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Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters

Jean Grey School For Higher Learning

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Official Name

Jean Grey School For Higher Learning

Aliases

Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, Xavier Institute, Xavier Mansion, X-Mansion, Westchester School, Graymalkin Homestead

Location Details

Galaxy

Milky Way

Star System

Sol

Planet

Earth

Country

United States of America

State

New York State

Province

Westchester County

City

Salem Center

Locale

1407 Graymalkin Lane, Westchester County, NY 10461

First appearance

X-Men #1
(September, 1963)

The best there is at what we do.

1 History
2 Residents
3 Affiliates
4 Alternate Realities
5 Notes
6 Trivia
7 See Also
8 Links and References
9 See also
10 Recommended Readings

History

Located at 1407 Graymalkin Lane, just outside of Salem Center, Westchester County, New York, the original ancestral Xavier estate was built in the late 1700s. Currently owned by Professor Charles Xavier, after the death of his mother, this sprawling mansion was erected near Breakstone Lake and serves as a school, as well as the secret headquarters of elite teams of mutants, primarily the X-Men.

Origin

Professor Xavier was born and raised in the mansion and later shared his home with his step-father, Dr. Kurt Marko, and step-brother, Cain Marko, later known as the Juggernaut. After graduating Oxford University, being drafted in the Korean War, and battling the Shadow King in Cairo, Egypt, Xavier decided to devote his life to protecting humanity from evil mutants and safeguarding innocent mutants from human oppression, believing that both could peacefully coexist. Xavier worked with fellow mutation expert, Dr. Karl Lykos, as well as Dr. Moira MacTaggert, and they began discussing the idea of founding a school for mutants. Professor Xavier's first student was the 11-year-old Jean Grey, who had been traumatized when she telepathically experienced the emotions of a dying friend.

Professor Xavier later met with Fred Duncan, an FBI agent investigating the growing number of mutants. Professor Xavier told Duncan of his plan to locate young mutants and enroll them in his "School for Gifted Youngsters", using his ancestral mansion home as a base to train them to use their powers, as well as provide them conventional educations, for humanity's benefit. The base included an off-limits west wing with subterranean medical labs, a training facility called the "Danger Room", an aircraft hanger with a Stratojet and helicopter, and Professor Xavier's mutant detection device, code named "Cerebro". Cerebro's main function was to locate mutant signatures, but was also integrated in the mansion, as the school's A. I. Professor Xavier later moved Scott Summers into the mansion and, over the following months, assembled his original team of X-Men: Scott, who took the name Cyclops, Iceman, Angel, Beast, and Jean, who took the name Marvel Girl, and opened his school as the headmaster.

The mansion has been destroyed and rebuilt, on many occasions, and Professor X himself has left also. After the original team of X-Men moved-out of the mansion, Professor Xavier's third team stayed there, and later the New Mutants, a younger generation of X-Men brought together to carry-on Professor Xavier's dream of a peaceful co-existence between humans and mutants. After arriving, Storm preferred that the spacious attic was adapted to her use, as a greenhouse, and filled it with various types of plants. The X-Mansion was the site of Cyclops' first wedding to his wife, Madelyne Pryor-Summers, and later the kitchen was where she gave birth to Scott's son, Nathan Summers, the infant who would grow to become the warrior Cable. After sensing the small amounts of Shi'ar technology with-in the mansion, the New Mutants asked Professor Xavier to admit Warlock, as a student and member of the team, and the mansion housed its first mutant alien.

New Staff

Gaining a bigger student base, Professor Xavier employed a small staff, to help with the students. After being caught-up in a battle between the New Mutants and a Demon Bear, Tom Corsi and Sharon Friedlander were magically transformed, from caucasian to Native Americans, and Professor Xavier offered them positions at the school, Sharon as the nurse and Tom being used for many tasks. In need of a means to support her younger brother and sister, Professor Xavier also hired his student, Xi'an Coy Manh, as the school secretary. Due to Kitty Pryde and Illyana Rasputin's love for dance, the professor hired their dance instructor, Stevie Hunter, as a dance teacher and physical therapist. After Professor X was lost in space for an extended amount of time, the X-Men moved-out of the mansion and the New Mutants were the only occupants, with Magneto as the headmaster. Later, the mansion was destroyed again, this time by Mr. Sinister, and the X-Men, X-Factor, and the New Mutants shared occupancy in the subterranean levels, lacking the Professor's funds to rebuild the mansion.

Upgrade

After Professor X's return from space, both the original and third teams of X-Men reassembled under his leadership. At this time, Prof. Xavier asked Forge, a mutant with an unusual talent for inventing mechanical devices, to upgrade the mansion technology, by including Shi'ar technology. The Danger Room was upgraded with hard-light holographic technology, the hanger was fitted with a new Blackbird, which included Cerebro's software and a cloaking device, literally making the Blackbird invisible, and Cerebro's software was installed into many handheld units, for non-telepathic use. A war room was added to the subterranean levels, as well. While working to install the Shi'ar technology one night, the Danger Room spoke to Professor Xavier and asked, “Where am I?”. Realizing that the Danger Room had mutated and become alive, but still needing to train his X-Men, Professor Xavier made the choice to ignore and hide the lifeform. After being attacked by Sentinels, the villain White Queen was left in a coma and cared for in the medical bay. The newly upgraded mansion was the site of Cyclops' second wedding to his wife, Jean. The couple occupied the boat house, away from the mansion on the edge of Breakstone Lake.

Xavier Institute for Higher Learning

After many years and different faces of X-Men went-through the X-Mansion, the White Queen, Emma Frost, awoke from a coma and Professor X passed the title of "School for Gifted Youngsters" to her Massachusetts Academy, while his ancestral home was renamed, the "Xavier Institute for Higher Learning". The idea was that younger mutants would be tutored and trained at the Massachusetts Academy, which served as the training site of the fourth generation of teenage X-Men, Generation X, while the mature mutants would operate as X-Men at the Institute. During a highly controversial decision, Professor Xavier offered the psychopathic murderer, Sabretooth, asylum at the mansion, while attempting to cure him of his killing urges.

During Operation: Zero Tolerance, Bastion forced Jubilee to reveal the mansion's defenses, then stripped down the mansion, having nearly everything inside removed. After defeating Bastion, the X-Men moved back into the mansion and restocked it. After Scott learned that Cable was his infant son returned from the future an adult, Cyclops offered X-Force a headquarters at the mansion. After finding him hiding from the genocide of his own race superiors, Professor X gave Fiz, an alien Skrull, temporary asylum at the mansion.

Years later, the Massachusetts Academy was closed and a fifth generation of mutant teenagers were taught at the mansion. The Mansion was destroyed by a brainwashed Franklin Richards,^{[citation needed]} a student at Xavier's, and, during its reconstruction, the Mansion took-on a bold new appearance and the original name.

Going Public

After Professor Xavier's twin sister, Cassandra Nova, controlled him to publicly reveal that he was a mutant, the new "Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters" was in the shape of an "X", while it boasted two separate dorm buildings and a maze. Enrollment at Xavier's also greatly increased.^[1] Although the outside looked modern, the inside retained its 1700s-style decor, with oak-paneled walls and wooden floors. The mansion continued to house its state of the art facilities for the education, training and protection of mutants. After many years of service, Cerebro gained a nanotech body, after interacting with Bastion, and attempted to find, catalog, and register mutants. Cerebro was eventually destroyed, but, still needing a way to track mutants, Professor Xavier and Beast created Cerebra. After a series of events, caring for Alex Summers during his coma and finding that her son Carter Ghazikhanian was a powerful mutant, Annie Ghazikhanian became the school's nurse. The professor also employed Marylin Hannah as the cook, in charge of the cafeteria.

After the mansion was destroyed, by Kuan-Yin Xorn posing as Magneto^[2], Professor X left again, to attempt to rebuild Genosha. Cyclops and Emma rebuilt the school, using Warren Worthington's funds, as the new headmasters.^[3] This new version of the mansion was also destroyed a number of times and contained RALPH, the holographic doctor installed in the lower-level Medical Lab, memorials for all of the fallen X-Men, as well as a cemetery in the backyard.

In the wake of M-Day, only 27 students retained their mutant powers.^[4]^[5] Many depowered students left immediately and Emma and Cyclops arranged to have them evacuated in secret, for their own protection, but the bus they boarded was attacked and the children were murdered by the Purifiers.^[6] The government also had the mansion surrounded by Sentinels, piloted by members of the Sentinel Squad O*N*E, and the mansion grounds were used as a concentration camp which housed the 198 remaining mutants on Earth. At one time, the Danger Room attacked the students and X-Men. After gaining a body and leaving, the Danger Room was left vacant.^[7] To continue the training of the New X-Men, Prodigy designed the Danger Cave, in the caverns beneath the school, utilizing hard-light hologram technology similar to the Danger Room.^[8] After learning a number of disturbing revelations about the Professor's past, Cyclops stated that the Professor was no longer welcome in the mansion, but he continued to return of occasion. The final days of the "School for Gifted Youngsters" was when the rogue X-Man, Bishop, used nanobites to control the Sentinel Squad O*N*E and destroyed it. After the near-death of Professor Xavier, the X-Men relocated to San Francisco and the mansion ruins were left vacant.

The school and grounds lay in ruins for some time. When Cable returned from the future with Hope Summers, they traveled to site of the school, unaware that it had been destroyed. Finding only ruins, the pair was attacked by Cameron Hodge's Smiley-Face robots. Luckily the X-Men arrived to save the pair.^[9]

Layout

In the middle of the main courtyard was the Phoenix Memorial Statue, dedicated to the memory of Phoenix. Notable rooms included the Danger Room and a room containing Cerebra. The Headmaster's Office of Cyclops and Emma was on the top floor. The basketball court was a popular hang-out. Directly below the basketball court, was the hangar, which housed many transportation vehicles, as well as aircraft such as the X-Men Blackbird.

Ground Levels

Ground Floor

A large tiled courtyard lead to the main entrance of the Mansion. A large, plush foyer splinterd off into various rooms and straight through the foyer leading to the hyperlift, an elevator that leads to the Restricted Access Sub-Levels and the Administration Wing, where the offices of the Student Dean, Headmaster, and Administrator were located.

Access to the back was gained through various points, the main entrance being the kitchen. Located at the rear of the estate was an Olympic-sized swimming pool, basketball court, and main entrance to Breakstone Lake. Each of these facilities were for students, faculty, and X-Men.

Devil's Rock used to be the exit and entry point for the X-Men's aircraft, the Blackbird, but since the Mansion's reconstruction, it has been relocated beneath the basketball court. Upon departure and landing, a klaxon will sound warning for anyone nearby to vacate the area. Students are advised to move immediately, once the klaxon sounds.

Located behind the large maze is the Girl's Dorm Building, and located behind the 'center tower' of the Mansion is the Boy's Dorm Building.

To the East of the Mansion is the maze and, to the West, the full-sized baseball diamond, complete with spectator stands, scoreboards and commentator stand.

Classrooms, canteen, and the library were all located in the "center tower" of the mansion.

Scattered throughout the ground floor were various rooms and halls, such as a large ballroom that occupied the domed structure near the rear of the building, the students' recreation room, and various other game and computer rooms.

Also located on the ground floor was the nurse's office, which was a ground-level medical lab which anyone could access. It was run by either the medical staff of Xavier's, or RALPH, the holographic doctor.

Forests, farmland, and lakefront surrounded and isolated the entire estate for miles, with the nearest town being Salem Center.

First Floor

That floor was dedicated mainly to the quarters of faculty, staff, and X-Men. Aside from the quarters, there were laundry facilities, a workshop, and a recreation area that was strictly for faculty, staff, and X-Men.

The Attic

Adorning the top of the mansion was a large glass-paneled dome. Because Storm preferred that spacious attic room, it was adapted to her use and filled with various types of plants, much like a greenhouse.

The Boathouse

On the edge of Breakstone Lake, a boathouse was constructed. Although the mansion and underground bunker was significantly advanced, the boathouse was simple in design. Used as the newlywed home of Cyclops and Phoenix, the boathouse only contained communication technology, linking it to the mansion and bunker.

Sub-Levels

In addition to the campus grounds, the Xavier Institute also housed an array of restricted access Sub-Levels. In the sub-levels was The Danger Room, War Room, Hangar Bay, holding cells, research and development labs, medical labs and Cerebra chamber.

Voice-activated hallway icons gave interactive directions through the sub-levels, though those were restricted to the sub-levels.

Access to the sub-levels was only available to faculty, X-Men, and students -- although students were only granted access once they have spoken to their squad leader or faculty adviser.

The hyperlift at the end of the hallway in the foyer was used to access the sub-levels, then various security measures such as hand scans, retina scans, voice scans and passcodes.

The Danger Room

The Danger Room consisted of two parts, the Danger Room itself and the Control Room, which was housed above the Danger Room. To the untrained eye, the Danger Room was a featureless room. To those who were (un)fortunate enough to engage its systems, it was the ultimate battle simulator. It employed highly advanced technologies from sources such as the Shi'ar Empire, Forge, and Beast.

The Danger Room pitted its opponents against an array of physical and holographic opponents that tested a trainees' mastery over their mutant powers to peak endurance.

Using the advanced technologies, the Danger Room could have given the illusion of being many times bigger than it actually was. Anything from gravity, heat, humidity, or texture could have been manipulated from the control booth.

Students were not permitted to be in the Danger Room unless accompanied by an instructor or X-Man.

The Cerebra Chamber

To most people, it was a big, round room. To those who actually knew what it was, it was no less than amazing. The Cerebra chamber housed Cerebra, a mutant locating and telepathic ability amplifier. When a telepath used Cerebra, their telepathic abilities were boosted to an incredible degree. It was usually used for scanning for new mutants, but it could be used for other purposes.

A non-telepath could also use the Cerebra machine, although this was not recommended, unless they were trained, because they may have experienced various degrees of psychic trauma.

The Holding Cells

The holding cells were an underground storage facility for those villains that the X-Men deemed too unsafe to let roam about freely. The holding cells consisted of small titanium-steel cells, with the same type of door. Various safety measures were be taken, such as erecting an internal force field to back up the titanium-steel walls, a nullification field to 'switch off' mutant abilities, and various others. There were also stasis tubes, which held inhabitants in a state of suspended animation until they were awakened.

The War Room

The War Room was located near the Danger Room. It was the 'operating center' of the X-Men. That was where briefings were given, missions were planned, and meetings took place.

There were various computers and monitors around the War Room, each with their own function. The War Room monitored news feeds from every news network on television and radio and scanned every known frequency, for reports on events occurring around the world. Thanks to the artificially intelligent computer program Cerebra running throughout the mansion, the X-Men did not need to scan 24/7. If Cerebra picked-up something, it would notify the X-Men through their communication links.

Research & Development and Medical Labs

Those labs were usually used by Dr. Henry McCoy and other medically-trained mansion staff. RALPH, the holographic doctor was also installed in the lower-level Medical Lab, in the event that Dr. McCoy or another member of the medical team was unavailable. When Team Marvel stripped the Mansion of its technology, Dr. McCoy had to reinstall it all, making a few modifications along the way. Beast's own personal lab and the medical lab were equipped with tele-immersive displays.

The Hangar Bay

That was one of the very few places on the Estate that was actually as it seemed. The Hangar Bay was just that, an underground area for the storage of the X-Men's aircraft, notably the Blackbird. The exit and entry points have been relocated. Prior to reconstruction, the exit and entry points were located at Devil's Rock, but since, were relocated beneath the basketball court. A klaxon would sound to warn anyone nearby to evacuate the area. Students, faculty, and X-Men were advised to move immediately.

Morlock Tunnels

On the off-chance that the Mansion was invaded, there was an access hatch to the Morlock Tunnels, in the sub-leveatls. This was only to be used in an all-out invasion or attack. Students were to be lead out first, by a member of staff, followed by other staff and faculty members, and, if necessary, the X-Men.

Z'noxx Chamber

That was a secret chamber in the sub-levels that only Professor Xavier and a select few knew about. It was a psi-proof room, but other than that, nothing more was known about it.

Jean Grey School for Higher Learning

After Wolverine left Utopia, with many of the X-Men, he returned to the ruins of the Xavier Institute to found a new school, "Jean Grey School for Higher Learning", in honor of the first student of Professor Xavier.^[10]

Headed by Wolverine and Kitty Pryde, this new school shared much of the ideological structure of it's predecessor and even admitted an alien Brood. The facility was designed by Beast and incorporated Shi'ar engineering and allowed for Danger Room technology to be utilized in any area of the structure. Additionally, the facility was completely self-sufficient, generating its own power and growing its own food. On the opening day, Beast accidentally left a dimension door open and the campus was infested with interdimensional gremlins, called Bamfs, while attempting to win-over the education board.^[11]

The school grounds are now inhabited by the grandchildren of the original Krakoa that asked to join the X-Men after attacking them by the orders of the Hellfire Club.

Residents

Faculty

Logan (Wolverine) - Headmaster
Kitty Pryde - Headmistress
Dr. Hank McCoy (Beast) - Vice Principal
Remy LeBeau (Gambit) - Senior Staff Member
Rachel Grey (Marvel Girl) - Senior Staff Member
Rogue - Senior Staff Member
Bobby Drake (Iceman) - Senior Staff Member
Sam Guthrie (Cannonball) - Junior Staff Member
Jono Starsmore (Chamber) - Junior Staff Member
Paige Guthrie (Husk) - Junior Staff Member
Xi'an Coy Manh (Karma) - Junior Staff Member
Joanna Cargill (Frenzy) - Adjunct Staff
Doop - Adjunct Staff
Mortimer Toynbee (Toad) - Janitor

Students

Others

Affiliates

Alternate Realities

Mutant X (Earth-1298)

In the Mutant X universe, the mansion was never used as a school, but instead served as the base for the X-Men before it was nuked by Nick Fury and SHIELD.

Mimic's Reality (Earth-12)

In Mimic of the Exiles' home reality, the school looks more spanish style, though it is still located in New York State. Residents included The X-Men, (Charles Xavier, Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Hank McCoy, Bobby Drake, Calvin Rankin, Ororo Munroe, Piotr Rasputin, Kitty Pryde, Kurt Wagner, James Howlett, and an Unknown mutant).

Mutant Destruction (Earth-94831)

Blown up by the government in an attempt to rid the world of Mutants. Magneto knew it was going to happen, and didn't stop the humans, but instead used the attack as an excuse to rid the entire planet of Human life by crashing a meteor into it.

Hulk Annihilation (Earth-91172)

Added by Peteparker

Also known as the Institute Xavier, in Exiles: Days of Then and Now, the resident heroes of Earth-91172 used Cerebra here to send Quentin Quire for help from the Exiles.

Master Carlos Javier's Select College for the Sons of Gentlefolk (Earth-311)

In Earth-311, the year is 1602, and the School for Gifted Youngsters is reimagined as Carolus [sic] Javier's Select College for the Sons of Gentlefolk. The college is a haven, set up by Carlos Javier (1602's Charles Xavier) for the 'witchbreed' (the mutants of this reality). It is located in Warwick, England. Carlos resides at the college with his students: Scotius Sumerisle (the captain of the team), Roberto Trefusis, Werner, Hal McCoy, and Javier's page John Grey. Javier has good relations with Queen Elizabeth and her spymaster, Sir Nicholas Fury, and it is revealed (in Part Two) that the students are "refugees and orphans" that Elizabeth allowed into England to escape persecution elsewhere (indeed, Werner was saved in Part One from being burned at the stake by the Inquisition in Domdaniel).

Although there is no 1602 equivalent of the Danger Room, Javier does briefly dream of "a room in which dangers would come from nowhere", to teach his pupils to fight like a team.

When Elizabeth dies and James VI of Scotland becomes King of England as well, he sends Fury to close the school and take all its residents prisoner. On Fury's advice, Javier and his students surrender peacefully, although they later escape custody and flee to Roanoke colony in America.

Xavier School For Exceptionally Wayward Youth (Earth-90214)

On Earth-90214, Professor Charles Xavier ran a reform school in Westchester, New York in 1937, where he took in juvenile delinquents and trained them in various criminal talents due to his belief that sociopathy was in fact the next state in human behavioral evolution instead of reforming them. The school was closed down after the public learned of Xavier's unorthodox teachings when Warren Worthington III was murdered by Eric Magnus' Brotherhood, while under the cover of suicide allegedly influenced by Xavier's teachings.

The school's "Danger Room" (refer on the room's door as "DANGER TRAINING IN PROGRESS") is a gym which include a shooting gallery and a lock-picking exercise.

Earth-12

On Earth-12, the X-Men still operate out of the School. Blink returned Mimic's body there when the Exiles began sending bodies from the Stasis Wall home.

The Xavier Orphanage for Troubled Boys (Earth-10330)