Welcome to a special installment of Adventure(s) Time, where we look back at classic animated heroes of the past. This week, we're going to be reviewing an odd element of X-Men: The Animated Series. Only the most diehard of diehards will likely remember these moments. For viewers not there for the original airings, some of these details have practically been lost to time.

It's common knowledge that the original X-Men two-parter suffered numerous animation mistakes when it aired as a sneak-preview in 1992. (The DRG4 fansite has archived the changes made in the reruns.) Also, as covered by Brian Cronin in the past, issues with acting unions and concerns over the initial casting of a white actress led to three different actors voicing Storm.

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X-men Animated Series Wolverine and Storm Alternate Timeline

Iona Morris' work as Storm did air, unlike the original actress' performance. (Who knows if those recordings even exist today?) To avoid royalty payments, a requirement for American union voice actors, producers later cast a Canadian actress.  Alison Sealy-Smith dubbed over Morris' initial recordings and voiced Storm from Season Two until the show's conclusion.

Logan's Rather Subtle Demise

What's interesting is that other alterations occurred during the series' run. Who remembers the two endings to "Days of Future Past" storyline? When originally aired, the final shot of Forge in the future had him examining an android in what appears to be a sensory deprivation tank. On subsequent airings, we instead see Wolverine’s adamantium bones in the tank.

Showrunner Eric Lewald explains the change was made to indicate "that time/history had been affected, and not in a good way." Either there was a miscommunication or the idea came too late, leading to the original version. The official, re-edited version does leave more of an impact, certainly. It also works as a nod to the cover of Uncanny X-Men #142, the inspiration for the episodes.

RELATED: Which Classic Foes Couldn’t Appear on X-Men: The Animated Series – And Why?

uncanny-x-men-142

The very next episode also featured a closing bit that fans loved. As Cyclops and Jean Grey contemplate their future, the audience discovers a mystery man is spying on the couple. Declaring "Sinister knows what your future holds," hardcore fans were thrilled by this tease for the next season. The original voice used for Mr. Sinister in this scene, high-pitched and rather campy, was replaced when the episode re-aired.

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The Shrieky Menace of Mr. Sinister

As explained by director/producer Larry Houston:

We were all ready to move on to other shows when the renewal order for a season two came in, literally during post-production of the very last episode of Season One.

In post, they (FoxKids' Sidney Iwanter and Post Production Scott Thomas) quickly cobbled together a CGI computer overlay, a computer shadow and re-sequenced the ending to imply Mr. Sinister was to be Season Two's villain. Who did the Sinister voice-over, I don't know, and it was never intended to be the real character. It was always intended to be just a temp voice.

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The original ending, I drew it and it had Jean and Scott discussing their engagement and their future with kids, with the ending scene of them, a wide sunset, the two on a blanket, then moving closer to and fading out on the sunset.

Gladiator Arrives

Then, there's the matter of Gladiator. This minor X-character would seem to be an unusual figure to develop such a devoted following. One element of his animated appearance, however, intrigues fandom. In "Phoenix Saga (Part 3): Cry of the Banshee," Gladiator makes quite the debut, punching Juggernaut miles into the skyline.

Later rebroadcasts shocked fans. Gladiator's original voice, like Storm's, was missing. The initial voice actor doesn't seem to have an official credit, but to some fans, this regal performance is legendary. Several online databases cite Richard Epcar as the voice, although his name doesn't appear in the DVD's closing credits of the episode. Some confusion exists over which Gladiator belonged to Epcar. Heck, even the fan who posted what he thought was the original voice on Youtube was informed by several commenters that he'd actually recorded the replacement actor.

When asked about the Gladiator switch, Larry Houston has a simple answer. "Gladiator, like other U.S. voice actors, were dubbed out, so that residual payments could be capped to one big payment."

No Animation Studio is Infallible

Intended as a follow-up to "The Phoenix Saga," animation errors delayed the debut of "No Mutant is an Island" for two years! Even though their work was rather fluid and energetic, the original Chinese studio had issues with the show's style.  Numerous retakes were ordered, creating effectively an alternate version of the episode.  One aired in the United States, another overseas. The DRG4 fansite has also archived these changes.

X-Men Animated Series Juggernaut

How Juggernaut Ruined a Happy Ending

Finally, there's the time the actual ending of an episode was altered by the network.  "Slave Island"'s original airing featured a final scene that only appeared once.  In the initial airing,  the X-Men return from their adventure in Genosha, weary but still victorious.  Tranquil music accompanies their return to Xavier's school, where the Blackbird jet descends for a peaceful conclusion.

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The next episode to air, "The Cure," opened with the team rebuilding the school, following a battle with Juggernaut.  What the heck happened?  "The Unstoppable Juggernaut," the original eighth episode, wasn't ready for air. Not wishing to delay any more episodes, FOX skipped ahead to "The Cure," with a tacked on ending that dropped the intended cliffhanger.

A Youtuber by the name of spooieVAULT has archived both endings. FOX was attempting to lessen confusion amongst kids, but ended up muddying the waters even worse.  Millions of kids had to be questioning just how they'd missed Juggernaut's X-Men debut.

Special thanks to Eric Lewald and Larry Houston for their help this week! If you have any topics you'd like to see covered, just leave a comment or contact me on Twitter.