I watched this show religiously as a child. I was a collector of three primary comic series: Amazing Spiderman (not Spectacular or Web Of…), Uncanny X-Men, and Detective Comics. Occasionally, whe forced to read the various crossover events, I would pick up only the most necessary comics in other series so I could follow the story, but Spiderman, X-Men, & Batman (in those exact series) were my bag. And of all of those, I related the most with X-Men.
Like many children growing up in the 80’s, I felt sometimes that I was different from others. Nothing too melodramatic or overly inscrutable, I was just the “sensitive artist type” who preferred reading and playing games like Dungeons and Dragons over most sports and other kids’ activities. Throughout elementary and middle school, I was overweight (and have struggled with weight most of my life in some capacity, though nowadays have the worst of it under control) and just wanted to be left alone. I was making my own D&D campaigns for my brothers and what few friends would allow me to take them through adventures, and most of the weeks, I spent the afternoons reading books and comics, practicing piano, and playing video games. So when X-Men hit Saturday morning TV, I was all over it.
I loved the show as a kid, and couldn’t wait until every Saturday morning to catch the next episode. But even as much as I loved it then, I don’t think I realized how great it was. This cartoon was a first of its kind in many ways.
First of all, it was (and is) incredibly loyal to the comics – if not in the specific stories, at least in the themes and philosophies (though often, even the specific stories received faithful treatments). The stories were about overcoming discrimination and hatred, finding yourself in an unfair world, and kicking a lot of ass.
Secondly, and more importantly – at least, now that I’m rewatching as an adult – the show is extremely character-centric. Every member of the team (and many side characters) get entire shows just to their backstories and griefs, and there are season-long arcs dealing with how characters deal with certain situations, and concentrating on specific villain movements – and this is several years before Buffy made the season arc a staple of genre television.
I asked Tinyhart who her favorite character is. Her answer:
“Jubilee. Except I also like Storm. And Wolverine. And Beast and Rogue. And I think Jean Grey. And Gambit’s funny!”
Good answer (sad Cyclops).