X-Men (TV series)

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For the newer X-Men animated series, see X-Men: Evolution.
X-Men
Genre Animated series
Running time 30min
Creator(s) Larry Houston
Frank Squillace
Starring Cedric Smith
Cathal J. Dodd
Norm Spencer
Iona Morris
Country of origin Flag of United States United States
Original channel FOX
Original run October 31, 1992September 20, 1997
No. of episodes 76 (List of episodes)
IMDb profile

X-Men, an animated series, debuted on October 31, 1992 (the 199394 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

[edit] 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. At the height of the series' popularity Pizza Hut sold VHS tapes that featured two episodes in order, such as "Enter Magneto" and "Deadly Reunions". Also contained within these VHS tapes were round table interviews that featured prominent names such as Stan Lee and Scott Lobdell. The episodes that have been released are:

  • Night of the Sentinels (Part 1)--1st episode of the animated series
  • Night of the Sentinels (Part 2)
  • Enter Magneto
  • Deadly Reunions
  • Captive Hearts
  • Cold Vengeance
  • The Phoenix Saga
  • Sanctuary/Weapon X, Lies and Videotape/Proteus
  • Reunion/Out of the Past/No Mutant Is an Island
  • Out of The Past (Part 1)
  • Out of The Past (Part 2)
  • Nightcrawler
  • The Lotus and the Steel
  • The Final Decision


Fox cancelled 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.

[edit] Characters depicted

[edit] 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.

[edit] Opening animation

[edit] US

The original opening animation introduces the main mutants using their mutant abilities to an instrumental theme. This intro is used for seasons 1-4, while season 5 finally brought about new clips and a slightly modified theme from the original to the intro.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Episodes

[edit] 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
Ron Ruben Morph
Alyson Court Jubilee/Jubilation Lee
Lawrence Bayne Cable, Erik the Redd
Philip Akin Bishop
Marc Strange Forge
Paul Haddad Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner
Jeremy Ratchford Banshee/Sean Cassidy
Lally Cadeau Dr. Moira McTaggart
Melissa Sue Anderson Snowbird
Roscoe Handford Carol Danvers/Ms. Marvel
John Colicos Apocalypse
David Hemblen Magneto
Stephen Ouimette Archangel/Angel/Warren Worthington III/Death
Randall Carpenter Mystique/Raven Darkholme (I)
Jennifer Dale Mystique/Raven Darkholme (II)
Christopher Britton II Mister Sinister/Nathaniel Essex
Rod Coneybeare Avalanche/Dominic Szilard Petros
Graham Halley Pyro/St. John Allerdyce
Adrian Egan Quicksilver
Robert Calt The Blob
Don Francks Sabretooth/Victor Creed, Puck/Eugene Milton Judd, Shaman
Rick Bennett Colossus/Piotr Rasputin, Juggernaut/Cain Marko
Tara Strong Ilyana Rasputin
Barry Flatman Henry Peter Gyrich, Guardian/Vindicator
John Stocker Graydon Creed, Leech
Maurice Dean Wint Shadow King
David Fox Sentinels, Master Mold
Harvey Aitken Sasquatch/Dr. Walter Langkowski
Elizabeth Rukavina Darkstar


[edit] 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.
  • 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[citation needed] with male and female characters of various ages, ethnic and national backgrounds.
  • The X-Men Adventures comicbook, based on the X-Men animated series, reveals in its final issue that the stories take place in the universe that existed prior to the current Marvel Universe, destroyed by the fracturing of the M'Kraan crystal.
  • 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.

[edit] External links

X-Men
Comics
(Full list)
Uncanny X-Men | X-Men vol. 2 | Astonishing X-Men | Exiles | Generation X | New Excalibur | New Mutants | New X-Men | X-Factor | X-Men Unlimited | Ultimate X-Men | X-Force
Major storylines "Dark Phoenix Saga" | "Days of Future Past" | "Mutant Massacre" | "The Fall of the Mutants" | "Inferno" | "The X-Tinction Agenda" | "X-Cutioner's Song" | "Muir Island Saga" | "Fatal Attractions" | "Phalanx Covenant" | "Age of Apocalypse" | "Onslaught" | "Operation: Zero Tolerance" | "Eve of Destruction" | "E Is For Extinction" | "Planet X" | "House of M" | "Decimation"
In other media Film: Generation X | X-Men | X2 | X-Men: The Last Stand | Magneto | Wolverine
TV: Mutant X | Pryde of the X-Men | X-Men: The Animated Series | X-Men: Evolution
Universe Avalon | Asteroid M | Cerebro | Crimson Dawn | Danger Room | Enemies | Fastball Special | Genosha | Legacy Virus | M'Kraan Crystal | Madripoor | Muir Island | Savage Land | Teams | Xavier Protocols | X-Jet | X-Mansion
Other History | Video games
In other languages