The place is a world very much like ours. The time is now. The phenomenon is genetic mutation. It is a time of change. Humanity now faces mutants, a mysterious sub-species that is gifted with strange and frightening powers. Hidden among the population, they are feared and hated by their human cousins. As rumors and urban myths about their existence spread across the world, the U.S. Government creates its own initiative to deal with this threat: the Sentinel Project. Meanwhile, two men wage a secret war for the hearts and minds of young mutants everywhere. Charles Xavier has recruited a cadre of students including Cyclops, Jean Grey and Beast that call themselves the "X-Men". But there are others out there, living in fear, struggling to deal with what they are: Ororo Munroe, Bobby Drake... and another, more dangerous mutant named Logan. Simultaniously, the terrorist known only as Magneto has assembled "The Brotherhood," a militant group dedicated to the overthrow of human authority. A war is on the horizon, and these amazing young men and women will decide the future of all humanity!?

As the Sentinels are unleashed upon Los Angeles and Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants threatens the existence of man, Jean Grey (Marvel Girl) is busy recruiting other young mutants to join her and Cyclops as X-men at Professor Xavier's Institute For Gifted Children. Their first mission? Save the mutant runaway Bobby Drake from a Sentinel attack in New York. Although successful, they also manage to attract the interest of mutant separatist Magneto, who decides to send Wolverine to assassinate Professor X.