First off, I here's a list of the comics in question, and the chronological clues I need to take into consideration:
- X-Men (1963) #1
- Iceman is 16, and the rest of the X-Men are a couple of years older. Beast is the oldest.
- It's either the start of the school year (August/September), or mid-year enrolment (January).
- Xavier's parents worked on the first A-bomb project.
- Takes place over two days.
- X-Men (1963) #2
- Can't take place on Sadie Hawkins Day (November 13th).
- Xavier has made contacts within the FBI, Agent Fred Duncan specifically.
- Takes place over four days.
- Tales of Suspense (1959) #49 (1st story)
- Probably happens before X-Men (1963) #4.
- The Avengers (Hulk, Thor, Giant-Man, Wasp, and Iron Man) are all active.
- Takes place over one day.
- Avengers (1963) #3
- Happens after Tales of Suspense (1959) #4.
- Takes place over one day.
- X-Men (1963) #3
- Blob's been aware of his powers for years, but never realised he was a mutant.
- Takes place over two days.
- X-Men (1963) #4
- It's been one year since the X-Men's classes began, whatever that means.
- Magneto rescued the Scarlet Witch from a mob, "not long ago". Presumably he recruited the rest of the Brotherhood around the same time.
- Takes place over three days, plus a final day with a gap of some weeks in between.
- X-Men (1963) #5
- Probably happens during the months of April to October, due to the New York World's Fair being referenced.
- Professor X designed a wing harness for Angel at some point.
- It's been weeks since last issue.
- Takes place over two days.
- Strange Tales (1951) #120 (1st story)
- Happens the day after an X-Men/Brotherhood battle (probably the one in X-Men (1963) #5).
- Takes place over one day.
- Journey Into Mystery (1952) #109 (1st story)
- Possibly happens the day before Fantastic Four (1961) #28.
- Takes place over one day.
- Fantastic Four (1961) #28
- Probably happens between X-Men (1963) #5 and #6.
- Happens the day after the X-Men have a chase through New York (possibly the one in Journey Into Mystery (1962) #109).
- Happens several months after Strange Tales (1951) #120.
- Mad Thinker's been studying the X-Men for weeks.
- Takes place over one day.
- X-Men (1963) #6
- Happens after Fantastic Four (1961) #27.
- A flashback to Magneto hurling a freighter from his island happened some days ago.
- Takes place over two days.
- Amazing Spider-Man Annual (1964) #1
- Happens before X-Men (1963) #7, as Professor X is present and Iceman is in his snowman form.
- Doctor Strange and Spider-Man are active by this point, and Captain America has been thawed from the ice.
- This story happens during the school year.
- Takes place over one day.
- X-Men (1963) #7
- The X-Men are graduating, so it's late May or early June.
- Takes place over two days.
- X-Men (1963) #8
- Unus possibly wins the WWWF Championship in May 17th, 1963 (which would be XY -1).
- Unus possibly loses the WWWF Championship on July 11th of XY 0.
- Unus has been a wrestler for years.
- Takes place over one day, with a gap of some weeks, then another day.
With that done, it's time to put it all together. Here's the complete X-Men timeline, as it stands at the end of 1964. Note that XY stands for X-Men Year, and is used to determine things based on Marvel's sliding timescale. XY 0 is the year in which X-Men (1963) #1 takes place, and everything else is relative to that: negative numbers happened before that issue, and positive numbers happen after.
A COMPLETE CHRONOLOGY OF THE X-MEN (as of December 1964)
XY -22 or -21
- Professor X's parents work on the first A-bomb project. This will become topical over time, but it's still useful as a guide to when they were alive. Which year this happens in depends on whether they worked on the UK/Canada's Tube Alloys Project, or the USA's Manhattan Project.
XY -16 or -17
- Iceman is born. The year depends on whether his 16th birthday was in XY 0 or -1.
XY -17 to -20
- Angel, Cyclops and Beast are born during this span of time, with Beast being the oldest. Marvel Girl's age is a bit more ambiguous, but probably falls around the same time period.
YEARS LEADING UP TO XY 0
- Professor X makes preparations to open his school. This includes the creation of many machines, vehicles and training devices in his mansion, as well as making contact with the FBI. His liaison with the FBI is Fred Duncan.
- Magneto begins making his plans for conquest. This involves the establishment of many secret bases, including Asteroid M and his island in the Atlantic Ocean.
- Blob discovers that he is extra-strong and resilient. Thinking he's just a freak, he joins the carnival.
- Unus becomes a wrestler.
- The Fantastic Four get their powers (in Fantastic Four (1961) #1).
- Bruce Banner becomes the Hulk (in Incredible Hulk (1962) #1).
- Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man (in Amazing Fantasy #15).
- Donald Blake becomes Thor. (in Journey Into Mystery (1952) #83).
- Henry Pym becomes Ant-Man (in Tales to Astonish (1959) #35).
- Tony Stark becomes Iron Man (in Tales of Suspense (1959) #39).
- Janet Van Dyne becomes the Wasp, and joins Ant-Man on his adventures (in Tales to Astonish (1959) #44).
- Doctor Strange becomes active in New York (in Strange Tales #110).
XY -1
- Cyclops, Iceman, Angel and Beast are recruited by Professor X to join the X-Men. They begin their classes with Professor X in March. Professor X designs a harness the Angel can use to hide his wings.
- Conjecture: Unus wins the WWWF Championship on May 17th.
XY 0, January
- The Avengers are formed (in Avengers (1963) #1).
- Jean Grey gets a message from Professor X to enrol at his school. Her parents are hesitant until they are contacted by the US government.
- X-MEN (1963) #1: Jean Grey (Marvel Girl) joins the X-Men, and they go to fight Magneto at Cape Citadel. Takes place over two days in January.
- X-MEN (1963) #4 flashback: Magneto rescues the Scarlet Witch from an angry mob, and she and Quicksilver join him to repay their debt.
- Presumably Magneto recruits Mastermind and the Toad around the same time.
- Ant-Man becomes Giant-Man (in Tales to Astonish (1959) #49).
- X-MEN (1963) #2 flashback: The Vanisher robs a bank. Happens on the same day that X-Men (1963) #2 begins.
- X-MEN (1963) #2: The X-Men face the Vanisher. Takes place over four days in late January.
XY 0, February
- TALES OF SUSPENSE (1959) #49 (1st story): Angel temporarily goes bad, and fight Iron Man. Takes place over one day in early February.
- AVENGERS (1963) #3: Iron Man tries to recruit the X-Men to help the Avengers search for the Hulk. Takes place over one day in mid-February.
- X-MEN (1963) #3: The X-Men battle the Blob. Happens over two days in late February.
- The Avengers find Captain America in a block of ice, and thaw him out (in Avengers (1963) #4)
XY 0, March
- X-MEN (1963) #4, page 1 to 11: The X-Men celebrate the one-year-anniversary of the beginning of their training. Magneto conquers Santo Marco. Happens over a period of three days in early March.
- Weeks pass, in which Magneto consolidates his rule over Santo Marco.
- X-MEN (1963) #4, page 12 to 23: The X-Men drive Magneto and the Brotherhood out of Santo Marco. Takes place over one day in mid March.
- Weeks pass while the X-Men try to get the injured Professor X from Santo Marco to Westchester. The Brotherhood are searching for them the whole time.
- X-MEN (1963) #5: The X-Men fight the Brotherhood on Asteroid M. Takes place over two days in late March. (This is outside of the April to October timespan I mentioned above, but the months-long gap between Strange Tales (1951) #120 and Fantastic Four (1961) #28 means I had to push it back slightly. Maybe Jean's parents are planning to stay in New York for a week or two.)
- STRANGE TALES (1951) #120 (1st story): Iceman and the Human Torch stop Captain Barracuda from robbing a boat. Takes place the day after X-Men (1963) #5, in late March.
XY 0, April
- Mad Thinker begins studying the X-Men, and trying to discover the identity of Professor X. (My conjecture is that he does this using footage and photos of the battle with the Vanisher from X-Men (1963) #2.)
XY 0, May
- JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY (1952) #109 (1st story): Magneto fights Thor in a sub in the New York harbor, while the X-Men fight the Brotherhood in Manhattan. Happens over one day in early May.
- FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #28: The Mad Thinker and the Puppet Master manipulate the X-Men into attacking the Fantastic Four. Happens the day after Journey Into Mystery (1952) #109, in early May. (There's meant to be a several month gap between this and Strange Tales (1951) #120, but I've had to shorten it to two months, from March to May.)
- X-MEN (1963) #6 flashback: A freighter gets too close to Magneto's island, so he hurls it away with his giant magnet. This happens in early May, some days before the main story.
- X-MEN (1963) #6: Magneto recruits the Sub-Mariner, and the X-Men fight them on his Atlantic island. Takes place over two days in early-mid May.
- AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL (1964) #1: The X-Men ignore a message in the sky from the Human Torch to Spider-Man, and continue training. Takes place over one day in mid-May.
- X-MEN (1963) #7: The X-Men graduate prep school. Professor X leaves, and makes Cyclops team leader. Magneto recruits the Blob, and they fight the X-Men. Takes place over two days in late May.
- X-MEN (1963) #8, page 1 to 7.3: Iceman and Beast are chased by an angry mob. Beast quits the team. This takes place over one day in late May.
XY 0, June
- One week later, Beast debuts as a wrestler. He very quickly becomes a top-draw heel in the WWWF. It's implausibly quick, to be honest, but there's a reference in a later issue of X-Men that makes me want to place this story in June.
- X-MEN (1963) #8, page 7.4 to 20: After wrestling Unus, Beast helps the X-Men defeat him. This happens on June 6th, because it has to be on the same day as a WWWF show at Madison Square Garden in 1964.
XY 0, July
- Conjecture: Due to his criminal activities, Unus is pressured by the WWWF into dropping the championship. This happens on July 11th.
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