Yeah, the premise means that there has to be some point where mutants aren't really on the radar--and I mean, this is the time to do it! (Or earlier, in the Silver Age, I guess--I'm afraid I know very little about that period.)

Something set later would have to do a lot of work to use this kind of attitude convincingly. Maybe if it was set in a very isolated area? But even then, the Internet exists.

I'd never thought of the parallel before writing this post, but they really do read like a set now that I think about it...