James Xavier

 was the central character from the 1963 sci-fi/horror film X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes. He was played by actor Ray Milland.

Biography
Doctor James Xavier was a world renknowned scientist who developed a special brand of eyedrops designed to enhance the range of normal human vision. Xavier felt that testing the process on volunteers and animals would not produce satisfactorily subjective observations, so as his funding began to disappear, he decided to test the formula on himself.The process worked and Xavier found that he could see beyond the visible spectrum into the ultraviolet and x-ray wavelengths and beyond.

Xavier used his newfound vision powers to save a young girl who suffered from an undiagnosed medical condition. Over time and with continued use of the eyedrops, Xavier's visual capacity increased, but his ability to control it became less reliable. Eventually he was no longer able to see the world in human terms, but only in forms of lights and textures that his brain was unable to fully comprehend. Even closing his eyes brought no relieving darkness from his frightening world since he could see through his eyelids. His behavior became increasingly erratic, and Xavier's associates assumed that he was going insane.

After accidentally killing a friend, Xavier went on the run, using his x-ray vision first to work in a carnival, and then to win at gambling in a casino. The physical appearance of Xavier's eyes were altered along with his vision. They turned black and silver and eventually became entirely black. He began wearing wrap-arond sunglasses to mask his disarming appearance.

In time, Xavier drove out into the middle of a desert where he came upon a religious tent revival. He told the pastor that he was beginning to see things at the edges of the universe, including an "eye that sees us all" in the center of the universe. The pastor replied that what he saw was "sin and the devil," and declared the biblical quote of "If thine eye offends thee... pluck it out!" Xavier chose to remove his own eyes, blinding himself rather than enduring this nightmarish existence any longer.