Superboy 176 page 24 by Tuska

Well I've been waiting, waiting here Lyle Norg
But Tuska's drawing, nothing could go wrong, ooh now I know
He has mastered chemistry
To take everything we see
And now it seems I'm calling, disappearer

Crook seems to have my invisible touch, yeah
He reaches in, and grabs right hold Legion art
Crook seems to have my invisible touch, yeah
He takes control and slowly steals your old art

Interesting. Do we know if Bridwell or anyone before him at DC "stole" the idea of mutants being humans born with powers from Stan Lee's X-Men? Or did the concept of mutants in comic books even exist before the X-Men dubuted?

According to etymonline, mutant was first used arourd 1900 and per wikipedia, the first use in comics was Captain Comet by DC in 1951. In Strange Adventures #9 on page 6, first panel, Professor Emery Zackro tells Adam Blake that he is a mutant.

The Invisible Kid birth page! I love the Legion origin stories.

Right, I've also heard thew term used in old movies, but often to describe some sort of creature. I'm specifically curious as to whether the term was used in comics earlier than in Marvel's X-Men, but in reference to someone specifically born with powers/abilities.

Adam Blake was born with super powers. The professor theorized that a comet passing before he was born activated his 'mutagene' and caused him to mutate to a man of the future. Adam then took the name Captain Comet.

Nice! I guess Marvel so popularized the term and meaning that I spent my life thinking they invented it.

Another gem of a page