“Sanctuary, Part 1” was the 48th episode of X-Men: The Animated Series, in which Magneto (played expertly by Dave Hemblen) finally made good on his promise of mutant liberation by creating a home for mutantkind in space, Asteroid M. The episode followed up on many of the Magneto-centric episodes of earlier seasons, and brought in notable new characters from the comics, including Fabian Cortez.
While the X-Men cartoon was known for its Easter eggs and nods to the comics, “Sanctuary” has even more wink-nods to the audience than the average episode, including a few you might have missed on first viewing.
10 It Briefly Explored Lingering Cold War Tensions
Airing just a few years after the Cold War’s end, “Sanctuary” made several subtle allusions to the former US-Soviet conflict. The Russian astronaut kidnapped while disarming an armed satellite, for instance, complained about American pressure for disarmament, suggesting the satellite had been a Cold-War era weapon. Similarly, the Russian and United States delegates in the United Nations scene immediately accused the other’s country of abducting aerospace scientists and equipment worldwide.
The Cold War references make even more sense when one considers that the chief comic story that inspired the episode, “Mutant Genesis,” was published in 1991, even closer to the Cold War’s end.
9 It Was Heavily Inspired By “Mutant Genesis,” “Fatal Attractions” And “When The Tigers Come At Night!”
As is common for animated comic book adaptations, X-Men would often cherry-pick from key storylines in the comics. “Sanctuary” was no different: Magneto also invited the X-Men to join him in space in the stories “Mutant Genesis” (X-Men #1-3) and “Fatal Attractions,” for instance. Several other story elements, such as Magneto gathering nuclear warheads, also came from “Mutant Genesis,” along with Acolytes, Asteroid M’s design, and the robes Magnus wore when dining with the X-Men.
Similarly, Professor X’s romantic past with the Acolyte Amelia Voght borrowed heavily from Uncanny X-Men #309, “When The Tigers Come At Night!”
8 Xavier Never Tried To Control Amelia Voght’s Mind
“Sanctuary” revealed that, like in the comics, Amelia Voght had been Charles Xavier’s nurse shortly after he’d lost his ability to walk, and the two had fallen in love. Yet Amelia’s reasons for leaving Charles differed: in the comics, she felt Xavier’s actions would eventually start a war with Magneto, while the animated Amelia left because she preferred a private life with Charles, rather than training the X-Men.
“Sanctuary’s” biggest change, however, was omitting Xavier’s attempt to get Amelia to stay by briefly controlling her mind… an act he immediately regretted.
7 Robert Kelly's Return Followed A Long Absence
Senator Kelly had been introduced in X-Men’s first season as an anti-mutant politician running for president. After the X-Men rescued him from the Sentinels, however, Kelly’s stance reversed, leading him to pardon Beast upon becoming president.
Kelly became less of a presence on the show after the Season 2 premiere but returned in full force in “Sanctuary,” communicating with Professor X via video chat to discuss how to address Magneto’s actions. Kelly’s no-nonsense, yet respectful relationship with Charles, as well as his openness to letting Xavier meet with Magneto before taking military action, showed how far the president had come as a character.
6 Burner (Byron Calley) Was Recast As An Acolyte
Burner is fairly obscure as far as X-Men characters go, having made only a handful of comic book appearances as a member of Magneto’s second Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Mutant Force and the Resistants. “Sanctuary,” however, found a way to incorporate the character, albeit with a few changes.
Aside from doing away with the name “Burner,” the episode recast Calley as an Acolyte, as well as an old friend of Gambit’s. The changes were likely made to give Gambit a stronger reason to visit Asteroid M, as well as to create ties between Calley and the story’s major villain, Fabian Cortez.
5 Magneto Stole Xavier's Ability To Walk
Though frequently misremembered, the first person who cost Xavier his ability to walk in the comics was the alien Lucifer. The character had not appeared in the animated series, however, which likely was a factor the show’s creators considered when explaining why their Xavier used a hoverchair. Thus when Charles recounted how he met Amelia Voght in “Sanctuary,” he revealed that the person responsible for his inability to walk was instead Magneto.
The change may have inspired how Ultimate X-Men addressed the plot point years later. In that series, Magneto inflicted Xavier with lower-body paralysis by impaling Charles with a metal spear.
4 The Original Five X-Men Cameo
The X-Men cartoon’s pilot made it clear that the team had been in operation for some time. However, it wasn’t clear just how far back the X-Men’s history went, or how similar it was to the comics. Eventually, the show revealed the team also originally consisted of Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Angel, and Iceman, who looked and dressed just as they did in the earliest X-Men issues.
In “Sanctuary,” the original five briefly appeared in a flashback, engaged in a Danger Room training exercise. Interestingly, Jean Grey wore her Jim Lee era costume, rather than her Marvel Girl uniform from the episode “Cold Comfort.”
3 The Acolytes Debut, With A Roster Pulled From Various Storylines
Sanctuary” was stuffed with cameos, as well as some major debuts. In the case of the latter, it was the first time the Acolytes appeared on the show, making their entrance when Genoshan authorities and Sentinels attacked Genoshan mutants.
The membership of the Acolytes doesn’t echo that of any one particular comic: Fabian Cortez, Marco Delgado, and Chrome debuted as Acolytes in “Mutant Genesis,” for instance, but Joanna Cargill, Amelia Voght, and Carmella Unuscione joined in later stories, and Burner to this date has never been an Acolyte in the comics. Their costumes and physical attributes were by and large faithfully adapted, however.
2 Black Panther’s Cameo, As Well As… Doctor Sivana’s?
A surprising non-mutant guest appearance in “Sanctuary” came in the form of Black Panther, who could be seen in both Parts 1 and 2 whenever the X-Men were in Africa. T’Challa’s inclusion was the idea of Larry Houston, who storyboarded the episode and frequently found clever ways to sneak in Marvel heroes without running into legal issues.
An even bigger surprise cameo may have been the DC Universe’s Thaddeus Sivana, who seemingly appeared in a database of individuals headed to Asteroid M. Like T’Challa, Doctor Sivana was likely included as a wink-nod to comics fans. Perhaps Sivana mistook Magneto for his red-clad nemesis, Shazam?
1 Magneto’s Unofficial “Clip Show”
When addressing the delegates of the United Nations, Magneto played several clips of mutants being persecuted. The footage he used, however, should ring more than a few bells to long time fans of the animated series: several scenes were taken directly from past episodes, including from “Night of the Sentinels,” “Slave Island,” “Captive Hearts” and “Till Death Do Us Part.”
While many television series resort to “clip shows” as cost-saving measures, Magneto’s version served the story perfectly, reminding viewers just how much mutantkind had endured during the course of the series. Several characters from those previous episodes also appeared in “Sanctuary” itself.