Debuting in 1992, X-Men: The Animated Series was a smash hit, with the animated adaptation of Marvel's mutant heroes becoming the introduction point for countless fans. Centering around an iconic roster of heroes including Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean Grey, Jubilee, Storm, Rogue, Gambit and Beast, the show ran for five seasons and adapted numerous major storylines from the original comics -- while still finding ways to create unique entries along the way.
Hot off the announcement of the revival series X-Men '97 coming to Disney+ in 2023, here are the crucial story arcs from X-Men: The Animated Series.
NIGHT OF THE SENTINELS
The two-part series premiere, "Night of the Sentinels" introduced the titular X-Men and helped set the stakes for the rest of the series. A young mutant named Jubilation Lee finds herself taken in by the X-Men after she's targeted by Bolivar Trask and his mutant-hunting Sentinels. Introducing the world of mutants via the audience POV character of Jubilee, the threat of Sentinels would remain the overarching enemy for the entire first season.
In just two episodes, the series established the stakes of the mutants' conflict against prejudice (personified by the apparent death of their teammate Morph at the hands of the Sentinels), set the stage by introducing the Xavier Institute and set up most of the enduring elements of the series.
DAYS OF FUTURE PAST
A loose adaptation of the Chris Claremont and John Byrne story from Uncanny X-Men #141 and #142, "Days of Future Past" focuses largely on Bishop. In a timeline where the Sentinels have taken over the world after a member of the X-Men set off a global conflict by assassinating Senator Robert Kelly, the mercenary Bishop ventures into the past to try and change the future.
Identifying Gambit as the "traitor," the X-Men scramble to prevent Mystique's attack on Kelly and keep ahead enough of Bishop to protect their teammate. Coming late in the first season, X-Men: The Animated Series frequently utilized future timelines later in the series -- including the Season 2 follow-up to this storyline, "Time Fugitives," which pitted Bishop against Cable when the latter's timeline was destroyed by Bishop's intervention into the past.
THE PHOENIX SAGA & THE DARK PHOENIX SAGA
Taking place across a whopping nine episodes of Season 3, X-Men: The Animated Series' adaptations of the Phoenix Saga -- and the subsequent Dark Phoenix Saga -- quickly became fan favorites. "The Phoenix Saga" took place across five episodes at the beginning of Season 3, forcing Jean and the rest of the X-Men on a mission to try and stop the Shi'Ar Emperor D'Ken's plans for the rest of the universe with her newfound cosmic power.
Largely a faithful rendition of the original storyline, Jean's disappearance after the storyline pushed the surviving members of the cast forward in shockingly mature ways for a series targeted at a younger audience. The four-part "Dark Phoenix" storyline from later in the same season took more liberties but continued to explore Jean Grey as a character in a way other storylines failed to.
ONE MAN'S WORTH
"One Man's Worth" is a uniquely dark story for the series. The two-part arc from Season 4 of X-Men: The Animated Series focuses on the fallout of Trevor Fitzroy traveling to 1959 and assassinating Charles Xavier years before he could form the X-Men. Taking place largely in a ruinous world decimated by the resulting Mutant/Sentinel War, Bishop and his sister Shard recruit the Wolverine and Storm of this altered reality -- who have married and become soldiers of Magneto -- to venture into the past to stop Fitzroy.
A mostly original story with a wild alternate universe version of the X-Men fighting armadas of robots, the story became a time-bending highlight of the series -- and even used the time-travel setup to directly depict racism in a frank and straightforward way that speaks to the strength of the series.
BEYOND GOOD & EVIL
Originally intended as the final arc of the series before a fifth season was greenlit, the four-part Season 4 finale of X-Men: The Animated Series was the largest event in the history of the series. Focusing on the long-running villain Apocalypse and his plans to create a perfect new world, his greatest attempt centered on kidnapping the world's greatest psychics so he could use them to throw off the Axis of Time -- which would destroy the universe and allow Apocalypse to rebuild the world in his image.
Working with Bishop, Shard and Cable, the X-Men quickly scrambled to counter Apocalypse and his mission. The stakes for the series were never higher than in this arc, which united heroes from across space and time for the show's biggest (and arguably best) battle.
The Marvel Studios animated series X-Men '97 is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ in 2023.