X-Men: Evolution

X-Men: Evolution
Premiere	November 4, 2000
Finale	October 25, 2003
Creator	—
Network/Provider	Kids WB
Style	30-minute animated superhero action
Company	Film Roman Productions, Marvel Television
Seasons	4
Episodes	52
Origin	USA

X-Men: Evolution is an animated superhero program based off of Marvel Comics' signature superteam, the X-Men. Unlike the first animated series, X-Men Evolution aims for a younger audience and has changed in several ways in order to better accommodate that demographic, most noticeably by changing the X-Men into teenagers. The series was originally broadcast on Kids WB!, despite Time-Warner's ownership of DC Comics, Marvel's direct competitor.

Set in the fictional town of Bayville (presumably in upstate New York), the world is by and large, ignorant to the existence of mutants. At the Xavier Institute, many of these mutants are instructed on how to control their powers in addition to attending a normal high school. The series revolves primarily around the two mutant factions in Bayville, Xavier's X-Men (Cyclops, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Rogue and Spyke) and Mystique's Brotherhood (Avalanche, Toad, Quicksilver, Blob and Scarlet Witch).

Beyond the obvious change in age, there are several changes between X-Men: Evolution and the original source material; the most notable of which being the fact that because most of the world doesn't know about mutants, the theme of discrimination which runs through every form of X-Men isn't as well stated until mutants are outed well into the third season. Also because of this lack of discrimination, the Brotherhood isn't a group of mutant supremacy advocates, but rather just a group of mutants who simply don't like the X-Men. These changes, combined with new characters like Spyke and X-23, caused disapproval from many comic book purists. However, ratings for the series were moderate and didn't seem too affected by negative opinions. Many of these opinions actually turned around during the fourth season, which was closer to typical X-Men storylines than the previous three.

The final episode of the series was aired on October 25, 2003 with a climactic battle with Apocalypse. The series lives on in the form of X-23, a character who was integrated into normal comic book continuity, just like Harley Quinn and Renee Montoya from Batman: The Animated Series.

Seasons

Season	Premiere	Finale				#
Kids WB
Season One	November 4, 2000	May 12, 2001				13
Season Two	September 29, 2001	May 11, 2002				17
Season Three	September 14, 2002	August 23, 2003				13
Season Four	August 30, 2003	October 25, 2003				9

In-Depth

• At a Glance: Additional information about the series
• Characters: A listing of characters in the series

DVD Releases

Summary

The show was first released in chronological volume sets, with the first two seasons each having four volumes including the entirety of each season in order. Additionally, the first four volumes were sold in a bundle as the Season 1 Collection. The third season was released in one complete season set. There has been talks of a complete season four set, but it has not been announced yet.

Title	Release Date	#
Episode Collections
Season 1, Volume 1: UnXpected Changes	September 23, 2003	1
Season 1, Volume 2: Xplosive Days	September 23, 2003	1
Season 1, Volume 3: X Marks The Spot	September 23, 2003	1
Season 1, Volume 4: Xposing The Truth	September 23, 2003	1
Season 2, Volume 1: Mutants Rising	April 22, 2003	1
Season 2, Volume 2: Powers Revealed	February 10, 2004	1
Season 2, Volume 3: Enemies Unveiled	June 29, 2004	1
Season 2, Volume 4: Mystique's Revenge	November 23, 2004	1
Season Sets
Season 1 Collection	September 16, 2003	4
The Complete Third Season	May 23, 2006	2

External Sites

• Beyond Evolution: X-Men Evolution
• X-Men: Evolution (2000) at the Internet Movie Database