Now that all of Marvel is under the Disney umbrella, Disney + had a great gift to diehard fans on launch day. Nearly every episode of animated X-Men series was available for viewing consumption. Old school fans will dive right into the classic 1992 series that featured the Jim Lee iterations of the characters right from the pages of the comics. While the series was a landmark show for comic book fans, it wasn’t the only time the merry Mutants has their own series.
Over the years, several good X-toons have down the pipe, introducing new characters, storylines, and putting their spin on some classic titles. No matter the series, the X-Men cartoons have always worked to achieve something memorable. Here are the Top 10 Animated X-Men Stories Of All Time.
10 X-Men: The Animated Series - One Man’s Worth
“Age Of Apocalypse” is one of the X-Men’s most popular crossovers. The 1992 cartoon found a way to pull off their own version of the story in “One Man’s Worth, Parts 1 & 2.” Instead of his son David hurtling himself back in time and accidentally murdering Xavier, it’s the Sentinel, Nimrod. In the new timeline, the Avengers are agents of Apocalypse and fight the X-Men. It’s up to Bishop, his sister Shard, Storm, and Logan to head back through time and rewrite history to save Xavier and the world.
9 X-Men: Evolution - Day Of Reckoning
Conspiracies are fueling this X-Men Evolution story. Logan’s been kidnapped by anti-mutant Bolivar Trask. Meanwhile, Xavier, always preaching unity, asks his students to welcome their new teammates to the Brotherhood.
Distraught and angry, Scott leaves and the Mansion is set to Defcon-4. The Sentinels are introduced in this epic two-parter and Magneto does all he can to start a war between the humans and mutantkind.
8 X-Men: Evolution - X23
What’s the only thing worse than a Wolverine? An untamed clone who has only been trained to be a soldier. “X-23” introduces the titular character not just into the show but into the comics in general. She heads after Wolverine with an unbridled vengeance. For everyone that loved Logan, we have this episode to thank for introducing her. In her debut episode, an unknown assassin broke into S.H.I.E.L.D. and stole some files.
7 X-Men: The Animated Series - The Phoenix / Dark Phoenix Saga
To not include these two storylines together would just be plain ridiculous. Not only is the storyline quite possibly the most important X-Story of all time, but it’s also one of Marvel’s biggest and greatest stories of all time. With all due respect to The Last Stand and Dark Phoenix, these two epic five and four-part storylines are the best adaptations of the comic book counterparts and probably always will be.
6 X-Men Anime - Wolverine
Wolverine and Japan have been fairly synonymous since the Chris Claremont and Frank Miller miniseries. In the Marvel Anime series that the company did with Japanese studio, Madhouse, our favorite Canucklehead bolts for the Rising Sun to save his beloved Mariko from Shingen. As a staple of the series and a lot of anime is flashy and the characters don’t always look like fans are accustomed to. If that’s a problem, once you get past that, the show is a top-notch series for most fans’ favorite Mutant.
5 X-Men: The Animated Series - Beyond Good And Evil
Whenever En Sabah Nur, better known as Apocalypse, came to town, there was next to no stopping him. “Beyond Good And Evil” was no different. The mutant god steals Cable’s time device, allowing him to traverse time to go along with his immortality.
Xavier realizes that he and Mr. Sinister are working to scoop up all of the world’s most powerful telepaths, which means he’s a target too. Cable manages to get his hands on the government’s time machine and looks to end Apocalypse once and for all.
4 X-Men Anime - X-Men In Japan
After the Phoenix Force consumed Jean Grey, the X-Men are licking their wounds and mourning their losses. There’s no rest for the weary, however - the team is called to Japan to investigate a series of mutant kidnappings by U-Men, who have been harvesting mutant organs to try and find defenses against mutantkind. If that’s not enough on their plate, they have to deal with Emma Frost and the Inner Circle
3 X-Men: Evolution - The Cauldron
Magneto fills in for Mr. Sinister’s obsession with the Summers brothers in “The Cauldron, Parts 1 & 2.” After he is discovered off the coast of Hawaii, the race is on between the X-Men and the Brotherhood to find Alex.
Magneto’s holding contests to see who is worthy to join him on Asteroid M and those who do are invited to the Cauldron where their powers will be enhanced. The team faces its greatest threat in this episode, which is the power of believing in Magneto’s opposing viewpoint.
2 Wolverine And The X-Men - Wolverine Vs. The Hulk
Like the comics, Wolverine is plastered everywhere. Wolverine And The X-Men put the “best there is” front and center. In “Wolverine Vs. The Hulk,” we get the always fun clash between Logan and the Hulk. Fury arrives to ask Wolverine to help with catching the Green Goliath. But the real menace is actually the Wendigo. It’s a recreation of the Wolverine’s first appearance in Hulk # 181, and once these three got together, no one else was safe. Turning the tables on Fury as well by turning the Hulk loose on him was a nice touch too.
1 X-Men: The Animated Series - Old Soldiers
Digging into Logan’s past is always fun. Since he didn’t know anything about where he has been (at this time), we all get to go down the rabbit hole with him. In “Old Soldiers,” Logan actually has a memory he can recall. He once teamed up with Captain America in World War II, and there are few things cooler than watching Cap and Wolverine kick the tar out of a bunch of Nazis.