Welcome to another X-themed installment of Adventure(s) Time. This week, we're examining a question fans have asked for years -- why were the Brood limited to a mere cameo appearance in X-Men: The Animated Series?

Debuting on February 5, 1994, the second season episode "Mojovision" is famous amongst diehard viewers for its abundance of cameo appearances. The premise of the X-Men fighting for their lives in a virtual world enabled the animators to go crazy with sneaky guest star appearances. (It's likely the only time you'll see a Skrull and the Punisher appearing in the same X-Men story.)

When The Alien Cockroaches Invaded Saturday Morning

When the script called for the X-Men to confront some nasty aliens, the animators didn't stick in any generic designs. Instead, alien menaces the Brood made their television debut. A short one, but memorable nonetheless.

As the years progressed, X-Men would continue to draw inspiration from the comics. For Season 3, an episode was planned featuring Rogue's reunion with her childhood boyfriend. And, along the way, an encounter with a race of aliens determined to locate the X-Men and use their mutant bodies as hosts for their offspring. It eventually aired on February 10, 1996, entitled "Love in Vain."

Wait A Minute...

Any fan familiar with the comics recognized the villains as the Brood. Not only do they have identical motivations, they even enslave the Acanti space-whale created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum. The sequence of Wolverine's infection is clearly inspired by the same basic event in Uncanny X-Men #162, also. Yet, throughout the episode, the aliens are only referred to as "The Colony." (Or, in official synopses of the show, "The Family." )

And the design clearly does not belong to the Brood.

So, Why The Change?

I reached out to Eric and Julia Lewald (showrunner/writers on the series), who also placed me in contact with Larry Houston, who served as a director/producer throughout the run. They're certainly people who would know. While explaining how this episode came about, Larry explained the Brood's previous appearance. He also revealed the thinking behind their redesign.

You have to remember, we had no confirmation we'd have a pickup of the series from year to year back then, especially year one. Adding the Easter eggs/cameos placement and the amount were strategic for me, because each year of the X-Men was never a guarantee. Each year we knew we thirteen episodes, on average, to work with, so my cameo decisions were based upon only what we knew we had to work with. The redesign of the Brood in their own episode "Love in Vain" was partially due to their previous appearance, yes, and partially the desire by character designers Frank Brunner, Mark Lewis and myself wanting to make them a little more distinctive and a little bit more animator-friendly.

Eric Lewald was also kind enough to inform me of the original title of the episode: "A Time to Brood," fittingly. And, in an even earlier form, simply "The Brood." He even located the original outline for the episode. You can see a portion below.

Then, They Sided With Magneto...

Thanks to Eric Lewald, Julia Lewald, and Larry Houston for their assistance. If you have any fond memories of this show, you should definitely check out Eric's recent retrospective, Previously on X-Men. Finally, even though the traditional Brood designs only appeared for a few seconds on the series, they made an impact. The Japanese animators who recreated the show's opening for that market loved the aliens. Check it outin full, here.

That’s all for now. If you have an animated series with a comics connection you’d like to see covered, great! Just leave a comment or contact me on Twitter.