In the early-to-mid-’90s, animated series tie-in comics reigned supreme. There was of course Batman Adventures and its various spinoffs/continuations, but another book was taking its cartoon source material and building upon it in interesting ways. Issues of X-Men Adventures acted as expanded adaptations of the show’s episodes until it ended after a few short years. It was then relaunched as Adventures of the X-Men, a series that continued telling stories in the style of the animated series without the shackles of continuity. It even managed to find a way to tie up the animated universe’s threads in an unexpected and ambitious fashion.
Written primarily by Ralph Macchio and illustrated by a variety of artists including Andy Kuhn and Mike Miller, this tome collects all 12 issues of Adventures of the X-Men, as well as ancillary material that didn’t fit with previous X-Men Adventures collections.
For instance, the first hundred pages are made up of shorter stories originally published in Spider-Man Magazine, in which the wallcrawling hero frequently ceded pages to his mutant compatriots on the Fox Kids block. These stories range from light and fluffy action stories to some surprisingly poignant character spotlights. One of the stories here, which I immediately remembered upon reading, depicts Jubilee writing a letter to her foster parents back home. As she spins a story of her heroics with the X-Men, the reader sees that the actual mission was a bit of a cluster, and Jubilee has to learn to be a bit more honest with her folks. It’s a nice story that delves a bit deeper into how a kid might handle adjusting to a life with superheroes.
As our own David Brooke noted when reviewing the Tooth and Claw TPB collecting these short adventures, they’re a bit of a mixed bag, but when they’re good, they really hit a nostalgic sweet spot. The main draw in the first chunk of the book is seeing the names of all the creators working on these short stories, which included a mix of up-and-comers and industry veterans like Don Heck, Kelly Corvese, Robert Loren Fleming, Joey Cavalieri, Ben Herrera, John Costanza, and so many more.
The AotX issues, written by Ralph Macchio, take some wild and heavy swings to tell stories that might not have quite worked in the previous series or the animated program. In one issue, Cyclops stumbles upon a cursed town straight out an H.P. Lovecraft story and has to do battle with the eldritch horrors that are trying to break through. In another, Spider-Man and a few of the X-Men rescue a child from an orphanage after a mutant-hating group threatens to burn the building down with every kid inside. In another, Magneto is goaded into kickstarting World War III in a story that plays out like a more emotionally fraught version of the very first issue of X-Men.
The artwork is bright and colorful, and the action scenes are breezy and fun. In true ’90s Marvel fashion, there’s plenty of posing and anime-adjacent faces that are super expressive when delivering colorful monologues. Several of the battles feel composed of multiple pin-ups, which I kind of love (Cyclops ramps a motorcyle like three times in one issue to achieve this effect). The costumes are a wild mix of Jim Lee’s and Rob Liefeld’s aesthetics, which is to be expected. These were the most popular versions of the characters at the time, of course. Sometimes these designs can clash with the more heady stories Macchio busts out, and in one instance, a character seemingly changes their whole aesthetic between issues. It’s kinda weird to see a classic cigar-chomping Nick Fury in his Steranko jumpsuit suddenly change into a version with one of those head socks that were all the rage with folks like Gambit and Havok.
There are also a few awkward moments in the more horror-oriented issues, where it seems like a violent panel or two may have been nixed by editorial. For instance, Man-Thing grabs one guy by the face and the next panel is Jean and Storm telling us that a group of guys have been set on fire. It feels like a rep for Broadcast Standards & Practices swung by for a page, but it doesn’t take too much away from the story.
But it’s the final run of stories that really impress in this collection. Perhaps it’s because the end was near or because this series had fully left the cartoon series in the rear view, but the last issues are incredibly ambitious. The series introduces more characters that might have been too dark for Saturday mornings, like Man-Thing and the Dweller-In-Darkness, but it also manages to add an astonishing new wrinkle to the X-Men mythology. Without getting too deep into spoiler territory, there’s a shocking reason why the last issue of this series has stuck with me for over nearly three decades at this point. It’s a cataclysmic finale to say the least, and it’s not exactly a crowdpleaser, but it’s also bursting at the seams with hope and ingenuity. This ending manages to really explore Charles Xavier’s dream of total harmony in a way that few other stories have.
And just to root this series even further in ’90s nostalgia: It features (to my knowledge) the only appearance of The Brothers outside of the DC vs. Marvel crossover event. If you recall their lore, then you may have an idea of why they figure into the final act of the series.
That’s another reason to love this book, even outside of its status as an extension to the animated series: It displays a sincere love and knowledge of both the show and the main 616 universe’s history. And even if you know these characters backwards and forwards, there are still plenty of surprises in store.
Is it occasionally melodramatic and wacky? Yes. But so were the animated series the AND X-Men comics of the era. Give this one a shot if you love either.
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