Great episodes introduced by the best theme song of the 90s! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be looking at the most celebrated and groundbreaking episodes of the original “X-Men: The Animated Series.” Beware, there will be mutant-sized spoilers ahead! Our countdown includes episodes "The Final Decision", "Nightcrawler", "Till Death Do Us Part: Part One" and more! Which episode of “X-Men: The Animated Series” made you a fan? Did we miss any standout stories? Share your picks in the comments below!
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Which episode of “X-Men: The Animated Series” made you a fan? Did we miss any standout stories? Share your picks in the comments below! For more content like this, click here: kzhead.info/sun/acisd7Gxj3WumpE/bejne.html Don't forget to play our Live Trivia (www.watchmojo.com/play) games at 3pm EST for a chance to win cash! The faster you answer, the more points you get!
Love It WatchMojo.
Bloodlines & Old Soldiers are my favorites. Confirming Kurt & Rogue's relationship is always a treat. They are probably the most popular superhero siblings ever. Seeing Logan fight alongside Steve Rogers is awesome. And interestingly enough, both were adapted for X-Men: Evolution. And the time travel two parter holds resonance for me because it confirmed that Cable is Jean & Scott's son.
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One of the best parts of this show was that, especially compared to Marvel cartoons before it, it wasn't afraid to talk to it's audience about hard hitting issues; racism, slavery, mental illness, death, and even genocide. Episodes featuring Magneto, who's a Holocaust survivor, best touch on genocide, with Magneto struggling to choose between taking revenge on non-mutant humans, or simply giving fellow mutants a safe haven. All the issues discussed on X-Men are tragically still relevant today.
Also a saturday cartoon to have commentary on HIV was INSANE looking back on it
The Phoenix Saga is my personal favorite story arc from the animated series. No other X Men cartoon has come close to the emotional impact those episodes had on me when I first saw it
I couldn’t agree more
The one where the Friends of Humanity kidnap a blind girl that Beast was trying to cure is soooo good. Beast goes wild and Logan infiltrates the FOH. Pure gold.
Yes, just beat me to it. Really tackled racism that episode
Season 2's "Beauty and the Beast"
The way the doctors all walked out when Beast entered was mad!! I also loved the line how beast was going feral while Wolverine was using his brain....
Yes
@@kennyboggs3676 Yeah Wolverine double bluffed him… He said he knew a creed in Kentucky and Graydon said I was in Canada so he told the truth… Also the x men changed sabretooths name to Graydon Creed senior… So he destroyed him.. also the follow up episode where the leaders of the friends of humanity punish Graydon by giving him back to his dad!
I loved X-Ternally Yours and A Rogue’s Tale, both provided great insight into Gambit and Rogue’s pasts with some memorable scenes and dialogue.
Best show from the 90s hands down
Batman :TAS has something to say
@@TheSnowteller it said team up with Harley Quinn where she gets jiggy with Nightwing and fart jokes
Batman the animated series is so good tho
I always loved this show, the Gargoyles, Batman TAS and Swat Kats. Such good cartoons that could stand up even today.
@@chucknorris8630same here!
I liked Nightcrawler’s second appearance: learning Mystique is his mother, Rogue his sister, Grayson Creed his half-brother, and giving grace and forgiveness while seeing him in so much pain hearing Mystique never loved him…that’s a LOT to unpack in one 30 minute episode.
Twist: Canonically, Mystique is Nightcrawler's FATHER.
WHAT @@legionaireb
@@scottsummers4234 Kurt is the offspring of Mystique and her long (LONG) time lover, Destiny. It was Destiny, not Mystique, who carried Kurt to term. (In the comics, at least.)
@@legionaireb ohhhh. So Kurt's father is not Azazel?
@@scottsummers4234 Apparently they retconned that last year.
My favorite episode was "A Rogue's Tale" where we learned about her origins and how she got her powers from Mrs. Marvel. Rogue became my favorite along with Gambit
You mean the one that ended with captain marvel ‘s consciousness being trapped in her mind permanently
the Jean Grey x Phoenix saga is the one that makes the series stands out, still memorable to this very day
I hope Spider-Man the Animated series continues like how Xmen 97 did.
Agree 💯
Yes, please. That's one of my favorite superhero animated series and it deserves to make a combat for one last season.
Damn right
@@jeuryrabassa4724don’t you mean a comeback?
I think Disney and Marvel want to see how well “X-Men ‘97” does before they do the same for Spider-Man.
Cold Vengeance, The Phalanx, A deal with the Devil, One man’s worth, Beyond good and evil, Weapon X, Lies and videotapes, Xavier Remembers, Descent.
Phalanx is the only good part of season 5 not that 5 was bad but it was as good as the previous 4 the animation style and voice changes kinda killed it for me
Cable appeared before "TIme Fugitives" on Genosha in Season 1.
That was the wild man of Borneo
@@yanivavizratz984Indeed. :D
Correct. Two episodes in season one including that and the Cure.
Thank you! I was hoping someone would point that out.
I never forgot that yellow hover chair, when it debuted in the MCU that was extremely hype.
It's so amazing how much you appreciate your childhood shows more as an adult. Two of my favorite episodes are "Lotus and the Steel" and "Bloodlines" I love "Lotus and the Steel" because it seems like it was written to express Wolverine's human nature. He had thought over many traumas he had gone through and chooses to leave the X-men to do some soul searching. I felt it showed that despite his cynical, hostile nature, Wolverine would genuinely accept peace if he could find it. I love "Bloodlines" because when Nightcrawler confronted his mother, I thought it was heartbreaking when she admitted the truth to him. It showed that despite how this is supposed to be a KID's show, it wasn't afraid to tackle controversial topics.
"Time Fugitives" (Parts 1 & 2) was one of my favorites, involving TWO time travelers trying to outdo each other at changing history. Also, I'm glad Lenore Zann is returning in X-Men '97 to voice Rogue. She was BORN for the role.
5:55 This was not his first appearance in the series. He first appeared in the first season where he met Gambit.
One of my favorite aspects of mutant abilities is that they also come with a handicap.:)
Not if you're Monet St Croix.
A Rogue's Tale is my all time favorite episode and I also like the 2 Savage Lands episodes where Storm let's loose. Lastly, gotta give honorable mention to the Phoenix saga.
Hopefully xmen characters appear in the new season of Marvel's What If
There’s certainly nothing that can prevent that from happening now.
That would be fantastic!
and now ‘97 is gonna pick up where the animated series has left off!
It was pretty ahead of its time.
Time fugitives wasn't Cable's first appearance on the show though. He also had a brief appearance in a season 1.
Actually two appearances. The funniest thing is that the series completely gave im made up background as in the comics his background was not revealed yet at this point
@@yanivavizratz984 ahh ok. I didn't know that. Also makes me want to go back and check out those old new mutant and X-Force books.
When you first meet Apocalypse I was so scared 😨😳
Rogue's Origin - Learning that if Rogue steals your powers for too long she can actually use them permanently was so cool. Like stealing Ms Marvels ability to fly.
This was my childhood back in the day! I loved the 90s as a child! It scared me when Jean Grey turned into Phoenix lol
I love the scored music of this show and all the X-Men shows Like each of the opening themes of each X-Men shows were incredible but the scored music made each show great and so atmospheric particularly in the Nightcrawler episode of the 90s series where the music is amazing I’m not religious but when Nightcrawler does his “can so many people be wrong speech” the music is amazing Even the X-Men legends game’s particularly the second one had amazing music as well
X-Men 97 show is gonna be pure unadulterated awesomeness.
NOPE!
@@batman3217 This will be better than Fox X Men Razzies and Inhumans
Nope it's complete trash Disney ruined a classic like always
@@sleeper4386Prove it
@@sleeper43866 episodes in and it’s pretty stellar
Imagine Deadpool showing up commenting on his 3rd film Note -X-Men '97 executive producer Beau DeMayo has set the record straight on the show's connection to the MCU: "We are our own thing." The showrunner wrote this on Instagram (as reposted by X-Men Updates on X) in response to a fan who asked if the upcoming series is canon to the MCU.
Doesn’t mean that there won’t be any references to the MCU.
Maybe that’s why they fired him yesterday.
Note Deadpool did appear in the original series.
MCU - 19999 Fox Marvelverse - 92131
I remember watching X-Men as a kid. Good times!
Everything! Everything about this show was the best. I still hum the intro music at 40 yrs old.
Fox spoiled us back then as kids. This show and Batman the Animated series got me into comics. Glad I got to experience it during its original run on Saturday mornings.
How did it spoil me?
Great job WatchMojo. Hope to see a top things to remember before watching X-Men 97 video soon
X-Men animated series is back
Yes it is
not yet..if its garbage, @@CorbinLeonard-rp4et
@@King.binge99 👍 yeah that's true
@@MrDarthryan well, it is back. 5 eps in and even the bad one was true to the OG series lol (I do hate Mojo, but the game idea was actually cool)
My favourite episodes are when Wolverine is the protagonist; the time travel episodes and the 'Beyond Good and Evil' episode.
Both Phoenix Sagas, in my personal opinion, need to be ranked higher or #1. Haha I know it’s just me 😊, but phoenix is my favorite entity/character in all of Marvel.
« Night of the Sentinels » and « The Cure » stand out in my mind , I think both made me a fan as well as the one introducing Nightcrawler.
My top 10 favourite X-Men episodes are: 10.-Night at the Centinels. 9.-One Man's Worth. 8.-A Rogue's Tale. 7.-Weapon X, lies and Videotapes. 6.-The Reunion. 5.-Time Fugitives. 4.-Days of the Future Past. 3.-The Dark Phoenix Saga. 2.-The Phoenix Saga. 1.-Beyond Good and Evil. Honorable mentions: Lotus and Steel, Nightcrawler, Santuary, Orphan's end and The Final Desicion.
You've got taste.
Repo Man- Wolverine backstory with Alpha Flight
It's the theme song for me! 🎶🎼🎵
I'm a huge fan of Sanctuary Part 1 and 2. I love Magneto's speech to the U.N and the reaction he receives. Plus I like the feelings Rouge shows towards Gambit in it.
My top 5 episodes of X-Men the animated series are Weapon X: Lies and Video Tapes, Cold Comfort, Cold Vengeance, Out of the Past, and Graduation Day.
"Nightcrawler". The episode introduced me to my first cartoon crush, which later got me into reading the comic books. That's when I found out that Nightcrawler's even hotter in the comics.
The first Episode I watched that made me a fan was “Deadly Reunions,” but my favorite Episode was “A Rogue’s Tale” because the Writers answered my question of how Rogue was able to fly and have super strength.
Yup, same here.
Here’s my top 5 from this series 1. Beauty & The Beast 2. Nightcrawler 3. Have Yourself a Morlock Little X-Mas 4. Bloodlines 5. Old Soldiers
90s Xmen anime is the ultimate masterpiece of marvel anime we all love to watch in life
Amazing video watch mojo of the best episode of the X-men animated series ever,fantastic job.
Both the Phoenix and Dark Phoenix sagas I still consider my favorites.
Too this day I still remember the theme and some scene from this and I LOVE IT ❤🔥❤
It is a masterpiece! One of the best Marvel shows of the 90s.
Some these scenes were so captivating that watching this almost brought me to tears.
Eye agree with your list however some honorable mentions are required : Deadly Reunions . Magneto and Wolverine tried to warn Charles that he is a fool and not all mutants want peace . I didnt expect Sabertooth to be sent by Magneto . Cool Twist. Sanctuary Part 1 : Remote control sentinels vs 100 mutants of Genosha . Not just banana peel sentinels anymore . They where hardcore . Courage the cowardly Morph =)) Omega Red in the sub with Storm and Logan aka the navy being stupid again Beyond Good and Evil End of Appokalypse arch.
This is a great list the defeat of Sinisters crew at the end if season 2 is still my favorite of all time
PREACH 👏🏿
Gotta include when Magneto and Professor X were in The Savage Land and lost their powers.
Perfectly recreating comic storylines doesn't always guarantee a good show, but it sure worked out well here. Fittingly the one I remember best is Graduation Day, the finale. Magneto forfeits the war he's been wanting the whole series out of respect for his friend, and Charles is able to give a final deathbed speech to everyone. I hope the new series can live up to it.
I love the Sabretooth episodes. Victor is a great villain
Again, they knew exactly why this'll make an effective thumbnail...
We all know "Come the Apocalypse" is an classic, rogue was an big asset for the team in it
Steve Rogers: I get the reference.
I actually really like the episode ‘No Mutant is an Island’ the episode where after losing Jean, Scott leaves the X-Men and goes back to the orphanage where he grew up and confronts Kilgrave It’s not my favourite episode but I like it it really shows consequences and vulnerability of characters I honestly really like the Cyclops focused episodes of each of the three main X-Men shows - X-Men TAS ‘No Mutant is an Island’ - X-Men: Evolution ‘Blind Alley’ - Wolverine and the X-Men ‘Breakdown’
Aaaah....the nostalgia of seeing this cartoon once more...great part of my childhood....since becoming an adult...I have downloaded and watched every single episode of this all 5 seasons of it. It's just too bad we ain't getting cartoon thos good anymore.
Beyond Good and Evil was also a heck of a storyline. A bit over-the-top sci-fi, but Apocalypse almost ends all of time. Equally as epic as the Phoenix Saga in my books.
Cable episodes ftw. Watching X Men and Spiderman every Saturday morning was just a staple of my childhood. So good.
5:58 - Time Fugitives was NOT the first appearance of Cable; he appeared MULTIPLE times in season 1, starting in the original Genosha arc.
Genosha episode tho 🔥👀
5:56 no he appeared in season 1, he was in both Slave Island and The Cure in season 1, but this is the episode where we learn more about him
I wish I remembered more of this show as I was a little kid when it came out but recall all of the major storylines like when Apocalypse showed up or Phoenix as well as the hellfire club. Can’t wait to see them in the MCU as they can introduce a more serious realistic approach to super heroism with the entire prejudice and political angle that Xmen often centers around, just don’t know how they’ll do so in this universe as we’ve already had the Avengers accepted as heroes for such a long time it’ll be difficult to portray the world as against mutants while admiring other heroes
I'm pretty sure Morph had lived and was probably recuperating off screen for all those seasons. He was part of the line up in the final scenes of the series finale, when Charles went with the space princess (forgot her name). Morph was standing with the rest of the X-Men at Charles' bedside and outside the mansion. At least that character has a strong resemblance to Morph, and if it's not him, I don't know who the character is.
It would be nice to see more of wolverine and Strom relationship
Always the Phoenix Saga🔥 along with the Apocalypse & Days of Future Past Sagas.
Return of The Juggernaut is a criminally underrated episode, we get so much lore and the first hint ever that Cain Marko might be redeemed one day.
"Time Fugitives" wasn't Cable's first appearance on the show. It was his second. In Season 1 Episode 6 "Slave Island", Cable made his first appearance on the island of Genosha.
Night of the Sentinels...One of my personal favorites because we got see one of The X-Men's Greatest Enemies.
Back then i didn't need a "good" episode to be an X-Men fan. I just whatever episode i saw first and kept watching till they air it no more. It's been 30 years so i can't remember much either 😂 all i remember is having fun watching it ❤️
the phoenix arc is hands down the best with the ending being the dark phoenix arc finishing it up beautifully, wonderful amount of drama for a kids show in the 90s, things we dont get remotely close to these days even in adult programing, it truly was a show ahead of its time and glad its coming back next week
This is what made me a X Men fan, with Rogue being my favorite character of them all.
One Man's Worth was greenlit in 1994. Age of Apocalypse wasn't until 1995. Therefore, the storyboards/story for the show actually inspired the comic (apparently), not the other way around.
The phoenix saga was the chefs kiss of the whole series
I freaking love this show! This is what got me into comics. ⚡
Actually Cable’s first appearance was in 7th episode in season 1, “Slave Island,” where Storm, Gambit & Jubilee are captured on Genosha.
We ate good back then. X-Men, Spider-Man, and Batman: TAS. The absolute best representations of these incredible characters and storylines. Movies just haven't cared enough to capture it again.
Time Fugitives was so good. The way Cable figured out how to defeat the virus was ingenious.
My favorite episode of the show will always be the last episode of season 1, final decision. The X-Men teaming up with Magneto for the first time, Wolverine taking on all of sentinels solo, Jubilee giving her heartfelt plea to join the fight, and even Xavier flying in with the Blackbird to take out master mold is what made that episode the best season finale of the series.
"Nightcrawler". In fact, any episode that featured Nightcrawler. I hope we see more of him in the new episodes.
I love this x men line up🎉❤😊
That wasn’t cables first appearance. He was in the one about Genosha where he tried to kill the leader.
I would have had. Added cold comfort.The episode where ice man returned and the x men fought x factor we got a fight between brother versus brother cyclops and havok and they didn't even know each other that they were brothers
They better not screw up with the new X-Men '97. You don't touch this unless it's good. If they mess it up , that would be unforgivable.
Based on the trailer, it looks like they’re in good hands.
@darthkurland I certainly hope so, Beau DeMayo the creator just got fired.
@@chesareroach technically, the X-Men were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. But he might have created the TV series.
And today it's really cool to see the series return, although it won't be exactly what it was, but it gives you a bit of nostalgia.
Great picks
Weapon X, Lies and Video Tape
I just found out Cable.. is the son of Gean Grey and Scott Sommers.. mind blown 🤯
Best series ever! I could hardly wait for the next show.
1. Days of Future Past part One 2. Days of Future Past part two 3. Family Ties 4. The Dark Phoenix Saga The Fate of The Phoenix 5. Nightwing 6. The Cure 7. A Rogue's Tale 8. Bloodlines 9. Old Soldiers 10. Night of The Sentinels Part One 11. Night of The Sentinels Part Two 12. Enter Magento 13. Final Decision 14. The Phoenix Saga The Child of Light My Favorite Best episodes of Xmen the animated series I can't wait to see Xmen 97 next week
Can you do a list for the top 10 best episodes of The Spectacular Spider-Man? I know it didn’t last long and ended on a cliffhanger but it was still a great show.
Top 20 Best Marvel Couples / Top 20 Best Marvel Friendships
Season 1 got me wondering when is Beast getting out of prison. FTR, SLAVE ISLAND was the 1st appearance of Cable. Loved FINAL DECISION, seeing the X-Men n Magneto battling Sentinels was dope. The DARK PHOENIX saga got me invested in Mastermind getting pwned for screwing with Jean for her Phoenix power, BIG MISTAKE. I was sad that X-MEN lasted 5 seasons could've gone longer with the ever changing facet of storylines. But then, that's what X-MEN EVOLUTION along with WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN are for.
As I watched this, I was thinking about a memorable ending to an episode where they had to choose who dies to save a life or something like that, and their solution was to all volunteer, which resulted in noone dying as the kill was spread across everyone, the lethality being divided and diminished, allowing everyone to live. Then your last entry showed it. That was awesome.
@King.binge99 give the medal to the video, not to me. The video is what did the awesome thing
This list is a perfect example of the fact that some stories are just better told through graphics, instead of Live action. Live action is limiting in its rush for detail. And somethings are better in watercolor and pencil.
Not mentioning "Obsession" is a crime
0:25 The Sentinels return in X-Men '97
Pretty sure I'm more than satisfied that the OG X-Men animated series executed the Dark Phoenix Saga to the hilt!!! I'd give anything to watch it again.
They’re on Disney + fyi
Disney plus fam. I watch them all the time.