X-Men: The Animated Series Almost Didn't Survive Past Season 1

Summary

Despite its success,X-Men: The Animated Seriesalmost found itself ending after its very first season. Decades afterX-Men: The Animated Series’ending-and withthe release ofX-Men ‘97season 1years later - the five-season long show is secure in its legacy as one of the best animated superhero adaptations of all time, and one of the best X-Men series as well. In many ways, this is a reputation only bolstered by the prestigious reputation of its successor series, especially since theX-Men ‘97cast of charactersbrought back so many familiar faces.

However, things didn’t always look this way for the series, as events took complicated looking turns at several points during the process of it being created, despite the Marvel installment’s immense legacy now. Indeed, in the early days ofX-Men: The Animated Series’ run, it seemed as though the show would run for a substantial amount less time than it would go on to continue for, as it almost ended entirely after only its initial season.

Split image of Magneto wearing a collar and Storm with glowing eyes in X-Men ‘97

X-Men ‘97 Season 2: Characters, Story & Everything We Know

X-Men ‘97 Season 1 is now available on Disney Plus, and here is everything we know about Season 2’s characters, story details, and more.

X-Men: The Animated Series Season 1 Was Originally The Show’s Only Season

Prior toX-Men: The Animated Series’ considerable success upon release, there was a lack of understanding and belief in how the series and its storylines could engage with audiences across many networks, which had led the show to struggle to get picked up. Not only were superheroes in general considered risky for adaptations, but the X-Men and their larger character roster also suggested a bigger risk via introducing too many figures at once.

As such, whenX-Men: The Animated Serieseventually was approved, it was not for the five season run that eventually ended up being reality, but for one lone season. However, this did give the show the opportunity to prove itself, leading to a sequel season.

X-Men ‘97’s Professor X using his powers and Cable controlled by Mr Sinister

InAssembled: The Making Of X-Men ’97, Eric and Julia Lewald explain that, sincethe initialX-Men: The Animated Seriesteam was originally only hired for one 13 episode season, they were all let go after it, and hired again after the season aired and proved decidedly popular. This did present some issues, as some creatives had already signed up for other projects, but saw many of the main figures involved in the show return for the second season onwards.

10 Best Quotes From X-Men ‘97 Season 1

X-Men ’97 season 1 has proven itself to be as iconic as the classic X-Men: TAS, proffering a swathe of celebrated scenes and perfect quotations.

X-Men: The Animated Series Was Almost Never Made

WhileX-Men: The Animated Seriesalmost running for only one season seems surreal now, the fact it almost had no seasons seems even more bizarre. But this is in fact the case, asAssembled: The Making Of X-Men ’97also seesX-Men: The Animated Seriescreators the Lewalds and Avi Arad discuss how close the series came to never making it to fruition.

Arad explores this idea by stating that the show was pitched “during the eighties” but that “nobody in Hollywood thought it would be successful”. This is why the series first aired much later in 1992, after a considerable period of trying to get it off the ground in the first place.X-Men: The Animated Seriesseason 1 gave the show and its crew a chance to prove its worth, but this simply wouldn’t have been possible had it not been picked up in the first place, underlining just how fraught the early days were in spite of Stan Lee’s own belief in the animated Marvel show’s potential.

X-Men The Animated Series TV Poster

X-Men: The Animated Series’ Initial Struggles Make X-Men ‘97 Even More Impressive

When watchingX-Men ‘97and looking at its deservedly phenomenal reviews, it seems as though it was always destined to be a part of the Marvel landscape afterX-Men: The Animated Series’ ending, and that it was always par for the course that things would unfold as they did. However, it’s clear looking back that things were far less concrete than they may appear now in hindsight, and that the original show came very close to not being fully realized at several points.

All of this makesX-Men ‘97all the more special, as its smash success is not the result of inevitability, but rather the consistent and devoted work of those involved with both the new and old series. Without its committed cast dedicating themselves to their roles, dedicated animators working tirelessly to make visuals that would capture audiences hearts, and figures able to convince executives to giveX-Men: The Animated Seriesat least one chance, hours of iconic Marvel scenes would have never been able to actually take place.