X-MEN Episode One - October 31, 1992

Merchandising art, used for X-MEN ADVENTURES #1, based on Ty Templeton’s design. Penciled by Steve Lightle.

Night of the Sentinels (Part One)

Written by Mark Edward Edens

Summary: Teenage mutant Jubilee is attacked by a Sentinel robot at her local mall. She’s rescued by Gambit, Rogue, Storm, and Cyclops of the X-Men. Jubilee’s taken to the X-Men’s mansion, but she refuses to stay. The X-Men learn that the Sentinels were created by the Mutant Control Agency. They infiltrate its headquarters and destroy their files on mutants. As they prepare to leave, armed soldiers wait to ambush the team.

Continuity Notes:

· The cast consists largely of the “Blue Team” of X-Men from this era: Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, Gambit, Jubilee, and Storm form the main team. Beast and Jean Grey are treated as “reserve” members, with Professor Xavier still acting as mentor.

· Gambit’s logo makes its debut during the show’s opening title sequence, almost a full year before it appeared in the comics.

· The premise of Sentinels attacking teenage mutants at a mall was possibly inspired by New Mutants #2. Jubilee also encountered the X-Men for the first time in the comics in a mall.
· Bizarrely, the X-Men's Blackbird jet is colored blue. And, for some reason, Jubilee has black hair while Wolverine's is blue.

· Having the X-Men examine the head of a damaged Sentinel was perhaps inspired by a scene in Uncanny X-Men #282 (the design of the dismembered head certainly looks similar to the one Whilce Portacio drew).

· Morph is a team member in the opening two episodes, fulfilling the Thunderbird cannon fodder role. Morph was widely viewed as a new creation for the series, although he’s based on Changeling, a rather obscure X-character from the Silver Age.

· The episode opens with a live broadcast of Sabretooth attacking civilians during a rampage. Cannonball, Domino, and Magneto make cameo appearances during a later news broadcast on mutants. A commercial for a Genoshan resort also appears on television.

“Um, Actually…”:

· Jubilee was pursued by the M-Squad, not the Sentinels, when she first met the X-Men in the Uncanny X-Men #244. She was also presented as a homeless teen in her initial appearance, while this Jubilee has been adopted by a young couple.

· Rogue mentions revealing to her father that she’s a mutant as the team invades the Mutant Control Agency’s headquarters. In the comics, Rogue was an orphan raised by Mystique from a young age.

· Storm’s costume is colored white in the cartoon, as opposed to black. John Byrne has stated that the animators didn’t understand how light reflects in comics and just assumed her costume was supposed to be white. (They asked him to settle a bet at a convention.)

· Jean Grey, for unknown reasons, had to have a different hairstyle in the cartoon. Apparently, the ponytail was chosen by Stan Lee.

"Actiiing!": "Storm...MISTRESS of the elements...commands you to...RELEASE HER!"

Saban Quality: The first two episodes were not ready to air when FOX originally broadcast them as a “special preview.” Numerous animation mistakes had to be corrected in subsequent re-airings. This site has a comprehensive list of all of the corrections.

Creative Differences: The original voice of Storm, Iona Morris, was replaced towards the end of the second season by Alison Sealy-Smith. Sealy-Smith actually went back and redubbed all of the previous episodes, effectively erasing Morris from the role for a while. However, the later reruns often aired the original Iona Morris tracks. Apparently, the DVD version of the first season still has Iona Morris as Storm, with Sealy-Smith picking up at the start of the second season.

Production Note: The closing credits for the first season have CGI models of each character, with a brief description of their powers written underneath. Jubilee’s model only appeared in the two preview airings; after that, her model was covered by the Marvel and Saban logos.

Review: As I’ve said before, this is not Batman: The Animated Series. Marvel didn’t have a million dollars an episode to invest into this show, and the “cheap” Japanese animation studios that animated G. I. Joe and Transformers weren’t cheap at all by the early ‘90s, which meant the bulk of the animation had to be done by AKOM in Korea. AKOM is notorious for mediocre-to-horrific looking action cartoons (although the Simpsons episodes they animate today look fine), so visually the show is starting out at a disadvantage. As stiff as the action can occasionally get, I do have to give the animators credit for sticking so closely to the original comics designs, and for choreographing numerous fight scenes with so many characters. My major disappointment with the animation as a kid was the color scheme; there are way too many pastels in the early episodes of this show. I grew up with the intricate color designs of G. I. Joe and Transformers, and didn’t understand why my beloved X-Men couldn’t receive the same treatment.

So, if Marvel had to settle for pedestrian animation, did they at least compensate with the voice acting? Well…that’s complicated. The voice sessions were recorded in Toronto, meaning that every actor was either Canadian, or an American actor working in Canada at the time. I didn’t notice the numerous Canadian accents as a kid, but in retrospect, they’re hard to miss. Casting in Canada made it easier to find an appropriate Wolverine, though, which is exactly what they found in Cal Dodd. Looking over the rest of the cast, we have a few voices that feel right (Beast and Xavier), some with a bit of personality (Gambit and Rogue), a few exceedingly bland ones (Jubilee and Jean Grey), and two stiffs that never quite get it right (Storm and Cyclops). Some of these guys can genuinely act, and others should’ve spent a few more years in the community theater.

The story follows the basic template of most neophyte X-Men stories. Someone’s out to get her (usually it’s a “her”) because she’s a mutant, and the X-Men volunteer to help. The Sentinels are suitable villains for an opening arc, setting up a sci-fi menace that works for animation, but also grounding the conflict in something resembling reality. Jubilee’s foster-father is concerned about her mutant powers, so he’s done what the television has assured him is the right thing to do -- he’s registered her with the Mutant Registration Program (which is not quite the government, as we soon learn). Little does he know that this will invite a giant robot to invade his home in search of his daughter. What exactly Gyrich and Trask of the Mutant Control Agency want to do with these mutants is unclear, but it’s obvious they’re terrified of the potential harm mutants can cause and are doing what they think is right to keep the public safe.

Throughout the episode, there are a few speeches about what it’s like to be different, the importance of belonging to a family, and the fundamental desire to escape persecution from the majority. All classic themes directly from the comics, and they’re executed quite well. The idea of the X-Men as a slightly dysfunctional family is also acknowledged, as Wolverine and Cyclops openly spar over what should be done about the Sentinels. (Gambit is also so annoyed by Wolverine’s attitude that another fight almost breaks out.) The numerous characters are introduced methodically throughout the episode, giving the audience an opportunity to discover their powers and a bit of their personality in a succession of brief scenes. This is written, obviously, as an introduction simple enough for a child, but there’s enough drama to keep adults interested. The mood of the comics is reflected faultlessly throughout the episode, and the cliffhanger is pretty daring by Saturday morning standards. Not a bad opening for the series at all.

Credit to http://marvel.toonzone.net/xmen/ for the scans and screencaps.