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X-Men: Evolution is an animated series containing the original cast of X-Men, mostly depicted as teenagers and some as adults. The series ran for a total of four season (51 episodes) on the WB network. The story is set in an alternate Marvel Universe, in which mutants are the only form of super-powered heroes.
X-Men: Evolution won the award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing - Live Action and Animation at the 30th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, on May 16 2003.
The various teams
The X-Men team
- Wolverine, voiced by Scott McNeil
- Storm, voiced by Kirsten Williamson
- Nightcrawler, voiced by Brad Swaile
- Shadowcat, voiced by Maggie O'Hara
- Cyclops, voiced by Kirby Morrow
- Jean Grey, voiced by Venus Terzo
- Rogue, voiced by Meghan Black
- Spyke, voiced by Neil Denis
- Beast, voiced by Mike Kopsa, (Joined as a full team member in the second season)
(Young X-Men who joined in season 2)
Magneto's Acolytes
Neutral mutants
Captain America and Nick Fury also make an appearance in the series.
Plot outline
X-Men: Evolution is set in the generic city of Bayville. Contrary to most X-Men continuity, it is not clearly established where the city of Bayville is located, but we are led to believe it may be in the New York area. Furthermore, in the early part of the series (until the end of season 2) most people are unaware of the existence of mutants. It is also important to note that "The Brotherhood" team is not known as "The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants" within the context of this series. They are not a team of terrorists or mutant supremicists, instead, The Brotherhood is made up of misfit mutants who often oppose the X-Men.
Most of the first season is spent introducing the characters. During this time the X-Men recruit Rogue, who at first is frightened and then angry at the X-Men, slowly earning her trust over the course of several episodes. Although it is immediately clear to most fans of X-Men that the mysterious leader of Mystique's team is Magneto, this information is not explicitly revealed until the end of the season, in a two-part episode called "The Cauldron".
In the second season, the Xavier Institute took on a number of additional students, sometimes known as "The New Mutants." For the most part, they are fairly minor characters in the series. Bobby Drake, aka Iceman, eventually becomes a full member of the X-Men. Most of the episodes focus on characters developing relationships, loyalty and the importance of team-work. The season concludes with the two-part episode "The Day of Reckoning" in which the X-Men and the Brotherhood join up to fight Magneto's new team, and end up revealing the existence of mutants to the world.
The third season moves the story closer to traditional X-Men continuity, in that many of the stories are about overcoming hatred, intolerance and racism. There is a strong streak of revenge related plotlines in this season as well. The season concludes with the two-part episode "Dark Horizon" in which the powerful mutant Apocalypse is finally freed from captivity.
Season four, for the most part, is rather chaotic. Many fans believe that this is because the creators of the series knew they were likely to be cancelled at the end of the season. Several interesting plotlines are created, but never given the chance to advance. The only real focus to the season is the slow build of power that Apocalpse is working towards. The final episodes in the season (and the series) are called "Ascension" in which Apocalypse kidnaps a number of powerful main characters to serve as his agents in the destruction of humanity.
Comic Book spin-offs
In January 2002, Marvel Comics began publishing a manga-style comic book series partially based on the show. It was abruptly cancelled after the 12th issue. There have been rumours that Marvel will release a mini-series about the adventures of X23, an original character introduced in the later part of the show.
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