X-Men Evolution Pictures GalleriX-Men: Evolution is a two-time Emmy Award winning American animated television series about the Marvel Comics superhero team the X-Men. In this incarnation several of the characters are teenagers rather than adults. The series ran for a total of four seasons (52 episodes) from November 2000 until October 2003 on Kids' WB, which has made it the third longest running Marvel Animated series, behind only X-Men: The Animated Series and Spider-Man: The Animated Series.
The 1990’s X-Men animated series (still unreleased on DVD) boldly attempted to revisit old storylines in a new way for an audience that had never visited a comic shop in their lives. The result is shaky and no replacement for the source material but it sure did get people interested! Even the actors in the 20th Century Fox X-Men movie proclaimed that their only exposure to the team was the cartoon (as if there were never a comic at all). I have to say that a recent re-viewing of the series was a refreshingly positive experience… at first. Later seasons saw the stories devolve into near-nonsensical visual static that almost challenged the viewer to keep up. It was Claremont on speed… animated.
The X-Men: Evolution cartoon is, if anything, the opposite. The first series is slow and steady, focusing more on the teenager aspect of the team than the super-hero angle. To be frank, this turned me off after a few episodes and I tuned out. My loss. The second season really took off and with a flash-back story featuring Captain America, the introduction of Boom-Boom, Beast, the Angel and many other characters it starts to feel like a real X-Men cartoon. The second season finale is the pay off and what a surprise it is! Scarlet Witch attacking her father Magneto, Sentinels assaulting the X-Men and the destruction of the Mansion all in one episode almost seems like too much after such a steady build-up, but after you watch it, you’ll feel a bright bulb light up in your head and you’ll get it. It was all part of a brilliant plan by the cartoon’s producers to draw you in slowly and steadily then push the series into overdrive.
The 1990’s X-Men animated series (still unreleased on DVD) boldly attempted to revisit old storylines in a new way for an audience that had never visited a comic shop in their lives. The result is shaky and no replacement for the source material but it sure did get people interested! Even the actors in the 20th Century Fox X-Men movie proclaimed that their only exposure to the team was the cartoon (as if there were never a comic at all). I have to say that a recent re-viewing of the series was a refreshingly positive experience… at first. Later seasons saw the stories devolve into near-nonsensical visual static that almost challenged the viewer to keep up. It was Claremont on speed… animated.
The X-Men: Evolution cartoon is, if anything, the opposite. The first series is slow and steady, focusing more on the teenager aspect of the team than the super-hero angle. To be frank, this turned me off after a few episodes and I tuned out. My loss. The second season really took off and with a flash-back story featuring Captain America, the introduction of Boom-Boom, Beast, the Angel and many other characters it starts to feel like a real X-Men cartoon. The second season finale is the pay off and what a surprise it is! Scarlet Witch attacking her father Magneto, Sentinels assaulting the X-Men and the destruction of the Mansion all in one episode almost seems like too much after such a steady build-up, but after you watch it, you’ll feel a bright bulb light up in your head and you’ll get it. It was all part of a brilliant plan by the cartoon’s producers to draw you in slowly and steadily then push the series into overdrive.
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