X-MAN

Real Name: Unknown

Identity/Class: Normal Human

Occupation: Would-be Child Abductor, child molester

Group Membership: None;

Affiliations: None

Enemies: X-Men

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unrevealed

First Appearance: Be X-Tra Safe with the X-Men#1 Special Edition Blockbuster Video Kidprint (1996)

Powers/Abilities: None. 

History:

(Be X-tra Safe with the X-Men#1 - BTS) – The man and would-be child molester preyed upon unwary children and dressed up in superhero costumes to lure them away.

(Be X-tra Safe with the X-Men#1) – Arriving at a playground, the man approached a young boy named Terrence and pretended to be an X-Man and offered to show him his special mutant power and some tricks if he would come with him. Just as he was about to snatch the young boy, the real X-Men arrived and he was held aloft by Wolverine who in turn offered to show him some tricks of his own.

Comments: Mariano (writer), David Boller (penciller), Greg Adams (inker), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer), Paul Becton (Colorist), Glenn Herdling (editor).

This was a free give-away special edition comic and activity book created by Marvel and Block Buster Video's Kidprint organization and based on "My 8 Rules of Safety" from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

KIDPRINT is a nationwide program created and sponsored by Blockbuster Video in 1990 and offered parents with children under the age of 12, the opportunity to have free videos made of their kids to be used for identification purposes.

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

My 8 Rules of Safety

1. Before I go anywhere, I always check first with my parents or the person in charge. I tell them where I am going, how I will get there, who will be going with me and when I'll be back.

2. I check first for permission from my parents before getting into a car or leaving with anyone - even someone I know. I check first before changing plans or accepting money, gifts, or drugs without my parent's knowledge.

3. It is safer for me to be with other people when going places or playing outside. I always use the buddy system.

4. I say NO if someone tries to touch me in ways that make me feel frightened, uncomfortable, or confused. Then I go and tell a grown-up I trust what happened.

5. I know it is not my fault if someone touches me in a way that is not O.K. I don't have to keep secrets about those touches.

6. I trust my feelings and talk to grown-ups about problems that are too big for me to handle on my own. A lot of people care about me and will listen and believe me. I am not alone.

7. It is never too late to ask for help. I can keep asking until I get the help I need.

8. I am a special person, and I deserve to feel safe.

My rules are:

• CHECK FIRST

• USE THE BUDDY SYSTEM

• SAY NO, THEN GO AND TELL

• LISTEN TO MY FEELINGS

• AND TALK WITH GROWN-UPS I TRUST ABOUT MY PROBLEMS AND CONCERNS

This story touches on an unaddressed issue in comics: if people are running around in tight costumes, who's to say they aren't child molesters? Anyone could dress up and pass themselves off as a superhero. What makes the X-men any more trustworthy if they're caught hanging around parks looking for small children? Beast admits to spying on a little kid through his television, then tells him to hang up when he gets a phone call. The message is clear- don't trust anyone, especially adults. I always took this advice too far by refusing to talk to anyone I don't know, and I haven't made any new friends since.

--Technarch

Profile by AvatarWarlord72 with sub-profiles by Technarch.

CLARIFICATIONS:
X-Man has no known connection to:

• X-Man, of Earth-774, Bruce Banner/Reed Richards/Charles Xavier fusion @ What If? I#2
• X-Man, Nathaniel (Nate) Grey, son of Madelyne Pryor and Cyclops from the Age of Apocalypse, @ X-Man#1

Kids

Three kids were playing in a suburban playground, paying no attention to the X-men or the costumed child molester.

--Be X-Tra Safe with the X-Men#1

Terrance

Terrance was a boy playing at a "sleepy suburban playground." He wore a yellow cap with an X-men logo, and was holding onto a gray basketball when a costumed figure approached him, offering his purple ball, who Terrance assumed was an X-man due to his costume. When Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Jubilee, and Beast appeared, Terrance recognized them as the real X-men.

Jubilee asked Terrance his name, Cyclops told him to say no to adults, and Beast said to be careful with everybody, including the X-men. Jubilee told him a story about her first weekend away from school, and Beast told him about his young friend Jimmy. While Storm and Beast lightly touched Terrance, Cyclops told him to never let anyone know when he's home, and to tell people his parents are unavailable if anyone calls. Terrance listened to them and promised to follow their advice every day.

--Be X-Tra Safe with the X-Men#1

Creepy crawlers

On her first weekend away from Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Jubilee gets lost on her way to the mall, when a black sedan approaches, driven by an old woman who asks for directions. When Jubilee admits to being lost herself, the man in the passenger seat says "Perfect... Er, I mean, I mean, hop in, we'll help you find your way home!" Jubilee declines their offer, and tells them she will ask a nearby policeman instead, when the two immediately drive off.

--Be X-Tra Safe with the X-Men#1 (fb)

Policeman

A policeman happened to be walking by, when Jubilee jaywalked across the street to tell him she was lost. Despite his lack of a name tag and his unconventional request to "Tell me a little about yourself," Jubilee gave the location of her school and its phone number, (914) 555-1111.

--Be X-Tra Safe with the X-Men#1 (fb)

Jimmy

Jimmy was a "young friend" of Beast. He lived in a New York apartment complex and turned on his TV to watch some cartoons, when he received a phone call. The person on the other end asked to speak with his mom or dad, and when Jimmy said they were at work, the person on the phone asked where he lived. It so happened that Beast was using his new holographic projector to watch Jimmy through the TV, and projected himself outside of the television to tell Jimmy that he didn't need to say anything, and insisted that he hang up the phone.

--Be X-Tra Safe with the X-Men#1 (fb)

Allison Shanon

    Allison wrote a letter from Cherry Hill, New Jersey to Jubilee, explaining that her parents could not always pick her up from school, but her friend Charlie, a school janitor, had offered a ride home. Jubilee wrote back saying that she should never go anywhere with anyone unless she first talked to her parents or the person in charge of her.

--Be X-Tra Safe with the X-Men#1

images: (without ads)
Be X-Tra Safe with the X-Men#1, page 1, panel 3
Be X-Tra Safe with the X-Men#1, page 1, panel 2
Be X-Tra Safe with the X-Men#1, page 1, panel 1
Be X-Tra Safe with the X-Men#1, page 1, panel 2
Be X-Tra Safe with the X-Men#1, page 4, panel 5
Be X-Tra Safe with the X-Men#1, page 5, panel 3
Be X-Tra Safe with the X-Men#1, back cover