatched the Imperial Guard, but before it could wreak further havoc, Jean seized control of her body and used a Shi'ar star-cruiser to commit suicide. Restored to purity by Jean's death, the Phoenix offered to resurrect Jean, through the life-force of the X-Men. Each of the X-Men gave of themselves, allowing Jean to return to life. The Phoenix returned to its ancient duty, as guardian of the M'kraan Crystal.[28]

Return of the Juggernaut[]

Finding an opportunity when most of the X-Men were away, the Juggernaut returned to settle the score with his brother once and for all. He tore through the Danger Room and nearly killed Xavier, when his powers suddenly vanished. Left in critical condition due to the roof of the Danger Room collapsing on him, Xavier ordered the X-Men to find the new Juggernaut and to help restore his brother's powers in order to save his life.[2]

While his brother was unconscious, Xavier probed his mind in an attempt to make peace. Cain was intransigent, and taunted Xavier with their shared past, including uncomfortable truths Xavier had been unaware of, such as the fact that his step-father Kurt Marko had never loved Xavier or his mother, and had only married into the family for money. Despite the fact that he loathed Cain for what he had put him through during their youth, and despite the fact that Cain swore that no matter what happened, nothing would change between them, Charles helped restore his brother's powers. Cain abruptly left the mansion, leaving the X-Men and his brother unharmed. Charles interpreted this as Cain's way of giving thanks.[2]

Asteroid M[]

When Xavier learned of Asteroid M, an independent nation based on an asteroid in Earth orbit, constructed by Magneto to serve as a refuge for mutantkind, Charles sought his old friend out. Xavier feared the reactions of the human governments to Magneto's show of power, and believed that segregation was not the answer to mutantkind's problems. He agreed to visit the asteroid, accompanied by Beast and Gambit. There, he encountered his old lover Amelia Voght. Amelia blamed Xavier and his X-Men for making it impossible to live quietly as a mutant, prompting her to emigrate to Asteroid M. She refused to have anything to do with him.[7]

While Magneto was prepared to leave humanity in peace and only wished to give mutantkind sanctuary, his follower Fabian Cortez sought revenge against humanity. He drained Magneto of his powers and jettisoned his quarters into space, framing Charles and the X-Men for the attack. Xavier and Beast fled together with the human scientists present on the asteroid, with Gambit remaining behind to buy them time. As they returned to Earth, Xavier heard Magneto telepathically call out to him.[7][29]

Believing Magneto dead, Xavier held a eulogy for him, and prepared his X-Men to return to the asteroid to stop the power-mad Cortez. Now bolstered by Wolverine and Rogue they managed to expose Cortez, with help from Amelia. When Cortez launched the asteroid's nuclear arsenal at Earth, Magneto re-appeared, having survived Cortez's assassination attempt. He disarmed the missiles and trapped Cortez on the asteroid. Xavier attempted to rescue his old friend, but with his dream dead, Magneto decided to ensure that the asteroid was destroyed, promising Xavier he would survive. Upon their return to Earth, Xavier reconciled with Amelia and asked her to fight for his dream alongside the X-Men. Amelia was grateful for the offer, but responded that she needed to find her own dream.[29]

Old Enemies Return[]

When Xavier suffered a mild concussion, the telepathic prison he had constructed for the Shadow King weakened, allowing him to break free. After being imprisoned by Xavier for 20 years, the Shadow King sought to trap Xavier just as he had been trapped. He telepathically attacked Xavier and the X-Men, attempting to lull him into surrendering by showing him his deepest desires while tormenting the X-Men with their greatest fears.[5]

The Shadow King possessed Xavier's body and nearly defeated him completely, but Jean Grey managed to reach him, just before the Shadow King could seal him away. Together, Xavier and Jean managed to defeat and re-imprison the Shadow King within the Astral Plane.[5]

Shortly after the battle against the Shadow King, Xavier was kidnapped by Master Mold. Master Mold had survived Xavier's attempt at destroying it, and with a new fleet of Sentinels under its command, it attempted to construct a new body for itself, as well as punish those it blamed for its downfall. It sought to amplify and usurp Xavier's telepathic powers, which it would use to destroy mutantkind. Xavier was saved by the X-Men, in particular a newly returned Morph.[30]

Proteus[]

Xavier received an urgent message from his colleague and former fiancé Moira MacTaggert. Moira called Charles for help with a young mutant by the name of Proteus. Proteus wielded immense psionic powers, and could warp reality to his every whim. He had lived a sheltered existence, never leaving Moira's lab on Muir Island, but having grown tired of her endless and sometimes painful treatments, he escaped to see the outside world. Proteus left chaos and destruction in his wake, as others lashed out in him due to fear of his monstrous appearance. Xavier and the X-Men attempted to reason with Proteus and compel him to return to Moira's lab, to no avail.[4]

Moira eventually confessed to Xavier that Proteus was in fact her son, Kevin. Having grown frightened of the outside world, Kevin went looking for his estranged father, who unbeknownst to him had left his wife and child after learning that Kevin was a mutant, and now had a new family. Despite his unresolved feelings for Moria and his resentment of Joe MacTaggert, Xavier did his best to help Kevin. When a terrified Joe rejected his son, Kevin lost control of his powers. Xavier finally managed to reach him by allowing Kevin to possess his body and showing that he was earnest in his wish to help Kevin control himself. Kevin calmed down, and Joe reconciled with his estranged son, with Kevin returning to Muir Island to continue his training.[30]

Attributes

Powers

Seemingly those of the Charles Xavier of Earth-616.

Abilities

Seemingly those of the Charles Xavier of Earth-616.

Paraphernalia

Transportation

Due to the loss of Xavier's legs, he uses a wheelchair, later a Hoverchair, X-Jet

Notes

Trivia

  • Xavier's eyes were supposed to be blue in the series, but in some scenes throughout they appear to be brown.

See Also

Links and References

References

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