Professor
Charles Francis Xavier (also known as
Professor X) is a
fictional character appearing in
American comic books published by
Marvel Comics and is the founder and leader of the
X-Men. Created by writer
Stan Lee and artist
Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in
The X-Men #1 (September 1963). Xavier is a member of a subspecies of humans known as
mutants who are born with superhuman abilities. The founder of the
X-Men, he himself is an exceptionally powerful
telepath who can read and control minds of others. While running a private school in upstate
New York in order to both shelter and train mutants from around the globe, Xavier also fights to serve the greater good by promoting peaceful coexistence and equality between humans and mutants in a world where often zealous anti-mutant
bigotry is widespread.