(New X-Men I#121 (fb)) - Sharon became pregnant with twins that would later be known as Professor Charles Xavier and Cassandra Nova. However, the twins were already showing signs of genetic mutation in the womb. Cassandra manifested herself as an entity known to the Shi'ar as "Mummudrai," the spirit opposite of a person... In this case, that of her own twin brother Charles. Exposed to his polar opposite, Xavier instinctively used his telepathy for the first time. After getting a rudimentary grasp of what she was, his own personal worst enemy, he tried to kill her with a mental assault. The ensuing internal struggle was so great Sharon was overwhelmed by the sensation, causing her to lose her balance while going up a flight of stairs after which she fell down the stairs.

(X Lives of Wolverine I#1) - When the night had fallen, Sharon went into labor at the Xavier Estate. While the midwife guided Sharon through the process Brian nervously drank a brandy at the estate's fireplace but decided a breath of fresh air was needed in order to calm his nerves. However, when Brian stepped outside he was attacked by Bowers the gardener. In reality the gardener had been possessed by the time traveling evil mutant Omega Red who'd been tasked by Russian Mikhail Rasputin to murder Charles Xavier's relatives throughout time. Just then Wolverine appeared, who'd been send through time by Charles Xavier and Jean Grey to stop Omega Red. Wolverine quickly ordered Brian to grab his hunting rifle and keep his family save while he would deal with the possessed gardener.

    Meanwhile, Sharon had given birth to the stillborn Cassandra. While the midwife carried the stillborn away Sharon screamed out in pain which in turn alarmed Brian who, now joined by the butler, loaded his rifle. However, just as Brian made his way upstairs Omega Red took possession of the butler and tried to shoot Brian. In an act of self defense Brian then shot, and killed the butler.

    The midwife assured Sharon they would mourn Cassandra later but she would need to deliver her second baby. But just as Brian rushed into the master bedroom Omega Red took possession of the midwife and began to strangle Sharon. A shocked Brian quickly pointed his rifle at the midwife but Omega Red used one of his tentacles to grab the rifle and knock Brian unconscious. Next, Wolverine bursted through the door and attacked the midwife while Sharon gave birth to Xavier. Determined to defend her family, Sharon held baby Xavier in one arm while holding the rifle in her hand threatening Wolverine and Omega Red to leave their home. Unaware Wolverine had come to rescue them she shot the mutant point blank after which the possessed midwife grabbed Sharon. Having regained his consciousness Brain jumped the midwife from behind, scratching her eyes out. Wolverine then took hold of baby Xavier, luring the midwife towards the windows until he jumped aside at the last moment while the midwife fell to her death, ending Omega Red's assassination attempt.

(X Lives of Wolverine I#4 - BTS) - In an effort to lessen their impact on the timeline, Charles Xavier and Jean Grey unleashed a mile-wide psionic blast to make those affected forget everything that had transpired. The psionic blast was made to feel as if this affected by it would feel like their rising from a nap they can't quite remember.

(New X-Men I#121 (fb) - BTS) - Though the doctors pronounced her stillborn, Cassandra in fact survived and spent the next years as a growing mass of cells in a sewer, building a new body for herself and planning her revenge on her brother.

(X-Men Legacy#212 (fb)) - Famous geneticist doctor Nathan Milbury, secretly Mr. Sinister, gathered X-gene positive people, planning to have them breed in order to investigate the genetic potential of their offspring. Setting up an elaborate, partially underground lab in a planned nuclear research facility in Alamogordo, New Mexico, he worked along with Brian Xavier, Kurt Marko, Alexander Ryking and Irene Adler, who served as the project's administrator. This group of geneticists would one day be known as the Black Womb Program.

(X-Men Legacy#211 (fb) - BTS) - After determining young Charles' immense X-gene potential, Milbury had the boy subjected to a battery of tests about which Sharon wasn't too pleased. Milbury, however, assured the worried Sharon that her son would be the next big thing that would come after humanity. Despite this assurance, she had her doubts about the integrity of the research.

(X-Men Legacy#211 (fb)) - Sharon grew fed up with continued, invasive testing Charles had to endure and brought it up with her husband Brian. Sadly enough, the domineering geneticist could not be persuaded and told her he'd already made up his mind regarding the tests. At this time, Alexander Ryking's son, Carter, would regularly visit the Xavier's to have play dates with Charles.

(Uncanny X-Men I#12 (fb)) - Brian Xavier died in what was described as an accidental atomic blast at Alamagordo. Now a widow, Sharon inherited the Xavier fortune. At the funeral, she was comforted by Brian's colleague and fellow geneticist Kurt Marko who told her he'd have gladly given his own life if it had meant saving Brian. Hearing this made Sharon feel as if she could depend on him.

(X-Men Legacy#212 (fb) - BTS) - With Brian Xavier gone, Mister Sinister reasoned Sharon would feel no reason to remain at Alamogordo. Afraid to lose Charles as his subject, Sinister ordered Marko to get close to Sharon.

(Uncanny X-Men I#12 (fb) - BTS) - Over the following months, Kurt Marko relentlessly tried to persuade Sharon her son needed a father's care in his life and offered to fill that position. Apart from secretly acting on Sinister's orders, Marko also saw it as a strategic move to get his hands on Sharon's newfound fortune.

(Uncanny X-Men I#309 (fb)) - Sharon, now a twenty-seven year old widow, finally agreed to marry her good friend Kurt Marko, figuring it would be the best thing for her son to have a father figure in his life again.

(Uncanny X-Men I#12 (fb)) - Shortly after their marriage, Kurt Marko moved his new family back to Sharon and Brian's old Westchester estate. Despite his young age, Charles' still developing mutant abilities allowed him to sense Kurt's true intentions were less than honorable. As time went by Sharon saw less and less of her new husband who devoted all his time to his secret research. Finally working up the courage to confront Kurt about his behavior, she yelled she'd been a fool and he'd only wanted her for her wealth. Kurt, who by that time couldn't stand Sharon anymore, boastfully revealed she and the late Brian had everything he'd always wanted; fame, success and the admiration of the world. Blatantly admitting he couldn't care less about Sharon or Charles, he then revealed that he'd invited Cain, the son from his previous marriage, to come and live with them.

(Uncanny X-Men I#309 (fb)) - Over time, Kurt Marko started physically abusing Sharon. Even though Charles was little more than a child, he'd still seek out his mother after each and every beating to try and comfort her. Later, Xavier realized that during those moments he'd instinctively tried to reach out with his mind to share and alleviate the pain she felt.

(X-Men Unlimited I#12 (fb)) - Kurt spoke to Sharon about how gifted her son Charles was and that he would one day change the world. Sharon, however, thought Kurt should devote more time to his own son Cain as she could see the boy thought he could only get his father's attention through anger. Kurt remarked there was nothing he could do to change the boy since he was born a bad seed, unaware Cain overheard their conversation and drew his conclusions.

(X-Men Legacy#212 (fb) - BTS) - Dr. Milbury rechristened the Black Womb project, now calling it Cronus after the titan of Greek mythology, who was reviled for eating his own children. Despite the fact Sharon initially agreed to move their family back to Alamogordo, she still wanted her son kept out of the project. Even Marko felt it was going in the wrong direction.

(X-Men Legacy#212 (fb)) - Sharon tried to convince her husband to pack up and move away from Dr Milbury's influence. Feeling it was out of their hands, a drunk Kurt severely beat Sharon while Charles and Cain looked on from the staircase.

(Uncanny X-Men I#12 (fb)) - Sharon died under unrevealed circumstances, a heart-broken mother. Shortly after her death, Kurt Marko would perish as well, while saving Charles and Cain from an explosion (see comments).

(X-Men II#12 (fb)) - Attending the funeral of Dr. Alexander Ryking, Charles Xavier's mind raced back to his childhood as he remembered how his mother comforted him after his father had passed away.

(Uncanny X-Men I#309) - Charles Xavier's quiet introspective mood was disturbed by the appearance of the aspect of Magneto he had recently absorbed after shutting down the mind of the mutant master of magnetism. Charles casually told "Magneto" about his family, initially describing Sharon as the perfect mother. With a smile, he referred to her as a genuine angel, the most caring and giving person he'd ever known. "Magneto," who as part of Xavier's mind had full access to his experiences, brutally dismissed this as a blatant lie and forced Xavier to confront the truth. Backed against the proverbial wall, Charles admitted he felt his mother had been a coward who preferred to drink herself into a stupor rather than stand up to her abusive husband, his stepfather Kurt Marko (see comments).

Comments: Created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Alex Toth

Though nowhere near confirmed, it's not unthinkable that Sinister was behind Sharon's death. After all, his chief concern was keeping tabs on the young boy who he planned to use as a potential host body.

So was Sharon really a lush who drank away her problems? Could be, even though all her other appearances suggest she didn't so much as point at a bottle. Still, if you're stuck in a loveless marriage with a dismissive, abusive man who only wants you for your dead husband's money... and you're stuck with the literal equivalent of the red headed stepchild... Wouldn't you want to take the edge off?

As for her time at Alamogordo: It's possible Sharon saw and socialized with the other Black Womb Project members, including Irene Adler.

Profile by MarvellousLuke

CLARIFICATIONS:
Sharon Xavier has no known connections to

• to any other "Sharon" or "Xavier" characters

unidentified midwife

  The midwife who guided Sharon Xavier through her pregnancy.

She helped deliver Sharon's first of the twins but quickly realized the girl was stillborn. While wrapping the stillborn in a blanked Sharon told the midwife her name was Cassandra. Although feeling for Sharon she explained they would mourn Cassandra later but now had to focus on delivering the second baby. However, the midwife was then possessed by the time traveling evil mutant Omega Red who'd been tasked by Russian Mikhail Rasputin to murder Charles Xavier's relatives throughout time. The possessed-midwife tried to strangle Sharon just as Brian entered the bedroom. In the end it was Wolverine (who'd been send by Jean Grey and Charles Xavier to stop Omega Red) who managed to stop midwife by taking hold of baby Xavier, luring the midwife towards the windows until he jumped aside at the last moment while the midwife fell to her death, ending Omega Red's assassination attempt.

--X Lives of Wolverine I#1

images: (without ads)
Uncanny X-Men I#309, p7, pan5 (main image)
New X-Men I#121, p18, pan1 (pregnant with twins)
X Lives of Wolverine I#1, p24, pan7 (birth of Charles Xavier)
Uncanny X-Men I#12, p4, pan 3&4 (at Brian's funeral)
X-Men Legacy I#212, p10, pan 2 (beaten by Kurt)
X Lives of Wolverine I#1, p3, pan3 (Sharon's midwife)

Appearances:
X-Men I#12 (July, 1965) - Stan Lee (writer), Jack Kirby, Alex Toth (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
X-Men II#12 (September, 1992) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Art Thibert (pencils, inks), Dan Panosian (inks), Trevor Scott (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
Uncanny X-Men I#309 (February, 1994) - Scott Lobdell (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Jon Holdredge (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
X-Men Unlimited I#12 (September, 1996) - John Francis Moore (writer), Steve Epting (pencils), Ariel Olivetti (pencils, inks), Kevin Conrad (inks), Kelly Corvese (editor)
New X-Men I#121 (February, 2002) - Grant Morrison (writer), Frank Quitely (pencils, inks), Mark Powers, Pete Franco (editors)
X-Men Legacy I#211 (July, 2008) - Mike Carey (writer), Scot Eaton, Brandon Peterson (pencils), John Dell, Andrew Hennessy, Dave Meikis, Brandon Peterson (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
X-Men Legacy I#212 (July, 2008) - Mike Carey (writer), Scot Eaton, Mike Deodato Jr. (pencils), John Dell, Andrew Hennessy, Mike Deodato Jr. (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
X Lives of Wolverine I#1 (January, 2022) - Benjamin Percy (writer), Joshua Cassara (pencils, inks), Drew Baumgartner, Mark Basso, Jordan D. White (editors)

First Posted: 02/02/2014
Last updated: 09/17/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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