How many kids have become aware of the perils of prejudice thanks to X-Men? Since wheelchair-bound telepathic genius Charles Xavier first appeared on the comic book scene in 1963, it’s safe to say…millions.

For Stan Lee, the mastermind of the Marvel universe, the concept for X-Men came about because he’d run out of stories on how his superheroes came by their powers. In a 2004 interview, Lee recalled, “I couldn’t have everybody bitten by a radioactive spider or exposed to a gamma ray explosion. And I took the cowardly way out. I said to myself, ‘Why don’t I just say they’re mutants? They are born that way.’ “

Artist Jack Kirby picked up on the poignant angle of mutant kids who are ostracized because they’re born different. “What would you do with mutants who were just plain boys and girls and certainly not dangerous?” Kirby told an interviewer in 1987. “You school them. You develop their skills. So I gave them a teacher, Professor X. Of course, it was the natural thing to do, instead of disorienting or alienating people who were different from us, I made the X-Men part of the human race, which they were.”]

With its themes of injustice, tribalism, and exclusion, the X-Men series would become one of the most meaningful in Marvel history. The mutants are forever pursued and victimized by frightened “normal” humans who fear what they don’t understand, within storylines that often recall the struggle for equality for African-Americans and other diverse groups in American culture.

Professor Xavier fights for inclusivity and tolerance — the Dr Martin Luther King Jr. of this fictional universe. He’s the “X” in “X-Men.” The series’s Malcolm X figure is Magneto, completely hostile to ordinary humans and unwilling to believe they can ever be persuaded to treat mutants fairly. His followers are always ready to shatter any negotiation and break every gesture of good faith.

All that inner conflict turned out to be a fantastically fertile cinematic canvas. Ever since 2000’s smash hit movie X-Men, mutants have continued to fascinate audiences. The series burnished some stars and made others. Shakespearean actors Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen brought gravitas to their roles as Professor X and Magneto, respectively. Stars like Halle Berry, Famke Jansson, and Jennifer Lawrence made the most of their screen time as Storm, Jean Grey, and Mystique.

But the actor who most symbolizes X-Men is leading man Hugh Jackman. He slashed and snarled his way from obscurity to superstardom during his 17-year run portraying the tragic hero Wolverine. His fearsome retractable claws have been augmented by liquid adamantium, fused with his bones in a barbaric process inflicted on him by all-around X-Men villain Col. William Stryker. Now Wolverine heals from every injury and can only be killed by an adamantium bullet.

What’s worse in some ways, the torture has left him with amnesia. So the Wolverine we first meet is the loneliest—and angriest—guy in the world. All he knows is that something terrible has been done to him, and someone has to pay. Wolverine’s long road to recapturing himself as an empathetic and caring person has given Marvel fans a real tragic hero to love.

The challenges that confront the mutants in X-Men resonate strongly with my own themes as a superhero storyteller. I’ve already mentioned my wheelchair-bound character Shailen Warrior, who honors Professor X as well as Shailen, a young man who asked me to include a hero on wheels.

And my 11-year-old superhero, Kyle, would probably be right at home with the young mutants in X’s School for Gifted Youngsters. He’s shy and scared of lots of things and never wanted to be a superhero in the first place. It just worked out that way. Now he’s learning that courage doesn’t mean just not being scared. Courage is being scared and doing what’s in front of you anyway. For now, you can read about Kyle in my first two stories featuring Cockroach the Superhero: “Breakfast of Superheroes” and “The Secrets of the Superhero’s Ring.” I think you’ll be proud of him. I know I am.