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.
Series | Season | Episodes | Originally released | Head writer | Director(s) | Network | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First released | Last released | |||||||
The Marvel Super Heroes | 1 | 65 | September 1, 1966 | December 1, 1966 | — | — | Syndication | |
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends | 1 | 13 | September 12, 1981 | December 5, 1981 | — | Don Jurwich | NBC | |
2 | 3 | September 18, 1982 | October 2, 1982 | |||||
3 | 8 | September 17, 1983 | November 5, 1983 | |||||
Pryde of the X-Men | Pilot | September 16, 1989 | Larry Parr | Ray Lee & Stu Rosen | Syndication | |||
The Animated Series | 1 | 13 | October 31, 1992 | March 27, 1993 | Eric Lewald | Larry Houston | Fox Kids | |
2 | 13 | October 23, 1993 | February 19, 1994 | |||||
3 | 19 | July 29, 1994 | October 5, 1996 | |||||
4 | 21 | May 6, 1995 | October 26, 1996 | |||||
5 | 10 | September 7, 1996 | September 20, 1997 | |||||
Evolution | 1 | 13 | November 4, 2000 | May 12, 2001 | Greg Johnson | Various | Kids' WB | |
2 | 17 | September 29, 2001 | May 11, 2002 | |||||
3 | 13 | September 14, 2002 | August 23, 2003 | |||||
4 | 9 | August 30, 2003 | October 25, 2003 | |||||
Wolverine and the X-Men | 1 | 26 | January 23, 2009 | November 29, 2009 | Craig Kyle & Greg Johnson | Nicholas Filippi, Steven E. Gordon, Doug Murphy & Boyd Kirkland | Nicktoons | |
Wolverine (anime) | 1 | 12 | January 7, 2011 | March 25, 2011 | Kengo Kaji | Hiroshi Aoyama | Animax & G4 | |
X-Men (anime) | 1 | 12 | April 1, 2011 | June 24, 2011 | Mitsutaka Hirota & Warren Ellis | Fuminori Kizaki | Animax & G4 | |
X-Men '97 | 1 | 10 [1] | March 20, 2024 [2] | May 22, 2024 [2] | Beau DeMayo [2] | Jake Castorena, Chase Conley and Emi Yonemura [2] | Disney+ | |
2 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA |
The X-Men made their first ever animated appearance on The Marvel Super Heroes TV series in 1966 with Professor X commanding the original X-Men line-up of the Cyclops, the 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.
The X-Men guest-starred in several episodes of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends , which included Iceman, along with Spider-Man and 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", [4] which included appearances from Professor X, Storm, the Angel, Cyclops, Wolverine, and the Juggernaut and cameos by Magneto and a Sentinel.
The X-Men would return the following season in the episode titled "The X-Men Adventure". [4] Making appearances this time were: Professor X, Cyclops, Sprite, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Thunderbird. This episode was meant to be a pilot for an X-Men cartoon that was slated to feature the X-Men characters, plus Lady Lightning (an animated version of Carol Danvers / Ms. Marvel) and Videoman as members. [5] The series was never produced.
In 1989, Marvel Productions produced a half-hour pilot X-Men episode titled X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men . It related the story of Kitty Pryde's first adventure with the team of mutants which included Professor X, Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Dazzler as they fought against Magneto, the White Queen, the Juggernaut, the 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]
In 1992, the Fox network launched an X-Men animated series with the roster of Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, Storm, Beast, Gambit, 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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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 X-Men appeared on Cartoon Network's The Super Hero Squad Show . [13]
As part of a four-series collaboration between the Japanese Madhouse animation house and Marvel, the X-Men starred in a 12 episode anime series that premiered in Japan on Animax and in the United States on G4 in 2011. [14] [15] The series deals with the X-Men coming to Japan to investigate the disappearance of Armor. The antagonists are reported to be the U-Men. [16] [17]
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]
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.
A television pilot produced by Marvel Entertainment after the comic of the same name. It was later aired as a TV film, and featured the characters of Jubilee, Emma Frost, Banshee, M and others.
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.
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 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. [24] The show stars Stephen Moyer, Amy Acker, Sean Teale, Natalie Alyn Lind, Percy Hynes White, Jamie Chung as 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]
The X-Men team roster varies from show to show, though multiple characters are frequently featured.
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 | ||
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 | 1.622 [29] | March 29, 2017 | 0.812 [30] | – | – | – | – |
2 | 11 | April 3, 2018 | 0.669 [31] | June 12, 2018 | 0.315 [32] | – | – | – | – | |
3 | 8 | June 24, 2019 | 0.377 [33] | August 12, 2019 | 0.365 [34] | – | – | – | – | |
The Gifted | 1 | 13 | October 2, 2017 | 4.90 [35] | January 15, 2018 | 3.42 [36] | 2017–18 | 99 | 4.97 [37] | 1.7 [37] |
2 | 16 | September 25, 2018 | 2.58 [38] | February 26, 2019 | 1.61 [39] | 2018–19 | 132 | 3.32 [40] | 1.1 [40] |
Title | Season | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
---|---|---|---|
Legion | 1 | 90% (238 reviews) [41] | 82 (40 reviews) [42] |
2 | 91% (160 reviews) [43] | 85 (10 reviews) [44] | |
3 | 93% (71 reviews) [45] | 72 (6 reviews) [46] | |
The Gifted | 1 | 76% (54 reviews) [47] | 63 (22 reviews) [48] |
2 | 83% (12 reviews) [49] | — |
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by artist/co-writer Jack Kirby and editor/co-writer Stan Lee, the team first appeared in The X-Men #1. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to low sales, following its 1975 revival and subsequent direction under writer Chris Claremont, it became one of the most recognizable and successful franchises of Marvel Comics. They have appeared in numerous books, television shows, Disney's 20th Century Studios X-Men films, and video games. The X-Men title may refer to the superhero team itself, the eponymous comic series, or the broader franchise including various solo titles and team books such as the New Mutants, Excalibur, and X-Force.
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends is a 1981–1983 American animated television series produced by Marvel Productions, considered to be a crossover series connected to the 1981 Spider-Man series. The show stars already-established Marvel Comics characters Spider-Man and Iceman, along with an original character, Firestar. As a trio called the Spider-Friends, they fight against various villains of the Marvel Universe.
Colossus is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum, he first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1.
X-Men: The Animated Series is an animated superhero television series that debuted in the United States on October 31, 1992, on Fox's Fox Kids programming block. It was Marvel Comics' second attempt at an animated X-Men television series after the pilot X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men was not picked up.
X-Men: Evolution is an American animated television series based on the X-Men superhero team appearing in Marvel Comics. The series takes inspiration from the early issues of the source material and follows the X-Men as teenagers rather than adults, as they learn to control their developing mutant powers and face various threats. X-Men: Evolution ran for a total of four seasons comprising 52 episodes from November 4, 2000, to October 25, 2003, on Kids' WB, which made it the third longest-running Marvel Comics animated series at the time, behind Fox Kids' X-Men and Spider-Man. The series was aired on Disney XD from June 15, 2009 to December 30, 2011.
Nightcrawler is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum, he debuted in the comic book Giant-Size X-Men #1. By the time of his creation, there was already another Marvel character with the same name, but with a hyphen (Night-Crawler), which was later changed to Dark-Crawler to avoid confusion.
"Age of Apocalypse" is a 1995 comic book crossover storyline mostly published in the X-Men franchise of books by Marvel Comics. The Age of Apocalypse briefly replaced the universe of Earth-616 and had ramifications in the main Marvel Comics universe when the original timeline was restored. It was later retconned as having occurred in the alternate universe of Earth-295.
X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men is an animated television pilot originally broadcast in 1989 on the Marvel Action Universe television block, featuring Marvel Comics' mutant superheroes of the X-Men. The pilot aired infrequently in syndication and was later released on video. It later served as the basis for Konami's X-Men arcade game.
The Shadow King is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is particularly associated with the X-Men family of comics. His nemesis is the X-Men's leader, Professor X, while he also figures into the backstory of the X-Man Storm. As originally introduced, Farouk was a human mutant from Egypt who used his vast telepathic abilities for evil, taking the alias Shadow King. Later writers established Farouk as only the modern incarnation of an ancient evil entity that has been around since the dawn of humanity, who became one with Farouk when he grew older.
Ultimate X-Men is a superhero comic book series, which was published by Marvel Comics, from 2001 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running X-Men comic book franchise as part of the Ultimate Marvel imprint. The Ultimate X-Men exist alongside other revamped Marvel characters in Ultimate Marvel titles including Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four and The Ultimates.
X-Mansion and Xavier Institute are the common names for a mansion and research institute appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The mansion is depicted as the private estate of Charles Francis Xavier, a character in X-Men comics. It serves as the base of operations and training site of the X-Men. It is also the location of an accredited private school for mutant children, teenagers, and sometimes older aged mutants, the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, formerly the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. The X-Mansion is also the worldwide headquarters of the X-Corporation.
Wolverine and the X-Men is a 2009 American animated series by Marvel Entertainment. It is the fourth of six animated adaptations of the X-Men characters, the other five being Pryde of the X-Men, X-Men: The Animated Series, X-Men: Evolution, an anime adaptation known simply as X-Men and X-Men '97. In the show, Wolverine attempts to reassemble the X-Men and becomes their new leader following a devastating incident that lead to the disappearances of both Jean Grey and Charles Xavier.
This is a list of all media appearances of the Marvel Comics character Cyclops.
The X-Men are a fictional superhero team created by Marvel Comics that appear in comic books and other forms of media.
Marvel Anime is an American-Japanese anthology collection of four anime superhero television series and two direct-to-video films produced in collaboration between Marvel Entertainment, Japanese animation studio Madhouse, and Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan. The four twelve-episode series, based on Iron Man, Wolverine, X-Men, and Blade, aired in Japan on Animax between October 2010 and September 2011. An English-language version aired in North America on G4 between July 2011 and April 2012. Each of the series, guided by writer Warren Ellis, largely features Japan as the setting for the storyline.
Extraordinary X-Men was a comic series from Marvel Comics and the flagship X-Men title under the All-New, All-Different Marvel re-branding. The story takes place following the conclusion of the Secret Wars crossover event. In this comic series, mutants are again faced with possible extinction due to Terrigen Mist which causes exposed mutants to become sterile and possibly suffer from a fatal degenerative disease called "M-Pox". The gas also prevents the activation of the X-Gene. The series ended with #20.