Charles Xavier first discovered that he was a mutant at a young age, and kept it a secret for years. It was only after he'd completed his education that he revealed his powers to the world, using his gifts and the wealth left by his parents to protect mutants when humanity only sought to do harm against them.
The dichotomy between Xavier and longtime friend-turned-enemy Magneto is a curious one. Both were intended as analogues of Civil Rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, and though Charles' commitment to pacifism has tested the patience of his friends and allies, there's no denying his real-life roots have created a memorable figure.
Xavier does what few other heroes can do, in that he lays bare the pressures of being an activist who faces discrimination. He shows such restraint every day in the face of immense hate and prejudice, and yet - even though that is the case - he and his X-Men will always be there to protect mutant and humankind alike.
Professor X may not be as key a figure in the X-Men books as he once was, but his commitment to civil rights makes him one of Marvel's finest characters.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
