Pre X-men #1 character prototype books

[HeroX]

I am an X-Men fan and have put together a raw run of 1-19, the Stan Lee run, plus:

 

Tales of Suspense 49 (full Angel appearance)

Strange Tales 120 (full Iceman appearance)

Fantastic Four 28 (full X-Men team appearance)

Journey into Mystery 109 (full Magneto and Brotherhood of Evil Mutants appearance)

Strange Tales 128 (full Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver appearance)

 

All of these issues were written by Stan Lee and were released during the 1-19 run. The X-Men do make a couple other cameos during that time period (thinking of Avengers 3), but they were in just a couple panels, not part of the storyline, and not on the cover.

 

If you were a collector like me, are there any prototype books that came out before X-Men #1 that you would want to have in a collection like this?

 

The main book I'm thinking of is Strange Tales 84, which is a Magneto prototype. The name is used and he has magnetic powers. Of course, the character is not a mutant. But the book really does seem to be a prototype of Magneto. And, it's written by Stan Lee. What do you think of this book as a Magneto prototype?

 

I think I've found a couple other books that may be, though it might be a stretch, prototypes of other X-Men. I think there may be a couple possible Professor X prototypes out there. Do you think these books are reasonable prototypes, or stretches? The books I've found for Professor X are Amazing Adult Fantasy 14 and Strange Tales 69. Other than the bald guy on the front of ST 69, based on my research, I can't find anything about these two books that make them Professor X prototypes. What are your opinions of these two books as Professor X prototypes?

 

The only other X-Men related possible prototype I've found is for the character Colossus. It seems there were a couple pre-Hero Marvel Colossus antagonists during the era. I know there's more than one but the only one I'm finding right now is Tales of Suspense 14. It's obviously named Colossus and it's in Russia, which is nice, but since it was published in 1961 and the X-Man Colossus actually first appears in 1975, is this really a legitimate prototype? In ToS 14, it's just a statue that comes to life as the Living Colossus, so it's not a man that turns to steel and not a mutant. What are your opinions of possible Colossus prototypes?

 

Are there any other books that would be fun for an X-Men fan to collect that aren't traditionally thought of as X-Men comic books, like these examples?

 

Thanks for all your info!

[Korvac Saga]

If you look in the Prehero Marvels thread, you can find some of this info. Not sure which pages its on, so you'll have to do a little digging.

 

[Foxtrot70]

Maybe add FF#4... After the Xmen vs Avengers series, seems Marvel wants Sub-Mariner to be a Mutant. I never finished reading the series, felt bad enough I got sucked into that marketing gig.

[Lazyboy]

Maybe add FF#4... After the Xmen vs Avengers series, seems Marvel wants Sub-Mariner to be a Mutant. I never finished reading the series, felt bad enough I got sucked into that marketing gig.

 

Marvel has been calling Namor a mutant for over 20 years. I'm not sure when it first happened, but it's been at least since his 90's series.

 

Regardless, FF4 doesn't even come close to the definition of a prototype.

[Lazyboy]

I think I've found a couple other books that may be, though it might be a stretch, prototypes of other X-Men. I think there may be a couple possible Professor X prototypes out there. Do you think these books are reasonable prototypes, or stretches? The books I've found for Professor X are Amazing Adult Fantasy 14 and Strange Tales 69. Other than the bald guy on the front of ST 69, based on my research, I can't find anything about these two books that make them Professor X prototypes. What are your opinions of these two books as Professor X prototypes?

 

At the end of the story from AAF14, Tad Carter is contacted telepathically by a bald guy who bears a resemblance to Xavier.

[HeroX]

At the end of the story from AAF14, Tad Carter is contacted telepathically by a bald guy who bears a resemblance to Xavier.

 

Re: Namor -- I believe it was first suggested that he was a mutant in X-Men #6 by Xavier. I'm not sure when it was confirmed, though. The various Namor appearances were a consideration of mine for this collection, but there are so many, and while he may be somewhat associated with the X-Men now, he sure wasn't then, so I'm avoiding opening that can of worms for as long as I can.

 

Re: AAF14 -- Thanks so much! This is the kind of information I need. I didn't get that from the synopsis I found online, which caused me to think it was a mistake that this was a Prof X prototype. Obviously, it's not!

[Foxtrot70]

Maybe add FF#4... After the Xmen vs Avengers series, seems Marvel wants Sub-Mariner to be a Mutant. I never finished reading the series, felt bad enough I got sucked into that marketing gig.

 

Marvel has been calling Namor a mutant for over 20 years. I'm not sure when it first happened, but it's been at least since his 90's series.

 

Regardless, FF4 doesn't even come close to the definition of a prototype.

 

I am quite aware that Namor is not a "prototype" by definition. I didnt read the 2nd series, so appreciate the fyi about Namor as mutant, however my comment was based purely on the OP's request for something "fun" that was not recognized per Overstreet etc...

"Are there any other books that would be fun for an X-Men fan to collect that aren't traditionally thought of as X-Men comic books, like these examples? "

 

[shadroch]

Is Namor a mutant because of his skin color or because of his wings? His ability to breathe underwater isn't a result of a mutation.

[adamstrange]

Is Namor a mutant because of his skin color or because of his wings? His ability to breathe underwater isn't a result of a mutation.

In the origin by Everett, his mother is an Atlantean and his father is a regular human. Unless all Atlanteans are mutants, it would be inconsistent to call him a mutant.

[HeroX]

I think what I've read is that he's half Atlantean, and half human-mutant.

[AtlasFan]

Finding prototypes always depends on how deep you want to probe and how badly you want to find them! As mentioned, there are a number of bald-headed telepaths that are very similar to Prof. X.

 

There are also some large brutish guys that are really smart and well read - that could be compared to The Beast.

 

And there are also a few pre-hero characters who are clearly classified as mutants by name. One that comes to mind is Lucius Farnsworth (The Man in the Bee-Hive - TTA #32) who has the power to shrink people and objects, control insects, and other fantastic feats... or is it just the ability to control men's minds (ala X-Men bad guy Mastermind!)

[HeroX]

Finding prototypes always depends on how deep you want to probe and how badly you want to find them! As mentioned, there are a number of bald-headed telepaths that are very similar to Prof. X.

 

There are also some large brutish guys that are really smart and well read - that could be compared to The Beast.

 

And there are also a few pre-hero characters who are clearly classified as mutants by name. One that comes to mind is Lucius Farnsworth (The Man in the Bee-Hive - TTA #32) who has the power to shrink people and objects, control insects, and other fantastic feats... or is it just the ability to control men's minds (ala X-Men bad guy Mastermind!)

 

Wow! All very good points. I didn't suspect how deep this rabbit hole could go. I've got lots of research to do...