X-Men: The Animated Series is a Marvel animated TV series produced by Fox from 1992-1996, with episode overlaps into other shows such as Spider-Man that was airing at the same time. It ran for 5 seasons with the first four remaining consistent and the fifth season drastically changing the animation style due to budget cuts and studio adjustments. It was recently picked up by Marvel Animation and X-Men’97 will be a continuation of the story, with a similar yet updated animation style and some of the original voice cast for the 90’s show. Throughout production, the series faced animation consistency issues and budget constraints, but remained a huge hit and was given 11 more episodes than the originally 65 that were planned. In this review we’ll discuss the series both as a whole and by season, with discussion on characters and other cool fun things from the show. 

This show is the perfect classic X-Men show for classic comic book lovers and fans of the Blue Team, consisting of Professor X, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Beast, Jean Grey, Cyclos, and Jubilee, with the addition of an original character, Morph. The characters are really the core of who they were created to be, and the inclusion of other mutant characters added to the depth of everyone’s relationships. Though it may seem like it’s just following the adventures and trials of the X-Men, many episodes had underlying meanings that were relevant to the time period, on top of the clear representation of racism. The show addresses the topics of social issues, divorce, Christianity, the Holocaust, AIDS hysteria, and the extremeness of creating popular TV. 

The episodes were a mixture of original storylines and comic book storylines, many of which may be familiar, such as Days of Future Past and Dark Phoenix, but there were some plot discrepancies that were brushed over quickly between main storylines and substories. Given that it’s an older show, it’s easy to break-it down and find flaws within, but it is a well-written show that does its best to tie up storylines and make sense of what happened before. The biggest issue it had was surrounding Jean Grey when she had the Phoenix powers. A lot happened to her with those abilities, and after she was supposedly dead she was suddenly alive at the end of an episode and the episodes following threw her story together in an illogical way. They were able to reign it in towards the end once she purged Phoenix, but it was confusing to follow along. Other plot holes or areas of confusion are small enough that they don’t take away from the show, or you can poke fun at them and laugh at the corniness of the time!

Let’s break down each season now.

Season 1: As the initial season of the show, it introduced the characters and several main storylines that remain consistent throughout the series. Though some information was provided to the audience at the start, the majority of the character backgrounds came later, and the main focus was establishing the team and important enemies. Important storylines, such as Wolverine’s love for Jean and Gambit & Rogue’s complicated romance, were established as well. Two of the strongest characters were Wolverine and Storm because they had a strong sense of self and provided support for their team in an appropriate way. Two of the weakest characters were Cyclops and Jubilee because they had no clear sense of direction, acted very childish, and were quick to give up when things got too difficult. Main villains for this season were the Sentinel robots, Magneto, and Apocalypse. This season had 13 episodes. 

Season 2: With season one establishing characters and main villains, season two was able to dive deeper into the world of X-Men foes. Mister Sinister, a classic X-Men villain, took over the Savage Lands and wanted to create the perfect weapon from Scott and Jean. Xavier and Magneto, old friends with a different origin storyline, are forced to work together to survive, while the X-Men come to their rescue. Following this, the Friends of Humanity are introduced as a new foe and Apocalypse continues to challenge the team and attempt to take over the world. Wolverine and Storm continue to be strong characters with Rogue and Gambit developing better, together and individually. Jubilee is somewhat brushed aside, but Scott continues to behave like a child and act foolish. This season had 13 episodes. 

Season 3: Following the strong momentum from season two, season three introduces the huge storyline of Dark Phoenix, setting Jean up with Phoenix and eventually having her be the foe. The Shi-ar Empire is introduced and Charles Xavier’s space lover, Lilandra, leader of the empire, provides an interesting storyline for him and the expansion of the universe. While there are sub stories in this season, the Phoenix Saga is the primary focus and provides great character growth for most of the team. The majority of the characters have developed into strong individuals, with Scott lagging behind and refusing to grow. Charles also reverts a bit in this season as he acts a fool multiple times during their interactions with the Shi’ar. This season has 19 episodes. 

Season 4: This season was jam packed with other mutant cameos, intense fights with villains, and character development. Nearly every character on the team is clearly defined, and many of their enemies are as well. However, Scott continues to lag behind as he refuses to learn from any of his mistakes or even acknowledge he makes them. While his character does take away from the show a bit, the overall team works well together and individual storylines shine through. There are 25 episodes in this season. 

Season 5: For this season, the animation style drastically changes due to budget cuts and a rush to wrap the story up, making it difficult to enjoy. The episodes didn’t seem to have any clear direction and you could really skip to the final episode just to see how it ends. There is only one real significant storyline for this short season which is Xavier dying and having to go to space with the Shi-ar in order to survive. There are only 6 episodes in this season.

It is highly recommended to watch the show before X-Men’97 because, even though it is a silly 90’s show, it has a strong story that will tie in directly to the new show. This is also a chance for the show to have a better conclusion after how rough season 5 was. 

Overall, regardless of if you’re a comic book fan or not, this show is a great one to watch. You can throw it on in the background, watch it with kids, or enjoy it yourself for the nostalgia and fun moments. Every time I watch it I have a great time, and I am excited for the new show to see where their stories will go. 

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