X-Men

The X-Men Animated Series was great, hands down. Sure, it wasn't the comic -- and yes, the X-Men lineup stayed the same through all six seasons... but it handelled very well. In some ways I wish the comic could have been more concise like the Animated Series was. Some guest characters (Dazzler, my favourite X-Man, for one) weren't portrayed very well, especially in the explenation of their mutant powers, but it was very cool to see it all piece together.

The X-Men had it's share of continuity problems, however. In season 1, for example, everything was loosely played off of the comics. For instance, the X-Men did NOT know Warren Worthington III (Angel/Archangel). Later on through the series, however, Angel is shown as an original X-Man. Iceman was also later guest-starred as an original X-Man, and Polaris was shown as a former X-Man as well. Other than that, though, the team is set as Wolverine, Rogue, Gambit, Cyclops, Storm, Jean Grey, Jubilee, Beast and Professor X. Some great storylines were the Phoenix Saga, Dark Phoenix Saga and the Phalenx Covenant.

Just about any X-Man you can think of was cameoed as well. Except for Shadowcat that is. Nightcrawler, Dazzler, Colossus, Havok, Wolfsbane, Cannonball, Longshot, and Rictor all stand fresh in my mind. It was truly a great series -- and it was very sad to see it cancelled, as it brought something more substantial to television -- a dream, a goal. Not talking sponges like you see on Nickelodeon. This was and will continue to be one of the greatest cartoons that graced Saturday-morning television.

I was in my early teens when I first saw this cartoon version of 'X-Men' on television and it was what ignited my long-standing interest in the Marvel universe. If there was ever a lesson to be learnt about what it is to produce a faithful, involving adaptation (be it from a comic or a book) this show was the perfect example as it managed to successfully transfer the characters and plots from page to screen without dumbing down or altering things for the sake of making them 'cooler'.

The cartoon focused mainly on 'X-Men' favourites including Cyclops, Jean, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Beast, Jubilee and, of course, Xavier. But there were also episodes involving characters in supporting roles such as Archangel, Bishop, Nightcrawler and Cable. In terms of villains, all the usual suspects of like Magneto, Sinister, Mystique and Apocalypse turn up at some point. Unlike the recent films, aimed at pleasing teenagers and casual cinema-goers, this series was more intent on depicting the characters properly so there is the same interactions as seen in the comics including the Scott/Jean/Wolverine triangle, the love/hate relationship between Gambit and Rogue and the sibling bond that Storm and Gambit share. It also wonderfully portrays Wolverine's darkly sarcastic side, which brings humour to the show.

While the films (and the childish 'X-Men: Evolutions') show the X-Men having rather calm, settled lives on the whole, this series gave a darker view of the universe, showing the team striving to do good in a world where much of humanity loathed mutants and saw them as the threat. It also tackled story arcs, like Onslaught, Dark Phoenix, Days of Future's End and Angel's transformation into Archangel, that appeared in the comic-verse in a way that retained the essence of the stories.

This was certainly one of the best cartoons to come out of the Nineties and still holds appeal to me even now that I'm an adult. In fact, I think a few of the time-travelling episodes would probably be a bit too complex for the usual eight- to twelve-year-old demography who watch Fox Kids. I'd highly recommend this to fans of the comics and those who enjoyed the films but felt they were too flat and want to see something that preserves the spirit of the comics.

It was this animated series that got me into the world of the-Men and other Marvel comics, which are far superior, but that is not to say this cartoon wasn't good, for it was. What we have here is the four core X-Men - Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean Grey and Storm - along with popular characters from the comics - Rogue, Beast and Gambit - and Jubilee for the teens and Professor X as the basis for the series. Many mutants and other X-related characters make appearances through the series, some more often than others, and to varying degrees of likeness to their comic counterparts, (and Morph who was created specifically for the series). The X-Men are portrayed well to their comic-counterparts, with the exception of Jean Grey. Although it was this series that got me into X-Men, and made Jean my favourite character, in this series she was somewhat wasted, not used to her full potential. She was shown less-powerful than the others, when in the comics, she is one of the most powerful mutants in existence (even without the Phoenix Force). However Jean did get a few good stories, notably the ongoing Sinister stories, her and Wolverine's love subplot and the Phoenix and Dark Phoenix Sagas.

But I digress. The villains were cool and in keeping with their comic counterparts, it would have been nice to see ones like Apocalypse and the Brotherhood more often. In terms of supporting characters, Bishop, Cable, Moira MacTaggert, Banshee, Arachangel, Forge and Colossus showed up a few times, but we could have seen more of Iceman, Darkstar, Polaris, Alpha Flight, Sunfire and Nightcrawler.

A lot of the stories were taken directly from the comics and adapted for this series (like the Dark Phoenix Saga, Phalanx Covenant and Days of Future Past) others were taken from ongoing comic stories and changed into single or multiple episodes for this series, like the Savage Land and the Sentinels.

There was some ongoing narrative, but it is also possible to watch episodes out of order, they were generally self contained (with the exception of multiple part episodes). It's cool to actually hear the X-Men speak and the costumes look cool on TV too. A great watch, most of the time.

8 out of 10 for the whole animated series.

The X-Men animated series was a terrific try at bringing the ultra-popular comic book featuring mutant outcasts to the small screen. While the animation was amateurish and choppy at best, the voice over work was a particularly wonderful highlight. The stories were re-hashes of the plots from the comics' 30+ years in publication, and a few standouts included the Phoenix Saga, and its follow-up featuring the reconciliation between Scott Summers, alias Cyclops, and his father, the interstellar pirate/freedom fighter, Corsair.

Story: People known as mutants born with a superpower disability must try to persuade the humans that they are peaceful while they battle other mutants.

Production: Perfect

Main intelligence: 5. Humans are dumb because they are okay with the Fantastic 4 but are not okay with mutants.

Highlight: The story, battles, characters, this show did not have any limits. It was non-stop X-mening.

Should you watch this show?: Yes. If you like superheroes, the best animation, non-yokeness, non-cringefest then this is the show for you. It's the perfect show. If you are a fan of X-men and Mutants, there are plenty in this show to interact with. Almost every story from the comics were covered in this show.

Sadly, the shows that followed this perfect iCON was a step-down.