Among the most popular and distinctive superhero characters of all time, Marvel Comics’s X-Men have transcended the illustrated page to become an enduring part of the collective consciousness. The multicultural mutants battle not only diabolically evil villains, but also societal evils like bigotry and prejudice. X-Men: The Characters and Their Universe tells the complete story of this unique band of comic book heroes from their creation in 1963 by the dream team of writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, through their reemergence in the 1970s as a platform for political and social commentary, up to the present, as one of the world’s hottest franchises. Lavishly illustrated, this gorgeous large-format book also serves as an encyclopedic reference for the entire franchise, chronicling all of the characters, film and television adaptations, character relationships and evolutions, and classic storylines that form this complex and fascinating subculture.