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Cover: Neal Adams & Tom Palmer

The X-Men #57

Name: The X-Men #57
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Jun 1969 · Marvel · 0.12 USD

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★ 1st appearance — Larry Trask★ 1st appearance — Judge Chalmers

About this Issue

The X-Men #57 (cover-dated June 1969) is the opening chapter of one of the most consequential creative salvage operations in Silver Age Marvel history: writer Roy Thomas and artist Neal Adams—then the hottest young talent at DC—took a title teetering on the edge of cancellation and redirected it with a bold new Sentinels storyline that would define the X-Men's core dramatic tension for decades. The issue delivers the first appearances of Larry Trask, the Sentinel Mk II, Sentinel Number 7, and Judge Chalmers, expanding the Sentinel mythos beyond its original Bolivar Trask origin into a multigenerational family tragedy that deepened the book's civil-rights allegory. Adams' page design—particularly a nearly silent, near-wordless sequence of Beast plummeting from a high-rise—demonstrated a cinematic command of space and momentum that influenced how action was staged in superhero comics for years afterward. The Thomas–Adams–Palmer run that begins here is routinely cited as the creative foundation on which Chris Claremont and later teams would build the X-Men into Marvel's dominant franchise.

In "The Sentinels Live!", the X-Men face a terrifying new threat as a Sentinel attacks Lorna, while Alex struggles with his increasingly uncontrollable powers. With the Egyptian authorities turning on them and a shocking broadcast revealing the Sentinels' return, Iceman and Beast race back to the States to uncover the truth. Written by Roy Thomas and brought to life with dynamic art by Neal Adams—both in story and on the cover—this pivotal 1969 issue marks a turning point in the mutant saga, with Adams’ intense visuals and Tom Palmer’s inks heightening the tension.

Contains 2 stories

The Sentinels Live!

15 pp · Superhero

Joe

When a Sentinel attacks Lorna, the X-Men are thrown into chaos as Alex struggles with his escalating powers and the Egyptian authorities turn on them, blaming the team for temple destruction. With tensions rising and a shocking broadcast revealing the return of the Sentinels—led by the son of Bolivar Trask—Joe and the others must race to uncover the truth before the mutant hunters strike again.

The Female of the Species!

5 pp · Superhero

In "The Female of the Species!", a young woman with powerful telepathic and telekinetic abilities demonstrates the full scope of her mind's reach—showing how she can project force, manipulate objects, and even inflict mental pain, proving that even the strongest adversary can be brought down with a single thought.

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (VG) $24

CGC 9.8 · 12 in census $4,848

CGC 9.6 · 51 in census $1,102

CGC 9.4 · 95 in census $531

CGC 9.2 · 121 in census $373*

CGC 9.0 · 147 in census $242

CGC 8.5 · 159 in census $173*

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CGC 8.0 · 117 in census $136

CGC 7.5 · 108 in census $106*

CGC 7.0 · 92 in census $79

CGC 6.5 · 76 in census $75*

CGC 6.0 · 48 in census $54

CGC 5.5 · 41 in census $52*

CGC 5.0 · 27 in census $49*

CGC 4.5 · 25 in census $41*

CGC 4.0 · 16 in census $41*

CGC 3.5 · 9 in census $34*

CGC 3.0 · 4 in census $26*

CGC 2.5 · 1 in census $23*

CGC 2.0 · 2 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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CGC 9 $349.99 CGC 9 $385

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CGC · Signed $325 CGC $1549

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History

By early 1969 the original X-Men series was Marvel's worst-selling title, and cancellation was a real possibility; when Neal Adams—then making his name on DC's Batman and Spectre—approached Stan Lee about doing some Marvel work, Lee gave him his pick of assignments. Adams deliberately chose the struggling X-Men, attracted by the creative latitude of the 'Marvel style' plot-first method of working, and was paired with writer Roy Thomas and inker/colorist Tom Palmer. Issue #57 was Adams' second issue on the book (following #56), and the first of the three-part Sentinels arc he and Thomas plotted together; Roy Thomas later wrote in his introduction to the Marvel Masterworks reprint volume about the remarkable way Adams rendered a black-and-white television image as a genuine TV image rather than simply a drawing without color—a small detail that typified the craft the team brought to what had been a neglected book.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Larry Trask (Lawrence Trask), the mutant precognitive son of Bolivar Trask, created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Neal Adams; he debuts both in the main story and in flashback.
First appearance of the Sentinel Mk II (the upgraded second-generation Sentinels rebuilt by Larry Trask), depicted in flashback and in the main story.
First appearance of Sentinel Number 7, an individually designated Mk II unit.
First appearance of Judge Robert Chalmers, a close personal friend of the late Bolivar Trask and the only other person who knew that Larry was himself a mutant.
The issue also marks the first time the surname 'Abdol' is revealed for the Living Pharaoh (Professor Ahmet Abdol), the villain carried over from the previous arc.
Main story 'The Sentinels Live!' scripted by Roy Thomas, penciled by Neal Adams, inked by Tom Palmer, lettered by Sam Rosen; backup story 'The Female of the Species!—The Origins of the Uncanny X-Men,' exploring Marvel Girl's powers, scripted by Linda Fite, penciled by Werner Roth, inked by Sam Grainger.
The main story was reprinted in Giant-Size X-Men #2 (1975)—the first collected reprinting of the Thomas–Adams–Palmer Sentinels trilogy—and again in X-Men Classics (later Classic X-Men) #1 (1983), a Baxter-paper prestige format limited series that reprinted X-Men #57–63.
The issue is part of a three-part Sentinels storyline (X-Men #57–59) that serves as the launchpad for the Thomas–Adams–Palmer run, subsequently collected in the X-Men by Roy Thomas & Neal Adams Gallery Edition, X-Men Epic Collection: The Sentinels Live, X-Men Visionaries: The Neal Adams Collection, and the Penguin Classics Marvel Collection.