The 5 Best Marvel Cartoons To Watch After X-Men '97
"X-Men '97" has taken off on Disney+, with the continuation of the classic "X-Men: Animated Series" earning rave reviews from critics and audiences alike. Even more than twenty years after the original series concluded, "X-Men '97" continues to take iconic comic book storylines and offer its own takes on them, remixing the arcs into something that feels simultaneously new but recognizable.
However, while "X-Men: The Animated Series" is the first series on the small screen to tackle the world of Marvel's mutants created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, it wasn't the last before its recent revival. From the '90s onward, a few other shows launched, hoping to follow the classic series and become essential aspects of "X-Men" lore outside the page.
Now, with "X-Men '97 soon coming to an end, with just two more episodes left in May as it wraps up its inaugural season, it's the perfect time to dive deeper into the catalogue of X-Men-led shows, as there are several options that offer both fresh and familiar stories.
X-Men: The Animated Series
"X-Men: The Animated Series" absolutely helped pave the way for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as it's the gold standard for adapting a comic book to the small screen and creating a shared universe.
The cartoon featured the team of Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, Storm, Beast, Gambit, Jubilee, Jean Grey, and Professor X, while also introducing the original character Morph. The show loosely adapted some of the most beloved and essential stories from the "X-Men" comics, including Chris Claremont and John Byrne's "Days of Future Past," "The Dark Phoenix Saga" by Claremont, Byrne, and Terry Austin, and even the "Gambit" miniseries from Howard Mackie, Lee Weeks, and Klaus Janson.
With one of the most iconic theme songs in television history, an intro that perfectly spotlights the heroes, sharp writing, and faithfulness to the material that inspired the series, "X-Men: The Animated Series" did a masterful job of showing the adventures, unfortunate prejudice, and incredible powers of Marvel's mutants. It also boasted a large cast, with the five-season run touching on all aspects of the comic book lore, from the cosmic nature of the Dark Phoenix to alternate futures. While "X-Men '97" on Disney+ has improved on the series with sharper animation and more concise storylines, it's hard to ignore how great the original animated show was.
X-Men: Evolution
While "X-Men: The Animated Series" directly adapted comic book storylines and major moments for Marvel's mutants, "X-Men: Evolution" tried to do its own thing after debuting on Kids' WB in 2000. The show features a younger iteration of the X-Men that were rarely paired together elsewhere, with a team featuring teenage versions of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat, Spyke, Rogue, and Nightcrawler. The series follows the team as they try to live normal lives in high school and fit in while learning to be heroes, with many challenges, including relationships, coming into their powers, and villainous forces at play.
"X-Men: Evolution" shifting the style, storylines, and settings of the series could have been disastrous, but even with as a bold reinvention of the iconic Marvel team, the show feels like it fits into the world seamlessly. It's got an unquestionable 2000s vibe. Plus, it features an expansive cast of mutants in later seasons who were largely ignored up until that point on the small screen, like Boom Boom, Cannonball, and Sunspot. The show was also the first place Laura Kinney's X-23 (created by Craig Kyle) ever showed up — so without "X-Men: Evolution," the fan-favorite character likely wouldn't exist.
The four-season run of "X-Men: Evolution" starts a bit bumpy, but when the show finally finds its footing, it cements itself as a worthwhile inclusion in the "X-Men" television universe that tries new things with the lore in a medium that often repeats stories to death. For more, be sure to check out Looper's untold truth of "X-Men: Evolution."
Wolverine and the X-Men
With Wolverine's continued rising popularity during the late 2000s, Marvel Entertainment showcased the hero by having him lead an X-Men team of his own in "Wolverine and the X-Men." The Nicktoons Network series drew loose inspiration from "Astonishing X-Men" by Joss Whedon and John Cassady, with more modern looks for the characters and a roster featuring Angel, Rogue, Nightcrawler, Storm, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Beast, Iceman, and Shadowcat. The plot saw Logan assemble the X-Men following the disappearance of Professor X. But, after getting a message from the future from his mentor, Wolverine decides to restart the mutant superteam.
The show doesn't rehash the tired origins of its main heroes, instead options to jump right into the action — without being too complicated for non X-Men fans to quickly understand. The 26-episode Season 1 not only features a wide cast of mutants with more modern faces like Dust, Pixie, and X-23 appearing but also guest-stars other Marvel heroes outside of the "X-Men" universe, including an episode featuring the Hulk and Nick Fury.
If the series does anything wrong, it's often trying to do too much with its plotlines, but the expansive list of characters may be a welcome sight for longtime viewers and readers. However, your mileage for "Wolverine and the X-Men" might only go as far as how much you love Wolverine, as the show rarely departs from its titular clawed mutant.
Marvel Anime: X-Men
In the early 2010s, Marvel Entertainment, Madhouse, and Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan worked on four series starring iconic heroes in the Marvel Universe. Those shows were "Iron Man," "Blade," "Wolverine," and "X-Men." They all bring something unique with the "X-Men" series in particular being a worthwhile watch.
"X-Men" takes its heroes out of their usual setting in North America and puts them in Japan. While there, they search for the missing mutant Armor, as Cyclops tries to lead the team and manage his trauma after losing Jean Grey. The roster includes Wolverine, Storm, Beast, Professor X, and eventually Armor. "X-Men" showcases Marvel's mutants in a more mature setting, with a slow-burn plot. It embraces its anime stylings and isn't like many other adaptations of the classic Marvel characters — as it tries new things, such as the main villains being the U-Men from Grant Morrison and Leinil Francis Yu's "New X-Men" series, a group of body-harvesting zealots who believe they can combine mutant parts with their own to become superior beings. Additionally, some characters are redone to fit the world, including Charles Xavier's son in the show, Takeo, based on the powerful mutant David Haller, aka Legion.
Ultimately, "X-Men" only has 12 episodes, and you'll be left wanting more by the time you reach the end. Unfortunately, as of right now, there's no direct continuation of the show elsewhere on the small screen. However, despite seemingly being a blip on the larger scale of Marvel's animated projects, the series was an incredible endeavor that offered excitingly fresh takes to the popular comic heroes.
Astonishing X-Men Animated Comic
Starting in 2009, Marvel released several motion comics based on fairly recent stories at the time under the Marvel Knights Animation banner. "Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D." adapted the "Spider-Woman" series by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. "Iron Man: Extremis" adapted Warren Ellis and Adi Granov's "Invincible Iron Man," while "Astonishing X-Men" by Joss Whedon and John Cassady became the line's most long-running show. "Astonishing X-Men" animated the page directly, with the motion comic showcasing the beloved comic run from its first arc, "Gifted," which saw Cyclops and Emma Frost bring the team together again, to its fourth volume, "Unstoppable," the final arc where the team fight to save the Earth.
While the stop motion animation takes a bit to get used to, seeing the comic panels come to life with voice acting and effects makes the show a good bridge for non-comic readers who want to get a taste of the series. For comic fans, hearing dialogue only read and previously imagined in their head represents a fun new way to consume the storyline. With four seasons overall and its episodes covering the entire run from Whedon and Cassady, the animated "Astonishing X-Men" series is one of the most unique and direct ways to experience the comics on the small screen.