X-Men in television

Logo for X-Men '97, the most recent X-Men television series. A continuation of X-Men: The Animated Series, '97 premiered on Disney+ in March 2024 and has been renewed for a second and third season.

The X-Men, a superhero team created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby that appears in comic books produced by Marvel Comics, has appeared in multiple television series since the team's inception in 1963. X-Men: The Animated Series premiered on Fox Kids in 1992 and ran for five seasons until 1997. The series is credited with bringing mainstream attention to the X-Men. Following the conclusion of The Animated Series, a new X-Men cartoon titled X-Men: Evolution began airing on Kids' WB from 2000 to 2003 for four seasons.

Across the various X-Men television series, which characters make up the team's roster and are members of the cast often changes. The only characters to have appeared as cast members and part of the X-Men across all five series are and Professor Charles Xavier, Scott Summers / Cyclops, Hank McCoy / Beast, James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine, and Ororo Munroe / Storm. Besides these five characters, Jean Grey, Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler, and Rogue have appeared in all five shows and been cast members in three; Warren Worthington III also appears in all five shows, being a cast member in only one series.

X-Men series

[edit]
SeriesSeasonEpisodesOriginally releasedHead writerDirector(s)Network
First releasedLast released
X-Men: The Animated Series113October 31, 1992 (1992-10-31)March 27, 1993 (1993-03-27)Eric LewaldLarry HoustonFox Kids
213October 23, 1993 (1993-10-23)February 19, 1994 (1994-02-19)
319July 29, 1994 (1994-07-29)October 5, 1996 (1996-10-05)
421May 6, 1995 (1995-05-06)October 26, 1996 (1996-10-26)
510September 7, 1996 (1996-09-07)September 20, 1997 (1997-09-20)
X-Men: Evolution113November 4, 2000 (2000-11-04)May 12, 2001 (2001-05-12)Greg JohnsonVariousKids' WB
217September 29, 2001 (2001-09-29)May 11, 2002 (2002-05-11)
313September 14, 2002 (2002-09-14)August 23, 2003 (2003-08-23)
49August 30, 2003 (2003-08-30)October 25, 2003 (2003-10-25)
Wolverine and the X-Men126January 23, 2009 (2009-01-23)November 29, 2009 (2009-11-29)Craig Kyle & Greg JohnsonNicholas Filippi, Steven E. Gordon, Doug Murphy & Boyd KirklandNicktoons
Marvel Anime: X-Men112April 1, 2011 (2011-04-01)June 24, 2011 (2011-06-24)Mitsutaka Hirota & Warren EllisFuminori KizakiAnimax & G4
X-Men '97110March 20, 2024 (2024-03-20)May 22, 2024 (2024-05-22)Beau DeMayoJake Castorena, Chase Conley and Emi YonemuraDisney+
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X-Men: The Animated Series (1992–1997)

[edit]

In 1992, the Fox network launched X-Men: The Animated Series with the roster of Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, Storm, Beast, Gambit, Jubilee, Jean Grey, and Professor X with secondary background player Morph making occasional appearances. The two-part pilot episode, "Night of the Sentinels" began a five-season series. It was an extraordinary success and helped to widen the X-Men's popularity.[1] The five seasons ended in 1997. It returned to Fox's line-up for several months after the first movie was released in 2000.[2]

X-Men: Evolution (2000–2003)

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In 2000, The WB launched the X-Men: Evolution television series, which portrayed the X-Men as teenagers attending a regular public high school in addition to the Xavier Institute. The series ended in 2003 after its fourth season. The show focused on Cyclops, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Shadowcat, Wolverine, Storm, Beast, Professor X, Spyke (Storm's nephew), in addition to introducing the character Laura Kinney / X-23, who has since become a recurring character in the comics.[1]

Wolverine and the X-Men (2009)

[edit]

In 2008, Marvel Studios released a new X-Men animated show that featured Wolverine titled Wolverine and the X-Men. This series used a mesh of 2D/3D animation for characters and backgrounds.[3] Avi Arad, CEO of Marvel Studios, stated "X-Men is one of Marvel's crown jewels and it makes sense to focus on the popular Wolverine character for our second animation project."[4] The series debuted in the United States on January 23, 2009 and in the U.K. in February.[3][5] It also aired in Latin America and Canada. The team consisted of Wolverine, Cyclops, Beast, Storm, Shadowcat, Iceman, Rogue, Nightcrawler, Angel, Jean Grey, Colossus, Forge, and Professor X. The show was cancelled just after one season due to financing issues.[1]

Marvel Anime: X-Men (2011)

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As part of a four-series collaboration between the Japanese Madhouse animation house and Marvel, the X-Men starred in a 12 episode anime series that premiered in Japan on Animax and in the United States on G4 in 2011.[6][7] The series deals with the X-Men coming to Japan to investigate the disappearance of Armor. The antagonists are reported to be the U-Men.[8][9]

X-Men '97 (2024–present)

[edit]

Set a year after the conclusion of The Animated Series—in which Xavier nearly died in an assassination attempt and was taken to space to be healed by the alien Shi'ar Empire—the X-Men face new challenges without Xavier, under the leadership of their former adversary Magneto.[10][11]

In November 2021, Marvel announced that a revival of X-Men: The Animated Series, titled X-Men '97,[12] was in production and set to air on the streaming service Disney+.[13]

set to be released on Disney+ in 2024 and will be produced by Marvel Studios. Beau DeMayo will serve as the head writer and executive producer for the upcoming series with several cast members from the original animated series are set to reprise their roles and will be joined by new cast. Original animated series director Larry Houston, and its showrunners and producers Eric and Julia Lewald are announced as the consultants for the upcoming series.[14][15][16]

It is set to premiere on Disney+ on March 20, 2024 and run for 10 episodes.[17] A second season is in development.

The entire cast of The Animated Series reappear as main characters. Dodd, Sealy-Smith, Zann, Buza all reprise their roles as Wolverine, Storm, Rogue, and Beast, respectively.[18] At the beginning of the series Morph and Lucas Bishop also join the cast, voiced by J. P. Karliak (replacing Ron Rubin) and Isaac Robinson-Smith (replacing Philip Akin).

X-Men cast members

[edit]
Character Series
X-Men: The Animated Series (1992–1997) X-Men: Evolution (2000–2003) Wolverine and the X-Men (2009) Marvel Anime: X-Men (2011)[19] X-Men '97 (2024–present)
Scott Summers / Cyclops Main
James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine Main
Rogue Main Recurring Guest Main
Ororo Munroe / Storm Main
Hank McCoy / Beast Main
Remy LeBeau / Gambit Main Recurring None Main
Jubilation Lee / Jubilee Main Recurring None Main
Jean Grey Main Recurring Main
Charles Xavier / Professor X Main
Spyke None Main None
Kitty Pryde / Shadowcat None Main None
Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler Guest Main Guest Main
Warren Worthington III / Angel / Archangel Recurring Main Guest
Emma Frost Guest None Main Recurring
Bobby Drake / Iceman Guest Recurring Main None
Hisako Ichiki / Armor None Main None
Morph Recurring None Main
Lucas Bishop Recurring None Recurring None Main
Erik "Magnus" Lehnsherr / Magneto Recurring None Main

Reception

[edit]

Critical response

[edit]
Series Season Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic
X-Men: The Animated Series 1 100% (18 reviews)[20] —
2 — —
3 — —
4 — —
5 50% (10 reviews)[21] —
X-Men: Evolution 1 71% (18 reviews)[22] —
2 — —
3 — —
4 — —
Wolverine and the X-Men 1 67% (6 reviews)[23] —
X-Men '97 1 99% (79 reviews)[24] 82 (14 reviews)[25]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Goldman, Eric (May 31, 2011). "The X-Men's TV History". IGN. Archived from the original on November 20, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
  2. ^ Moore, Rose (March 23, 2016). "10 Things You Didn't Know About X-Men The Animated Series – 9". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on February 10, 2017. Retrieved June 9, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Kirchhofer, Scott (January 7, 2009). "'X-Men' return to animation on Nickelodeon Jan. 23". Nerdvana. Archived from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  4. ^ "Wolverine is the focus of new X-Men cartoon series". ICv2. October 17, 2005. Archived from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  5. ^ Siegel, Lucas (January 24, 2009). "Review: Wolverine and the X-Men". Newsarama. Archived from the original on May 31, 2013. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  6. ^ Weisman, Jon (July 26, 2010). "G4 to air Marvel anime series". Variety. Archived from the original on April 14, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  7. ^ Loo, Egan (July 23, 2010). "Marvel Anime to Run on G4 in the United States in 2011". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
  8. ^ "SDCC: G4 Announces New Marvel Anime Series". Superhero Hype!. July 26, 2010. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  9. ^ Graham, Bill (July 26, 2010). "G4 To Air Four New Marvel Animated Series Written by Warren Ellis". Collider. Archived from the original on February 16, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  10. ^ Carr, Mary Kate (February 15, 2024). "The X-Men are finally back in X-Men '97 trailer". The A.V. Club. Paste. Archived from the original on February 15, 2024. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  11. ^ Jackson, Kourtnee (March 23, 2024). "Mutant Mania: Marvel's X-Men '97 Revival Series Explained". CNET. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  12. ^ Couch, Aaron (November 12, 2021). "Disney+ Orders '90s 'X-Men' Revival, 'Marvel Zombies' and 'Spider-Man: Freshman Year'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 12, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  13. ^ Kim, Matt (November 12, 2021). "X-Men '97 Is a Revival of the Original 90s Animated Series, Coming to Disney+ in 2023". IGN. Archived from the original on November 12, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  14. ^ Belt, Robyn (November 12, 2021). "EXCLUSIVE: Cast Announcement for 'X-MEN '97' Coming to Disney+". Marvel Entertainment. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  15. ^ Gartenberg, Chaim (November 12, 2021). "Marvel embraces the Sad Wolverine meme to announce X-Men '97, a new animated Disney Plus show". The Verge. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  16. ^ Holub, Christian (November 12, 2021). "'X-Men '97' will resurrect classic animated X-Men series for Disney+". EW.com. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  17. ^ Petski, Denise (February 15, 2024). "'X-Men '97' Animated Series Gets Disney+ Premiere Date, Trailer". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 15, 2024. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  18. ^ Meenan, Devin (March 19, 2024). "Every Original X-Men Animated Series Voice Actor That Returned For X-Men '97". /Film. Static Media. Archived from the original on March 21, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  19. ^ "X-Men (Marvel Anime) (2011)". Behind the Voice Actors. Archived from the original on October 13, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  20. ^ "X-Men: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on March 15, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  21. ^ "X-Men: Season 5'". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on March 15, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  22. ^ "X-Men: Evolution: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  23. ^ "Wolverine and the X-Men: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  24. ^ "X-Men '97: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  25. ^ "X-Men '97: Season 1". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on October 8, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
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