Long before Fox and the MCU, the single best source of mutant adventures was X-Men: The Animated Series in 1992, and these 12 episodes hold up just as well today as they did more than three decades ago. Before Fox’s X-Men movies began in 2000, and much longer before the X-Men are set to join the MCU in Avengers: Doomsday, the team of mutants was best known for X-Men: The Animated Series. The show was groundbreaking in many ways for its time, but it has also held up remarkably well over more than 30 years.

X-Men: The Animated Series is more relevant now than it was even in the 1990s. As previously mentioned, the X-Men are joining the upcoming MCU film Avengers: Doomsday, and there are several episodes of X-Men: The Animated Series that will be important to Doomsday. Additionally, the series recently got a revival show, X-Men ’97, which is returning for its second season soon. X-Men: The Animated Series has stayed remarkably important to Marvel over the years.

The real reason so many episodes of X-Men: The Animated Series are still considered masterpieces today, however, is because of how well they told the story of the X-Men. From character-driven episodes that explore heavy themes of bigotry, trauma, and abuse, action-packed fights for the fate of the entire universe, and one of the best intros in the history of superhero shows, X-Men: The Animated Series had it all. These 12 episodes, as well, are certified masterpieces to this day.

12

“The Cure” Season 1, Episode 9

One of X-Men: The Animated Series‘ finest character-driven episodes was “The Cure,” which explored some of the trauma and backstory the ever-popular Rogue was carrying around. Rogue has long been one of the most fascinating X-Men, thanks to her ability to drain power and life through touch, her complicated relationship with Gambit, her endearing Southern accent, and more. Few stories understand what makes this icon of the X-Men tick as well as “The Cure.”

There is another Rogue-focused episode in season 2 of X-Men: The Animated Series, but “The Cure” takes the cake. This episode has one of the most efficient and effective explanations of the core tragedy of Rogue, the burden her powers place on her relationship with Gambit, and more. The episode-specific story, of a procedure that could “cure” mutations, also serves as one of the most complex and engaging dilemmas in the entire show.

Rogue’s story is obviously the highlight of “The Cure,” but the episode is also great from top to bottom. This episode introduced a litany of important characters to X-Men: The Animated Series, including Apocalypse, Mystique, and Angel, it provides some very important context about Muir Island and Moira MacTaggert, and more. That blend of exposition and character work makes “The Cure” an easy classic.

11

“Nightcrawler” Season 4, Episode 8

Another extremely strong character-driven episode focused on Nightcrawler. The eponymous episode in season 4 dove deep into Kurt’s story while also introducing him, it took a surprisingly earnest look at his faith and the role of religion as a whole on the X-Men, and it included some top-notch examples of X-Men: The Animated Series‘ most important and often analyzed theme: bigotry.

There’s a lot to love about “Nightcrawler” and the character it’s named after. The story surrounding Kurt’s faith and how his mutation intersects with it is tremendous and moving. It was a rare “field trip” episode that saw Rogue, Gambit, and Wolverine leave the country, which was always fun. It even had some great moments for Wolverine alongside Kurt’s overarching story. The only thing holding “Nightcrawler” back is that it took so long for Kurt to show up in the show.

10

“Repo Man” Season 2, Episode 5

The early seasons of X-Men: The Animated Series also did a good job of fleshing out Wolverine’s complicated history and the tragedy infused into his character, and “Repo Man” is the single best moment in this process. “Repo Man” deals directly with Wolverine’s history as Weapon X, and it adds a tremendous amount of layers to the character. The episode also manages to avoid the pitfall of letting Logan shrug his trauma off, and seeing a man as tough and feral as him cry was one of X-Men: The Animated Series‘ biggest gut-punches.

Part of the beauty of “Repo Man” is the fact that it adapts the Weapon X part of Wolverine’s story, but it also adapts that story so expertly. In just 22 minutes, “Repo Man” introduces the entire Weapon X program, Heather’s involvement in Logan’s life, Alpha Flight, and more, all while leaving time for some great fight scenes without any of it feeling rushed. It’s a perfect example of how well X-Men: The Animated Series could condense comics into a television format.

9

“Til Death Do Us Part” Season 2, Episodes 1 & 2

Out of all the purely character-focused episodes of X-Men: The Animated Series, the best is arguably season 2’s premiere, “Til Death Do Us Part.” This double episode initially followed the wedding of Scott and Jean, one of the best couples on the entire show, but it became a showcase of most of the core group of X-Men, and especially Morph. Thanks to Morph’s trickery and manipulation from Mister Sinister, “Til Death Do Us Part” put the X-Men in disarray like few other episodes ever could.

X-Men: The Animated Series was always at its best when examining the complicated web of relationships between the various X-Men, and “Til Death Do Us Part” is the best example of that. The episode has great moments of Wolverine’s unrequited love for Jean and his bubbling jealousy of Scott, some great fights for Beast, a harrowing run-in with terrorists for Jubilee, and a great cliffhanger ending featuring Professor X and Magneto. What’s not to love?

8

“Beyond Good and Evil” Season 4, Episodes 8 – 11

X-Men: The Animated Series had several multi-episode story arcs throughout its four seasons, and one of the absolute best was “Beyond Good and Evil.” Originally intended as the show’s overall finale, “Beyond Good and Evil” pulled out all the stops. Apocalypse had long been teased as the overall villain of the series, and this arc fulfilled all of his buildup by adapting the Age of Apocalypse story and a fight that would decide the fate of the entire universe.

“Beyond Good and Evil” had it all: great fights, some of the highest stakes X-Men: The Animated Series ever toyed with, unique story moments like the Four Horsemen, and massive alliances between very unlikely sources teaming up against Apocalypse. The entire arc felt like a grand ending to the show, and while there was another season yet to come, Apocalypse didn’t disappoint. It’s also still the best adaptation of the Age of Apocalypse to this day.

7

“Graduation Day” Season 5, Episode 10

The actual finale of X-Men: The Animated Series in season 5 also ended up being one of the show’s best episodes. “Graudation Day” served as a proper sendoff for the X-Men, complete with long-awaited returns of characters like Morph and Moira MacTaggert, a bittersweet ending for Charles Xavier, and a very competent chapter in the saga of mutant bigotry. To top it all off, it has some of the best and most heartwarming moments Charles and Magneto ever shared on screen.

“Graduation Day” was a superb finale when it first aired because it switched out the universal threats of “Beyond Good and Evil” in favor of a very personal and human story about the X-Men themselves. It has also only gotten better with time, as X-Men ’97 builds directly off the ending of this episode and its open-endedness. A superhero cartoon from the 1990s that was aimed at kids shouldn’t have stuck the landing so hard, but X-Men: The Animated Series did.

6

“The Dark Phoenix” Season 3, Episodes 11 – 14

Disney

One of the absolute most faithful comic adaptations X-Men: The Animated Series ever did was in the four-episode story “The Dark Phoenix,” and the show was better for its devotion to the source material. Jean Grey’s fight with the Phoenix Force has long been considered one of, if not the, best X-Men stories ever written, and X-Men: The Animated Series smartly chose not to make many changes at all to the way things played out.

“The Dark Phoenix” has a lot to love about it. The story itself is great in any medium (except, perhaps, 2019’s Dark Phoenix live-action film), with some great beats about mind control, some incredible displays of Jean’s powers, a political thriller as the X-Men interact with the Shi’ar, and some great fights to round it all off. X-Men: The Animated Series really just put this story into animation, and that was probably the smartest way to handle it.

“The Dark Phoenix” also cheats, in a way, as it builds off the previous story of “The Phoenix Saga” and presents a very good resolution to a very good Jean story. Out of the two parts of the overall story, however, “The Dark Phoenix” was better on the whole, both in its execution and in one of the few changes it made to the comics, Jean’s resurrection.

5

“The Final Decision” Season 1, Episode 13

X-Men: The Animated Series‘ season 1 finale, “The Final Decision,” was a very early indicator of what the show was capable of. Perhaps the strongest single-episode story in the entire show, “The Final Decision” has everything you could want out of an X-Men story. Xavier and Magneto team up to battle the Sentinels, there are great character moments (and a proposal) for Cyclops, Jubilee, and more, and the entire episode’s story is a wild ride from start to finish, especially thanks to a Mister Sinister appearance.

Where “The Final Decision” really shines is in its action. The standout moment, of course, is Wolverine’s fight in a cave, which can only be seen when the Sentinels fire their lasers. That fight was a visual marvel, and it alone would have made the episode a classic. But “The Final Decision” doesn’t stop there, as Cyclops has a masterful moment as the leader of the X-Men, Xavier gets his own hero moment by piloting the Blackbird, and Magneto comes to the rescue. No other single episode had as jaw-dropping action as this one.

4

“Time Fugitives” Season 2, Episodes 7 & 8

The idea of tackling bigotry is the most popular theme of X-Men: The Animated Series, but a close runner-up is time travel. Few episodes take as novel and interesting an approach to time travel as “Time Fugitives.” This two-part episode tells essentially the same story across its episodes, but one is told from Bishop’s perspective, while the other is told from Cable’s. It’s a unique approach to time travel, and it works much better in practice than it does in theory, which is a rare win.

While the shining feature of “Time Fugitives” is its exploration of time travel and other classic X-Men sci-fi elements, the episode also has a very strong foundation. Cable and Bishop are both used very well for essentially the same purpose, and their differing goals allow their characters to really shine. The episode also presents a real thinker of a central problem, the mutant plague, and finds an equally brilliant solution in Wolverine’s healing factor. Even without the time travel, “Time Fugitives” would have been a strong installment.

3

“One Man’s Worth” Season 4, Episodes 1 & 2

As previously mentioned, X-Men: The Animated Series was always at its best when it was examining the interpersonal relationships that defined the X-Men as a group. “One Man’s Worth” gave fans a connection that would have been impossible otherwise, yet worked tremendously well for a two-parter episode: Wolverine and Storm dating. The two characters have surprisingly great chemistry, and they form a very strong emotional core for the story.

That emotional core is some of the best and most heartfelt storytelling in the entire series. There are so many great moments in this star-crossed lovers’ tale, especially as the entire episode revolves around Storm and Wolverine fighting to essentially destroy their version of reality. The rest of the alternate reality in “One Man’s Worth” is also great, and the entire story arc acts as a fascinating “What If?” for the X-Men.