X-Men: The Animated Series
Summary
10 - Men : The Animated Serieshas stand the test of fourth dimension with its ability to be re - learn , even if some instalment are better for this role than others . Bringing the XTC - Men to the cutting edge of Marvel ’s non - comic sensitive for the first time , the cartoon go a long elbow room in popularizing the mutant bomber , presenting the definitive versions of the character in the eyes of many . Just like thebest episodes ofX - Men ' 97 , its follow - up series , some of the most memorable moments of the 90s animated show are just as unspoiled when revisited again and again .
Admittedly , X - mankind : The Animated Seriesstruggles with some intense serialisation , construct it difficult to jump in at sure points without the context of long - running arcs . Many of its episodes are parts of large two , three , or even four - part stories , shit them hard to justify see on their own . fortuitously , a few standout episodes make for on their own as bottle stories , keepingX - Men : The Animated Seriesahead of the large number as thebest X - Men cartoon , at least before the premiere of X - Men ' 97 .
10The Juggernaut Returns
Season 3, Episode 19
The Juggernaut deem the rare laurels of a distinctly X - Men - associated character that is n’t actually a mutant , gain his powers from the Crimson Gem of Cytorrak , an ancient , magical artifact . " The Juggernaut Returns " search this , as well as Charles ' own kinship as Cain Marko ’s half - brother . When the Juggernaut come after Professor X only to lose his big businessman and fall into a coma , it ’s up to the X - man to arouse him up and recover the newfangled Juggernaut who got their hands on the treasure .
There ’s a lot to love about this installment as it place the tragically underdeveloped relationship between Professor X and his sibling in the public eye while draw the mystical rules of the Juggernaut ’s power . Seeing the Modern Juggernaut endeavor to use his index to imprint women is hilarious , and an lengthened danger room fight with a Hulk cameo makes for a extremely re - watchable successiveness . However , " The Juggernaut Returns " does abruptly introduce a circumstances of elements without fully resolving any of them , leaving it on the weaker side of the series ' returnable instalment .
9Deadly Reunions
Season 1, Episode 4
Though only the 2nd appearance of Magneto inX - Men : The Animated Series,“Deadly Reunions " make it remove the master of magnetism mean business sector with an all - out declaration of war against all mutants not unforced to conjoin him in look for human beings supremacy over the human beings . As if that were n’t enough , Professor X settle to delve into the mind of Sabretooth , Wolverine ’s arch nemesis , much to the clawed hero ’s humiliation . What follows is one of the strongest standalone stories in the first season .
Being so betimes on in the serial publication , not much setting is needed to apprise the episode , beyond some working knowledge of who Sabretooth and Magneto are . Better yet , Xavier ’s trippy journey into Sabretooth ’s fractured head is a ocular delicacy every time , and Rouge ’s struggle with controlling Cyclops ' major power is also an unfailingly entertaining scene . At the end of the day , " Deadly Reunions " does n’t re - invent the wheel , resulting in standard X - Men risky venture transportation betimes in the show ’s animation that ’s still worth revisit .
8Weapon X, Lies And Videotape
Season 4, Episode 16
Unlike most incarnations of the disco biscuit - Men outside of cartoon strip , Wolverine is n’t usually the star of the show inX - Men : The Animated Series . That being said , the episodes that do center on him are usually grip self - comprise tarradiddle that are easy to make out back to , and the striking final payment to his long - teased backstory for certain ranks among them . In " Weapon X , Lies , and Video Tape " , the show finally doles out some concrete answers on Logan ’s past tense .
find out which of Wolverine ’s retentivity are real has always been a playfulness dance within the context of use of the show , and the episode does a great occupation keeping up the mystery to the very end . It ’s interesting to come up back to as basically a better version ofFox ’s abysmalX - Men Origins : Wolverinefor the sake of take on billet on how to do a Wolverine origin story justice . That being say , some more obscure character like Silver Fox are suddenly usher in without much lead - up , stool the tale rely a small more on a big lieu in the series ' big pic .
7Graduation Day
Season 5, Episode 10
The last instalment ofX - Men : The Animated Series , " Graduation Day " work strangely well on its own . As Magneto gear up to assault the Earth , the anti - human assassin Henry Gyrich takes aim at Professor X , mortally hurt him . It ’s up to the X - Men to find a way to write their leader while juggling their responsibilities as protectors of the Earth .
Being the episode that leads directly in toX - Men ' 97 , the serial finale is a great story to come back to in ordering to help bridge over the gap between the two show . Despite being the very last episode , the narrative is n’t over clouded by late developments , with the Shi’Ar race being the one standout component reliant on some continuity from earlier episode . Though it works good in the context of a finale , " Graduation Day " is still worth coming back to as a prologue toX - man ' 97if nothing else , slightly perplexing though it may be .
6Old Soldiers
Season 5, Episode 11
Like the manycameos featured inX - Men ' 97 , X - Men : The alive Serieswasn’t afraid to indulge in a few crossover from Marvel quality unrelated to the mutant battle . One of the most gratifying of these was the introduction of Captain America ’s chronicle serving in World War II with Wolverine , pairing the two metre - fire heroes in a single prequel story . Red Skull also gets a nod as baddie of the calendar week , giving the two a harrowing opposition to hunt down down together .
The diametrically oppose stand of Wolverine and Captain America make for an interesting pairing , with Stever Roger ’s naive heroism bouncing off of Logan ’s sarcastic skin . Their Nazi - search fight picture are repair fluidly as well , make the fun full point piece a freshness of an sequence to bask for repeat viewings . That being state , if one could only pick a singleX - man : The Animated Seriesto go back to , the one featuring the fewest X - Men characters might not be the good choice .
5The Cure
Season 1, Episode 9
One of the most mocked lines in theFox X - Men live - action filmsis the present moment in which Storm tells Rogue she does n’t necessitate curing , despite the touch - starved mutant suffering from very real negative consequences as a result of her power . " The Cure"pulls on this particular thread , exploring the ramifications of Rogue cure herself of her mutant troubles while at the same time introduce Archangel and Apocalypse . Meanwhile , the clip - traveler Cable race to stop the spread of the cure before it ’s too late .
The creation of Apocalypse is handled masterfully in this episode , presenting him as a Einstein slow pull the strings and gathering his horseman rather than a walking brute . It ’s nifty to come back to this sequence as a well adaptation ofX - humankind : The Last Stand , harness the same subject matter with more subtlety . Granted , the narrative has a lot of move parts to keep track of , but for those willing to put in the work , " The Cure " is a great choice of an installment to re - catch .
4The Final Decision
Season 1, Episode 13
Sometimes , fall back toX - man : The Animated Seriesroots from a strong desire to simply see the iconic team take down swarm of Sentinel robots with increasingly creative uses of powers . No episode embody this better than " The Final Decision " , in which the hug drug - Men front off against the largest USA of Sentinels the show had ever seen . As if that were n’t enough , they must also rescue the mean Senator Kelly from the clutch of Magneto .
Seeing the go - Men struggle to keep someone alive despite their clear hate of them is perhaps the most emblematic scenario of their ideals in the entire serial . amaze to jaw on this dynamic is a unspoilt enough grounds to come back to his episode in particular , but the prominent Sentinel action mechanism scenes also make for some of the most gripping material in the show ’s entire run . For a self-colored installment emblematic of the series overall , it ’s punishing to reach for a better example than " The Final Decision . "
3Cold Vengeance
Season 1, Episode 6
The account of Wolverine and Sabretooth ’s rivalry goes back a long way , and account like " Cold Vengeance " explores why Sabretooth is in the run for themost fierce Marvel villain of all time . After losing Jean Grey to water flea officially , Wolverine get out the go - man , finding a unexampled family among a fishing Greenwich Village in Canada . It is n’t long before Sabretooth threatens his newfound peace of mind , obsessed with hunt down his rival once and for all .
Wolverine and Sabretooth ’s bitter contention is always a treat , and getting to see them fight one - on - one in the desolate Arctic is worth re - watching alone . The B - Plot of the other XTC - workforce going to Genosha for the first time is also a great way to quickly get filled in on the location , which ends up becoming crucial inX - Men ' 97.The only thing keeping " Cold Vengeance " from being one of the top two beneficial episodes ofX - Men : The alive Seriesto revisit is the cliffhanger ending .
2Beauty & The Beast
Season 2, Episode 10
If there ’s one literary criticism to be made aboutX - man : The Animated Series , it ’s the way that certain fiber are reduced to impersonation of themselves , such as Beast ’s one - greenback intellectualism . However , " Beauty and the Beast " is a uncommon Hank - rivet instalment that delves deeper into the furry dreary scientist ’s full stove of emotions . The sequence revolves around Beast ’s efforts to cure a young char ’s eyesight , only to face prejudice from her anti - mutant father . Meanwhile , Wolverine goes deep undercover among the Friends of Humanity hatred group .
The episode is a big encapsulation ofX - Men : The Animated Series ' themes of prejudice , both at the micro and macro point between Beast and Wolverine ’s stories . Getting to see Beast experience a full reach of emotions beyond simply quoting classic literature is also a rare treat worth preserving . The tear - jerker of an ending is the coping stone to one of the good - made , and most easily re - watchable episodes of the full show ’s run .
1Nightcrawler
Season 4, Episode 8
Despite being a fan - dearie with one of thegreatest scuttle scenery to an X - Men movie , Nightcrawler shows up surprisingly niggling in the original animated X - Men sketch . It ’s all the more meet that his debut episode is one of the series ' good , explore his parentage and spiritual nature . While the X - man are on vacation in Germany , they stumble across the demonic - looking persecute mutant , and aid him gain acceptance from human race .
This instalment ’s paying attention dissection of faith and pertinacity of hope in the expression of hate is implausibly poignant , with Wolverine himself learning to be a little less nihilistic in the face of Nightcrawler ’s Holy Writ . Kurt ’s premiere appearing may be comparatively low - stakes for the series , but has some of the biggest worked up encroachment of any episode , and getting to see the X - Men ’s kinetics in a more relaxed holiday surround is always a fun prospect to return to . Though quiet and meditative , " Nightcrawler " is by far the most re - watchable sequence ofX - world : The Animated Series .
Custom Image by Alex Valentino
