# Prof. X...first non-villain in a wheelchair? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 20, 2017, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613 "2017-03-20T15:03:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613/1 "2017-03-20T15:03:39Z")
Professor Charles Francis Xavier first appeared in 1963–The X-Men #1 (September 1963) to be specific. I had a discussion at the steampunk con last weekend about heroes with disabilities and we need information. Clearly bad guys have disabilities for the same reason the monsters are ugly–to let us know we don’t want to be them. But we can only hope that the whole “inner badness is reflected on the outside” meme has had its day and should fade away. Anywho, can anyone cite an example–fiction, film, comics–of a good guy with a disability that happened before 1963? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613/2 "2017-03-20T15:08:53Z")
[Is Xavier really that good?](http://www.cracked.com/video_20040_why-professor-x-really-villain-x-men-universe.html) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613/3 "2017-03-20T15:09:00Z")
From DC’s _My Greatest Adventure_, June 1963, we have the Doom Patrol with the Chief (Niles Caulder), also in a wheelchair. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613/4 "2017-03-20T15:10:55Z")
[10 Disabled Comic Book Superheroes](http://mentalfloss.com/article/26636/10-disabled-comic-book-superheroes) > [@](#): > > 1. Dr. Mid-Nite > > This DC Comics hero was introduced in 1941, teaming up with do-gooders like the Flash and the Green Lantern throughout World War II. Originally physician Dr. Charles McNider, he was blinded by a hand-grenade explosion (the work of organized crime). Though he had to renounce the surgery, he could see in pitch darkness for some reason, so he became a crime-fighter. As well as having an advantage during the night, he wears special pitch-black goggles so he can see during the day. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613/5 "2017-03-20T15:12:32Z")
Professor X’s goodness may be debatable. (I really don’t, know – I’m not into the whole X-Men thing.) However, _Ironside_ debuted in 1967. Surely Det. Ironside’s goodness is not debatable. He was always after the bad guys. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613/6 "2017-03-20T15:13:17Z")
And Fawcett’s _Whiz Comics_ #25 (Dec. 1941) brought Freddy Freeman, who was a crippled teenager. Granted when he said the magic words (“Captain Marvel”) he became Capt. Marvel Jr., who wasn’t crippled, but the secret identity stayed on crutches or wheelchairs. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613/7 "2017-03-20T15:14:47Z")
Raymond Burr as “Ironside”? Granted, its was condescending as hell. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613/8 "2017-03-20T15:20:37Z")
There was some sort of chick superhero show on the tube a few years ago. I think it was set in the DC universe. Anyway, one of them, who was disabled, lived in the top of a skyscraper. That’s all I remember. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613/9 "2017-03-20T15:23:35Z")
[Lionel Barrymore](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000859/?ref_=nv_sr_1)began using a wheelchair full-time in 1938. While in a wheelchair Barrymore appeared in more than 40 movies. Besides being the bad guy in\* It’s a Wonderful Life\*, Barrymore played Dr. Leonard Gillespie, the grumpy but wise mentor of Dr. Kildare, in more than a dozen movies. Going beyond wheelchairs, don’t forget [Harold Russell](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0751174/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm), who lost both hands in World War II and was fitted with hooks, then went on to win an Academy Awarde for his role in\* The Best Years of Our Lives\*. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613/10 "2017-03-20T15:34:37Z")
> [@NoCoolUserName](#): > > Anywho, can anyone cite an example–fiction, film, comics–of a good guy with a disability that happened before 1963? From Spain: [Goliath](https://www.google.es/search?q=goliath+capitan+trueno&oq=goliath+capitan+trueno&aqs=chrome..69i57.3469j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8), the gigantic sidekick of Capitán Trueno, is one-eyed. Characters created in 1956. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613/11 "2017-03-20T15:40:39Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > There was some sort of chick superhero show on the tube a few years ago. I think it was set in the DC universe. Anyway, one of them, who was disabled, lived in the top of a skyscraper. That’s all I remember. That was _[Birds of Prey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birds_of_Prey_%28TV_series%29)_. The one in the wheelchair was Barbra Gordon/Batgirl. Also, 2002 was not before 1963. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613/12 "2017-03-20T15:46:53Z")
Does blindness count? Blind detective [Max Carrados](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Carrados) goes back to 1914. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613/13 "2017-03-20T16:00:09Z")
I can’t think of any that predate Max Carrados, but [Zatoichi, the blind swordsman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zatoichi) goes back to 1962, predating Prof X and the Chief. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613/14 "2017-03-20T16:00:28Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Going beyond wheelchairs, don’t forget [Harold Russell](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0751174/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm), who lost both hands in World War II and was fitted with hooks, then went on to win an Academy Awarde for his role in\* The Best Years of Our Lives\*. Technically, he got _two_ Academy Awards for that performance - he was given an honorary Oscar for “bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans”, then later that evening won for Best Supporting Actor. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613/15 "2017-03-20T16:02:01Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Also, 2002 was not before 1963. That’s just an alternative fact. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613/16 "2017-03-20T16:19:11Z")
Zorro had Bernardo, his trusted ally who was in on the secret and helped him pull off alter-ego heroics while pretending to be a deaf-mute. That is, he really _was_ mute; he just faked the deafness, the better to eavesdrop on conversations as That Guy Who Obviously Isn’t Eavesdropping On Conversations. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613/17 "2017-03-20T16:30:35Z")
Robert Heinlein’s “Waldo,” (from 1942) has myasthenia gravis, so is too weak to walk or even stand. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613/18 "2017-03-20T16:34:59Z")
I guess there’s Johnny Tremaine (or, as Bart Simpson said, _“Johnny Deformed”_). ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613/19 "2017-03-20T16:51:24Z")
Going waaay back: the ancient Greek god Hephaestus was born deformed. His mama Hera cast him out bodily from Olympus, and he limped ever since. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613/20 "2017-03-20T16:59:56Z")
Also, Tiresias, the blind prophet of Apollo. Also, transgender, sort of. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-x-first-non-villain-in-a-wheelchair/782613.md?page=2)