The Marvel Cinematic Universe made the Avengers — a team that had its eras but was hardly ever as popular as the Fantastic Four or the X-Men — into stars. Clint Barton was suddenly just as well known as the Hulk, and despite his movies getting off to a rough start, Thor got his share of the spotlight as the God of Thunder. While the Avengers had a cartoon from 1999 to 2000 — The Avengers: United They Stand — they wouldn’t get their most successful and arguably beloved one, Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, until 2010-2013, right as the MCU was getting off the ground.
Compare this to the X-Men — the X-Men had a variety of popular cartoons through the late ‘90s and into the 2010s. X-Men: The Animated Series had an iconic theme song and utilized the 1990s comics cast to tell stories of the 1980s. X-Men Evolution took what fans loved about the X-Men and adapted it to fit a trend of the time — setting the story in a high school setting. Wolverine and the X-Men centered its story around Wolverine, a character who was very popular at the time, to the chagrin of many modern fans today.
The X-Men have no shortage of heroes, and have hardly a lack of screen time, at least in the cartoon sphere, yet they’re hardly anywhere as well known as the Avengers. Even Sadie Sink, the actress playing Jean Grey in the MCU, needed to look up the character to figure out who she was playing. But now, Jean Grey is known to more than just fans of the comics, and the same will likely be true once X-Men hits theaters in 2028. While X-Men: The Animated Series had its fair share of icons, there are five in particular that deserve to be in the MCU, including one who has never been in live-action.
The MCU has often differed from mainline comics continuity — despite Feige’s claims that the universe takes place on Earth-616 — but whether they choose to retroactively count Wanda and Pietro as kids of Magneto or not, it’d be a wasted opportunity to discount Lorna. Currently, Lorna Dane, who goes by Polaris for superheroics, is the only biological child of Magneto, and there’s plenty of angst to be had on screen for the MCU around that plot. She’s Magneto’s blood, but she’s hardly his favorite.
X-Men: The Animated Series and its follow-up X-Men ‘97 fleshed out Polaris’s role on X-Factor, a team of mutants working alongside the government, who, at their worst, serve as yes-men. Polaris shows a different path for mutants besides the Xavier School while also having a past with Iceman, one of the original five X-Men. While Polaris served as a protagonist in The Gifted TV show, she has yet to have a significant movie appearance.
In terms of characters that the films did dirt while the animated series captured the spirit of, there’s perhaps no better example than Jubilee. For X-Men: The Animated Series, Jubilee played the role of an audience surrogate, with the beginning of the series showing her first interactions with the X-Men and her coming to terms with being a mutant. Jubilee was a ‘90s response to the ‘80s Kitty Pryde and showed there was more than one way to be a young mutant. X-Men ‘97 continued her growth with the team and showed her getting into a relationship with fellow mutant Roberto da Costa.
Jubilee also fills the niche of Wolverine’s sidekick — a role that Anna Paquin’s Rogue partially filled in the first three X-Men films — showing the softer side of Wolverine’s character. If the MCU is set on having Wolverine in the universe — besides what was shown in Deadpool and Wolverine — getting the kid sidekick right would be essential.
Illyana Rasputina, more commonly known as Magik, is the younger sister to fellow X-Men member Colossus. Her tie to her brother has been her main representation in both X-Men: the Animated Series and X-Men ‘97, but given her popularity in both comics and related media, it’d be shocking if the MCU didn’t also adapt her. With rumors around a potential Kitty Pryde casting, it’d be a great fit to also cast somebody for Illyana, Kitty’s canonical best friend.
Played by Anya Taylor Joy, Magik was a highlight of the New Mutants movie, a film that failed on many levels to hit its mark. Magik is simultaneously snarky and mean, while vulnerable and insecure depending on the era. Bringing her into the MCU gives the X-Men not only greater understanding of Colossus and his family but also gives the MCU space to explore Limbo and the other dimensions existing in the Marvel Universe.
In terms of iconic X-Men, regardless of specific media, Nightcrawler has always got to make the list. While he’s technically already making his MCU debut with Avengers: Doomsday, given that Alan Cummings’ reprising his role alongside Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and James Marsden, it’d be a shame if that was it for the character.
During X-Men: the Animated Series, Nightcrawler didn’t have a permanent position with the team, but rather crossed paths with them. Nightcrawler was a monk at a Swiss abbey and managed to call Wolverine’s own preconceived notions about faith and being a mutant into question. After his introduction, he reappeared in “Bloodlines” which revealed the identity of his birth-mother, the X-Men villain Mystique. Despite his popularity, Nightcrawler wouldn’t officially join the X-Men in the cartoon until X-Men ‘97, and his tenure on the team wouldn’t last long due to his death in the show’s second season.
For adapting him into the MCU, it’s important to remember his dualities. X2: X-Men United focused on his faith, making that the only aspect of the character besides how he was ostracized for his physical appearance. A younger Nightcrawler is cast alongside young Jean, young Cyclops, and young Jubilee for the earlier timeline X-Men films, but aside from a few cool fight scenes, he doesn’t get to do much. When a new him is brought into the MCU, it should be both the faithful but also the mischievous swashbuckler.
Despite literally having comics named Dazzler: The Movie and Dazzler: World Tour, this X-Men heroine has never made it to live action. In the comics, Dazzler was introduced during the Dark Phoenix Saga storyline and was the mutant Scott and Jean were sent to track down and try to recruit. Dazzler, however, wasn’t swayed, not wanting to give up her life of performing in favor of joining Xavier’s school. Dazzler’s plot often revolves around her musical act, with her notably struggling to give it up when it becomes too dangerous. Dazzler: The Movie put a target not only on Dazzler’s back but on mutants as a whole, increasing anti-mutant sentiment.
The MCU could take notes from her characterization during the X-Men’s Outback Era by having her be part of the team, or she could be a fun gag for X-Men fans without having to be too involved with the plot. Music, from Dazzler to Lila Cheney’s punk band, plays a bigger role than you’d think for mutants, and it’s important to showcase that in the MCU.
Which X-Men: The Animated Series hero are you going to bat for? Which ones should stay in the cartoon? Let us know in the comments!
