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Mutant powers, shocking sacrifices, and jaw-dropping battles — the world of animated X-Men is packed with unforgettable moments! Join us as we count down our picks for the most iconic, genre-defining moments across all animated X-Men shows and films! Which animated X-Men moment left the biggest impression on you? Let us know in the comments below!
Transcript
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks from the most iconic, jaw-dropping, and genre-defining moments
00:11to have happened throughout all of the animated shows and films involving Marvel's mutants.
00:15Beware of possible spoilers.
00:17Regardless of your stance on recent world events, the images you are about to see may be disturbing.
00:26Number 20. The Intro. X-Men The Animated Series.
00:30It's a question that's popped into the minds of fans from time to time.
00:33Would X-Men The Animated Series be as legendary as it is without the best animated intro music of all
00:38time?
00:46Probably not. When Ron Wasserman was hired to compose the tune, he knew nothing about X-Men, yet he pressed
00:52ahead, even dealing with loads of notes from higher-ups.
00:55Yet, it only took him two weeks to make it. Granted, he referred to that time as hell.
01:00The engaging character cards, each with their own fonts to showcase heroes' personalities, only made the intro even more iconic.
01:07So much so, that X-Men 97 had to use a revamped version of the intro.
01:19Number 19. The Nearly Series. X-Men Pride of the X-Men.
01:23For many fans, Marvel's mutants came out of the block strong with X-Men The Animated Series.
01:29However, before that show, there was the 1989 pilot, X-Men Pride of the X-Men.
01:34And down there is the danger room itself, where the X-Men train to improve their mutant skills by engaging
01:41in simulated combat.
01:42And it didn't go down well. After all, it featured an unusual roster that lacked some of the big X
01:48-Men, like Gene, Iceman, and Storm, in favor of others like Dazzler.
01:52Then there were the characterization issues, such as Nightcrawler being creepy to Kitty, and the very famous Canadian Wolverine having
01:59an Australian accent.
02:00Welcome her! Wait! She's not joining the X-Men, is she? She's just a kid!
02:06Wolverine! Can't you see the girl is scared?
02:08In fact, the latter could be genius foreshadowing since Hugh Jackman would get the live-action role 11 years later.
02:13Regardless, Marvel learned from their mistakes, and gave us a legendary show shortly after.
02:18Kid got lucky that don't make her an X-Men. Not yet.
02:23Number 18. Wolverine and Hulk go to war. Hulk vs.
02:27What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? Absolute cinema, of course.
02:32Ah, hell. I don't suppose you got any interest in talking this out.
02:38Because Logan made his comic debut in a Hulk comic, when the Green Giant had his own animated feature in
02:432009 with Hulk vs., Wolverine had to be involved.
02:46The first part featured Hulk battling Thor, but the second segment had Logan, who was hunting the big behemoth in
02:52the Canadian Wilderness.
02:53After a brutal back and forth, before we can get a decisive winner, Weapon X interrupts, with Deadpool tagging along.
03:00The villains kidnap the duo, eventually leading to Wolverine and Hulk teaming up to escape and destroy the Weapon X
03:06program.
03:07Talking man hurt Hulk. Hulk rip off talking man's head!
03:15It also includes Hulk ripping out Deathstrike's cybernetic arms, which is intense.
03:20Number 17. Magneto's tragic origin reveal. X-Men The Animated Series.
03:25The X-Men Animated Series episode, Deadly Reunions, gave us the two former friends turned arch-rivals going head-to
03:31-head for the first time.
03:32Charles Xavier and Eric Magnus Lenscher, better known as Magneto.
03:36We have not always been enemies. I will give you a final chance. Never.
03:42Fool! You still dream of peace with those who would destroy all mutants?
03:48After arguing about their opposing ideology, the fight began.
03:51When Magneto went to end Xavier, the psychic powerhouse pulled off a controversial move.
03:56With a thought, Professor X used his powers to bring Magneto's memories of World War II and his experience of
04:02the holocaust to the front of his mind, which seemed a little over the top.
04:05No! No more!
04:08This trauma dumping by Xavier showed us Magneto's tragic history on screen for the first time, explaining a lot about
04:15why he makes the decisions he does.
04:17Number 16. The Buffy Dance. X-Men Evolution.
04:20In the late 90s, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was one of the most popular shows around, especially for youngsters.
04:27As such, the scene with Faith and Buffy dancing after going a little darker in the episode Bad Girls burned
04:33itself into viewers' minds.
04:39Number 16. The Buffy Dance.
04:40Shortly after, X-Men Evolution debuted and released the episode Spike Cam.
04:46With Evan Slash Spike recording his life, he gets Rogue and Kitty to dance on camera to help them practice
04:51for a play.
04:52So, this was the perfect opportunity for the duo to channel their inner Buffy and Faith.
05:00An almost shot-for-shot homage, the animators did a great job of copying the live-action scene.
05:06However, not everyone was a fan, as Sabretooth had to ruin it.
05:09If all that dancing has inspired you to explore the genre more, then we have the perfect place for you
05:13to practice your moves.
05:15The WatchMojo 24-7 livestream.
05:17All you have to do is scan the QR code on screen and boogie over for non-stop pop culture
05:21fun.
05:22Okay! Let's get on with it! Action!
05:25Number 15. Rogue Permanently Absorbs Ms. Marvel's Powers.
05:29X-Men The Animated Series.
05:31Many viewers assumed that unlike other mutants, who had one or two powers, Rogue was an exception with several.
05:37Why is that gal staring at me?
05:41Rogue, what's the matter?
05:43Yet in the episode A Rogue's Tale, a portion of them, including Super Strength and Flight, was explained.
05:49After touching Mystique, the memories Rogue had suppressed flooded out.
05:52She remembered being an adoptive, villainous daughter of the shapeshifter.
05:56At one point, Rogue faced off with Carol Danvers, then known as Ms. Marvel.
06:01With Mystique's encouragement, as she pretended to be Mama, Rogue grabbed Danvers and didn't let go for a long time,
06:07putting the hero into a coma.
06:08While Rogue received some of Danvers' powers permanently, her mind also fractured with the hero's memories.
06:14You stole my powers! You stole my life!
06:19As a result, she needed Xavier to help her control them.
06:23Number 14. Magneto Yanks Out Logan's Adamantium.
06:26X-Men 97.
06:27Back in 1993, comic fans were shocked when Magneto pulled out his move in the Fatal Attraction storyline.
06:34Yet seeing it in all its animated glory is even more astonishing.
06:38During the X-Men 97 three-part episode, Tolerance is Extinction,
06:42Xavier's mutants needed to get Magneto to reverse his magnetic field that had disrupted Earth.
06:47Magneto ain't gonna change his mind just because we say please.
06:50The man just declared war on the whole planet.
06:53His day ends one way.
06:55It doesn't go well, forcing the X-Men to try to remove Eric's helmet so Xavier can take control.
07:00However, during the struggle, Logan uses his claws to injure Magneto.
07:04Filled with fury at the angry Canadian, Magneto uses his powers to strip Wolverine of the Adamantium coating on his
07:10bones.
07:11It's absolutely brutal.
07:13No! Magnus! For the love of God, don't do this!
07:17Number 13. Taking Down Master Mold.
07:20X-Men 97.
07:21When X-Men 97 was reviving a beloved series, it had to go big in its first episode.
07:26And boy, it succeeded.
07:28Mirroring the first episodes of X-Men the Animated Series,
07:31the team took on Bolivar Trask's Sentinels and the Master Mold.
07:34You mutants may be the next step in evolution, but you're still animals, and you need to be put down.
07:41Arriving after epically surviving the Blackbird's destruction, complete with superhero poses, the X-Men get to work.
07:48After a fun battle where each character showcases themselves, the team looks overwhelmed by the number of Sentinels.
07:53Enter Storm.
07:55In majestic fashion, she obliterates them.
07:58Then, only Master Mold remained.
08:00Wolverine charged into battle, joined by Gamut on his back, who kinetically charged Logan's claws.
08:05Morf!
08:06Get me out!
08:11With the aid of others, Wolverine is launched into the air and slices through Master Mold, destroying the machine.
08:17Number 12.
08:18Wolverine's Reaver's Rage.
08:20X-Men The Animated Series.
08:22No list of greatest X-Men animated moments would be complete without Wolverine going on a rampage.
08:27For the first episode of Season 3 of X-Men The Animated Series, the Reavers, led by Deathstrike, attack the
08:33Morlocks.
08:33Perhaps now, after all my work, I shall have the means to exact my revenge.
08:41Wolverine, followed by Gambit and Jubilee, who are apparently the slowest runners on the team, battles the Reavers all by
08:47himself.
08:48He slices and dices his way through the cybernetic villains, defeating them all with relative ease.
08:54Only when Deathstrike arrives, who in this universe was in a relationship with Logan years ago, does it change.
08:59The duo dukes it out, and when Logan gets the upper hand, the Reavers cheat and trap him in a
09:04net.
09:05You should have finished me when you had the chance, Wolverine.
09:10I will not be so merciful.
09:13Number 11.
09:14Finding the U-Men's Experiments.
09:16X-Men.
09:17From 2010 to 2011, Marvel released several anime series that focused on various characters.
09:22One of them was the X-Men, and during this one, it gave us a nightmare-inducing version of the
09:28U-Men.
09:28The U-Men?
09:29Bunch of sickos who get their kicks.
09:31The U-Men are an anti-mutant group, but we have no evidence that they're involved.
09:37While in Japan, the X-Men discovered that the U-Men had been kidnapping mutants.
09:41Then, the villains have been harvesting their organs and grafting them onto themselves, alongside additional body horror experiments.
09:48The X-Men eventually uncover one of the U-Men's bases, and find the disturbing results within.
09:53As a result, one of the kidnapped victims was turned into a monster, needing the heroes to put him down
09:58permanently.
09:59Usually, the X-Men is all about social commentary and action, but this time, we see a much more terrifying
10:05side of their universe.
10:06You shouldn't feel bad. You had to do it.
10:13But, there are still others.
10:17It's not too late to save them. Save them. Please.
10:25Number 10. That Photo. X-Men The Animated Series.
10:29Without this moment, the internet would be missing a boatload of iconic memes, making it very, very important.
10:35In the X-Men The Animated Series episode, Captive Hearts, Wolverine really struggled to contain his love for Gene, and
10:41his jealousy of Scott.
10:43Oh, no!
10:46Gene?
10:49I've... gotta go.
10:52Cyclops is waiting for me.
10:54So am I.
10:55So, he lies on his bed, looking at a framed photo of the couple.
10:59Yet, it then gets disturbing when Logan claws into the image of Cyclops.
11:03Decades after this iconic moment, the Wolverine Crush meme swept over the internet.
11:08Wolverine.
11:09Gene and I wanted to thank you for...
11:13He's gone!
11:15Instead of Logan stroking the photo of Gene, the image was replaced with all sorts of celebrities, products, and media
11:21that people have pined for, including Nicolas Cage and Gabe Newell.
11:24Number 9
11:25Magneto wipes the floor with the X-Men
11:27Wolverine and the X-Men
11:29Following an explosion at the X-Mansion in the first episode of Wolverine and the X-Men, the team got
11:34evidence that Xavier, who'd vanished, was on Dernosha with Magneto.
11:37It's a volatile situation, Logan.
11:40I think it best if we try and make contact with Magneto first.
11:43Believe me, I intend to make contact with him, and it's long overdue.
11:49So, instead of asking the Master of Magnetism about it, the X-Men went powers blazing.
11:54However, the baddie proved why he's such a threat.
11:57After toying with Wolverine and his metal skeleton, he subdued trench coat wearing Cyclops and Iceman, barely breaking a sweat.
12:05Emma Frost briefly had the upper hand, until Magneto used Wolverine as a missile to take out her and Beast.
12:11Considering he was using metal to encase everyone, it was different for Kitty and her phasing ability.
12:15That's not going to work on me!
12:18It doesn't have to, and I suggest you hold on to this.
12:26We're not looking for trouble. We just came for Charles.
12:30Ah, but you did come looking for trouble.
12:33With amazing ingenuity, Magneto removed the floor, forcing her to hold on or fall into the void.
12:39Number 8. Anime Berserker
12:41X-Men
12:42Everyone who knows about Wolverine knows about his Berserker rage.
12:45However, it takes the dramatic power of anime to make it even more ferocious.
12:50In the 2011 series, X-Men, Beast and Logan are trapped by Neuron's tendrils, which amplified their senses and caused
12:57immense pain.
12:58What are you talking about?
13:00Look, we don't have all day here.
13:03I'm cutting this short.
13:05You want full throttle, you got it, pal.
13:07To combat that, Logan calls on Hank to hit him, over and over.
13:12Reluctantly, the blue fuzzball does so.
13:14With Neuron firing more tendrils into Wolverine, Logan goes feral.
13:19Not registering any pain, the animalistic side takes over, turning his eyes bright and making his muscles rip through his
13:26uniform.
13:26Just die already!
13:28No!
13:33He's lost in some kind of Berserker rage and now he can't feel the pain anymore.
13:38In vain, Neuron tries to fight back, but it's no good, as Wolverine slashes away, taking his life.
13:44Number 7. Phoenix Beats Sinister
13:47X-Men 97
13:48At the end of Season 1 of X-Men 97, everything looked lost for the gold team, as they were
13:53captured by Bastion and Mr. Sinister.
13:55An example must be made. Cable will stop nothing to undo the one true future.
14:01But he is as blind as his deadbeat dad.
14:03Yet the most shocking was Jean's demise at the hands of a Sinister-controlled Cable.
14:08However, just before her sword of sun met his end, Jean rose as the Phoenix, with Storm laughing happily.
14:14With phenomenal power, Jean subdued Bastion, cutting off his control over the Prime Sentinels.
14:20Yet the best was to come with Sinister.
14:22Jean pulled all the mutant DNA the Victorian villain had co-opted to keep him young,
14:26turning Sinister into a withered shell of what he was.
14:29The final humiliation for Sinister involved Morph showing him his old face, causing him to run away crying.
14:35Looks the same to me.
14:37Number 6. Apocalypse's Four Horsemen
14:40X-Men Evolution
14:41Often, when making his Horsemen, Apocalypse takes characters that aren't too powerful,
14:47and turns them into something much, much more.
14:50Just look at a feathery-winged angel becoming a sharp-winged archangel.
14:53Yet, in X-Men Evolution, Apocalypse made a different choice.
14:57I have planned nothing.
15:00I am but an instrument of destiny.
15:02As part of the Ascension storyline, N-Saba-Noor planned to turn all of humanity into mutants,
15:08regardless of whether they survived the transformation.
15:10When the X-Men watched S.H.I.E.L.D. operated Sentinel's attempt to disrupt his plan,
15:14Apocalypse called forth his Horsemen, formed of Xavier, Storm, Magneto, and Mystique,
15:20who were all believed to have perished.
15:22Except Mystique, the others have all been considered Omega-level mutants,
15:26some of the most powerful in the world, making this Horseman lineup insanely OP.
15:33Number 5, Emma's Sacrifice, Wolverine and the X-Men
15:37One of the biggest mysteries of Wolverine and the X-Men was who caused the X-Mansion to explode.
15:42Yet, the cause turned out to be Jean,
15:44who reacted with her Phoenix powers when Emma and her steward Cuckoos psychically attacked.
15:48Jean, what's wrong?
15:51Your girlfriend sensed the psychic attack and tried to save you all.
16:04Emma's miscalculation cost us the Phoenix.
16:07Emma was a double agent working for the Inner Circle,
16:09which she believed had planned to release the Phoenix entity into the atmosphere to save Earth.
16:14However, the group instead put the Phoenix into the Cuckoos
16:17and sought to use them to destroy their enemies.
16:20Emma made up for her deception towards the X-Men.
16:22When the Phoenix was about to destroy Jean and Scott,
16:25Emma saved them by absorbing the entity,
16:27causing her to shatter into diamond fragments as the Phoenix exploded into the atmosphere.
16:32Scott, you killed me.
16:35Number 4, Apocalypse Murders Magneto, X-Men 97
16:38During Season 2 of X-Men 97,
16:41the team stuck in the past was trying everything to stop Ensaba Noor from becoming Apocalypse,
16:46yet he still became the Mutant Menace.
16:48Now who is the god and who is the insect?
16:54While most of the team escaped to the future,
16:56Xavier and Magneto fought with Apocalypse,
16:59yet his rage led him to create a black hole to destroy Pharaoh City.
17:02Magneto, making the sacrifice,
17:05sent Charles away and sought to stop Apocalypse and save thousands of lives.
17:09While he did, Eric's broken body was fired near Charles,
17:12and then, the doom of Apocalypse arrived.
17:15With Xavier unable to stop the villain,
17:17Apocalypse murders Magneto in front of his friend.
17:20The final insult was him deeming Xavier too weak to end.
17:23You will always be a monster!
17:28But I will always be.
17:33Alas, only a coward feels mighty when stepping on ants.
17:40Number 3, The X-Men Tackle the Sentinels, X-Men The Animated Series
17:44When X-Men fans think of the team's most infamous villains,
17:48the Sentinels are up there,
17:49and the first two episodes of X-Men The Animated Series,
17:52known as Night of the Sentinels,
17:53did a great job of influencing that.
17:56Did you see what she did?
17:58Yes, Rogue has a way with men.
18:00The mutant hunting clankers immediately showed their destructive side
18:03by destroying buildings,
18:04and not caring about human lives
18:06in their pursuit of destroying the evolutionary next step.
18:09It also gave the X-Men the perfect opportunity
18:11to introduce their characters.
18:13Yet by the second episode,
18:14it gets tragic when the team escapes the Sentinel compound
18:17after destroying their files.
18:18The shape-shifting Morph seemingly gives his life
18:21to save Wolverine from a Sentinel's blast,
18:23showing viewers that the stakes are very high in this show.
18:26What's wrong, Gene?
18:27It's Morph.
18:29Can't you feel it?
18:37Morph?
18:38I don't sense anything.
18:41Number 2, The Dernosha Massacre, X-Men 97
18:44Being an X-Men fan is never smooth.
18:47Whenever it looks like Marvel's mutants
18:48have a taste of something positive,
18:50something terrible is just around the corner.
18:52Everything around us would not have been possible
18:54without the work of the X-Men.
18:57In the X-Men 97 episode, Remember It,
18:59the mutants had a country for themselves,
19:01Dernosha,
19:02which was accepted by the United Nations.
19:04However, during the festivities,
19:06Sentinels and a monstrous Master Mold attacked,
19:09devastating the island
19:10and taking millions of lives.
19:12Magneto, while attempting to save others,
19:15seemingly perished,
19:16as did Madeline Pryor.
19:17Yet the famous body count wasn't over.
19:20When Rogue and Gambit attacked Master Mold,
19:22the robot impaled him.
19:23With his final act,
19:25the Raging Cajun charged the spike,
19:27exploding the machine and saving untold lives.
19:30However, it also cost Gambit his life.
19:32The name's Gambit.
19:33Oh, not me.
19:46Remember it.
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20:00Number 1.
20:01The Phoenix Saga.
20:03X-Men The Animated Series.
20:05Many shows and films since have tried to emulate it,
20:07yet none have succeeded.
20:09Don't try to stop me, Logan.
20:11I wouldn't.
20:12I just wanted to say,
20:13good luck.
20:14Told over multiple episodes of X-Men The Animated Series,
20:17we see Jean sacrifice herself to protect the team.
20:20Yet instead of perishing,
20:21the Phoenix entity bonded to her.
20:23However,
20:24the Phoenix later fell under Mastermind's control
20:26and sided with the Inner Circle.
20:28Yet even after breaking from the group's control,
20:31the Dark Phoenix took over Jean
20:32and destroyed a solar system.
20:34Thankfully,
20:35Jean regained some control.
20:37However,
20:38the Shi'ar saw the threat she still posed.
20:40During a trial by combat,
20:42Jean sacrificed herself to let the Shi'ar destroy her.
20:44Part of me will always be with you.
20:51She's gone!
20:52Yet the Phoenix,
20:53after regaining its senses,
20:55used portions of the X-Men's essences
20:57to restore Jean to life.
20:58If you could give any X-Men member
21:00their own solo animated show,
21:01who would you pick?
21:02Let us know below.