X-Men in television

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The fictional X-Men created by Marvel Comics have appeared in multiple forms of media besides comics, including on television numerous times, in both live action and animated television programs.

Animated

SeriesSeasonEpisodesOriginally releasedHead writerDirector(s)Network
First releasedLast released
The Marvel Super Heroes165September 1, 1966 (1966-09-01)December 1, 1966 (1966-12-01)Syndication
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends113September 12, 1981 (1981-09-12)December 5, 1981 (1981-12-05)Don JurwichNBC
23September 18, 1982 (1982-09-18)October 2, 1982 (1982-10-02)
38September 17, 1983 (1983-09-17)November 5, 1983 (1983-11-05)
Pryde of the X-MenPilotSeptember 16, 1989 (1989-09-16)Larry ParrRay Lee & Stu RosenSyndication
The Animated Series113October 31, 1992 (1992-10-31)March 27, 1993 (1993-03-27)Eric LewaldLarry HoustonFox Kids
213October 23, 1993 (1993-10-23)February 19, 1994 (1994-02-19)
319July 29, 1994 (1994-07-29)October 5, 1996 (1996-10-05)
421May 6, 1995 (1995-05-06)October 26, 1996 (1996-10-26)
510September 7, 1996 (1996-09-07)September 20, 1997 (1997-09-20)
Evolution113November 4, 2000 (2000-11-04)May 12, 2001 (2001-05-12)Greg JohnsonVariousKids' WB
217September 29, 2001 (2001-09-29)May 11, 2002 (2002-05-11)
313September 14, 2002 (2002-09-14)August 23, 2003 (2003-08-23)
49August 30, 2003 (2003-08-30)October 25, 2003 (2003-10-25)
Nicktoons
G4
G4
X-Men '97110[1]March 20, 2024 (2024-03-20)[2]May 22, 2024 (2024-05-22)[2]Beau DeMayo[2]Jake Castorena, Chase Conley and Emi Yonemura[2]Disney+
2TBATBATBATBA

The Marvel Super Heroes (1966)

The X-Men made their first ever animated appearance on

Beast, Marvel Girl, the Angel, and Iceman. The X-Men appeared in the Sub-Mariner episode "Dr. Doom's Day / The Doomed Allegiance / Tug of Death". Though the episode was adapted from Fantastic Four No. 6 (1962) and Fantastic Four Annual No. 3 (1965), Grantray-Lawrence Animation did not have the rights to the Fantastic Four (their series was produced by Hanna-Barbera), and so instead substituted the X-Men.[3] The X-Men are never referred to in this episode as the X-Men but rather as the Allies for Peace.[4]
The characters kept their original looks and individual names from the comics.

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981–1983)

The X-Men guest-starred in several episodes of

Firestar, as the main characters, starting with a flashback in "The Origin of Iceman".[4] Appearing in this particular episode are Professor X and the five original X-Men: Iceman, the Angel, the Beast, Marvel Girl, and Cyclops. For the continuity of the show, Firestar was also a former member of the X-Men. X-Men member Sunfire
would also pop up on his own in a later episode teaming up with the Amazing Friends, as well as representing a romantic interest for Firestar.

The X-Men's next appearance was in the episode "A Firestar is Born",

Juggernaut and cameos by Magneto and a Sentinel
.

The X-Men would return the following season in the episode titled "The X-Men Adventure".

Videoman as members.[5]
The series was never produced.

Pryde of the X-Men (1989)

In 1989,

Blob, Pyro, and the Toad.[4] The series was never picked up but the single episode aired infrequently in syndication during the Marvel Action Universe series and was released on video in 1990.[3]

In 1991, a

six-player arcade game and a four-player version were based upon the pilot starring Cyclops, Colossus, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Dazzler as the playable characters. Kitty Pryde and Professor X also appear.[6]

X-Men (1992–1997)

In 1992,

Jubilee, Jean Grey, and Professor X with secondary background player Morph making occasional appearances. The two-part pilot episode, "Night of the Sentinels" began a five-season series. It was an extraordinary success and helped to widen the X-Men's popularity.[4] The five seasons ended in 1997. It returned to Fox's line-up for several months after the first movie was released in 2000.[7]

Spider-Man (1995–1997)

The X-Men starred on Spider-Man in episodes "The Mutant Agenda" and "Mutants Revenge", when Spider-Man seeks Professor X's help with his growing mutation disease. Storm would later guest-star in the Secret Wars arc.[4]

Fantastic Four

Cyclops, Jean Grey, Gambit, Wolverine, Storm, and the Juggernaut, along with the Scarlet Spider, made cameos in the Fantastic Four series, in the episode "Nightmare in Green", as the Human Torch flies overhead.[8]

X-Men: Evolution (2000–2003)

In 2000, The WB launched the X-Men: Evolution television series, which portrayed the X-Men as teenagers attending a regular public high school in addition to the Xavier Institute. The series ended in 2003 after its fourth season. The show focused on Cyclops, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Shadowcat, Wolverine, Storm, Beast, Professor x, Spyke (Storm's nephew), in addition to introducing the character Laura Kinney / X-23, who has since become a recurring character in the comics.[4]

Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (2003)

The X-Men and mutant-kind are mentioned in an episode of the short-lived CGI series Spider-Man: The New Animated Series called "The Party". Peter Parker is quoted as saying, "I bet the X-Men get to go to parties". Soon after, he is ambushed by a group of cops, one of them calling him a "mutant freak".[9]

Wolverine and the X-Men (2009)

In 2008, Marvel Studios released a new X-Men animated show that featured Wolverine titled Wolverine and the X-Men. This series used a mesh of 2D/3D animation for characters and backgrounds.[10] Avi Arad, CEO of Marvel Studios, stated "X-Men is one of Marvel's crown jewels and it makes sense to focus on the popular Wolverine character for our second animation project."[11] The series debuted in the United States on January 23, 2009 and in the U.K. in February.[10][12] It also aired in Latin America and Canada. The team consisted of Wolverine, Emma Frost, Cyclops, the Beast, Storm, Shadowcat, Iceman, Rogue, Nightcrawler, the Angel, Jean Grey and Professor X. The show was cancelled just after one season due to financing issues.[4]

The Super Hero Squad Show (2009)

The X-Men appeared on Cartoon Network's The Super Hero Squad Show.[13]

Marvel Anime: X-Men (2011)

As part of a

Armor. The antagonists are reported to be the U-Men.[16][17]

Marvel Anime: Wolverine (2011)

As part of the same four-series collaboration as described above, several characters from the X-Men franchise, including Wolverine and Cyclops, are featured in a 12 episode anime series aired in Japan on Animax and in the United States on G4.[17][14]

X-Men '97 (2024)

On November 12, 2021, Marvel announced a revival of the 1992–1997 animated series titled X-Men '97, set to be released on Disney+ in 2024 and will be produced by Marvel Studios. Beau DeMayo will serve as the head writer and executive producer for the upcoming series with several cast members from the original animated series are set to reprise their roles and will be joined by new cast. Original animated series director Larry Houston, and its showrunners and producers Eric and Julia Lewald are announced as the consultants for the upcoming series.[18][19][20] It is set to premiere on Disney+ on March 20, 2024 and run for 10 episodes.[2] A second season is in development.

Live action

Generation X (1996)

A television pilot produced by

Banshee, M
and others.

Mutant X (2001–2004)

A syndicated show produced under the supervision of Avi Arad and Marvel, but without the license of any mutant or Marvel characters. The show was cancelled in 2004.

Legion (2017–2019)

The show focuses on David Haller, who is diagnosed as schizophrenic. Following an encounter with another patient, he is confronted with the possibility that the voices he hears and the visions he sees might be real.[21]

In October 2015, FX had ordered a pilot titled Legion, with Noah Hawley attached as the showrunner.[21] It was picked up by FX in early 2017 for an eight episodes run.[22] Starring Dan Stevens as Haller, Rachel Keller, Jean Smart, Jemaine Clement, Bill Irwin, Jeremie Harris, and Aubrey Plaza as the Shadow King, the first season aired from February to March 2017. It returned for a second season in 2018.[23]

The Gifted (2017–2019)

The show focuses on a suburban couple whose lives are changed by the discovery that their children possess mutant powers. Forced to go on the run from the government, the family joins up with an underground network of mutants for survival.

Blink, Coby Bell, Emma Dumont as Polaris, Blair Redford as Thunderbird, and Skyler Samuels as the Stepford Cuckoos. It premiered on October 2, 2017 on Fox.[24]

Characters

The X-Men team roster varies from show to show, though multiple characters are frequently featured.

Animated

Character Series
The Marvel Super Heroes (1966) Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981-1983) Pryde of the X-Men (Pilot) X-Men: The Animated Series (1992-1997) X-Men: Evolution (2000-2003) Darktide (Short) (2006) Wolverine and the X-Men (2009)
Wolverine (anime)
(2011)
X-Men (anime)
(2011)
X-Men '97 (2023)
Charles Xavier / Professor X Guest Main None Main None Main TBA
Logan / James Howlett / Wolverine None Guest Main
Scott Summers / Cyclops Guest Main Guest Main
Jean Grey / Marvel Girl / Phoenix Guest None Main Recurring None Guest Main
Ororo Munroe / Storm None Guest Main None Main
Rogue None Main None Recurring None Guest[25] Main
Hank McCoy / Beast Guest None Main None Main
Warner Worthington III / Angel / Archangel
Guest None Recurring Main None Guest[26] TBA
Bobby Drake / Iceman Guest Main None Guest Recurring None Main Main TBA
Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler None Guest Main Recurring Main None Main None Guest[27] TBA
Kitty Pryde / Sprite / Shadowcat None Guest Main None Main None Main None TBA
Piotr Rasputin / Colossus None Guest Main Recurring None Recurring None Guest[28] TBA
Remy LeBeau / Gambit None Main Recurring None Recurring None Main
Jubilation Lee / Jubilee
None Main Recurring None Main
Emma Frost / White Queen None Guest Recurring None Main None Main TBA

Reception

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per season of X-Men in television
Series Season Episodes First aired Last aired TV season Viewership
rank
Avg. viewers
(millions)
Avg. 18–49
rating
Date Viewers
(millions)
Date Viewers
(millions)
Legion 1 8 February 8, 2017 (2017-02-08) 1.622[29] March 29, 2017 (2017-03-29) 0.812[30]
2 11 April 3, 2018 (2018-04-03) 0.669[31] June 12, 2018 (2018-06-12) 0.315[32]
3 8 June 24, 2019 (2019-06-24) 0.377[33] August 12, 2019 (2019-08-12) 0.365[34]
The Gifted 1 13 October 2, 2017 (2017-10-02) 4.90[35] January 15, 2018 (2018-01-15) 3.42[36] 2017–18 99 4.97[37] 1.7[37]
2 16 September 25, 2018 (2018-09-25) 2.58[38] February 26, 2019 (2019-02-26) 1.61[39] 2018–19 132 3.32[40] 1.1[40]

Critical response

Critical response of X-Men television series
TitleSeasonRotten TomatoesMetacritic
Legion190% (238 reviews)[41]82 (40 reviews)[42]
291% (160 reviews)[43]85 (10 reviews)[44]
393% (71 reviews)[45]72 (6 reviews)[46]
The Gifted176% (54 reviews)[47]63 (22 reviews)[48]
283% (12 reviews)[49]

See also

References

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