Not much is known about Charles' early life. His mutant power developed at the age of twelve, and soon grew to become powerful. Mutants had become quite a controversial thing at the time, and many people were afraid, so Charles hid his powers. He had the ability to read minds and project his own thought in others' minds. Charles was considered a genius, and he left high school at the age of sixteen. He went to Oxford University, where he studied Genetics, Biophysics and Psychology. He secretly also studied as much as he could about mutants.