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With all the mutant powers out there, including X-Men Apocalypse...

when Apocalypse was preparing to transfer into Charles' body. He could have repaired his body, or so it seems since he fixed Archangel's wings earlier in the film...

have there ever been comics or movies that suggest anyone has ever fixed Professor X's back, or tried and failed? Or has any writer ever expressed why it is so important to keep him in the chair?

For all I know Charles has a mind set that it is not important and the things that have happened have happened, but somehow I fail to see why it wouldn't be more convenient to not be confined to the chair when surely some mutant out there could do something about it.

Gallifreyan
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Kai Qing
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2 Answers2

38

There have been a few mutants who have removed Charles from his chair. Whether him getting put back into the chair counts as them failing is another matter.

Uncanny X-men

The first time this happens is in Uncanny X-men #167 Xavier's body is cloned and his mind is transferred to the new body. This gives him the ability to walk. This is the first time Xavier regains his ability to walk after losing it in a fight with Lucifer.

The second time this happens is in Uncanny X-men #297 Xavier was able to walk briefly, but only for a few editions before he was chair-ridden again.

New X-men

The third time Xavier regained his ability to walk was when the mutant healer, Xorn, restored his legs in New X-men #126 following Xavier's mind switch with Cassandra Nova. In #146 this was revealed as a hoax as Magneto had pretended to be Xorn and had used nanotechnology to support Xavier's spine.

X-men: Deadly Genesis

Xavier claims that when the world was remade, it had given him his legs back. Not having read this arc specifically, from the context, I've gathered that Wanda Maximoff destroyed what there was and remade it and provided Xavier with the ability to walk.

These are all the occurrences I was able to find. I will look more in a bit, and provide sources (in the form of panels)

Edlothiad
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    Very good. I'd be interested in seeing as many as possible, though that related link in the comments above made an interesting point that his body is fine, the paralysis is caused by a psychosomatic trauma that even Charles doesn't understand. – Kai Qing Aug 02 '17 at 01:14
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    That does seem to be the case in one edition of the comics. I myself am not an expert. But sadly that expert has left us for the most part. I will keep searching, but I believe these are all the attempts at fixing his spine. (All of these were successful although Xavier would go on to lose his ability to walk later on again) – Edlothiad Aug 02 '17 at 01:27
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    I'll provide the panels in the AM, I'm pooped – Edlothiad Aug 02 '17 at 01:44
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    Since you're intereseted in seeing all the examples, I'll add one from the earlier comics, Xavier could walk thanks to a Shi'har exoesqueleton: http://xmenrebirth.wikia.com/wiki/Shi%27ar_Exoskeleton – Angrod Aug 02 '17 at 12:05
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    @Angrod I'd seen that but wasn't sure if the OP was interested in that occurrence since it wasn't a mutant helping him walk – Edlothiad Aug 02 '17 at 12:08
  • @Edlothiad Yeah, you're probably right, but it was the first time I saw him walk and kinda amazed me as a kid, and it didn't cost anything to post it in case he needs it. – Angrod Aug 02 '17 at 12:23
  • Quick note on the House of M/Decimation aftermath (which I believe is what you're referring to in the Deadly Genesis note): Wanda did not destroy and recreate reality; she just changed it. A very technical point perhaps, but one I at least think is important. – RDFozz Aug 02 '17 at 17:44
  • I would like to add that in Wolverine and the X-Men cartoon. in the future what was ruled by Master Mold and the Sentinels where Charles woke up from his coma i do recall him uses leg braces to walk around, maybe it was an exoskeleton rig – Memor-X Aug 03 '17 at 05:04
16

There's always been an implication that Xavier's powers are what chain him to that chair.

In the X-Men 90's cartoon series there's an arc that starts with the episode Whatever it Takes, where Xavier and Magneto are in Antarctica and enter the Savage Land, which removed their powers and allows Xavier to walk again. Yes, that is Xavier pulling Magneto out of the river, as seen in this screen grab from the next episode, Red Dawn

We later find out they have a machine that can suppress mutant powers and, upon its destruction at the hands of Xavier in The Reunion, Part II, he immediately loses control of his legs again.

Machavity
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    Regarding the Red Dawn episode, I've always wondered how could he walk, because normaly even if your nerve conections are restored, your mucles wount help you. – Ghidus Miclaus Aug 02 '17 at 13:21
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    This was also the case in the Days of Future Past movie, plus I think I remember someone else mentioning similar from the comics in another question some time ago – Izkata Aug 02 '17 at 14:15
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    @GhidusMiclaus These are the X-Men we're talking about. Jean Grey's super power is coming back from the dead. How atrophied legs can suddenly work again is child's play compared to that. – Machavity Aug 02 '17 at 14:19
  • @Machavity LOL! So many times the brunt of that phrase is exactly how I have answered weird situations in X-Men – Kai Qing Aug 02 '17 at 21:28
  • Int he show there was a throwaway like "The Savage Lands have healing powers" – Andrey Aug 03 '17 at 18:35