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[[:Image:Giantsize1.jpg|thumb|Cover of Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975) by Gil Kane and Dave Cockrum]]

Giant-Size X-Men #1 was a special issue of the X-Men comic book series, published by Marvel Comics in 1975. It was written by Len Wein and illustrated by Dave Cockrum. Though not a regular issue, it contained the first new X-Men story in five years, titled Second Genesis, and has been described as the title that "eventually spawned the X-Men empire".[1] The 68-page book was published with a May 1975 cover date and distributed to newsstands in February of that year. The issue has been cited as a start point of the bronze age of comics, and is notable for expanding the membership of The X-Men from beyond the white American cast to one of a more international flavour, even if some characters were portrayed somewhat stereotypically.[2][3][4][5][6]

Publication history[edit]

The issue serves as a link between the original X-Men and a new team. Chronologically it is placed after X-Men #66 and before X-Men #94.

The X-Men title stopped producing new stories after #66 in March 1970. From December 1970 through April 1975, Marvel reprinted many of the older X-Men issues as #67–93. The initial series had not been a commercial success. Neither Jack Kirby or Stan Lee stayed on the book for long and Jim Steranko's run, while critically acclaimed, was notably short. Roy Thomas and Neal Adams managed to sustain the title long enough that the book's title remained relevant as a reprint title.[7]

Marvel were looking to capitalise on their success in a number of markets around the world, and publisher proposed creating a team of international characters from these countries. Len Wein was eventually assigned the new book, before having to leave the book to concentrate on his editing duties. Wein collaborated with Dave Cockrum on the new team. Cockrum, having recently left DC for Marvel, brought designs originally intended for use on the Legion of Super-Heroes to the new book. Of three characters he'd proposed to Murray Boltinoff, one became Nightcrawler and the other two were merged to become Storm.[8] Wein also recalls Colossus and Thunderbird being worked up from characters found in Cockrum's notebook.[7] As the two worked on their ideas, it became apparent to editor Roy Thomas that while the team would still be international, it would not be reflecting the markets the publisher had hoped to commercially target. Cockrum also recalled "the new team didn't wind up being what Marvel expected." The line-up consisted of brand new characters from ethnic groups which the U.S. Government had previously institutionally prejudiced against.[9]

Marvel were looking to experiment with formats, and The X-Men was chosen alongside Man-Thing to launch a Giant Size comic book format, with the idea being that the books were published quarterly. The format was not deemed a success, and the material that Wein and Cockrum had plotted for the second issue was instead utilised for X-Men 94 and 95, with Wein choosing editorial assistant Chris Claremont as the new writer on the book.[7]

Following the May publication of Giant-Size X-Men #1, Marvel began again publishing new issues of X-Men with #94 in August 1975.[8]


The comic also collects reprints from X-Men #43, #47 and #57.[10]

Dave C

Plot[edit]

The story opens in medias res, with Professor X recruiting a new team of X-Men, to rescue the original X-Men (Marvel Girl, Iceman and Angel [but not Beast, who had left the team], plus X-Men recruits Havok and Polaris), who had disappeared on a mission to the island of Krakoa, with only their leader Cyclops escaping. The new team consists of Sunfire and Banshee, who had been introduced in earlier X-Men comics; Wolverine, who had made his first appearance in The Incredible Hulk #181 (Oct. 1974); and the newly created Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Thunderbird. These members are gathered from all over the world, and Professor X uses his telepathic powers to teach them all English so that they can communicate with each other.

The team soon learns that Krakoa is not just an island, but a giant mutant as well. Despite personality clashes among the individual members, as well as a fatality, the new team succeeds in rescuing the old X-Men and destroying the entity by shooting it into outer space with Polaris' power. The issue ends by posing the question of the future of a 13-member X-Men team.

The later storyline "Deadly Genesis" offers a ret-con of this story, which tells how Professor X had initially recruited a different team before the events in this issue.

Sequels and legacy[edit]

Marvel published a second issue of Giant-Size X-Men later in 1975. This November issue had no new material, instead featuring reprints of stories from X-Men #57, #58, and #59, written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Neal Adams.[11] In 2005, Marvel published two new Giant Size X-Men issues to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original. Issue #3 in July contained a story written by Joss Whedon and illustrated by Neal Adams. The issue also reprinted several older X-Men team-ups: the group's appearance in Fantastic Four #28, an Avengers guest appearance in X-Men #9 and a story featuring Spider-Man in X-Men #35.[12] In November, Chris Claremont penned a story for issue #4, with artwork by Neal Adams. It also reprinted material related to the death of Thunderbird from X-Men #94-95, Classic X-Men #3 and Uncanny X-Men #193.[13]

Five Giant Size X-Men one-shots, all written by Jonathan Hickman, were released as part of Marvel's 2019 Dawn of X relaunch of its X-Men books between February and September 2020. The first, Giant Size X-Men: Jean Grey and Emma Frost, was drawn by Russell Dauterman and colored by Matt Wilson.[14] The second, Giant-Size X-Men: Nightcrawler, was drawn by Alan Davis and colored by Carlos Lopez.[15] The third, Giant-Size X-Men: Magneto, was drawn by Ramon Perez and colored by David Curiel.[16] The fourth, Giant-Size X-Men: Fantomex, was drawn and colored by Rod Reis.[17] The fifth, Giant-Size X-Men: Storm, was drawn by Dauterman and colored by Wilson.[18]

Credits[edit]

Reprint[edit]

The "Second Genesis" story was reprinted in Classic X-Men #1 in September 1986, with substantial editing to reduce its length, and a new backup story by Claremont and John Bolton bridging the gap between this and the following issue, Uncanny X-Men #94.

Collected editions[edit]

Title Volume Material collected Publication date ISBN
Uncanny X-Men: Second Genesis 1 Giant Size X-Men #1; Uncanny X-Men #94-103 July 2004 978-1904419402
Essential X-Men 1 X-Men #94–119; Giant-Sized X-Men #1 May 2008 978-0785132554
Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men 1 Giant-Size X-Men #1; Uncanny X-Men #94–100 December 2009 978-0785137023
Giant-Size X-Men: 40th Anniversary Edition. Giant-Size X-Men #1, 3-4; Classic X-Men #1; X-Men Origins: Colossus; X-Men Origins: Wolverine; X-Men: Deadly Genesis #1-6; What If? (1989) #9, #23; material from X-Men Gold #1 June 2015 978-0-7851-9777-5
Epic Collections: Second Genesis 5 Giant Size X-Men #1; Uncanny X-Men #94-110; Iron Fist #14-15; Marvel Team-Up #53, #69-70, Annual #1; material from FOOM #10 April 11, 2017 978-1302903909

References[edit]

  1. ^ Radford, Bill (1999-11-14). "'X-Men' Comics Return To Simpler Time". Telegraph Herald. pp. 3E. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  2. ^ Darowski, Joseph J. (2014). X-Men and the Mutant Metaphor : Race and Gender in the Comic Books. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 84. ISBN 978-1-4422-3208-2. OCLC 877868390.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  3. ^ Hall, Richard A. (2019). The American superhero : encyclopedia of caped crusaders in history. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-4408-6124-6. OCLC 1082518830.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  4. ^ Austin, Allan W. (2019). All new, all different? : a history of race and the American superhero (First ed.). Austin: University of Texas Press. p. 170. ISBN 978-1-4773-1898-0. OCLC 1117642004.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  5. ^ Keywords for Comics Studies. New York: NYU Press. 2021. p. 229. ISBN 978-1-4798-1668-2. OCLC 1201179081.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  6. ^ Flowers, Johnathan (2021). Serrano, Nhora Lucía (ed.). Graphic Spaces of Remembrance, Transaction, and Mimesis. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315643991. ISBN 9781315643991.
  7. ^ a b c The unauthorized X-men : SF and comic writers on mutants, prejudice, and adamantium. Dallas, Tex.: BenBella Books. 2005. pp. 1–6. ISBN 1-932100-74-1. OCLC 62738591.
  8. ^ a b Radford, Bill (1999-11-14). "'X-Men' comics return to simpler times". Telegraph Herald. pp. 3E. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  9. ^ The ages of the X-Men : essays on the children of the atom in changing times. Jefferson, North Carolina. 2014. pp. 40–43. ISBN 978-0-7864-7219-2. OCLC 869265582.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ Giant-Size X-Men #1, ComicBookDB.com
  11. ^ Giant-Size X-Men #2, Grand Comics Database.
  12. ^ PREVIEW: Neal Adams' "Giant Size X-Men" #3 Story
  13. ^ Taking An Early Look at "Giant-Size X-Men" #4
  14. ^ Giant Size X-Men: Jean Grey and Emma Frost #1
  15. ^ Giant Size X-Men: Nightcrawler #1
  16. ^ Giant Size X-Men: Magneto #1
  17. ^ Giant Size X-Men: Fantomex #1
  18. ^ Terror, Jude (February 17, 2020). "Jonathan Hickman and Russell Dauterman Give Storm the Giant-Size X-Men Treatment in June". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved February 18, 2020.

Category:Comics by Len Wein Category:Defunct American comics Category:X-Men titles Category:1975 comics debuts

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