Welcome to Adventure(s) Time's seventy-first installment, a look at animated heroes of the past. This week, it's the journey of Kitty Pryde... or is it Bishop... maybe Wolverine, to travel back in time to save the future. That's right, we're revisiting the first adaptation ever of Chris Claremont and John Byrne's "Days of Future Past." Then, we'll see how it compares to the original.

Those still new to X-lore had to be in for a shock the morning of March 13, 1993. The latest episode of X-Men debuts, but something's wrong. The show's rather pastel color palette is missing. And in its place, a dark, shadowy look. The opening sequence isn't a fast-paced action scene, or chummy moment between the X-Men at their mansion. No, it's the Statue of Liberty, apparently shedding a tear in the year 2055. Behind her, the bombed out remains of New York.

From there, the audience meets Bishop, a mutant who's quite happy to be hunting his own kind. Opposing him are an older, tired Wolverine and a new crop of X-Men. Bishop is notified by his Sentinel superiors that he's reached his quota, and becomes a target. He aligns with Wolverine and the rebels, and the mutant scientist Forge sends him back in time to circumvent this reality's existence.

Everyone with some familiarity with the X-Men knows this concept. But it had to feel crazy if you're a viewer still discovering this world. The first chapter of the story, written by Julia Lewald, has Bishop arriving in the present day, disoriented. He knows he must stop an assassination in Washington, and a fight with time-travelling mutant-killer Nimrod confirms his story to the X-Men. But who is this assassin? Bishop makes the stunning revelation, right as Gambit and Rogue return from a date. "TRAITOR! Your future ends now!" he growls, taking aim at Gambit.

The second installment, written by Robert N. Skir and Marty Isenberg, opens with the X-Men saving Gambit from Bishop. However, the team isn't entirely convinced of Gambit's innocence, citing his reluctance to truly reveal himself. They debate over who can be trusted, over how anyone can be certain what they're capable of. It's a scene reminiscent of Claremont's writing...even though it never appeared in his comics.

The writers are drawing on the 1990s "X-traitor" plot, which had Bishop trapped in the past, certain Gambit would betray the team one day. (Claremont had departed the titles by then.) Folding these two plots from the comics is pretty clever, taking advantage of Bishop's storyline while still presenting the basics of the "Days" plot.

Following their debate, the team travels to Washington to prevent the assassination of anti-mutant senator Robert Kelly. Mystique, leading the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, turns out to be the true assassin. (Gambit runs into her just as she's taken his form, hoping to frame the X-Men.) Bishop decides he'd rather shoot both Gambits, just to be sure. Rogue declares she's sick of this and destroys Bishop's temporal transceiver, sending him back to the future.

The assassination is prevented, yet Bishop discovers his future is the same. (Or so he thinks, until next season's sequel.) Forge, overlooking the adamantium skeleton of the recently deceased Wolverine, declares another event must be responsible for their bleak reality.

Back in the present, Senator Kelly disappears from his office. Cyclops asks Xavier why he's certain the Brotherhood isn't responsible. Xavier explains that his watch...has been magnetized. That's always been a favorite cliffhanger, leading into what could be the finest episode of the animated series.

But! That's literally a story for another time. Right now, we're going back to 1980. Back to a time when "Days of Future Past" more likely evoked memories of a Moody Blues album.

Uncanny X-Men #141-142 charged up the fanbase only a few months after the Claremont/Byrne team created a similar furor with "The Dark Phoenix Saga." When people speak of Claremont and Byrne (with inker Terry Austin) as the team on X-Men, even decades later, here's a major reason why.

The premise, which has been homaged, retconned, and adapted a thousand times, has a future team of X-Men (joined by Magneto, now in a wheelchair) attempting to reach the past. They hope to do so through Rachel (no last name given at this point), whose powers enable her to send another's mind through time. Kate Pryde volunteers to enter her teenage body on Halloween 1980, the day Senator Kelly is assassinated.

Here's the recap page from #142...

While the 1980 X-Men attempt to stop Kelly's assassination, the 2013 X-Men face their final battle against the Sentinels.

Today, it's impossible to appreciate the basic premise, given how often it's been recycled. That doesn't mean the two-parter is lacking, however.

NEXT PAGE: Days of Future Past's Character Moments Hold Up

The character moments still land today. Such as Kitty Pryde's unease around Nightcrawler, which hurts his feelings.

Soon, Kate Pryde takes over her teenage body. The change is signified by her new attitude towards her fuzzy elf.

A few pages later, Senator Kelly presents his case to the Senate. Notice the first X-Men film uses a similar sequence to introduce this world to the viewer. (While never presenting Kelly with the nuance seen in Claremont's stories.) Also note the brief bit about Storm's reluctance to have Xavier enter her mind. Claremont's fantastic with tiny bits like this.

As for the animated adaptation, more than just the basic concept appears in the original comics. Two Gambits in a faceoff? How about two Nightcrawlers instead? (And more solid character work, as Wolverine resists Storm's leadership.)

There's even a bit where Mystique teases Nightcrawler with a hint about his mother. Animated Rogue has a similar moment, of course. Since Skir and Isenberg are comics fans, I've got to figure they knew what they were doing here.

THE WRAP -UP

CONTINUITY NOTES

Okay, there's a lot of continuity here. In the comics, these issues mark the beginning of time travel and alternate realities as an X-trope. Also, Rachel Summers appears for the first time, along with the first hints that Magneto could be an ally of the X-Men.

The cartoon brings us...a cameo appearance from Havok, during a montage sequence. The Punisher also cameoing as a videogame character. A hint that Gambit has been in prison before, based on his reaction to visiting Beast's cell. Jean Grey participating in the action sequences for the first time. The cartoon's revelation that Mystique is Rogue's foster mother. (Old news to comics fans.) Other bits of comics continuity acknowledged include Storm's past with Gambit, and a hint about Jean's "dark" side. Given that we're two years away from Jean going "dark" on the show, this exchange always sticks out.

I LOVE THE '90s

Jubilee's future headstone has her dying in the year 2010. Bishop, meanwhile, explicitly arrives in the 1990s to stop this assassination. Wolverine is also rocking a '90s look, even in the future, with his beard stubble and long duster.

APPROVED BY BROADCAST STANDARDS & PRACTICES

The animated "Days" is literally and figuratively dark. Darker than Saturday Morning TV tended to allow. In fact, censor notes published online show later X-Men episodes weren't even allowed to use the word "assassin." It appears in this two-parter dozens of times!

CREATIVE DIFFERENCES

In the original animated ending of "Days," the final shot of Forge has him examining an android in a glass tank. On subsequent airings, we instead see Wolverine’s adamantium bones in the tank. A subtle way to kill off Wolverine, while avoiding any censor notes.

John Byrne, who plotted the bulk of the original "Days," has expressed his irritation with Claremont's scripting over the years. Claremont's text indicated three classifications exist in the future. M for Mutant. H for Human. And A for Anomalous Human. (A human with the potential to birth a mutant.) Byrne hates this "A" classification, which is not dramatized in his plot.

Byrne's other gripes include having Kitty blurt out Magneto's name in his introductory panel. Byrne intended this as a surprise, allowing the reader to only see the wheelchair and assume it's Xavier. Then, there's the "lesbian incest scene" (as Byrne declares Marvel staffers called it.) He's referring to adult Kitty kissing her younger self as she leaves 1980. Not in the art, but in Claremont's text. Byrne's irritated by Claremont's implication the future wasn't erased. Byrne wanted the X-Men to finally have a clear victory.

MISSING HERE? NUDE WOLVERINE OVERLOOKING NEW YORK.

The adaptation's ability to run with this basic idea, and acknowledge several other bits of X-lore, is pretty impressive. X-editor Bob Harras specifically requested this story be adapted for the show, while Toy Biz was eager to sell Bishop action figures. Swapping out so many characters and plot details could've been a mess, but it holds together incredibly well.

Actually, the idea of Bishop traveling back in time to stop this assassin/traitor is so strong, it snuck into the comics continuity a few times. Official canon has Bishop trapped in the past after pursuing the future fugitive Fitzroy. Some writers, however, ended up referencing his animated origin later on. "Days" has such a solid hook, such potential for unique imagery and big, dramatic character moments, it's likely to never go away. Hardcore fans might eventually grow tired of the endless recycling, but we should never forget its initial impact.

So that’s all for now. If you have any suggestions for the future, just leave a comment or contact me on Twitter. You can also check out some of my fiction writing for free over at Smashwords.