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X-Men: The Animated Series

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This page is similar in name or subject to other pages.

See also Earth-921031, X-Men: Evolution for a complete list of references to distinguish between these closely named or closely related articles.

X-Men
Image:X-Men- The Animated Series.jpg
Genre Animated series
Running time - Creator(s) - Starring Cedric Smith
Cathal J. Dodd
Norm Spencer
Iona Morris
Country of origin USA

X-Men, an animated series, debuted on October 31, 1992 (the 1993–1994 season) on the Fox Network as part of Fox’s “Fox Kids” Saturday morning lineup, which featured cartoons such as X-Men, Bobby’s World, and Life with Louie, and live-action programming such as VR Troopers, directed at young children.

X-Men is Marvel Comics' second attempt at an animated X-Men program, after the ill-received half-hour pilot “Pryde of the X-Men” was broadcast multiple times between 1991 and 1992.

The popularity and success of X-Men, along with Batman: The Animated Series (which also debuted in the 1993-94 season), helped launch a number of 1990s-2000s animated series based on comic book series.

Contents

Background

X-Men was one of the longest-lasting series on Fox Kids, and next to Batman: The Animated Series, its most acclaimed and successful to date. Despite its final new episode airing in late 1998 after 5 complete seasons, Fox did not remove the show from the line-up until 1998. The show is also one of the highest-rated and most-viewed Saturday morning programs in American history. During its peak years (1995 and 1996), the show was often shown weekday afternoons, in addition to Saturday mornings.

X-Men stands as the longest running Marvel Comics based show, running for five seasons and 76 episodes. The next longest-running, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, lasted for five seasons and 65 episodes.

After the box office success of the X-Men movie in the summer of 2000, Fox began airing reruns of the cartoon on weekday afternoons. This ended in early 2001. Soon after, ABC Family and Toon Disney, due to Disney's buyout of all Saban Entertainment programs, began airing reruns.

The show features a team line-up similar to that of the early 1990s X-Men comic books, including Professor X, Cyclops, Beast, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Rogue, Gambit, Storm, and Jubilee. In fact, the line up largely resembles that of Cyclops' Blue Team, established in the early issues of X-Men vol.2.

Though they were not part of the X-Men team in the animated series, the following early ’90s X-Men characters all guest starred in at least one episode of the cartoon: Colossus, Nightcrawler, Forge, Banshee, Iceman, Archangel, Psylocke, and Bishop.

Only a few episodes have been released on DVD. So far there are no plans for official release of season box sets. The episodes that have been released are:

  • The Phoenix Saga
  • Sanctuary/Weapon X, Lies and Videotape/Proteus
  • Reunion/Out of the Past/No Mutant Is an Island
  • Legend of Wolverine

Fox canceled the series in large part because the network did not like that Marvel Studios controlled their most popular animated series. Thus, they pulled the plug on both X-Men and Spider-Man animated series despite the fact that both received good ratings. Many fans predicted the series' cancellation because of the noticeable drop in the quality of the animation and story during the second half of the final season. Fox soon realized just how popular the X-Men animation series was when ratings dropped 31% after the network stopped showing it in heavy rotation.

Characters depicted

Hero Teams

X-Men

Jean and Scott
Jean and Scott

X-Factor

Alpha Flight

Xavier Security Enforcers/The Resistance (in Bishop's future)

  • Forge
  • Bishop
  • Shard
  • Wolverine
  • Malcolm (in video image)
  • Randall (in video image)

Clan Chosen (in Cable's future)

X-Terminators (unnamed)

The Mutant Resistance (in the Xavier-less timeline)

S.H.I.E.L.D. (cameo appearance only)

Guest Allies

Cameo appearances (heroes and villains)

Neutral Mutants

Neutral Groups

Starjammers
Acolytes
Morlocks
Shi'ar Imperial Guard
Assassins Guild

Villains

Villain Teams

Brotherhood of Mutants
Nasty Boys
Savage Land Mutates
Inner Circle Club
Horsemen of Apocalypse
  • Warren Worthington III/Archangel/Death
  • Abraham Kieros/War
  • Plague/Pestilence
  • Autumn Rolfson/Famine
  • Death II
  • War II
  • Pestilence II
  • Famine II
Reavers
Mojo's Agents
  • Spiral
  • Major Domo
  • Quark
  • Gog n' Magog
  • Arize
  • The Warwolves
Friends of Humanity
Genoshan Magistrates
  • Tam Anderson
Weapon X
  • Professor Oyama (in video and flashbacks)
  • Dr. Cornelius (in shadows within video and flashbacks)
  • Talos
The Family/Brood
  • The Queen
  • Cody Madison Robbins
Children of the Shadow
  • Solarr/Bill Braddock
  • Chet Lambert
  • Toad/Mortimer Toynbee
The Phalanx Empire
  • Cameron Hodge
  • Warlock
Avengers (in the Xavier-less timeline)
High Lords (cameo appearance only)

In other media

The characters in the series were licensed by Capcom and were the inspiration for the video game X-Men: Children Of The Atom, which in turn would be the basis for the Marvel vs. Capcom series of video games. Most of the voice actors who did the voices in the series reprised their roles for the video game. Capcom would continue to use these characters long after the show was cancelled before eventually losing the rights to create Marvel based games to Electronic Arts in 2001.

Opening animation

US

The original opening animation introduces the main mutants using their mutant abilities to an instrumental theme. This intro is used for the entire series.

Japan

In Japan, the opening intro was replaced with made over Japanese animation of the characters as well as a new vocal Japanese theme called "Rising" (ライジング, from the Japanese band Ambience (アンビエンス). An alternate anime intro was used for future episodes. (Note: the opening sequences were used for the 1990s version Japanese dub; there was no original anime adaptation of the series)

  1. "Rising／ライジング"(1st Japanese theme)
  2. "Dakishimetai Dare Yori Mo／抱きしめたい誰よりも…" (2nd Japanese theme)

The staff credits list shown at the end of the program was also changed. It featured shots of X-Men comic books. The song for this section of the program was "Back to You" (バック･トウ･ユー), from the same band.

Cast

Actor Role
Cedric Smith Professor Charles Xavier
Cathal J. Dodd Wolverine/Logan
Norm Spencer Cyclops/Scott Summers
Iona Morris Storm/Ororo Munroe (I) (1992)
Alison Sealy-Smith Storm/Ororo Munroe (II) (1992–1997)
Chris Potter Gambit/Remy LeBeau (I) (1992–1996)
Tony Daniels Gambit/Remy LeBeau (II) (1997)
Lenore Zann Rogue
George Buza Beast/Dr. Henry “Hank” McCoy
Catherine Disher Jean Grey/Phoenix
Alyson Court Jubilee/Jubilation Lee
Lawrence Bayne Cable
John Colicos Apocalypse
David Hemblen Magneto

Episodes

Season 1

  1. "Night of the Sentinels (Part 1)"
  2. "Night of the Sentinels (Part 2)"
  3. "Enter Magneto"
  4. "Deadly Reunions"
  5. "Captive Hearts"
  6. "Cold Vengeance"
  7. "Slave Island"
  8. "The Unstoppable Juggernaut"
  9. "The Cure"
  10. "Come The Apocalypse"
  11. "Days of Future Past (Part 1)"
  12. "Days of Future Past (Part 2)"
  13. "The Final Decision"

Season 2

  1. "Till Death Do Us Part (Part 1)"
  2. "Till Death Do Us Part (Part 2)"
  3. "Whatever It Takes
  4. "Red Dawn"
  5. "Repo Man"
  6. "X-Ternally Yours"
  7. "Time Fugitives (Part 1)"
  8. "Time Fugitives (Part 2)"
  9. "A Rogue's Tale"
  10. "Beauty & the Beast"
  11. "Mojovision"
  12. "Reunion (Part 1)"
  13. "Reunion (Part 2)"

Season 3

  1. "Out of the Past (Part 1)"
  2. "Out of the Past (Part 2)"
  3. "Phoenix Saga Part 1: Sacrifice"
  4. "Phoenix Saga Part 2: The Dark Shroud"
  5. "Phoenix Saga Part 3: Cry of the Banshee"
  6. "Phoenix Saga Part 4: The Starjammers"
  7. "Phoenix Saga Part 5: Child of Light"
  8. "Obsession"
  9. "Cold Comfort"
  10. "Savage Land, Strange Heart (Part 1)"
  11. "Savage Land, Strange Heart (Part 2)"
  12. "The Dark Phoenix Saga Part 1: Dazzled"
  13. "The Dark Phoenix Saga Part 2: The Inner Circle"
  14. "The Dark Phoenix Saga Part 3: The Dark Phoenix"
  15. "The Dark Phoenix Saga Part 4: The Fate Of The Phoenix"
  16. "Orphan's End"
  17. "Juggernaut Returns"
  18. "Nightcrawler"
  19. "Weapon X, Lies, & Videotape"

Season 4

  1. "One Man's Worth (Part 1)"
  2. "One Man's Worth (Part 2)"
  3. "Courage"
  4. "Proteus (Part 1)"
  5. "Proteus (Part 2)"
  6. "Sanctuary (Part 1)"
  7. "Sanctuary (Part 2)"
  8. "Beyond Good and Evil Part 1: The End of Time"
  9. "Beyond Good and Evil Part 2: Promise of Apocalypse"
  10. "Beyond Good and Evil Part 3: The Lazarus Chamber"
  11. "Beyond Good and Evil Part 4: End and Beginning"
  12. "Have Yourself a Morlock Little X-Mas"
  13. "Lotus and the Steel"
  14. "Love In Vain"
  15. "Secrets No Longer Buried"
  16. "Xavier Remembers"
  17. "Family Ties"

Season 5

  1. "The Phalanx Covenant Part 1"
  2. "The Phalanx Covenant Part 2"
  3. "A Deal with the Devil"
  4. "No Mutant Is an Island"
  5. "Longshot"
  6. "Bloodlines"
  7. "Storm Front Part 1"
  8. "Storm Front Part 2"
  9. "Jubilee's Fairytale Theater"
  10. "The Fifth Horseman"
  11. "Old Soldiers"
  12. "Descent"
  13. "Hidden Agendas"
  14. "Graduation Day"

Trivia

  • Immortus makes a cameo appearance in season four as the crazed janitor in the “axis of time.”
  • There are numerous continuity errors throughout the series, such as the involvement of Angel (Warren Worthington) in the original X-Men team. When he and Professor X first meet onscreen, he is unknown to them, but in flashbacks he is seen as one of the founding members.
  • When Havok makes a cameo appearance, it is hinted that he is indeed Cyclops's brother, as their powers do not work on each other. It is also hinted that Cable is the son of Jean and Scott.
  • The series deals with issues that are not often dealt with in animated television shows, for example divorce, slavery, and religion, and the ongoing theme of the series is criticism of racism and intolerance. The series was also one of the more diverse shows aired on network television with male and female characters of various ages, ethnic and national backgrounds.
  • Starting in "Jubilee’s Fairytale Theater" the series features animation of a remarkably lower quality, although the introductory sequences' better animation remains.
  • Bisexual Mystique and homosexual Northstar both appear in the series, although no mention or reference is made to their sexual orientation.
  • X-Men: The Manga, a manga version of X-Men, borrowed stories from the first and second seasons of the X-Men animated series.
  • The First Season episode "The Cure" concerns reversion of genetic mutation, making mutants "normal" human beings. This was long before Joss Whedon used the same idea in Astonishing X-Men. A cure for mutants is the central plot idea of X-Men: The Last Stand.
  • A number of famous storylines and events from the comics are loosely adapted in the series, such as the Phoenix Saga, Days of Future Past, the Phalanx Covenant, and the Legacy Virus. The third episode, "Enter Magneto", contains a sequence that takes place at a missile base that is largely based on X-Men #1 and their first battle with Magneto at a missile base. The season 4 episodes, "Sanctuary" Part I and II, which involve Magneto creating an orbital haven for mutants, are influenced by several storylines, including Fatal Attractions and the first three issues of X-Men vol. 2. A number of storylines, such as Beyond Good And Evil, and One Man's Worth, are loosely influenced by the Age of Apocalypse.

External links

Retrieved from "http://en.marveldatabase.com/X-Men:_The_Animated_Series"
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