Animated Wolverine show from the ’90s proves X-Men can never live down the hype, no matter the decade or the timeline

If Wolverine’s journey into the past from a time-tested, dystopian, and apocalyptic future in X-Men: Days of Future Past seemed like déjà vu to some fans, it could be logically explained to those who were invested in the mutant superhero team in the ’90s.

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Wolverine and the X-Men [Credit: Marvel Entertainment]

In simple terms, there once existed a show, namely Wolverine and the X-Men, that highlighted the best version of our mutant allies and in a short time, was tragically subjected to cancelation after only 26 episodes. In retrospect, perhaps it was the short-lived legacy of the series that made it so precious in the people’s minds.

Wolverine Animated Show Deserves Some Belated Love

X-Men’s infamous chronology which has the whole world confused and amazed at the same time did manage to pull off one mind-bending trick other than convoluting its entire timeline beyond repair. Director Steven Gordon stands as a witness to this phenomenon known as Wolverine and the X-Men which, true to its name, stands as a testament to the potential of the clawed mutant.

Wolverine in Wolverine and the X-Men [Credit: Marvel Entertainment]

Steven Gordon later revealed to Inverse on the show’s 15th anniversary:

“Craig [Kyle] and Chris [Yost] were very big fans of the comics. So they were pulling and calling from all of their favorite versions of the X-Men and trying to synthesize it all into one type of storytelling. It definitely felt like it was a deeper understanding of the comics than what we had done on Evolution. I think a lot of fans are probably very happy with Wolverine of the X-Men because of that fact.”

The show, as a result, not only paid homage to Wolverine in all his glory but also explored his saga of domination in the heart of comic book enthusiasts and television adaptations. Despite the glowing recommendations, there still exists a barrier between the audience and the X-Man. And it can all be traced back to the poor execution and timing of the animated show, which was sent too early to the slaughterhouse.

Kevin Feige Helped Immortalize Wolverine and the X-Men

Wolverine and the X-Men (2008) [Credit: Marvel Entertainment]

The production of Marvel’s formative universe has never been one without its hardships. But for a young Kevin Feige, Wolverine and the X-Men might have been an oracle for what’s to come. As revolutionary as the Marvel Cinematic Universe would go on to become, the series was immortalized in its own right for its rocky development phase. According to Steven Gordon:

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“I guess they’d been working on it and developing it for some time, and it wasn’t getting anywhere, and so they fired the whole crew, or virtually the whole crew.”

In the aftermath of the dissolution of the former team, Steven Gordon was united with Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost, the future co-writers of Thor: Ragnarok. The resulting creation was one worthy of being noted in the history books, despite its short-lived glory.

Wolverine and the X-Men survived against all odds to now become one of the rare Marvel shows that shone too bright and died too soon and as such, serves as the perfect product for a timely reboot in MCU’s upcoming mutant saga.

Wolverine and the X-Men is available for streaming on Disney+

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