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X-Men ‘97, the recent reboot of the original X-Men: The Animated Series, has been an unmitigated success. Its first season has reminded fans of the unimpeachable quality of Marvel’s bygone Saturday morning cartoon era and hopefully showed Marvel that people still love the X-Men. But there’s more gold buried in the treasure troves of Marvel animation.
Because of the sheer number of Marvel’s animated shows, it can be hard to know which ones are worth watching. However, for every smash hit like X-Men ’97, there are plenty more underrated Marvel shows, some of which are still largely unknown by modern audiences.
10 X-Men Who Should Join The X-Men ‘97 Team
While the roster of X-Men ’97 largely remained the same as the original ’90s cartoon, comic fans would love to see a few more mutants join the team.
Pryde of the X-Men Is Instant Nostalgia
Pryde of the X-Men is a one-episode pilot first broadcast in 1989. Produced by Will Meugniot, creator of Captain Planet, the special most famously served as the basis of Konami’s 1992 X-Men arcade game. Its plot sees Kitty Pryde’s introduction to the X-Men and her growing acceptance of her mutant brethren.
The special is a bit campy plot-wise, leaning into the tropes of its medium and featuring an oddly Australian Wolverine, but it shines in art and animation. The titular group takes on John Byrne-inspired Uncanny X-Men designs that were once a rarity to see on-screen. Its high-quality animated action also featured uncredited contributions from Japanese studio Toei Animations.
Pryde of the X-Men
In an animated adventure, a young mutant girl discovers her phasing abilities and is thrust into the world of superheroes and villains. She joins a team of mutants, who must stop a villainous group from causing global catastrophe with their plan to redirect a comet towards Earth.
Spider-Woman Was Marvel’s First Animated Superheroine Lead
10 Best Spider-Man Villains Who Deserve Their Own Miniseries
While Spider-Man is usually the star, Marvel villains like Doctor Octopus, Jackal, and Morlun could all use the spotlight for more great stories.
Marvel created a network’s worth of famous early animated series across the mid-to-late 1900s, but one that often gets overlooked is 1979’s Spider-Woman series. This Jessica Drew-led show ran for 16 episodes and featured Dallas actress Joan Van Ark in the lead role. It was also produced by the company who would go onto become Marvel Productions.
The show differed considerably from the source material, giving her elements of Peter Parker, including powers and a job at a magazine. Not without merit, though, the single-season show would be the first by Marvel to be led by a superheroine. The next wouldn’t come until 2023’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.
Spider-Man Unlimited Is a Testament to Perseverance
Objectively, Spider-Man Unlimited probably isn’t a good show. Will Meugniot’s much-maligned cartoon followed Spider-Man: The Animated Series, and took some strange liberties. In this series, Peter Parker landed on Counter-Earth, facing off against the High Evolutionary in a war between humans and beastials. Venom and Carnage also featured as recurring villains after stowing away on Spidey’s spaceship.
The odd aesthetic of Spider-Man Unlimited was the result of rights issues with Sam Raimi’s 2002 Spider-Man. This barred creator Will Meugniot from using any of Spider-Man’s classic villains, supporting cast, even his costume. Still, the show offered fun designs and early representation for Counter-Earth, the High Evolutionary and the Knights of Wundagore.
The Incredible Hulk is High-Powered Fun
10 Marvel Characters That Deserve Their Own Animated Series
Despite having numerous animated shows over the years, Marvel has many characters that could benefit from an animated series.
Marvel’s Mean Green Fighting Machine is best remembered for his live-action series starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno. However, Hulk’s had his fair share of strong starring roles in the animated world as well. 1996’s The Incredible Hulk may not be the most popular of these, but it may be the best.
Across two seasons, UPN’s The Incredible Hulk, later known as The Incredible Hulk and She-Hulk, gave Banner and Jen Walters their biggest roles of the 90s. It would only last two seasons, but still found time to cross over with character like War Machine and Danny Ketch’s Ghost Rider.
The Fantastic Four’s least remembered venture into animation was the mid-2000s series Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes. Premiering on Toonami, the series tried to capture X-Men: Evolution’s turn-of-the-century charm to lesser success. Though the show is still worth the watch for fans of the characters.
Unfortunately, World’s Greatest Heroes only lasted for one 26-episode season. Across its run, the show still features plenty of flair and action, and some surprising appearances from fellow Marvel characters. While the series didn’t get to Galactus and the Silver Surfer, it still found time to give fans the first animated Squirrel Girl.
In a time before Funko! Pop figures, collectors of Marvel kitsch could get their fix through Super Hero Squad. This toyline offered kid-friendly reinventions of a surprisingly broad range of Marvel characters. It would end up attracting fans not only for its cast, but its leaks, with previews once giving fans too-early looks at characters from upcoming films.
The line would earn its own show in 2009, becoming one of the only Marvel shows to originally air on Cartoon Network. Like the toys, The Super Hero Squad Show featured characters pulled from wide sections of the Marvel Universe. It also featured some amusing takes on characters and surprisingly consistent plots.
Marvel Anime Was Glitzy and Glamorous
Not a show as much as an anthology of specials, Marvel Anime shocked the collective comic world when it was first announced in 2010. Studio Madhouse gave Marvel a slick makeover and high-octane action that’s rarely been translated so perfectly from the pages of comics.
The first series focused mainly on Iron Man, with proceeding entries giving focus to Blade, as well as Wolverine and the X-Men. From an action standpoint, few Marvel animated products live up to the standard set by Marvel Anime. For any fans looking for flair above all else, the show is a guaranteed hit.
Earth’s Mightiest Heroes Finally Gave Fans a Good Avengers Show
While the MCU was slowly, meticulously building up to its first era of Avengers, the small-screen was already well ahead of them on Disney XD. Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes adapted the team’s most recognizable members into a two-season show spanning decades of Marvel history from 2010 through 2012.
The character designs and strong showings from Marvel’s A-listers helped this show earn immortality among its fans even over a decade after its conclusion. Also helping matters is that the Avengers themselves had previously never had strong animated showings. Anything could have earned its fandom when the only alternative was the dismal The Avengers: United They Stand.
X-Men: Evolution Is Still Great
10 Most Powerful Female X-Men
Marvel’s X-Men team is packed with strong and fearsome female mutants, some with incredible powers and leadership qualities to match.
As X-Men: The Animated Series perfectly captured the energy of Saturday morning cartoons in the 90’s, X-Men: Evolution embodied the early 2000’s. Some of its characters, like the show’s distinctive orange Wolverine and mall goth Rogue, are seen as shining examples of turn-of-the-century redesigns akin to Batman Beyond. Others, like its holographic Apocalypse, are less remembered. But all are essential to the show’s identity.
The show’s uniquely pinpoint early 2000s aesthetic is hardly its only draw, though. X-Men: Evolution wasn’t afraid of ambitious writing or plots, and was a solid follow-up to its much-beloved predecessor in an environment that was unique to itself. It was good then, and it’s still good now.
X-Men: Evolution
This rendition of X-Men features Cyclops, Jean Grey, Rogue, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat and Spike as teenagers as they fight for a world that fears and hates them.
Silver Surfer Is the Best Marvel Show Fans Have Never Seen
Lost in the pantheon of 90s Marvel cartoons is arguably the best of them all. In fact, 1998’s Silver Surfer cartoon may be the greatest adaptation the character has ever received. Across 13 episodes, it perfectly recreates the art style and Shakespearean drama of Jack Kirby’s original Surfer comics to create the most existential of its FOX Kids compatriots.
Equally compelling is its cast. Silver Surfer pulls from Marvel’s spacial lore to showcase characters rarely seen before the MCU, including Drax the Destroyer, Pip the Troll and Beta Ray Bill. The show even gave Thanos his first major animated role, serving as the series’ overarching villain. It’s a true must-see for Cosmic Marvel fans.
“}]] X-Men ’97 has been a hit with fans, but not every animated Marvel series has received the popularity it deserves. Read More