The X-Men are a team of fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by artist/co-writer Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, the characters first appeared in The X-Men #1 (September 1963). They are among the most recognizable and successful intellectual properties of Marvel Comics, appearing in numerous books, television shows, films, and video games. Most of the X-Men are mutants, a subspecies of humans who are born with superhuman abilities activated by the "X-Gene". The X-Men fight for peace and equality between normal humans and mutants in a world where antimutant bigotry is fierce and widespread.…Wikipedia