Hit television shows, X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men ‘97 are not only hugely popular, they also contain one of the greatest ensembles of all time. Just think about it, Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, Rogue, Gambit, Beast, Jubilee, Morph, and Jean Grey – it’s a fantastic combination!
The only problem is, when you have a show with such a large ensemble of icons, there’s not a great deal of time to explore each character. And this is especially true when some of the heroes – Wolverine, Cyclops, and Jean – tend to become a key focus.
So, this is where X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men ‘97 would benefit from a collection of spin-off shows. Self-contained cartoon mini-series designed to expand on some of the underserved heroes and villains from the X-universe.
These shows could be set at any point in the timeline – past, present, future, or alternate universe – so all options and parallel worlds could be explored. Just like these…
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Corsair
First up, a character with a great deal of potential, who has been criminally underserved. And that character is Christopher Summers, aka Cyclops’ father, aka Corsair.
The space-fairing outlaw, who first appeared in X-Men: The Animated Series via the Phoenix Saga, hasbarely had any screen time yet could easily become the catalyst for countless stories. Corsair is connected to multiple mutants (Cyclops, Havok, Cable, etc), and as leader of the Starjammers he could easily be at the centre of many space adventures, so this one’s a no-brainer, right?
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The Morlocks
First appearing in the season one episode, Captive Hearts, the sewer-dwelling Morlocks were introduced fairly swiftly into X-Men: The Animated Series yet were never given much to do. Such a shame when you consider the group has a connection to Storm (she became their leader), and the fact the Morlocks are an easily expanded collection of misfits, readily available for writers to develop however they see fit.
Either way, a spin-off series about the Morlocks could work. The show could focus on street-level tales and really dial into the Morlocks experience of being hated and feared by humans.
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Nightcrawler
Moving over to Nightcrawler now, who appeared briefly in X-Men: The Animated Series, before being given more screen time in X-Men ‘97. Yet despite his expanded role, there’s so much more of Nightcrawler to uncover.
The character made his debut in the comics back in 1975, and quickly became a key member of the X-Men, before later becoming a part of Excalibur. His experiences and journeys with both X-teams could provide a wealth of material for an animated mini-series, plus his connection to Mystique (Nightcrawler is Mystique’s son) could form the basis of a whole stack of episodes.
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Bishop
One of the stand-out guest stars of X-Men: The Animated Series was Bishop. The time displaced mutant appeared on a semi-regular basis beginning with the epic two-parter, Days of Future Past, and featured in such stories as Time Fugitives, One Man’s Worth and Beyond Good and Evil, before popping up again in X-Men ‘97.
But let’s imagine Bishop headlining his own spin-off show, which could detail not just his time travelling encounters with the X-Men, but some time-leaping across the wider Marvel Universe – perhaps taking part in some milestone stories of the past (Secret Wars, Atlantis Attacks, etc). This could radically alter the character in interesting ways.
Or alternatively, Bishop could headline a show which takes place entirely within the apocalyptic future of Days of Future Past. This could flesh out details of Bishop’s role in this time period and show how he survived for so long in a world controlled by Sentinels.
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The Hellfire Club
Taking a prominent role in the Dark Phoenix Saga episodes of X-Men: The Animated Series, before making a return in X-Men ‘97, the Hellfire Club (aka the Inner Circle) is yet another group who are underutilised. There are multiple members (Sebastian Shaw, Emma Frost, etc), with plenty of story potential, and many dark secrets, all of which could form the basis of a spin-off show.
And this show could be set in the past, either highlighting how the Hellfire Club formed, or focusing more specifically around the lead up to the Club’s interaction with Jean/Phoenix. Think macabre stories and twisted politics, as well as encounters with plenty of other mutants who want membership but are denied!
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Beast
All of the core X-Men could front their own show, because all of them have enough history and backstory to create endless hours of engaging entertainment, but something feels so right about Beast taking centre stage. Hank McCoy is a loveable character, with a charismatic personality, and this alone makes for an appealing lead in a show.
But it’s not just Beast’s sunny disposition that would work for a solo series, as fans of the comics will tell you time and time again, there’s a lot more going on with McCoy than you might expect. In fact, tap into the darker side of the beast and the story potential suddenly goes through the roof as it becomes clear he’s not just the loveable fuzzball many think he is.
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The Astonishing X-Men
And finally, how about a limited series set in an alternate universe, such as the Age of Apocalypse? This fan-favourite comic book storyline from the ‘90s, inspired by X-Men: The Animated Series, saw Professor Xavier killed in the past, which in turn stopped him from forming the X-Men.
With no X-Men to get in his way, Apocalypse took over the planet. In this nightmarish reality, Magneto leads the X-Men in a world that doesn’t just hate and fear them, but has no bones about eradicating every last mutant.
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