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Marvel's X-Men have had a storied history from their initial appearance in the comics through an animated series, and multiple feature films. Though X-Men the Animated series had some of the best story arcs of any other medium. This is by far the best episode of X-Men the Animated Series
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What are we all waiting for
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Invitations? I got invitations right here. Ask any X-Men fan, and they'll largely agree
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that the 90s was the apex of the franchise, thanks in part to X-Men the Animated Series
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The show would become a gateway for countless young fans, but the standout episodes of the series
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would also be one of the finest stories of the original comic, the Dark Phoenix Saga
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With its clever adaptive changes and perfect understanding of the characters, these episodes proved to be the rare comic adaptation
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that manages to both elevate and do justice to the source material
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Looking back on X-Men the animated series, there are certainly aspects that haven't aged as well
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The animation feels stiffer and lackluster, especially when compared to shows like Batman the animated series
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However, where X-Men shined was in its use of long-form serialized storytelling
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Each episode truly felt like you were picking up an issue of a comic book
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As such, when picking a perfect episode of the series, it's impossible to narrow it down to just one
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Initially running from 1992 to 1997, X-Men the animated series almost didn't happen
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Producer Haim Saban used a season of Power Rangers as a bargaining chip to convince Fox to air the series
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refusing to air the next season of Power Rangers if X-Men wasn't given the green light
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Fox didn't believe in it, but the show and its massive toy biz toy line
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rocketed to success. With its multi-part stories and status quo shifting events
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the series captured the thrill of wondering what was going to happen to your favorite characters
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That makes collecting comics such an addicting hobby. Now, this was groundbreaking for its time
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as most kids' cartoons opted for episodic Adventure of the Week storytelling
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where the status quo was reset by the end of each episode. It was this commitment to building upon the stories of these characters, episode after episode
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that allowed the series to masterfully adapt the Chris Claremont and John Byrne epic, The Dark Phoenix Saga
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Early in the series' third season, Jean Grey undertook her transformation into the Phoenix in episodes 3 through 7
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simply titled The Phoenix Saga. I am Phoenix! Not long after this change, the four-part story
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Dark Phoenix, episodes 14 through 17 aired. In this story Jean control over the Phoenix becomes unstable thanks to the manipulations of the villains Mastermind and the White Queen a member of the Inner Circle originally called the Hellfire Club in the comics
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but sanitized for kids' cartoon standards. Due to the Inner Circle's interference
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the Phoenix Force eventually becomes too powerful for Jean to maintain her control and lashes out at the X-Men
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fully emerging as the Dark Phoenix. The Dark Phoenix flies off into space
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destroying an extinct star system and catching the attention of the intergalactic Shi'ar Empire
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The X-Men confront their wayward ally and manage to help her regain control
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only to be abducted by the Shi'ar. The Shi'ar explained the Phoenix must be put to death to avoid a possible extinction event
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The X-Men challenge the Shi'ar Imperial Guard to a trial by combat
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for the life of their friend Jean Grey. Each of these episodes is perfectly paced
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which is impressive considering the behind-the-scenes constraints the writers and animators were under
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This faithfulness to the original story was caused in part by the tight production schedules enforced on the show by parent company Saban
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There was little to no time to make major alterations to the story's plot
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so the writers were forced to cut away some extraneous details, as well as some of Claremont's purple prose, while leaving the majority of the plot intact
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Considering these time challenges, the episodes end up being an impressive feat of writing
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making almost nine issues of a comic book fit into four easily digestible 22-minute acts
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Writers Jan Sternod, Stephen Levy, Larry Parr, and Brooks Watchell keep the plot moving without
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sacrificing any of the standout moments, such as the introduction of the Hellfire Club
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Wolverine's decimation of the Hellfire Goons, or the epic final battle on the blue area of the moon
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Any fans of the original comic will find just about all of their favorite scenes
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from the comic within. The culmination of this story, with each of the X-Men
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willing to put their lives on the line for their friend Jean Grey, perfectly illustrates what makes
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X-Men the Animated Series so special. Through the show's serialized storytelling, the audience has watched this group of misfits
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become a found family. When each of the characters internally share why they're choosing to fight for Jean
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it's impossible not to feel the emotional weight of what these characters are about to experience Comparing these four episodes to the two films that attempted to adapt this story 2006 The X The Last Stand and 2019 X The Dark Phoenix
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only reinforces why these are the best of the series. First, both cinematic attempts to adapt the Dark Phoenix saga
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lacked the depth of characterization for the entire ensemble cast of the X-Men
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Although the animated series had the advantage of multiple years' worth of character development
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the movies only gave the most surface-level explorations of characters like Jean Grey and Cyclops
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making the emotional impact of these films fall flat. These movies also fail to understand that Jean and Cyclops' relationship
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is at the heart of what makes the Dark Phoenix saga work. Don't worry, my darling. I'll stay a while longer
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X-Men The Last Stand not only unceremoniously kills off Cyclops in the first act
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but turns Jean Grey into a living prop, robbing us of any understanding of her internal agency over the course of the story
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Similarly, X-Men Dark Phoenix keeps Cyclops and Jean separated for much of the film's runtime
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and never gives Cyclops or Jean the spotlight long enough for their relationship to feel
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important to the audience. By glossing over the character building of the ensemble to focus on
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the big name characters like Wolverine, the Fox X-Men films are unable to properly adapt the Dark
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Phoenix saga. The animated series succeeds in every area where the film fails. These episodes
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were certainly faithful to the comics, but more importantly, the show takes the time to invest
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the audience in the relationship between Jean Grey and Cyclops. We've watched their commitment
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to one another deepen over the course of the series. Additionally, the show's handling of
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the Dark Phoenix as a concept has a strong allegorical significance. Why do you care about
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this body. I love her. The way Professor X and Cyclops discuss Jean's struggles in the first
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episode feels similar to conversations about terminal illness. The story of the Dark Phoenix
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is massive and intergalactic, but the reason it has become a classic is because of the personal
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stakes. Scott and Jean know they are living on borrowed time, and while the story culminates in
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a battle of the blue area of the moon against alien warriors, it is ultimately a story about
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a person who must confront their mortality and how the people who love her and support her
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in what may be her final days The animated series captures this pathos of this idea beautifully further cementing why it one of the finest arcs of the series For those familiar with the comics these episodes largely follow Claremont and Byrne original story beat for beat
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In fact, it makes changes that, with the benefit of hindsight, probably should have been used in the original comic
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It's a rare adaptation that not only faithfully adapts the source material
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but in some ways, improves upon it. In the original comic series, the Dark Phoenix destroys a solar system filled with sentient beings
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essentially committing a massive cosmic genocide. This storytelling decision ultimately doomed Jean Grey
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as Marvel editor Jim Shooter found the idea of Jean being forgiven for this act
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possessed or not, to be impossible to sell to readers. After some debate on what Jean's fate should be
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Claremont decided the best course would be to kill off Jean in the end
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The animated series avoids this problem by having Jean destroy an uninhabited galaxy
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rather than one populated by aliens. This leads to the other major departure
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from the original source material. Jean Grey lives. When it becomes clear that the tide of the battle
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has turned against the X-Men, Jean allows herself to be disintegrated by a Shi'ar cannon
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This act frees the Phoenix and returns it to a benevolent state
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The Phoenix tells the X-Men that it can resurrect Jean, but only if each of them gives a fraction of their own life force
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They agree without hesitation. Although some may see this as a caput to Claremont's bold choice to kill off one of the founding members of the X-Men
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it's actually an affecting summation of the story's themes. When facing death, we all yearn for a few more moments with our loved ones
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even at great personal costs to ourselves. In the comics, Jean would inevitably be resurrected time and time again
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and her initial death would cause a lot of strange messiness in the personal life of Scott Summers
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such as his marriage to Gene's clone, Madeline Pryor, that made the character deeply unlikable
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The cartoon, by contrast, was able to sidestep these mistakes and keep Gene alive in a fashion that felt both logical
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and functioned as an emotionally satisfying ending to the story. Beyond being the best episodes of X-Men the animated series
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these episodes are an illustration of the way to do comic adaptations right
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Show reverence and faithfulness to the source material, but don't hesitate to look at how the story succeed and fail in the eyes of fans
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and make changes that suit the themes of the story
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