I have no answer. But when I go looking, I usually come back to this.

"It's a non-orientable surface!"

However, given that Marvel was often playing against convention (especially after Spider-Man) it wouldn't surprise me if the general idea was floating around. But if they knew a competitor was going forward with a similar idea, that might have prompted them to also commit.

If I had to guess, what got picked up was just the general notion of a superhero team that was oppressed by broader society plus the specific point of a leader in a wheelchair. After that, we can see the divergence.

Interesting. I was unfamiliar with AAF 14. It reads much like a combination of Odd John and EC's "The Loathsome" from 1953. Interesting how "The Man in the Sky" shares related, though different, issues with minority representation that the X-Men would also have while written by Stan Lee.

Copilot, kill my darlings.

Copilot, kill my darlings.

They didn't copy the published version, obviously. But I doubt anyone will ever be able to disprove (or prove) that things weren't circulating at the water cooler in the months leading up to initial publication.

Maybe that nun can teach him.

First as tragedy, etc...

squared the circle

Too late, was born here.