| X-Men | |
|---|---|
X-Men title card |
|
| Format | Animated series, Action, Adventure |
| Created by | Stan Lee Jack Kirby Chris Claremont Jim Lee Len Wein Dave Cockrum Louise Simonson (Characters) |
| Developed by | Eric Lewald Larry Houston Frank Squallce |
| Voices of | Cedric Smith Cathal J. Dodd Norm Spencer Iona Morris |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 76 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Saban Entertainment |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Marvel Entertainment Group Saban Entertainment, Inc. Marvel Studios (1997) |
| Distributor | Saban Entertainment |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | FOX (Fox Kids)[1] |
| Original run | October 31, 1992 – September 20, 1997 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men |
| Followed by | X-Men: Evolution |
X-Men, also known as X-Men: The Animated Series, is an American animated television series which debuted on October 31, 1992, in the United States on the Fox Network as part of its Fox Kids Saturday morning lineup.[2] X-Men is Marvel Comics' second attempt at an animated X-Men program after the pilot X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men was not picked up for a series—though it was broadcast multiple times between 1989 and 1992.
Contents |
X-Men was originally to premiere over the Labor Day weekend in September; however, due to production delays, it was pushed to the end of October. The "Night of the Sentinels" two-part episode originally aired as a "sneak preview" even though it was not ready for broadcast. There were many animation errors in these two episodes, but the errors were later corrected when Fox re-aired the pilot in early 1993.[3] X-Men also stands as the longest-running Marvel Comics-based show, running for five seasons and 76 episodes. The second longest, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, lasted for five seasons and 65 episodes.
After the box office success of the live-action X-Men movie in the summer of 2000, Fox began airing reruns of the cartoon on weekday afternoons. At first, only episodes that primarily featured content in the movie were broadcast. Later, the series was aired in proper order, but the series was pulled from the air in early 2001. Soon after, ABC Family and Toon Disney began airing reruns, due to Disney's buyout of all Saban Entertainment programs.
The show features X-Men similar in look and line-up to the early 1990s X-Men drawn by Jim Lee, composed of Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, Storm, Beast, Gambit, Jubilee, Jean Grey, Professor X, as well as an original character, Morph (an adaptation of previous X-Men member Kevin Sydney).[4] Though they were not part of the team as featured in the animated series, the following X-Men have all guest-starred in at least one episode: Colossus, Nightcrawler, Emma Frost, Forge, Havok, Polaris, Cannonball, Banshee, Northstar, Iceman, Archangel, Longshot, Dazzler, Sunfire, Quicksilver, Psylocke, Cable, and Bishop. Keen-eyed fans may also spot cameos by other familiar Marvel heroes, such as Feral, Rictor, Deadpool, Punisher, War Machine, Ghost Rider, Blink and you can briefly see Spiderman’s hand casting a web.
A number of famous storylines and events from the comics are loosely adapted in the series, such as "The Dark Phoenix Saga", "Days of Future Past", the "Phalanx Covenant", and the "Legacy Virus". The third episode, "Enter Magneto", features a confrontation at a missile base: this is largely based on the X-Men's first battle with Magneto, as told in their 1963 debut The X-Men #1. The season four episodes "Sanctuary, Parts I & II", which involve Magneto creating an orbiting haven for mutants, were influenced by several storylines from the comics, chiefly the first three issues of X-Men (Volume 2) and the "Fatal Attractions" crossover.
Beyond faithfully recreating many of the popular characters and stories from the comic books, the series also dealt fairly openly with mature social issues. The ills of prejudice, intolerance, isolation, and racism were all frequent themes in the animated series, as they were in the comics. Anti-mutant prejudice and discrimination was depicted through minor characters as well as more prominent ones, including Senator Robert Kelly, the Friends of Humanity (whose activities and masks in later episodes echoed white supremacy groups such as the Ku Klux Klan) and robotic Sentinels. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Professor Xavier and Magneto, much like their comic-book counterparts, bear similarities to civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, respectively.[5] While Xavier advocates non-violence in the struggle for equality, Magneto takes on a more aggressive 'by any means necessary' stance; the duo's differing views are the source of much discussion throughout the series.
The series also deals with other social issues, including divorce ("Proteus"), Christianity ("Nightcrawler" & "Bloodlines"), the Holocaust ("Enter Magneto," "Deadly Reunions", "Days of Future Past", and "The Phalanx Covenant"), AIDS hysteria ("Time Fugitives"), and even satires of television itself ("Mojovision" and "Longshot").
In its prime, X-Men garnered very high ratings for a Saturday morning cartoon, and like Batman: The Animated Series it received wide critical praise for its portrayal of many different storylines from the comics.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]
In 2009, IGN ranked X-Men as the 13th greatest animated show of all time in their Top 100 list, the third-highest standing for a comic book-adapted show on the list.[18]
The original opening sequence featured the X-Men demonstrating their mutant abilities to a now very distinctive instrumental theme (written by Ron Wasserman). This intro is used throughout the first four seasons. A modified version is eventually introduced in season five, episode one ("Phalanx Covenant, Part One"). In this new intro, the beginning of the theme is slightly changed. When UPN began airing repeats on Sunday mornings an alternate credits sequence was used: a high-quality Japanese-animated version of the original opening.
Rede Globo cut all of the intro sequence except for the logo at its end—which they do to almost all animated series they air. The American intro was retained when it was aired later on Fox Kids and Jetix.
The cartoon was replaced with a new, Japanese-animated segment of the characters as well as a new Japanese theme with vocals called "Rising" (ライジング), by the Japanese band Ambience (アンビエンス), which features odd moments such as Magneto summoning Brood to fight the X-Men and Cable fighting giant robots in power armor. Starting with episode 46 an alternate anime intro was used, featuring the new theme "Dakishimetai Dare Yori Mo" (抱きしめたい誰よりも…). The end credits sequence was also changed: it featured shots of X-Men comic books set to the song "Back to You" (バック･トウ･ユー), also by Ambience.
Several seiyū (Japanese voice actors) played roles in the TV Tokyo edition of the Japanese dub, such as Kōichi Yamadera (Cyclops), Shinobu Adachi (Jean Grey), Rihoko Yoshida (Storm), Akiko Hiramatsu (Jubilee), Masashi Ebara (Wolverine), Norio Wakamoto (Mr. Sinister), Yūko Kobayashi (Rogue), Yoshito Yasuhara (Gambit), Ayako Shirashi (Mystique), Ryūzaburō Ōtomo (Magneto) Rokurō Naya (Professor X),and Mitsuru Ogata (Morph)
| X-Men Adventures | |
|---|---|
X-Men Adventures vol. 1 #1 (Nov 1992). Art by Steve Lightle. |
|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing |
| Publication date | November 1992–March 1997 |
| Number of issues | 53 |
| Main character(s) | X-Men |
X-Men Adventures was a comic book spin-off of the animated series. Beginning in November 1992, it adapted the first three seasons of the show; in April 1996, it became Adventures of the X-Men, which contained original stories set within the same continuity.[19] The comic book lasted until March 1997, shortly after the show's cancellation by the Fox Network.
Volume 5 of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Hardcovers lists the X-Men cartoon as part of the Marvel multiverse, inhabiting Earth-92131. also, the plague infested future that Bishop tried to prevent in Season 2 is listed as Earth-13393 while Cable's release then immediate cure of the plague is listed as Earth-121893.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||