World 1992 cartoon series VS X-Men: Evolution

[Herr Logan]

It's not even close. X-Men 1992 series is far better than Evolution. It is like comparing Batman: TAS to the current series The Batman.

Exactly.

But hey, what do we know? More cartoony character designs and whatever is "newer" is automatically better, of course. Those sell more toys and they're the last thing a person with a short attention span remembers.

 

[Avalanche]

No, newer doesn't automatically make better.

Personally, one of the reasons I prefer Evolution is because it's more grounded. We don't have any of the inter-galactic nonsense. Ridiculous alien creatures and the like. We have characters that could be real, in place of the TAS characters which avoided grounding the characters to the extent it became to difficult to relate to them.

 

[Herr Logan]

I'm personally not a huge fan of the Shi'ar episodes of the real X-Men series, either. However, those were actual stories, and whether or not they took themselves too seriously, at least that show took itself seriously at all.

They only had one character who was consistently childish (we'll let Morph slide, or rather serve as an example that made-for-TV characters like Morph and Spyke are a bad idea), and at least Jubilee was the exception, not the rule like in 'Evolution.' The last thing I wanted to see in place of a real X-Men show was a whole team of Jubilees, with a useless Storm and her idiot nephew thrown in. Wolverine was the only character aside from Xavier that truly acted like himself, and he had authority over Cyclops. That ruins the entire dynamic between those characters, just like it ruins the entire team to have the quintessential leader be a student under other X-Men.

I don't read or watch superpowered fictional characters for their being "grounded." It wasn't until I came to the Superhero Hype that I realized anybody expected hyper-"realistic" stories from superhero fiction. I'm still having trouble believing it.

 

[addismad]

I think each cartoon had their strenghts and weaknesses. Animation of characters and demonstration of powers, music and voice acting i think are much better over any of the 1992 series. Although it did have a kick arse intro.

Animation in TAS was usually slightly off and when powers were used, people would well....glow. I know that they had limitations back then, but i much prefer the magnetic hum and magneto theme from evo to the gold glowing circles to TAS

TAS had some better storylines tying in with the comic and had lots of cool cameos which were always fun to see. I think EVO had a bigger cast and its secondary characters were quite well developed over the run. You may have only seen them little bits at the time but it was quite frequent where TAS episodes they perhaps only got one or two good moments.

I can watch TAS now but cringe at some of the dialogue (storm) and the screams that Jean, Rogue or Xavier use to produce are horrible, whereas Evolution seems a lot more grounded and better overall IMO. Towards the end of season 2, it really picked up and Mystique, Magneto, Rogue, Jean and Cylcops became great characters.

I say EVO wins but TAS is a classic and is what got me interested in X-Men, so something obviously worked with that cartoon, I like them both in their own right

 

[JP]

Although I rather like Evo as a whole, I will say that the first two seasons were a little too cheesey. The first season and a half of Evolution focused on getting to know the characters and who they are and what they do. Because of that, there wasn't any really good story lines, and a lot of it was teenage cheese.

I understand that.

However, once the show got into its own, and knew exactly what it was it was doing with these characters it was amazing. I loved Xaviers relationship with Magneto. Even more so, the mutant relationship with the rest of the world (once they were discovered at the end of season 2).

Rogue and Nightcrawler had a decent relationship, especially when it came to their storyline with Mystique. I also enjoyed Jeans relationship with Xavier. IMO, they were the closest among all the X-Men.


Ascension Part 1 and 2 are probably my all time favorite Evolution episodes, and X-Men episodes in general. I suggest any non-fan watch it.

 

[Abaddon]

I think each cartoon had their strenghts and weaknesses. Animation of characters and demonstration of powers, music and voice acting i think are much better over any of the 1992 series. Although it did have a kick arse intro.

Animation in TAS was usually slightly off and when powers were used, people would well....glow. I know that they had limitations back then, but i much prefer the magnetic hum and magneto theme from evo to the gold glowing circles to TAS

TAS had some better storylines tying in with the comic and had lots of cool cameos which were always fun to see. I think EVO had a bigger cast and its secondary characters were quite well developed over the run. You may have only seen them little bits at the time but it was quite frequent where TAS episodes they perhaps only got one or two good moments.

I can watch TAS now but cringe at some of the dialogue (storm) and the screams that Jean, Rogue or Xavier use to produce are horrible, whereas Evolution seems a lot more grounded and better overall IMO. Towards the end of season 2, it really picked up and Mystique, Magneto, Rogue, Jean and Cylcops became great characters.

I say EVO wins but TAS is a classic and is what got me interested in X-Men, so something obviously worked with that cartoon, I like them both in their own right

I mostly agree,except I think Evo took way too many shortcuts too often when it came to storytelling.And the dialogue had plenty of cheesiness in its own right.

 

[Infinity9999x]

They were, in a sense, X-Men in training. Xavier, Storm, Beast, and Logan were there teachers. But even still, Cyclops was always the leader of the team, and far from a 'snot-nosed teen'.

In fact, the series in itself focused mainly on Scott, Jean and Rogue. But it still took the liberties to focus on all the other characters as well, giving them a significant amount of development. A lot more than TAS ever did.

I think the problem that most people had with Evolution was that it was nothing like the comic books. It was an entirely different universe, much like Ultimate. Characters were different, along with their personalities. Granted, some of these personas didn't work too well, like Nightcrawler, Storm and Beast. But other characters like Rogue, Jean, Mystique, and the rest of the Brotherhood for that matter, were just plain bad ass, and characterized exceptionally well.

Storm had a skateboarding newphew? Wow...that's just weird. I didn't see many episodes of evolution, so I can't really comment on it's quality. One of the only episodes I saw was a Wolverine one, which was okay, but I didn't like the voice too much. I mean it was okay, but one thing I did like about the original cartoon was Wolverine's voice, it's the one I always imagine when reading comics. The only thing I didn't like about Wolverine in the animated series was that it always seemed like he would charge heedlessly into battle and get swatted away, and the yellow costume. (The brown has always been my favorite). It seemed like they were going off the early 70's Wolverine, who basically always charged into battle and got knocked out easily. I would have much preferred the more badass early 80's wolverine.

 

[Herr Logan]

Storm had a skateboarding newphew? Wow...that's just weird. I didn't see many episodes of evolution, so I can't really comment on it's quality. One of the only episodes I saw was a Wolverine one, which was okay, but I didn't like the voice too much. I mean it was okay, but one thing I did like about the original cartoon was Wolverine's voice, it's the one I always imagine when reading comics. The only thing I didn't like about Wolverine in the animated series was that it always seemed like he would charge heedlessly into battle and get swatted away, and the yellow costume. (The brown has always been my favorite). It seemed like they were going off the early 70's Wolverine, who basically always charged into battle and got knocked out easily. I would have much preferred the more badass early 80's wolverine.

Yeah, she had a skateboarding nephew. His name was Spyke, and he basically had the powers of Marrow, but without the pain or constant, involuntary ugliness. He was an embarrassment and I was the most ashamed to watch when he was onscreen. Hell, at least Morph was funny.

One thing I can say for the childish show called 'X-Men: Evolution' is that they portrayed Wolverine correctly for the most part. I don't consider it a plus or a minus that they showed Wolverine more as a mentor type (which he did become in the 80's), but I can say they did well with that.

Too bad he couldn't interact with the other characters properly since most of them were kids, which in particular precluded him from arguing with Scott over leader-type decisions or sparring for beer with Nightcrawler. I realize the latter, and the general trend of those two being good friends, wasn't featured in the earlier Animated Series, either, which I already mentioned was a failing.

 

[JP]

You make good points Herr. I felt that he did have a nice relationship with Kitty, although very subtle. And even Rogue to a certain extent.

But his relationship with characters like Scott and Jean couldn't be showcased due to their young age.

 

[Abaddon]

His relationship with Kitty was only showcased in one epsiode...subtly.

 

[Avalanche]

The last thing I wanted to see in place of a real X-Men show was a whole team of Jubilees, with a useless Storm and her idiot nephew thrown in.

I'll admit Spyke was a holy mess of a character who should have never seen the light of day, but Storm was far from useless. If anything, she was two useful. They had to keep her out of the way because she could take on most battles in place of the rest of the younger, more inexperienced time.

I can recall several episodes in which Storm's power was projected, notably in each of the finales. In the season one finale, she sparred with martial arts expert Mystique and came out on top. For season two, though initially being taken out by a sentinel, she rose and showed off her power in great style. In season three she took on the stone giants almost single handed as the rest of the team fell around her, and in the season four finale she was nothing short of amazing, though she was under the control of Apocalypse who heightened everyone's powers.

Wolverine was the only character aside from Xavier that truly acted like himself, and he had authority over Cyclops. That ruins the entire dynamic between those characters, just like it ruins the entire team to have the quintessential leader be a student under other X-Men.

Maybe early on, but not so much later. I remember in season three, when the X-Men were being hunted, Wolverine wanted to go out and fight, whilst Cyclops didn't want confrontation with the military. Cyclops command had the sway over the rest of the team, not Wolverine's.

 

[TwilightPro101]

X-Men in 92 was true to the comics arcs, whereas Evolution fell into the typical teenage drama cliches and focused more on that then anything. It was blah in the long run.

 

[Herr Logan]

I'll admit Spyke was a holy mess of a character who should have never seen the light of day, but Storm was far from useless. If anything, she was two useful. They had to keep her out of the way because she could take on most battles in place of the rest of the younger, more inexperienced time.

I can recall several episodes in which Storm's power was projected, notably in each of the finales. In the season one finale, she sparred with martial arts expert Mystique and came out on top. For season two, though initially being taken out by a sentinel, she rose and showed off her power in great style. In season three she took on the stone giants almost single handed as the rest of the team fell around her, and in the season four finale she was nothing short of amazing, though she was under the control of Apocalypse who heightened everyone's powers.


Maybe early on, but not so much later. I remember in season three, when the X-Men were being hunted, Wolverine wanted to go out and fight, whilst Cyclops didn't want confrontation with the military. Cyclops command had the sway over the rest of the team, not Wolverine's.

I suppose I stopped watching before Storm did anything useful. I retract that part of my statement.

X-Men in 92 was true to the comics arcs, whereas Evolution fell into the typical teenage drama cliches and focused more on that then anything. It was blah in the long run.

Exactly.

 

[Manic]

Yeah, Evolution focused way too much on the teen drama. Like that episode where Rogue went insane, started manifesting older absorbed powers, and took on the entire X-Men team on her own. Or the episode where they introduced Legion. Or the time we were led to believe Rogue killed Mystique (not revealing Mystique was alive until 7 episodes later)? And dear God, there was nothing BUT teen drama in that two-part episode where Magneto assembled the Alcolytes and disowned the Brotherhood, the Brotherhood had to team up with the X-Men to take on the Alcolytes, the government released the Sentinels for the first time during the Brotherhood/X-Men/Alcolyte battle, and Scarlet Witch killed Magneto (although he was revealed to be alive some episodes later, in typical Magneto fashion.)

 

[Abaddon]

The only teen drama they dealt with was Rogue's crush on Cyclops,and the latters relationship with Jean.



and I didnt care much for the Legion episode.MUch weaker then it should have been.

 

[JP]

The teen drama on Evolution was no different than the drama featured in the books.

Rogue feeling uncomfortable with her powers and not being able to touch anyone. She then developed feeling for the team leader, which she knew she couldn't have because of his feeling for Jean. Although, I like Rogue and Cyclops as a couple a lot more than Scott and Jean. The episode when she joined the X-Men showed the great chemistry that she had with Scott.

The only thing that annoyed me was the Scott/Jean/Duncan nonsense. But then again, Scott and Jean have always had similar drama in the comic books that was just as annoying.

Then there was Nightcrawler and his issues with his outward appearance, and having to go outside in the real world with an image inducer built to hide his mutantcy. Then he fell for that girl, but feared how she would react to knowing that he was a mutant, and that he was blue. But in the end, she didn't even mind (awww ).

 

[Manic]

Yeah, Rogue and Cyclops' chemistry was simply amazing on that show. Just watch the Christmas episode.

 

[JP]

Ah, the christmas episode. I forgot about that.

I really wish they would have explored their relationship a bit more.

 

[Abaddon]

I'd say I preferred Evo Rogue a bit more than TAS Rogue.I love both,but I like the way the evo writers explored her character.And Mystique as well.It was nice seeing her be the no-nonsense power b**ch instead of some Apocalypse lackey.

 

[JP]

Power ***** Mystique owned the Brotherhood, seriously.

 

[Abaddon]

She was badass.Though I wasnt a fan of her changing into animals.

 

[Manic]

Evolution Mystique runs circles around TAS Mystique. TAS Mystique was a major tool; she was almost always working for somebody else. In Evolution, she basically tried to usurp Magneto's power until he gave her the boot. She was running the Brotherhood, posing as the principal of the high school, posing as Professor X and running the X-Men, and posing as a human student to get close to Rogue. God, she basically had every character on that show eating out of the palm of her hand at some point.

 

[JP]

Yeah, I wasn't either.

 

[Abaddon]

Evolution Mystique runs circles around TAS Mystique. TAS Mystique was a major tool; she was almost always working for somebody else. In Evolution, she basically tried to usurp Magneto's power until he gave her the boot. She was running the Brotherhood, posing as the principal of the high school, posing as Professor X and running the X-Men, and posing as a human student to get close to Rogue. God, she basically had every character on that show eating out of the palm of her hand at some point.

And at one point destroying the X-Mansion,nearly killing all of the New Mutants.She played everyone.I think with some better stories,and plot development the show wouldve been excellent.As it is,while Evolution had some great characterizations like Mystique,it also had some horrible renditions(i.e. Omega Red,Magneto,the Brotherhood itself) and some shallow,oversimplified storylines.They shouldve gotten ballsy instead watering things down for the kiddies.

 

[JP]

Well, it was a *kids* show. TAS did it's own share of watering.

*cough*thephoenixsaga*cough*