Few locations are as synonymous with the X-Men as the Danger Room. Hidden within the walls of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, the high-tech training facility pushes the team to their limits, preparing them for battles against the Sentinels, Magneto, Apocalypse, and countless other threats.
Throughout 1992’s X-Men: The Animated Series, the Danger Room served as more than just a place to train, it became the backdrop for various action sequences, as well as a place to showcase the X-Men’s abilities. The Danger Room also demonstrated its durability and adaptability, through the use of an array of weapons, robots, and holographic technology.
Here are some of the most notable uses of the Danger Room from the beloved ’90s cartoon. Plus, a little bonus appearance from a mostly forgotten cartoon.
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Night of the Sentinels – Part One
The first time the Danger Room is shown in X-Men: The Animated Series is when Jubilee accidentally enters the Danger Room during a training sequence between Gambit and Wolverine in Night of the Sentinels – Part One. During the scene, Wolverine has the upper hand over Gambit until Jubilee gets in the way.
In this Danger Room sequence it appears Gambit and Wolverine are running a relatively routine training program, but a couple of things are made clear: 1) The Danger Room has an array of combat capabilities, and 2) the room can take a lot of damage. Neither Wolverine nor Gambit hold back on their powers, even blowing apart sections of the room, yet this doesn’t seem to cause anyone any concern, suggesting the Danger Room is more than a little robust.
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Captive Hearts
In Captive Hearts, Storm, Jubilee, Jean Grey, Gambit, and Rogue are undertaking a team building exercise, with Storm acting as leader. During the sequence, the X-Men use their mutant abilities to disable weapons and targeting cameras within the Danger Room – once again demonstrating the fact they can use their powers and the room will survive.
However, while the Danger Room may survive the X-Men, the X-Men may not survive one of their own. When the training program triggers Storm’s claustrophobia, the weather-controlling mutant loses control, putting her teammates in danger… in the Danger Room.
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Till Death Do Us Part – Part One
In Till Death Do Us Part – Part One, the Danger Room’s capabilities are expanded further as Wolverine engages in a simulation which pits him against Cyclops. Only this isn’t the real Cyclops – instead it is robotic replicas of Cyke, which can change size and appearance (at one point one replica transforms into a Cyclops-Sentinel).
During this entire sequence, the environment of the Danger Room takes on the appearance of a sinister temple, rather than the look of a standard combat room. The holographic capabilities of the room are in full effect, changing the backdrop and the adversaries.
However, when the Danger Room is seen later in the same episode, when Beast is engaging in a solo training program (which gets out of hand), it’s back to a normal combat zone. The high-tech holographic backdrop is gone, demonstrating the room’s capabilities to change scenarios with ease.
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X-Ternally Yours
In X-Ternally Yours, the Danger Room’s holographic technology is back and pushed even further when Cyclops takes part in a solo training session which sees him encounter multiple simulated enemies. Amongst the holographic foes are Omega Red, Juggernaut, Mister Sinister, and Apocalypse, as well as a couple of alien creatures.
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The Juggernaut Returns
And in The Juggernaut Returns, Professor Xavier leads an angry rampaging Juggernaut into the Danger Room in an attempt to use the room’s combat arsenal and holographic technology to slow him down. Initially, a woodland program is initiated to disorient the Juggernaut, before multiple robotic Juggernauts appear and attack.
After the Juggernaut makes light work of his robotic replicas, the environment changes again to take on the appearance of a desert. A robotic version of the Hulk then appears, but is once again no match for the Juggernaut.
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Bonus: Danger Room
While the Danger Room featured on a semi-regular basis in X-Men: The Animated Series, one of the best examples of the Danger Room’s capabilities could be seen in the oft-forgotten 1989 animated pilot, Pryde of the X-Men. The X-Men’s training room appeared briefly in this one-off cartoon, and never has it looked more exciting!
During the scene, Professor Xavier is introducing Kitty Pryde to the X-Men, as they train in the Danger Room. In this scenario, the Danger Room takes on the appearance of an Aztec environment, complete with temple.
All six members of the team take on the Danger Room, with Cyclops pitted against a moving Aztec structure, Colossus trapped inside a temple as the walls move in on him, and Dazzler up against a pair of flash eating plants. Meanwhile, Nightcrawler and Wolverine face a moving statue, while Storm takes control of the hostile weather.
X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men was a pilot episode for a show which never happened, so it isn’t part of X-Men: The Animated Series, nor is it connected to the show, but it does offer a fun look at the Danger Room’s imaginative capabilities. Plus, Pryde of the X-Men‘s debut in ’89, just three years before the debut of X-Men: The Animated Series, offers up a great precursor to the Danger Room’s appearance on the ’90s show.
If you get a chance to take a look, you really should.
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