- Pryde of the X-Men (80s): This one-shot X-Men pilot from the 80s is so bad that it becomes good. I hope the gang at Riff Tracks gets the rights to do this one. The animation is handled by Sunbeam (makers of G.I. Joe) and it shows. They recolored several G.I. Joe tanks and even Cobra goons into U.S. soldiers. In a way that is almost prophetic, Wolverine is Australian. The Brotherhood are actually referred to as "terrorists'. Emma Frost shows up in the beginning in a way that is neither explained or relevant to the story in any way. Nightcrawler, not Colossus, behaves in a fashion that borders on child molesting. Juggernaught is a mutant for no reason. Weirdest of all, back in those days religion and related imagery was somewhat taboo on an American kid's show. The animators didn't know this when they started. The results in Kitty's reappearing/disappearing Star of David necklace. After finding out Sunbeam made at least one
Christmas episode, one X-girlfriend of mine (sorry couldn't resist the pun) joked with me that it was: 'Political correctness to the point of antisemitism.'
- Hulk (70s): Between the Bill Bixby Hulk and the Adam West Batman, it is almost no wonder it took Hollywood so long to take comic books seriously. The stories on this show were fairly cliche, the effects were nonexistent and Hulk didn't talk. (The hazards of giving the role to a deaf body builder.) You didn't get the classic "Hulk smash!" This is still, unfortunately, how people see the Hulk. Granted it is still a huge step up from the live action Spider-Man and the horrendously bad made for TV Doctor Strange.
- Avengers: United They Stand (1997): Avengers was the clunkiest of all Marvel Animated series of the 90s. Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye appeared both with Force Works on Iron Man and Avengers with no explanation. Thor sounded differently than he did on his previous (but referred back too) appearances on Fantastic Four. They went almost entirely with a 70s lineup of characters and hit the high notes of the 60s Avengers. Mostly because Iron Man and Captain America were locked up for their own series. Cap's series never materialized. Steve Englehart's website tells an interesting story about that involving World War II, Nazis and the executives at the Fox Kids Network.
- The Hulk (1996); The Hulk show of the 90s was just about perfect. They managed to do classic Hulk in a way that was basically 70s Hulk brought to life. They even went the step of getting some old Marvel writers to come in to tell the stories. The only thing that could have really bumped this one to the real winner category would be to have a few more elements from the then current Peter David run into the series other than the look of Rick Jones. The inclusion of She-Hulk during the second season was fun and it was nice to have the guest stars done in a way that was more than: "Hulk see Stretchy Man" Hulk smash Stretchy Man for next 22 minutes'. Sure, there were plenty of episodes like that, but they usually had another foe involved.
- Fantastic Four (1995): I think of all of Marvel's teams the Fantastic Four is my favorite. I love the interplay between the characters. The 90s animated series was a little on the campy side the first half of the first season but it ended strong. The second season was spectacular; particularly the use of The Inhumans and The Impossible Man. Chuck McCann was almost ideal for Ben Grimm. Beau Weaver as Reed Richards also worked really well. The show loses a few points for not holding on to a voice for Doctor Doom, sometimes changing from one part of the two parter to the next. Also loses some points for getting cancelled before a plot could be resolved. Rumor has it if the series had gotten a third season, they would have brought in (with or without explanation) Franklin Richards.
- X-Men (1992): I recently had the chance to see the first two seasons plus a good chunk of season three on DVD. I can say that it holds up remarkably well. There are a few inconsistencies in the first two or three episodes. Origins and stories changed, some characters didn't get used but the spirit of the comics is there. I, like many of my generation, first discovered the X-Men through this show. Unlike most, I grew to like the comics more because they were more prone to doing stories that focused on characters other than Wolverine and Jubilee. Unlike "Pryde of the X-Men," they didn't throw many characters with speaking roles just to shoe horn them in. They had plenty of small cameos. Look closely in the pilot of X-Force. The Genoshoa episode had members of Alpha Flight and X-Force. The Psi-War has cameos by Rachel Summers and Kitty Pryde without speaking roles. The later seasons even had episodes where they took the focus off the main three (Wolverine, Jubilee and Xavier) and focused on others. Including an episode probably better suited for "Iron Man' or "Avengers' where they adapted the "Who is Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch's Father?"story. The Mojo episodes even proved that Saban and Fox were not afraid to make fun of Saban and Fox.
- Spider-Man (1994): Okay, I'm going to say this now because most of my friends used to kid me about this; I liked Spider-Man: The Animated Series better than X-Men. Spidey was the first Marvel character other than Howard the Duck that I really got into. Sure the animation, like almost anything coming out of Marvel itself, was a little jumpy. Even X-Men had its flaws but Spider-Man did something most of the others did not: they got real actors. From series regulars like Ed Asner as J. Jonah Jameson to an occasional guest voice actor super star Hank Azaria as Ed Brock and Venom. I wish this one would come to DVD in order and in its entirety. Much like X-Men, Spider-Man had its share of super hero guest stars. Spider-Man's were a little more diverse: ranging from Punisher, Morbius, Blade the Vampire Hunter, Daredevil, Iron Man, Captain America, The Fantastic Four and the X-Men. In cases where the guest characters had their own shows they tried to keep the same cast whenever possible. Which in case of X-Men and Avengers coming out of the Fox office was easier than some. They did manage to get Chuck McCann to play The Thing for the Secret Wars episodes, though.
For our final installment next month -
When Continuities Collide . . . |
