Pryde of the X-Men

Pryde of the X-Men is an one-shot animated TV pilot from 1989 featuring the X-Men. A series, for which this episode was intended as a pilot, never materialized. The title is a pun based on the name of Kitty Pryde, one of the characters. Marvel Productions/Sunbow Productions produced the pilot X-Men episode for NBC. The single episode aired infrequently in syndication during the Marvel Action Universe series and was later released on video.

TAGLINE: There are good mutants and bad mutants. The good mutants just want to coexist while the evil ones want to take over the world and subjugate mankind.

Plot

The story is told mostly from the point of view of Kitty Pryde, who is the newest recruit of the X-Men. Professor X introduces her to her colleagues, who are fighting in the Danger Room. Present are Cyclops, Colossus, Dazzler, Nightcrawler, Storm and Wolverine. Kitty is afraid of Nightcrawler because of his inhuman appearance.

Meanwhile, the X-Men’s archenemy Magneto breaks free from a prison transport, courtesy of his Brotherhood of Mutants (here renamed the Brotherhood of Mutant Terrorists) consisting of White Queen, Juggernaut, Toad, Pyro and Blob. Magneto then attacks the X-Mansion and steals a controlling device. Then he escapes to Asteroid M and uses the device to set a comet on collision course with Earth.

The X-Men engage and defeat the Brotherhood and thanks to Kitty’s phasing power, the device is scrambled. Nightcrawler seemingly sacrifices himself to steer the comet on a non-collision course, causing Kitty to cry because she treated him so badly. But it turns out that Nightcrawler made it out alive by teleporting at the last moment. The X-Men are reunited and Earth is saved.

Reaction

The pilot met with mixed reaction. While the animation was of an extremely high quality for television (especially for the late eighties) as the pilot was made to garner interest in a potential series, several points were criticized as being arguably campy, even downright cheesy:

The opening melody was perceived as childish—a far cry from the catchy tune (composed by Shuki Levy) of the X-Men animated series three years later.
Kitty Pryde was constantly portrayed as a hapless damsel in distress, in stark contrast to her comic counterpart: the 1985 mini-series Kitty Pryde and Wolverine, a well-known watershed moment for Kitty, had changed Kitty from an innocent, carefree teen into a responsible, strong young woman.
Wolverine spoke with a thick Australian accent, although his history is Canadian. His constant insertion of Australianisms like “dingo” and “crikey” irritated many fans. This was a continuation though of the Australian depiction of Wolverine in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode “A Firestar Is Born.” Ironically, two of the actors who have played Wolverine, Scott McNeil (in Evolution) and Hugh Jackman (in the X-Men movies) are Australian, although both play the character without a distinct accent.
The White Queen is a member of the Brotherhood in this version, although she was a member of the Hellfire Club in the comics.
Stan Lee’s arguably campy voice narration, especially in the “hammering” of the message that there are “good” and “bad” mutants.

However, after the success of X-Men and Evolution, fans have been kind to Pryde of the X-Men, seeing it as a well-meant prelude for things to come.

Notes

In 1992, Konami produced an X-Men arcade game that served as an expansion of the Pryde of the X-Men pilot.
Frank Welker, who provided the voices of Toad and Lockheed in Pryde of the X-Men previously provided the voice of Iceman on Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.
In 1990, Marvel published a graphic novel titled X-Men Animation Special adapted from Pryde of the X-Men. The panels were images from the cartoon rather than newly drawn art.