The X-Men #6

"Sub-Mariner Joins the Evil Mutants"
Cover date:  July 1964
Written:  with the flair of Stan Lee
Drawn:  with the air of Jack Kirby
Inked:  with the care of Chic Stone
Lettered:  on a dare by S. Rosen

"Even superior mutants with supernatural powers have to eat dinner the same as we... and that's where our story begins... in the dining hall of the mysterious building which houses... the X-Men!"

The X-Men #5

"Trapped:  One X-Man!"
Cover date:  May 1964
Spell-binding story by:  Stan Lee
Dazzling drawing by:  Jack Kirby
Inking:  Paul Reinman
Lettering:  S. Rosen

"Never have you, the reading public, been so instantly fascinated by a group of super-powerful villains as last issue, when you met Magneto's evil mutants!  Now, we present them again... more exciting, more unpredictable, more dangerous than ever!!"

The X-Men #4

"The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants!"
Cover date: March 1964
Sensational script by:  Stan Lee
Dynamic drawings by:  Jack Kirby
Imaginative inking by:  Paul Reinman
Legible lettering by:  Art Simek

"You are gazing at a sight which few homo sapiens have ever been privileged to witness... the awesome Danger Room where Professor Xavier trains his homo superior mutant students for the dangers which await them!"

The X-Men #3

"Beware of the Blob!"
Cover date:  January 1964
Written by:  Stan Lee
Illustrated by:  Jack Kirby
Inked by:  Paul Reinman
Lettered by:  Art Simek

"You have never seen a super-villain like the Blob!!  We promise you that!  Of all the great Marvel epics, this may be the greatest!"

The X-Men #2

"No One Can Stop The Vanisher!"
Cover date:  November 1963
Written by:  Stan Lee
Drawn by:  Jack Kirby
Inked by: Paul Reinman
Lettered by:  Sam Rosen

"Congratulations!  You are about to begin a book-length tale which you'll never forget!  And now, let us follow the extraordinary X-Men as they answer an urgent mental summons from their mysterious leader, Professor X..."

The X-Men #1

"The X-Men"
Cover date:  September 1963

Written by:  Stan Lee

Drawn by:  Jack Kirby

Inked by:  Paul Reinman

Lettered by:  S. Rosen

“And now, prepare yourself for one of the most exciting reading experiences of your life! For you are about to enter the fascinating, unpredictable world of... THE X-MEN!”

So it all starts here in 1963. The X-Men were a concept created by Stan Lee in his role as Marvel's primary ideas man and writer of the 1960's. He said that he decided that they were born with their powers because it was starting to be difficult to craft an origin for every superhero that he created. So he invented “mutants.” What came about because of laziness in setting up an origin for each super power inadvertently created a very fertile premise of people born “different”. Not much of that is evidenced here, and it may not have even been a solid thought in Lee's mind, but it would set up a deeper concept in the book and the characters that was much more relate-able to readers in a sociopolitical way than just connecting with the personalities of the characters themselves, the way other heroes such as Spider-man, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, etc., were.

Again, not much of that is found in the issue itself. There is a brief mention by Professor X that he formed his school out of a desire to protect the world from evil mutants and that he feared that normal humans would not accept mutants, but it almost seems like a throwaway line. After all, there's not much difference between mutants as presented in this book and other heroes celebrated by the public such as, again, Spider-man, the Fantastic Four, or any of the Avengers who debuted as a team simultaneously with the X-Men. Very little to set up the “protecting a world that fears and hates them” angle that has been a mantra for the concept at times over the years. It is, however, a pretty brilliant throwaway line that will pay creative dividends down the line. The man was a genius: even his afterthoughts are worth mining for almost 50 years worth of stories.

On to the issue itself.