It’s Trivia Tuesday! Tell us, which of the below characters did Stan Lee have a hand in co-creating?
A. Xorn
B. Xemnu
C. X-Ray
D. Xavin
And the answer is…
B. Xemnu!
But before we dive into Xemnu’s story, let’s hear it for the other X characters!
Xorn
The mutant Xorn, created by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, first emerged in New X-Men Annual 2001. Fun fact: Two characters go by this name: Kuan-Yin Xorn and Shen Xorn.
X-Ray
X-Ray, aka Jimmy Darnell, debuted in Incredible Hulk #254 in December 1980, courtesy of Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema. As you probably guessed, his powers have to do with radiation. He himself is a living energy field and can manipulate and project radiation.
Xavin
A Skrull who’s seen in comics as both male and female, Xavin first appeared in Runaways Vol. 2 #7 in October 2005 by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona. (However, artist Takeshi Miyazawa first drew the character in the comics.)
And now onto Stan’s co-creation!
Xemnu
Xemnu first projected himself into Marvel Comics in November 1960’s Journey into Mystery #62 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Interestingly, this villainous alien was presented on his debut cover as “The Hulk” – a year and a half before Stan and Jack introduced The Incredible Hulk! This character, though, firmly cements himself on the side of evil. In fact, Xemnu crash landed on Earth after 1. being banished into space for his repeated offenses against the universe at large and 2. absconding from the planet he’d been imprisoned on. His first order of business on Earth? Telepathically taking over the mind of the man who found him and then possessing the minds of all humans to control them – in this case, to build him a spaceship to get back home. (No big deal.) In addition to his telepathic and hypnotic power, Xemnu possesses superior intellect, superhuman strength and durability, the ability to animate normally inanimate objects, and much more.
Every couple of weeks, we’ll spotlight some of Stan’s most obscure co-creations through trivia, starting with A and ending with Z! Stay tuned for ‘Y,’ coming soon!