X-Men (1963) #12

Cover by Jack Kirby

Cover Date: July 1965

On-Sale Date: May 1965

Synopsis: As the Juggernaut approaches the mansion, Professor X tells the X-Men his life story.

CHRONOLOGICAL NOTES:

Page 1

This page picks up from last issue's cliffhanger, as Cerebro continues to warn of the Juggernaut's approach. This doesn't necessarily mean that there's no gap between issues; Cerebro is much more urgent here than it was in #11, so some time could have passed.  I prefer to keep these stories close together, with only a few hours at most passing between the two.

This scene is played as though it's the first time that the X-Men other than Cyclops and Xavier are made aware of Cerebro.  While it's possible that they haven't seen the machine before, they certainly know about it: Professor X was openly talking about Cerebro in X-Men (1963) #10.

Page 4, panels 1 to 5

This issue features extensive flashbacks to Xavier's past.  The first covers his father's death at Alamagordo, and the subsequent funeral where his mother is comforted by Kurt Marko.  The Marvel Database claims that Charles was 9 when his father died; I'm not sure where they got that from, but I'm happy to go with it.  Based on a mention in X-Men (1963) #1 of Brian Xavier working on the first A-bomb project, the earliest that this death should happen is XY -21, but I'm throwing that out as a topical reference.  The timeline, particularly the part involving the Korean War, works better if Xavier is a little older. I'm placing Brian Xavier's death in XY -23.

Based on this timeline, Xavier is born in XY -32 or -33, making him in his early 30s when the X-Men are formed.

Page 5

Kurt Marko's marriage to Sharon Xavier is said to happen months after the funeral, so I'm keeping it in the same year. Some more time passes before Cain Marko's arrival. Xavier doesn't look any older, so I'll keep it in the same year as well. I could just as easily move them to the next year if I need to.

Kurt mentions a prior marriage here, although nothing is said about what happened to his previous wife. Cain was expelled from his previous school not long before this flashback.  He looks to be a few years older than Charles.

Page 8

In an attempt to space things out, I've placed the deaths of Sharon Xavier and Kurt Marko a year later, in XY -22.  Charles would be around 10 years old.  Note that Kurt is aware of his powers already.  Charles realises that he is telepathic not long after this.

Page 10, panels 3 to 6

This flashback spans a number of years. As a side-effect of his powers Charles began to lose his hair while still in his teens, so I'm placing him at 13 in the first panel. This would put it in XY -19.  Charles looks to be a few years older during his unlikely stint as a star sportsman, and the subsequent fight with Cain.  I've placed him at 15, in XY -17, which fits with Cain's assertion that he's been waiting for years for an excuse to beat Charles up.

Page 12, panels 2 to 5

This flashback happens as Cain is driving Xavier to college after vacation. Because Xavier is a genius/dirty cheat, I have him starting college at age 16, in XY -16.

He saves himself here with a mental shield. He's not usually depicted as being telekinetic, or able to project force fields, but everyone's powers were a lot more loosely defined in the '60s.

Page 15, panels 3 to 6

Charles and Cain serve together in the Korean War, which took place from 1951 to 1953.  Because Xavier's involved I can't use the real dates without screwing up his age, so I have to make this war a part of the sliding timescale. This issue was published in 1965 in the real world; in terms of my timeline, I have it taking place late in XY 0.  That would put Xavier's war service from XY -14 to XY -12, when he would have been aged 18-20.

Cain spends over a decade after this flashback buried under the rubble, so he shouldn't be making any appearances during that time.

Cyttorak's temple has been spoken of in rumours for centuries, which is nice and vague. All we learn of Cyttorak is that he was a deity of black magic, who was driven from Earth but left behind the curse of the Juggernaut.

COUNTING THE DAYS

The entirety of this issue takes place over a single day, very shortly after X-Men (1963) #11 (I've placed it the day after, starting a little after midnight).

The timeline of the flashbacks in this issue is as follows:

• XY -32 or 33
• Charles Xavier is born; before this, his parents were exposed to radiation while working at a nuclear research station
• XY -23
• Page 4.3 to 4.6 flashback: Brian Xavier is killed, Kurt Marko hits on his wife at the funeral. Charles is 9.
• Months later, Kurt and Sharon are married.
• Page 4.7 to 5.1 flashback: Kurt moves into the Xavier mansion.
• Page 5.2 to 5.6 flashback: The marriage isn't going well. Cain Marko moves into the mansion.
• XY -22
• Sharon Xavier dies.
• Page 7.5 to 8.6 flashback: Kurt Marko dies in a chemical fire. He reveals that he knows Charles has powers.
• Charles realises that he is a telepathic mutant. He is 10.
• XY -19
• Charles starts losing his hair.
• Page 10.3 flashback: Charles reads his teacher's mind. He is 13.
• XY -17
• Page 10.4 to 11.6 flashback: Charles uses his powers to be good at sports, and Cain fights him about it. Charles is 15.
• XY -16
• Page 12.2 to 12.5 flashback: Cain and Charles are in a car crash on the way to college. Charles saves himself with a mental shield. Charles is 16.
• XY -14
• Page 15.3 to 16.2 flashback: In Korea, Cain becomes the Juggernaut.