X-Men: TAS vs. X-Men: Evolution vs. Wolverine and the X-Men

[yogaflame]

Luckily, this is one of the few cases where democracy actually works. With over 50% of the vote, TAS is the obvious winner, with diminishing returns for the later series, as one would expect. TAS was a cultural juggernaut, with the ratings, toys, Pizza Hut deals, comics, behind the scenes book and movie spin offs to prove it. Even with greater animation(and budgets), the later series just can't hold a candle. Was TAS perfect? Absolutely not, but what it lacked in production value it more than made up in heart.

For those who say it hasn't aged well; look at the mature themes it explored. The government spying(Mutant Registration Program), the flying death machines(Sentinels), the angry radicalized mobs(Friends Of Humanity), the weaponized/politicized virus( Apocalypse's Legacy virus), these are all things you could read about in the news to this very day, and this is from a Fox Kid's show 25 years ago.

Season 1 is near perfect(they didn't know they'd get more than one season, so they went hard), the Phoenix and Dark Phoenix sagas are better and more accurate than the movies, Sanctuary 1/2 has Magneto throw down with the UN and explores the politics of a savoir figure being betrayed by his own power hungry supporter, episodes like Slave Island and Storm Front 1/2 directly confront slavery and empire, Beyond Good and Evil 4 parter is a huge mega crossover, Apocalypse and Beast spout philosophical gems every other line, Charles and Magneto's rivalry and friendship threads the entire series, the main X-Men are friends/family/and a badass team, and non-members Cable, Bishop, Archangel, Iceman, Colossus and Nightcrawler get meaty focused episodes, a fully formed Alpha Flight and X-Factor even get some shine.

[Wiccan]

For those who say it hasn't aged well; look at the mature themes it explored. The government spying(Mutant Registration Program), the flying death machines(Sentinels), the angry radicalized mobs(Friends Of Humanity), the weaponized/politicized virus( Apocalypse's Legacy virus), these are all things you could read about in the news to this very day, and this is from a Fox Kid's show 25 years ago.
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That really doesn't mean have much to do with the point. It still looks and feels overly cheesy and ridiculous. The dialogue, animation, fights. Even the whole prejudice thing, it was portrayed on a super cartoonish way. I'm pretty sure most people who have watched it recently without nostalgia affecting their judgement agree that it just didn't aged well.

[yogaflame]

That really doesn't mean have much to do with the point. It still looks and feels overly cheesy and ridiculous. The dialogue, animation, fights. Even the whole prejudice thing, it was portrayed on a super cartoonish way. I'm pretty sure most people who have watched it recently without nostalgia affecting their judgement agree that it just didn't aged well.

The FOH and Creed is like, exactly what you see in the real world in regards to prejudice(the Alt-right and Trump, if you need assistance seeing the correlation).

I'm not sure high school bullies and Principal Kelly are more realistic? WatXM's MDR might be a good stand in for ICE and other militarized police, but did the X-Men actually fight them effectively, or was the show just a way to desensitize children to such policing tactics in the real world? I know Magneto's false flag attack against his own people has real world correlations, but again, are they obvious enough to make a connection to what is really going on, or just another way to downplay the reality?

And if you want cartoonish, compare WatXM's Forge with TAS's Forge. Not only did WatXM whitewash the character, they made him a buffoon. And how cheesy and dated is just about everything in Evolution? How many skateboards, and horrible makeup, and goth fashion, and energy drinks, and BMX bikes, and cheesy dialog is permitted before we call something silly?

[Assgardian]

That really doesn't mean have much to do with the point. It still looks and feels overly cheesy and ridiculous. The dialogue, animation, fights. Even the whole prejudice thing, it was portrayed on a super cartoonish way. I'm pretty sure most people who have watched it recently without nostalgia affecting their judgement agree that it just didn't aged well.

Ditto. I'm sure TAS was the sh*t back in its day, and many of the posters here probably grew up with it. It's no surprise that it's the most favorable one among fans.

[maxhilary]

The FOH and Creed is like, exactly what you see in the real world in regards to prejudice(the Alt-right and Trump, if you need assistance seeing the correlation).

I'm not sure high school bullies and Principal Kelly are more realistic? WatXM's MDR might be a good stand in for ICE and other militarized police, but did the X-Men actually fight them effectively, or was the show just a way to desensitize children to such policing tactics in the real world? I know Magneto's false flag attack against his own people has real world correlations, but again, are they obvious enough to make a connection to what is really going on, or just another way to downplay the reality?

And if you want cartoonish, compare WatXM's Forge with TAS's Forge. Not only did WatXM whitewash the character, they made him a buffoon. And how cheesy and dated is just about everything in Evolution? How many skateboards, and horrible makeup, and goth fashion, and energy drinks, and BMX bikes, and cheesy dialog is permitted before we call something silly?

There was one skateboard, two instances of goth fashion/"horrible" makeup one of which was not a main character, one episode about energy drinks, not sure what BMX bikes is referring to, and as far as cheesy dialogue goes, TAS is the clear winner lol.

For the record, I love both TAS and Evo, and liked WatX a lot too. It IS possible to like all 3

[yogaflame]

There was one skateboard, two instances of goth fashion/"horrible" makeup one of which was not a main character, one episode about energy drinks, not sure what BMX bikes is referring to

Yeah, because the way to connect with black youth is to create an annoying skateboard kid with blonde hair and throw him into the sewers after shitting on him for a few seasons.

Rogue and Scarlet Witch are both travesties, but then there was:



But what really annoyed me was the makeup they put on Tabitha's and Storm's (and several other female characters) faces.

TAS has exactly 0 episodes about energy drinks.

Perhaps "dirtbikes" would have been a better term.



And no, cheesy, dated, dialog all day goes to Evolution.

You can like all three. Those with discernment may choose otherwise.

[yogaflame]

Anyways;



I rest my case!

[Heroine Addict]

... TAS... many of the posters here probably grew up with it. It's no surprise that it's the most favorable one among fans.

Yeah, both the demo here & the increased eXposure it got (comparatively), likely skews in its favor.

[The Kid]

I don't think there's really been a single standout show for the X-Men yet. WatX never finished so I discount it right there while the other two are flawed. I'd give it to Evolution as the show after the first season is very solid stuff. TAS just does not hold up at all. It's not just an era thing either. Compare it to something like Batman that came out around the same time which still holds up and you can see this major quality gap. It was an average show for its time but very mediocre now. It's just aged so poorly

[Dementia5]

Anyways;



I rest my case!

This all day.

[yogaflame]

I don't think there's really been a single standout show for the X-Men yet. WatX never finished so I discount it right there while the other two are flawed. I'd give it to Evolution as the show after the first season is very solid stuff. TAS just does not hold up at all. It's not just an era thing either. Compare it to something like Batman that came out around the same time which still holds up and you can see this major quality gap. It was an average show for its time but very mediocre now. It's just aged so poorly

Batman TAS was spinning out of the well received Tim Burton films, which were already darker and more mature. It also had the full force of WB behind it producing it. It had a much larger budget than X-Men TAS, which was a complete risk and under a lot of pressure from forces trying to dumb it down and kid it up, and forces that were drawing directly from the comics. It was not an average show, its ratings were stellar, subpar animation withstanding.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/he...on-hit-1052263

Where are such documentaries and books about Evo and WatXM?

[WebLurker]

Where are such documentaries and books about Evo and WatXM?

Not high profile enough among the masses?

[Harpsikord]

Not high profile enough among the masses?

This. Something important to remember is that XTAS came at a time when Saturday morning cartoons were basically at their height, which made it INCREDIBLY visible. That's why it bore so many fans who were kids in that era.

[Wiccan]

Here on Brazil X-Men Evolution is like SUPER popular, like TAS is for y'all. It's what everyone thinks first when talking about X-Men. People still make memes about it and all. It used to air every day on the most popular kids show here and it's been part of most people's childhood.

[yogaflame]

This all day.