Welcome to the 165th edition of Adventure(s) Time, where we examine beloved animated series and their comics cousins. This week, the most popular X-Men story ever (based on sales numbers, at least) and its animated adaptation. And if you have any suggestions for the future, please let me know on Twitter.
For those not around in 1991, it's difficult to articulate just how thoroughly the X-Men franchise dominated the comic book market. With no television show, movie franchise, or mainstream media press, and only a humble collection of action figures, newly on-sale and not exactly setting the market on fire, it's amazing to consider just how popular the X-Men were solely as a comic book. Even if X-Men #1's release was bolstered by an unsustainable speculator market, a comic with orders reaching eight million copies was an impressive feat that's yet to be replicated.
The Mutant Genesis
1991's X-Men #1 was the culmination of years of work, as the revamped X-Men series launched in 1975 quietly built an audience of devoted fans, moving from a bimonthly to a monthly schedule, inspiring hefty back issue prices, and eventually setting the course for mainstream comics.
Marvel superheroes like Spider-Man who are now household names saw their popularity eclipsed by the era's "mutant books," becoming the dull, placid comics of old. No claws, no beard stubble, no inner monologues hinting at an enigmatic past or expressing angsty unease about your place in society? Sorry, but you're just not cool anymore.
With Uncanny X-Men a consistent top-seller, '90s Marvel made the call to release a monthly spinoff featuring, well, more X-Men. In this case, a "Blue" team of X-Men would headline the new book, while the "Gold" team starred in Uncanny X-Men. The combined 13 mutants (and let's not forget the mutants hanging around, like Jubilee, Forge, and Banshee) were now living together in their original headquarters, and even Professor Xavier had returned from a sabbatical in space to mentor the team.
Intended as a new-reader-friendly introduction to the characters, the debut issue launched during Marvel's "Mutant Genesis" summer 1991 promotion. The opening storyline pitted the X-Men against their original villain, the one-time mutant supremacist Magneto, and his new followers, the Acolytes.
Play The Hits
Ironically, the creator who defined the X-Men in this era was using this opening story arc as his severance pay. Longtime scribe Chris Claremont wrote X-Men #1-3 as his farewell to the team, thanks to creative differences with his editor, who desired a "back to basics" approach to the series. Artist Jim Lee also wanted a chance to do his take on classic stories, and this vision ultimately prevailed. Is there a dramatically satisfying justification for why the grown-up X-Men would abandon their adult lives to move back in with their old teacher looking for a mentor they don't truly need? Nope. But it's the classic X-Men status quo, and fans respond to it.
Jim Lee's status as the industry's top artist emboldened him to help launch Image Comics, a one-time powerhouse competitor to Marvel, only a year after X-Men #1's release. And while the massive success of this era of X-Men comics encouraged a TV network to finally produce an animated adaptation, Marvel wasn't thrilled at the prospect of promoting Jim Lee's specific take on the team so soon after Image's launch. The show's producers were determined to stick with Lee's costume designs and aesthetic, however, and ultimately won the behind-the-scenes debate.
The Best X-Men: TAS Magneto Story?
While X-Men #1-3 might seem like an obvious choice for adaptation, the show was actually in its fourth season before the adaptation of the this story aired. Previous episodes didn't stick to any specific X-Men era for inspiration, so decades-old stories could be referenced in-between episodes, inspired by contemporary issues of the comics, or entirely original plots.
The show's third season featured adaptations of "The Phoenix Saga" and "Dark Phoenix Saga," likely the two most heavily requested storylines from fans. The rest of the season, unfortunately, suffered from episodes delayed by overseas studios, a stretch of reruns, and seemingly random new episodes that didn't address the events of the major Phoenix storylines. Sadly and significantly, after handling the X-Men's chief antagonist so well in the first two years, Season Three wrapped up without a Magneto episode.
The animated series' "Sanctuary" two-parter was reportedly delayed for a year before it aired as a part of the show's fourth season. Ideally, this would've been a fantastic send-off to the previous season, and its late placement in the show's run helped some fans overlook it. "Sanctuary" (the first chapter written by Steven Melching & David McDermott, and the second by Jeff Saylor) follows the basics of the comics storyline nicely. In some cases, it even cleans up some of the messier plot details of the original story.
In "Sanctuary," Magneto has unnerved the United Nations. He acquired an arsenal of Russian missiles and publicly declared that his orbital Asteroid M was now an open sanctuary for all mutants. Chaos erupted during a planned evacuation in the one-time mutant slave state of Genosha, where the Acolytes, a new group of extremist mutants, championed Magneto's cause. Magneto soon learned that their leader, Fabian Cortez, is not his friend, however, when Cortez launched the Russian missiles at Earth and overcharged Magneto's powers to apparently lethal extremes. One of the Acolytes, who happened to be Xavier's ex-girlfriend, discerned the truth about Cortez with Gambit's aid. And even though the X-Men gave him a lovely funeral, a rejuvenated Magneto (healed by Earth's magnetic field) reappeared and saved Earth from the missile strike in the finale.
Approved by Broadcast Standards and Practices
Years after these episodes aired, writer Steven Melching released the original Broadcast Standards and Practices notes for "Sanctuary" to a fan site, along with the producers' rebuttal. The site, "Stephen Melching's Animated Archive," went offline years ago, but thankfully it's been archived.
It's interesting to note the producers' concern that any new female characters "be modestly dressed," and their fear that someone might be offended by a villain named Fabian Cortez. Even referring to Magneto's followers as "Acolytes" was an issue due to its religious connotations. It's also surprising to see that even the potential death of a cosmonaut as a cliffhanger before a commercial break was a concern, even though he was rescued as soon as the next act began. Perhaps most surprising was BS&P's objection to the term "assassin," though, given how often that word was used in the first season's "Days of Future Past" two-parter.
To be fair to Fox's BS&P department, the network was under heavy scrutiny following the success of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, which allegedly inspired a generation of impressionable kids to become violent karate maniacs. Earlier episodes, pre-Power Rangers, didn't face these strict restrictions.
Bucking Tradition
There's a reason why fans still hold X-Men: The Animated Series in such esteem, even though other X-Men shows with higher budgets and more impressive animation exist. The commitment to getting the characters right, and the consistent homages to the original Marvel canon, make the show a genuine tribute to the comics' most ridiculously popular era. Taking such a complex mythology, presenting the stories in a way that pleased both diehards and laypeople and dancing around the BS&P notes could've created a train wreck. Instead, even episodes from deep in the show's run are usually solid.
The image of Magneto sacrificing his life (as much as the censors would allow) to save both humans and mutants from Cortez's missile strike is one of the best uses of the character in any medium. So much of the character's growth is summed up at that moment. The road hasn't been easy, but the influence of his old friend Charles Xavier has inspired the Mutant Master of Magnetism to move past his own grievances, regardless of how justified they might be, and make amends for a situation he partially created.
Contrasting Magneto with Cortez is also clever. Cortez is exactly what the public assumes Magneto to be: irrational, bigoted, and bloodthirsty. He lacks any of the traits that would entice someone to follow Magneto, however, and it's a satisfying payoff when Magneto executes his revenge in the closing moments. Adding a tease at the very end, having Apocalypse and Deathbird rescue Cortez from the collapsing Asteroid M, is a nice reminder of the earlier seasons' ongoing mysteries and subplots.
A traditional Saturday morning antagonist is there to twirl his mustache and concoct another ridiculous scheme for the latest episode. Just to make sure none of the younger viewers find him too scary, he should go off on comical rants and always face some humiliation as his scheme fizzles out. X-Men: The Animated Series never cheated its audience by creating a traditional "cartoon villain," though. Aided by the dignified work of voice actor David Hemblen, this incarnation of Magneto defined the character for a generation of fans.