Flashback Feature - X-Men (1992-1997)
Anyone who watched cartoons in the early 90s should have fond memories of Fox’s X-Men cartoon which ran for five seasons between 1992 and 1997. Of course, it was a bit later than that by the time it hit shores outside of the US, and lasted longer than that in re-runs, especially when the success of the movies brought the animated series back onto TV.
This Flashback Feature is dedicated to a look at the 90s TV series, and most importantly, its ties to its comic book origins. But before we start looking at the show and its characters, why not remind yourself of the very first reason why the show was so beloved to begin with…?
The X-Men animated series has very close ties to the storylines of the comics at the time, right down to the cast of characters. Part of the reason it has proven so successful with the X-Men fanbase has been because of how faithful it remains to its subject matter, even adapting whole storylines for plot points, both large over-arching plots and individual stories. Over five seasons and 76 episodes, Fox’s series provided many people with their first introduction to the world of the mutants, in many ways paving the way for the movies to take over the box office (not to mention two further animated series that have followed in its footsteps.) But to appreciate everything that X-Men was, it helps to know what went before.
Origins
The original incarnation of the X-Men, as they appeared in the 1963 comics series, were Cyclops (Scott Summers), Iceman (Bobby Drake), Beast (Hank McCoy), Angel (Warren Worthington) and Marvel Girl (Jean Grey) with leader/mentor Professor Charles Xavier, and this team appeared in the 1966 Marvel Super-Heroes cartoons in some episodes featuring Namor, the Sub-Mariner.
Characters have come and gone over the last five decades, with the biggest change to the roster happening in Giant Size X-Men #1 when a new team was launched in 1975, including the now-iconic Wolverine (in actual fact, this was a relaunch of the series which had been cancelled some years earlier.) But the original team remained on board as supporting characters, returning at various points alongside new mutants, heroes and villains. Although not a member of the core team, Iceman inclusion in the series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends meant that the X-Men got some face-time on TV.
In many ways, the “X-Men” animated series owes its success to the 1989 pilot, Pryde Of The X-Men, a once-off animated special inducting Kitty Pryde (also known as Shadowcat) into the second incarnation of the X-Men (including Colossus, Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Storm.) While an unsuccessful series, due in no small part to its humorous and campy take on the X-Men franchise, it was thanks to repeated showings on TV and the demand the Pryde Of The X-Men set up that an X-Men animated series came to the small screen.
While X-Men features characters from all times of the teams history, its core members are picked from the team’s entire history, in many ways similar to the team led by Cyclops in the early 1990s (after the original team, under the name of X-Factor had been re-absorbed into the X-Men.) Representing the original team are Cyclops, Beast, Jean Grey (having ditched the Marvel Girl name long ago) and Professor Xavier; from the team’s 1975 formation are Storm and Wolverine; and from various points through the 80s and early 90s are Rogue, Gambit and Jubilee. Similarly, the villains features in X-Men range from Magneto, the first villain for the team to ever face in the comics, to the still mysterious Sinister, whose origins had played out in the comics only shortly before they appeared in the cartoon.
The X-Men
Cyclops
As long as Cyclops has been involved with the X-Men, he’s played the role of leader, and even when Storm surpassed him as such, Cyclops went off to join X-Factor and led them. Cyclops’ power is the ability to shoot concussive force from this eyes in the form of red injury, a power he can’t control due to a head injury as a child.
As in the comics, Cyclops’ relationship with Jean Grey is at the heart of the X-Men and at numerous stages through the series, the two attempt to get married or have dates disrupted by fights. Orphaned at an early age, Cyclops’ youth is the focus of the episode No Mutant Is An Island, when, mourning the apparent death of Jean Grey, Cyclops returns to the orphanage in which he grew up only to find it under the influence of Jeremiah Killgrave, the villain known in the comics as the Purple Man. The series constantly flirts with the rivalry and respect that Cyclops and Wolverine share for each other, both as fighters and potential lovers for Jean, and while the series never makes explicit the relationship that Cyclops has with his brother (the mutant Havok, leader of the mutant team seen in Cold Comfort) they share a similar rivalry.
Norm Spencer provided the voice of Cyclops in all his appearances through the period, from Pryde Of The X-Men to the Marvel vs Capcom video games.
Wolverine
He might have only joined the X-Men in 1975, but Wolverine has become synonymous with the team, and easily their most recognisable member. With a healing factor that makes him nearly invincible and unbreakable adamantium claws, Wolverine is also the most dangerous member of the X-Men, while a romantic at heart.
With the full extent of Logan’s past only being revealed in the comics since House Of M, the X-Men cartoon only gives us hints, many of which are an opportunity for stories that show a lot more of the Marvel universe, such as the Weapon X project and a team-up with Captain America in the episode Old Soldiers.
Rogue
Rogue has become a staple of the X-Men team since she joined in Uncanny X-Men #171, but like Wolverine, Rogue’s origins were a mystery throughout the 90s. With her power to absorb people’s essence and powers through skin contact, Rogue has been a tragic figure in the comics and the cartoon alike, with the promise of a relationship with Gambit constantly snatched from her grasp. Rogue also possesses the powers of flight, invulnerability, enhanced senses and strength, but it isn’t until A Rogue’s Tale in the second season that it’s revealed that these powers were stolen from Carol Danvers (the heroic Ms. Marvel) during Rogue’s previous career as a villain.
Rogue’s ties to other villains like Mystique and Magneto are also explored in the series, having been raised by the shapeshifting villainess. Interestingly, Rogue’s powerset has her conveniently absent from some episodes, most notably the first part of the Phoenix Saga, where her powers would have negated the need for Jean Grey to sacrifice herself to save a crashing shuttle.
Storm
Having made her debut in the second iteration of the X-Men, Storm has become a well-known comic book character in her own right. Aside from her mutant powers of weather control, the Storm of the comics had led both the X-Men and the literally underground society of mutant rejects known as the Morlocks. Ororo Munroe is also one of the most prominent African-American women in comics, most notable because of the strengths in her character and refusal to be defeated even when faced with her greatest fears. She’s even married to fellow Marvel superhero T’Challa, the Black Panther and King of Wakanda, making Storm his queen.
Although the second generation of X-Men included more racially inclusive team-members, Storm was the only one to make it to full-time status in the animated series (Nightcrawler, Banshee and Colossus are limited to guest appearances) but it’s significant that little attention is drawn to the matter, showing how accepting the X-Men can be (and providing a stark contrast when compared with the anti-mutant sentiment they face.) While this take on Storm remains an orphan, Ororo has a home in Africa, where her adopted son Mjnari, a mutant with super-speed, provides her emotional home and also a dangerous quotient used by the Shadow King to manipulate Storm.
Beast
The second member of the team who served on the original X-Men team, if Storm provides the racial equality, then Hank McCoy provides the intellectual portion of the team.
Despite Hank’s powers of strength and agility, Beast provides important exposition for a lot of the series, especially when the X-Men come up against the Sentinels, Apocalypse and the Legacy Virus. For the most part, Beast is underused for the series, being incarcerated for the first few episodes and rarely getting his own episodes. Nonetheless, he remains an important part of action programming of the early 90s, a reminder to engage the brains ahead of the fists.
Gambit
Gambit’s inclusion in the animated series is somewhat unusual when you consider that he only debuted in the comics in 1990, just two years before the cartoon began. However, it gives an indication of how popular the character is and has proven to be over the last two decades (to the point where producers have tried to include Gambit in all of the X-Men movies, finally succeeding in the recent X-Men: Origins – Wolverine, although that depends on your definition of success.)
Gambit’s powers involve the ability to charge objects with kinetic energy for explosive effect, giving the series a chance to indulge in big explosions. It also gave the series a chance to delve into their characters’ darker pasts, with Gambit’s past as a thief regularly brought to the fore, and causing some friction between himself and his love interest, Rogue, especially when Gambit’s ex-fiancee is revealed in the episode X-Ternally Yours. The darkest part of Gambit’s past went unmentioned in the series however, his employment under Sinister and the part he had to play in the massacre of the Morlocks.
Jubilee
Let’s face it, nobody really liked Jubilee, did they? Easily the weakest member of the X-Men team, she was prominent for the first few episodes before that realisation happened, and the focus shifted to the senior members.
Like Gambit, Jubilee had only been introduced in the comics some years prior to the start of the series: her presence in the cartoon is chiefly to appeal to the kid/teenage viewers, clear from her large presence in the pilot episode, Night Of The Sentinels. She provides the viewers’ inlet to the X-Men and the characters, but once we’ve been introduced to them, her usefulness fades quickly.
Even in the comics, Jubilee was seen as something of a replacement for Kitty Pryde, and when compared with Pryde Of The X-Men, that comparison is clear, with Jubilee embodying something ‘cooler’ and more brat-like than the studious Kitty could ever provide. In many ways though, her characterisation led to Jubilee becoming a parody of herself and the early 90s, and easily the most dated thing about the X-Men cartoon.
Jean Grey
Jean Grey has used a lot of names (and powers) in her times in the comics, and all of these were touched on in the series, from Marvel Girl to Phoenix and, ultimately, Dark Phoenix. With her powers providing a mix of telepathy and telekinesis, Jean is easily one of the most powerful X-Men, certainly of those featured in the series.
As such, Jean’s powers are drawn in for much of the series: while she comes to the fore in the episodes adapting both the Phoenix and Dark Phoenix sagas (in season three), Jean’s telepathy is, for the most part, weaker than Xavier’s, and using her telekinesis for extended periods exhausts her. Jean’s primary role in the series is to provide the emotional core for the characters and stories, with both Wolverine and Cyclops romantically interested in her and being the chief person to express concern when other characters are in danger. The eight episodes that make up the Phoenix arc are the biggest character developments for any character in the series, but it’s important to note that these are softened by the series, allowing Jean to be forgiven for the actions of Dark Phoenix. (In the comics, Dark Phoenix is a separate entity that destroys an inhabited solar system; in this series, it merely controls Jean and destroys an uninhabited star.)
Professor Charles Xavier
The founder and leader of the X-Men, Charles Xavier isn’t an active member of the team, although his importance to the series should not be forgotten.
Much like Jubilee gives the audience an entry-point to the world of the X-Men, Xavier provides a similar role with regards to the rich, expansive X-Men history, having already faced Magneto, the Shadow-King and his step-brother, the Juggernaut.
Xavier’s telepathy provides some of the more interesting flashbacks in the series, most notably in the penultimate episode Descent, which reveals the origins of the villainous Sinister. It also provides the means to drag the X-Men out into space for the Phoenix Saga, with Xavier’s telepathic link formed with Lilandra Neramani, the rightful leader of the Shi’ar. Interestingly, the hover-chair that Xavier uses throughout the series uses Shi’ar technology (which, before meeting Lilandra, he shouldn’t have access to.)
Having looked at the core X-Men team and the part they play in the series, the second part of the X-Men Flashback Feature will take a look at some of the other characters from the series, as well as the villains, and the stories that the series adapted and how they did so.
This was originally a link to a second page when originally posted in 2009, back when websites were too small to host this amount of content.
In the first part of our Flashback Feature on the X-Men animated series of the early 90s, we looked at the series’ origins, along with the mutants that made up the core team of X-Men.
Now, in part two, we take a look at some of the villains and other characters featured throughout the series, along with the storylines adapted over its five season run, and how they fit into the bigger picture of the X-Men universe.
One of the highpoints of the X-Men animated series was its willingness to include characters from across the Marvel Universe: some were simple cameos, others had episodes dedicated to them and their origins, and others still were new characters, introduced, created and adapted solely for the series.
Chief amongst them is Morph, a character introduced in the very first episode and whose shapeshifting powers scare the newly arrived Jubilee. Morph doesn’t have an equivalent in the comics, but is rather based on the mutant Changeling, initially a villain who then poses as Xavier to keep the Professor’s secrets safe.
In the series, Morph dies in the very first episode, Night Of The Sentinels (or at least appears to do so), something the producers intended to happen to show how serious the show would be. Morph’s death has a profound effect on long-time teammates Wolverine and Beast and when Wolverine suspects that Morph has survived, he goes solo to hunt him down. Morph’s storyline intersects with the other X-Men in the second season when he is manipulated by Sinister with the ultimate goal of capturing Cyclops and Jean Grey. Posing as a priest, Morph marries the two lovers before the wedding is crashed by Sinister and his gang.
Sinister’s plans for Cyclops and Jean never really get fully realised, especially not given how they play out in the comics: while the series matches his origins closely as a Victorian geneticist Dr. Nathaniel Essex, his introduction is very different, having appeared first in the comics during the Inferno storyline, where it is revealed that he’s responsible for the creation of Madelyne Pryor, a clone of Jean Grey activated after her apparent death. Sinister’s plan for Madelyne is that she will harvest Cyclops’ genetic material, thus combining the powerful Summers and Grey bloodlines, thus creating a powerful mutant. In the comics, that child is taken into the future, infected by a techno-organic virus and where he ultimately grows up to become Cable.
Cable surfaces in the animated series as well, but his ties to Scott (and implied ties to Jean) are not mentioned: in actual fact, while Cable was a time traveller and leader of the militant X-Force, he was only truly revealed to be the grown-up Nathan Summers after X-Force #18 was published in 1993, when the series was already in production. He is not the only time-traveller to surface in the series, with Bishop also returning from a terrible future in the series’ adaptation of the Days Of Future Past storyline to prevent the assassination of the mutant hating Senator Robert Kelly. The story is quite faithful to the original, with perhaps the biggest difference being that Bishop takes the place of Kitty Pryde (absent from the series) who is sent back to possess the body of her younger self to prevent the assassination. Bishop and Cable surface at various times throughout the series, appearing in both Time Fugitives and Beyond Good And Evil to face Apocalypse.
Since he first appeared in X-Factor #5, Apocalypse has provided a steady villainous presence in the X-Men universe, both behind the scenes and very publicly facing them in battle alongside his Horsemen. At various times, the Horsemen have included Wolverine, Gambit, Polaris and Caliban, but chief amongst his machinations and manipulations is Warren Worthington, the mutant known as Angel and, after Apocalypse’s tampering, becoming the blue-skinned and metal-winged Archangel.
Archangel first appears in episode nine of the series, where he is created when Warren submits to a procedure that he hopes will cure his mutation. Warren has always been complicit in the creation of Archangel, submitting to the disguised Apocalypse’s procedure after losing his wings in an airplane explosion in the comics. Apocalypse is also shown to be responsible for the creation of Sinister, and in many ways, is the ultimate genocidal murderer, seeking to exterminate those too weak to live, thus ensuring the survival of the fittest. In the two-part Time Fugitives, both Bishop and Cable travel back in time, the former to prevent the spread of a terrible virus and the latter to stop Apocalypse himself. Apocalypse is so strong, that even the combined force of the X-Men and Bishop prove incapable of stopping Apocalypse, leading to their own destruction.
Of course, no X-Men adaptation would be complete without the presence of Magneto, who provides the villainous presence for the first season. But Magneto’s character is also significant in that it shows the more human side of the X-Men universe that was taken to heart by the series, in that the villain is capable of reforming: throughout season two, he works together with former colleague Charles Xavier and Magneto’s character exists in such a point between black and white that he becomes the victim of a villain in the end of the third season when Fabian Cortez tries to turn him into a martyr for the mutant cause, which Magneto has lost faith in.
The mutant cause is a recurring theme throughout the series, and the X-Men and their fellow mutants face fear and hatred from all sides, most notably the Friends Of Humanity, Senator Robert Kelly’s Mutant Registration Program and, of course, the giant mutant-hunting robots, the Sentinels. The anti-mutant sentiment draws close parallels with equal rights campaigns of the 20th century, specifically racial relations: the militant nature of the Friends Of Humanity draws uncomfortable parallels with white supremacist groups, especially when the hypocrisy of their leader is laid bare with the revelation that Graydon Creed is the son of Victor Creed, better known as Sabretooth.
But the fear that humans have directed towards the mutant populace is not entirely misplaced. When Jean Grey adopts the Dark Phoenix persona in season three, the X-Men are near-powerless to defeat her. In fact, the Dark Phoenix proves such a threat that it takes the Shi’ar Empire to intervene in order to provide any resistance to the Phoenix Force and its ultimate power, and it is only through the self-sacrifice of Jean manually targeting the weapons of the Shi’ar ship that she can be defeated at all.
Jean first manifests the abilities of the Phoenix Force during the Phoenix Saga, a very faithful adaptation of the stories written by Chris Claremont and featuring the X-Men’s first real adventures in space, allying with the Starjammers (including Cyclops’ father, Christopher Summers) and Lilandra to prevent the crazed Emperor D’Ken from using the M’Krann Crystal to destroy the universe. Dark Phoenix is born when the power becomes too much for Jean to control and she fights against the influence of Emma Frost and Mastermind (here, members of the Inner Circle Club, rather than the Hellfire Club from the comics.)
There are some minor differences between these adaptations and the original stories, though: chief amongst them is the apparent death of Jean at the end of the Phoenix Saga (no such ‘death’ happens in the comics) and her resurrection on the moon after the events of the Dark Phoenix Saga, using life-essence from each of the X-Men to restore her. In the comics, Jean remained dead for several years, until she was resurrected in a crossover between Avengers #263 and Fantastic Four #286, ultimately returning to ‘duty’ with the original X-Men team in X-Factor #1.
Several other big storylines from the X-Men family of comics were adapted in smaller scale throughout the series’ run, some on a smaller scale than others, but all allowing characters from the comics to appear: Mojovision features the crawling-wheelchair-bound Mojo, leader of a world ruled by TV who uses the X-Men as the subject for a new series; One Man’s Worth posits a world without Xavier where humans and mutants are at war, a very loose take on the popular Age Of Apocalypse storyline; the first season’s Captive Hearts follows the enslaved mutate populace of Genosha; and Phalanx Covenant shows the X-Men teaming up with Sinister and Magneto to defeat the technological aliens known as the Phalanx, including an appearance from Warlock, one of the stars of the New Mutants series.
The overall faithfulness of X-Men as an animated series adaptation of the comics has made the series a very tough act to follow, although attempts have been made. In many ways, the series paved the way for the successful movie franchise starting in 2000, and now on its fourth movie. Coinciding with the movie, a new animated series also debuted in 2000, X-Men: Evolution featuring the X-Men as students at Xavier’s School including Cyclops, Jean, Rogue, Iceman, Kitty Pryde and a new character, Spyke (a male version of Marrow from the comics who was also Storm’s nephew.) The series is notable for being the first appearance of X-23, a female clone of Wolverine who later moved into the comics, and that several episodes were written by Christopher Yost, who has since moved on to Wolverine & The X-Men and co-writer of several X-Men comics.
Wolverine & The X-Men made its own debut in 2008 and crosses between the two series, with the faithfulness of the original series and the action-driven animation of X-Men: Evolution, with Wolverine trying to bring the X-Men together after the disappearance of Professor Xavier and Jean Grey. Season two is in post-production, and should be airing during the 2009/2010 TV season.
And that’s it for this Flashback Feature looking at X-Men. Check back soon for another chance to look back at shows, movies and games with a healthy dose of nostalgia.
Originally published as two separate posts June 7 and 9, 2009.