Fans of the X-Men have been lucky enough to see a few different animated takes on their favorite characters, beginning with the pilot episode of "Pryde of the X-Men" before the hit X-Men: The Animated Series wowed audiences and made lifelong fans of us all.
Of course, following a huge series like that was never going to be easy, so when X-Men: Evolution hit the small screen, it featured a much different take on the X-Men that took the team back to high school. Today we are going to take a closer look at a few of the series' best episodes alongside some of its worst as we revisit Mutant High.
10 BEST: BLIND ALLEY
While the majority of the X-Men and their rivals the Brotherhood were reduced in age to fit the high school premise, a few characters remained unchanged like Mystique, who served as the Brotherhood's secretive leader who also manipulated the X-Men through a series of disguises.
The third season's "Blind Alley" featured Mystique taking revenge on Cyclops by abandoning him without his ruby quartz visor. The episode is one of the best of the series as it focused on the developing relationship between Scott Summers and Jean Grey, and the two would never be the same after working together in this episode.
9 WORST: MIDDLEVERSE
Young Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler was one of the stand-out members of the X-Men: Evolution cast and his struggle as a visually-mutated teen played out in various forms on the series. He even made a few unique friends, including the teenager known as Forge in the first season "Middleverse" episode.
Kurt would find himself trapped in a ghost dimension alongside Forge and the two would attempt to use Kurt's abilities to free themselves from the dimension while learning important lessons. The series was still finding its footing and the X-Men vs the Brotherwood weekly engagements were tiring at this point, and Forge's introduction failed to sizzle.
8 BEST: THE CAULDRON
The entire first season teased the threat of Magneto, whose master plan was revealed in the two-part finale "The Cauldron," which pitted individual members of the X-Men and the Brotherhood against each other to earn their place beside Magneto.
The episodes introduced Scott Summers' brother Alex Masters/Havok into the series while also evolving characters like Sabretooth and Mystique using Magneto's genetic enhancement device. It also featured one of many team-ups between the X-Men and the Brotherhood to deal with a bigger threat, though things would inevitably return to the status quo by the next episode.
7 WORST: ADRIFT
Scott and Alex would spend more time together in the second season episode "Adrift," which saw Alex lost at sea during a vicious storm while Scott is visiting him in Hawaii. The episode follows Scott's attempts to rescue his lost brother while the rest of the mutants at the mansion deal with a snow day.
While we're big fans of the Summers Family and enjoyed seeing the newfound brothers get to know each other, the episode forced a sense of dread that never materialized while filling time in between the season's exploration of new members of the X-Men.
6 BEST: UNDER LOCK AND KEY
The third season episode "Under Lock And Key" brought together a few ongoing plot threads to tease the upcoming threat of Apocalypse, though the episode is one of the best for other reasons, including the further development of the familial relationship between Kurt and Rogue, which is rarely explored in other animated or cinematic adaptations.
As the X-Men in the series is made up of teenage and adult versions of the team, this episode was the first time that the original five X-Men - Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Beast, and Angel - worked together as a squad, as both Angel and Beast were adult characters and Iceman was a New Mutant. Still, seeing the altered version of the original five was a treat for comic fans.
5 WORST: AFRICAN STORM
Storm was another character who maintained her original adult characterization in the series, though it separated her from the rest of the main cast as she took on the role of a teacher while her nephew Evan/Spyke went to school with the rest of the class.
"African Storm" took a look into Storm's past as the mystical Houngan sought her out at the school and attempted to use psychological warfare and creepy mist to take control of the former weather goddess. The episode gave Spyke a chance to stand up for his "Auntie O" but it didn't do much justice to Storm, who had played such a large role in the previous X-Men series.
4 BEST: X-23
One of the most popular new additions to the X-Men's roster in recent years has been Laura Kinney/X-23, the female clone of Wolverine who has appeared in a number of comic titles over the years and even taken over for Logan as the All-New Wolverine.
However, X-23's very first appearance came in the third season episode of the same name that introduced the character, who would soon transfer over to the comics and begin her rise in popularity. The episode itself features X-23 strategically taking out the rest of the X-Men before taking on Wolverine claw to claw.
3 WORST: RETREAT
This may come as a controversial choice as there are some great elements to the second season episode "Retreat," which followed Hank McCoy's introduction and transformation into the blue-haired Beast. The loss of his former life weighed heavily on Beast, so Professor Charles Xavier suggests a field trip with a few students to clear his head.
Unfortunately, Beast runs into a group of hunters who mistake the mutant for Bigfoot and capture him in a cage. The deeper exploration of Beast's transformation is handled well, but the Bigfoot storyline along with the overdone troubled class of students coming together detracted from McCoy's development a bit.
2 BEST: ASCENSION
The fourth season finale featured the X-Men: Evolution team at their finest alongside the Brotherhood and Magneto's Acolytes as they took on their respective leaders, who had been transformed by Apocalypse, who made his first full appearance after merging with Celestial technology.
The full assemblage of the series' heroes and villains managed to defeat the Four Horseman - Xavier, Storm, Mystique, and Magneto - with the assistance of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Sentinels, and the series ended climactically in a final strike against Apocalypse that called for his inevitable return. The series ended with a final tease of the future that further tied the series to the comics.
1 WORST: X-TREME MEASURES
Evan Daniels/Spyke was created for X-Men: Evolution though his powers were similar to a few other characters in the Marvel Universe, including 90's X-Men member Marrow, who was originally a member of the underground mutant community known as the Morlocks.
Spyke's mutant power was dramatically evolved by an energy drink he discovered that was sponsoring a skateboarding competition. His new bone-armor form further connected his character to Marrow and he joined the Morlocks instead of the X-Men, though it at least finally set him on his own path as a hero of the Morlocks.