The X-Men animated series debuted on October 31, 1992, on the Fox Network as part of the "Fox Kids" Saturday morning lineup. The plot was loosely adapted from famous storylines and events in the X-Men comics, such as the Dark Phoenix Saga, Days of Future Past, the Phalanx Covenant, and the Legacy Virus. The show features a team line-up similar to that of the early 1990s X-Men comic books: the lineup largely resembles that of Cyclops' Blue Team, established in the early issues of the second X-Men comic series. Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, Storm, Beast, Gambit, Jubilee, Jean Grey and Professor X were featured as the X-Men. All 76 episodes were directed by Larry Houston.
The series' first 13 episodes were notable for being possibly the first time that an animated series had a full season of episodes flow one into the next, creating a single continuing narrative, something the series producers fought heavily for. However, starting with season three, most episodes (except for multi-part stories) were shown in random order.
Each episode was assigned two different numbers internally. One was for script order, which indicates the number assigned by the production company. The other was for the production order, which are the official episode numbers assigned by Fox Children's Network, indicating the order in which they received the episodes. These both vary from the order in which the series aired after season three. According to series writer Steven Melching, the script order is the "best guide in terms of overall series continuity, as this is how the stories were originally envisioned to flow together."[1]
The X-Men also appeared on Spider-Man in episodes "The Mutant Agenda" and "Mutants' Revenge". Storm later appeared in the three-part episode "Secret Wars" on the good side against the evil side. The series ended after the episode "Graduation Day", which aired on September 20, 1997. The X-Men animated show was the longest-running Marvel Comics animated series, lasting for six years, with five seasons and a total of 76 episodes until their record was beaten by Ultimate Spider-Man, when its 77th episode aired on October 17, 2015.[2]
The following list reflects the episode order as originally scripted. The television air-date order and DVD release order disregard the script order.[3][4] This scripted order was adopted by Disney+ shortly after launch to present the episodes as intended.[5]
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Night of the Sentinels" | Larry Houston | Mark Edward Edens | October 31, 1992 | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | November 7, 1992 | |||||||||
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The X-Men come to the aid of Jubilee when her foster parents turn her into the mutant registration and she is attacked by Sentinels. The X-Men save Jubilee and bring her to their facility. There, she learns a little about them. When Jubilee decides to go back and check on her foster parents, she is captured. The X-Men discover that the group running the Mutant Registration Program intends to track and eliminate mutants, so they decide to enter the building and destroy all the data. After destroying the files on mutants, the X-Men escape to the Blackbird but are stopped by the Sentinels. During the fight with the Sentinels, Morph is killed and Beast is captured and imprisoned by the government. The X-Men manage to track down the Sentinel's headquarters and free Jubilee. She decides to join Xavier's academy. | |||||||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Enter Magneto" | Larry Houston | Jim Carlson & Terrence McDonnell | November 27, 1992 | ||||||
| Magneto attempts to break Beast out of prison, but Beast would rather stand trial. Sabretooth demands that Beast be set free and ends up going into a destructive rage, prompting the guards to shoot and injure him. Cyclops aids Sabretooth and brings him to the Mansion's infirmary, which does not sit well with Wolverine. Later, Magneto attacks a military missile facility. | |||||||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Deadly Reunions" | Larry Houston | Don Glut (last name misspelled "Glutt")[6] | January 23, 1993 | ||||||
| Professor X tries to heal Sabretooth against Wolverine's warnings, while Magneto attacks a chemical plant in order to attract the attention of Professor X. | |||||||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Captive Hearts" | Larry Houston | Robert N. Skir & Marty Isenberg | January 30, 1993 | ||||||
| Cyclops and Jean are captured by a group of human mutants called the Morlocks when they go out on a romantic date, much to Logan's hurt. Storm battles their leader Callisto for control of the underground mutant group. | |||||||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Cold Vengeance" | Larry Houston | Michael Edens | February 6, 1993 | ||||||
| Wolverine abruptly leaves the X-Men in the middle of the night. Weary of Jean and Cyclops' relationship, he travels to the Arctic where he encounters a vengeful Sabretooth. Wolverine is stranded in freezing waters following the fight and is rescued by Inuit villagers. He befriends the Inuit and finds some momentary peace in the village (before Sabretooth shatters the illusion of peace again). Meanwhile, Gambit proposes a journey to investigate the rumor that Genosha is a mutant-friendly island, much to the intense disapproval of Cyclops. Professor X however sees potential in the suggestion and approves the mission. Storm, Gambit & Jubilee head to the "mutant-loving" island paradise of Genosha. | |||||||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Slave Island" | Larry Houston | Mark Edward Edens | February 13, 1993 | ||||||
| The X-Men discover the truth behind Genosha as Gambit, Storm, Jubilee, and a host of other mutants are made to work as slaves in order to complete a dam which will power a Sentinel factory. Storm tries to escape but is quickly recaptured and sent to solitary confinement in a small holding room, badly affecting her claustrophobia. Meanwhile, Gambit pretends to betray the mutants to gain the guards' trust by revealing Jubilee's escape attempt. He is allowed to be taken out of the compound where he soon escapes with the help of the mysterious Cable. Gambit returns to break Jubilee and Storm out of the compound and together with the help of the other X-Men they free all the mutants in Genosha. | |||||||||||
| 8 | 8 | "The Unstoppable Juggernaut" | Larry Houston | Julianne Klemm | March 6, 1993 | ||||||
| When the X-Mansion is trashed, the X-Men initially blame the Russian mutant Colossus, before discovering the real culprit is the Juggernaut. | |||||||||||
| 9 | 9 | "The Cure" | Larry Houston | Mark Edward Edens | February 20, 1993 | ||||||
| Warren Worthington (Archangel) has been supporting Dr. Adler's development to find a "cure" for mutant powers. Cable attacks Archangel and learns Dr. Adler has relocated to Muir Island, Scotland. Meanwhile, the X-Men are busy rebuilding the X-Mansion. Wolverine and Gambit squabble, Rogue intervenes and Wolverine accuses her of having a soft spot for Gambit. Professor X then gathers a meeting where he informs the X-Men of Dr. Adler's experimental treatment to remove mutant powers. Rogue decides to travel to Muir Island for the cure, despite Gambit's attempts to dissuade her. It is later revealed that the real Dr. Adler had already been killed by Apocalypse. Since then, Mystique had been posing as a fake Dr. Adler to help Apocalypse enslave mutants searching for the cure. Rogue eventually decides to selflessly keep her powers because she can do more good with her abilities. Having failed to enslave Rogue, Mystique switches targets and plans to enslave Archangel next for Apocalypse. | |||||||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Come the Apocalypse" | Larry Houston | Michael Edens | February 27, 1993 | ||||||
| Apocalypse and Mystique turn mutants who journeyed to Muir Island seeking the fictitious cure into the Horsemen of Apocalypse. Soon after, Apocalypse and his four Horsemen attack the World Peace Conference in Paris. Professor X recognizes Archangel as one of the mutants from Muir Island and sends Rogue on a mission to investigate. Rogue confronts "Dr. Adler", uncovers Mystique's disguise and in the resulting struggle, Dr. Adler's lab gets destroyed. The X-Men battle the four horsemen, and Rogue absorbs Archangel's dark side. Apocalypse manages to escape via a secret trap door and an underground plane. | |||||||||||
| 11 | 11 | "Days of Future Past" | Larry Houston | Julia Jane Lewald | March 13, 1993 | ||||||
| 12 | 12 | Robert N. Skir & Marty Isenberg | March 20, 1993 | ||||||||
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In a future controlled by Sentinels, Bishop is sent back in time to stop a member of the X-Men from assassinating an important political figure. Bishop (who believes Gambit to be the Assassin) and the X-Men go to Washington and stop the assassination of Senator Kelly. Gambit is ordered to stay behind with Wolverine and Bishop, but he sneaks off to Washington and arrives just in time to prevent a duplicate "Gambit" from assassinating Senator Kelly. It is soon revealed that the duplicate Gambit is Mystique in disguise (who was attempting to frame Gambit and the X-Men for the assassination under orders from Apocalypse). Bishop sees the two Gambits fighting and attempts to kill them both – only to be stopped by Rogue. Bishop returns to find the future unchanged. | |||||||||||
| 13 | 13 | "The Final Decision" | Larry Houston | Mark Edward Edens | March 27, 1993 | ||||||
| The X-Men and Magneto team up to stop Master Mold from replacing Senator Kelly's brain with a computer, and engage in an all-out battle against thousands of Sentinels. Kelly calls off his anti-mutant campaign and Beast is freed from prison. | |||||||||||
The second season saw a parallel narrative featuring Magneto and Professor X lost in the Savage Land interwoven throughout. Many of the stories dealt with the X-Men dealing with the professor's absence, as well as increasing the backstory of many of the X-Men, particularly Rogue and Wolverine.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | "Till Death Do Us Part" | Larry Houston | Mark Edward Edens | October 23, 1993 | ||||||
| 15 | 2 | October 30, 1993 | |||||||||
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Scott and Jean get married whilst an angst-ridden Wolverine fights Scott-like robots in the danger room. Meanwhile, Mister Sinister uses a brainwashed Morph to lay traps to destroy the X-Men one by one. Morph struggles with his split personality, and his evil side shape-shifts into different X-Men, luring them into dangerous situations. E.g. He tricks Gambit into kissing Rogue, policemen into shooting Storm, sends Jubilee to enter a mutant-hate group alone, changes the intensity in Beast's danger room to high, sends Professor X to Antarctica etc. Mister Sinister and his Nasty Boys kidnap Cyclops & Jean Grey while they are on their honeymoon. Meanwhile, the rest of the X-Men are either in mortal peril or bickering due to Morph's trickery. Eventually, Beast escapes the danger room, Gambit recovers from kissing Rogue and Wolverine rescues Jubilee from the clutches of the Friends of Humanity terrorist group (whilst complaining about the amount of bubblegum he had to sniff in order to track her down). Morph then appears, disguised as Professor X, but is immediately detected by Wolverine, who senses Professor X's scent is wrong. Gambit tricks Morph into revealing himself, and the X-Men realize that Cyclops and Jean are in danger. They travel to the island to confront Mister Sinister and the Nasty Boys. In Antarctica, the real Professor X meets Magneto, and the pair are engulfed by an avalanche. | |||||||||||
| 16 | 3 | "Whatever It Takes" | Larry Houston | Julia Jane Lewald | November 6, 1993 | ||||||
| The Shadow King lures Storm home to Mount Kilimanjaro by 'possessing' her young spiritual son Mjnari, so Rogue and Storm travel to Africa to stop the Shadow King. Meanwhile, Wolverine finds Morph but is unable to convince him to return. After the ensuing fight, Wolverine reluctantly accepts Morph needs time on his own to heal his psychological damage. In Antarctica, Professor X and Magneto survive the avalanche and stumble on a mysterious rainforest called Savage Land. Here, Professor X can walk again, but they are unable to use their mutant powers. | |||||||||||
| 17 | 4 | "Red Dawn" | Larry Houston | Francis Moss & Ted Pedersen | November 13, 1993 | ||||||
| Powerless, Magneto and Professor X evade dinosaurs in Savage Land. Magneto says he is surprised Professor X rescued him as Professor X's life would have been easier if Magneto died. Meanwhile, Omega Red is resuscitated by three corrupt Russian generals who want to reclaim and rule the crumbling old Soviet empire. Colossus goes to the X-Men for help to save his country and people. Jubliee decides to fly with Colossus to Russia and writes a note to the X-Men which she pins to the refrigerator. They travel to Russia and Colossus finds his hometown destroyed by Omega Red. Back in the mansion, Wolverine finds the note, crushes it, and travels to Russia as well. Wolverine, Colossus & Jubliee fight Omega Red who proves to be nearly indestructible. Storm, Rogue, and Gambit arrive in Russia soon after, complaining about the person who crushed the note and delayed their arrival. With the help of Colossus and Darkstar (a mutant Russian general who wants to protect her people), Storm freezes Omega Red in a block of ice – effectively bringing about an end to his tyranny. Colossus decides to stay behind in Russia to help rebuild his country. | |||||||||||
| 18 | 5 | "Repo Man" | Larry Houston | Len Wein | November 20, 1993 | ||||||
| Wolverine travels to meet a woman from his past named Heather. However, it turns out to be a trap and he is captured by Vindicator and the Alpha Flight team. In a flashback sequence, we learn about Wolverine's past regarding Dr. Cornelius' adamantium injections, "Weapon X", getting nursed back to health by Heather, his recruitment to Alpha Flight, and subsequent desertion to join the X-Men. General Chasen sends Alpha Flight to recapture Wolverine to replicate Wolverine's adamantium injections on other test subjects. When this fails, General Chasen and Vindicator decide to remove Wolverine's skeleton from his body so they can study it properly. Heather is horrified and immediately resigns. The rest of Alpha Flight also revolt and help Wolverine escape. Wolverine confronts Vindicator and says he will not show mercy if they come looking for him again. Meanwhile, the rest of the X-Men are worried about Professor X's mysterious disappearance. Jean searches for Professor X in Cerebro and is unable to find him (but senses Wolverine is in trouble). | |||||||||||
| 19 | 6 | "X-Ternally Yours" | Larry Houston | Julianne Klemm | December 4, 1993 | ||||||
| Scott trains in the danger room and complains that the training is too easy. Gambit gets a disturbing phone call and accidentally switches the training room intensity to high, nearly killing Scott (who is rescued by Rogue). Gambit is forced to return to his southern roots by an ancient tithe, an old family feud, and the kidnapping of his brother, Bobby. Trading himself to save Bobby, he falls into the clutches of his ex-fiancé, Bella Donna. She still plans on marrying him and reveals she gave the Thieves Guild a fake tithe. Meanwhile, the rest of the X-Men sense Gambit is in trouble and come after him to investigate. During the tithe presentation, Gambit reveals Bella Donna's deception and a fight ensues. Jean telepathically informs the X-Ternal of Bella Donna's treachery and the X-Ternal strips Bella Donna of her powers. In Savage Land, Magneto and Professor X continue to battle and evade the mutates living there. It is revealed that Magneto was once responsible for creating the mutates residing in Savage Land. | |||||||||||
| 20 | 7 | "Time Fugitives" | Larry Houston | Michael Edens | December 11, 1993 | ||||||
| 21 | 8 | Elliot S. Maggin | December 18, 1993 | ||||||||
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In the future, Cable realises his world is disappearing due to Bishop's time travelling interference. Bishop had time traveled from 2055 AD to stop a plague that Apocalypse started. The plague was scientifically engineered and used by terrorist groups to increase anti-mutant sentiment (falsely accusing mutants of spreading the plague). The X-Men succeed in destroying Apocalypse's laboratory but are killed by Apocalypse in the process. Cable (from the future) realizes with horror that he will have to team up with Apocalypse in order to save his timeline. Cable comes to the present to stop Bishop and save his own future world. He arrives at the same time as Bishop and the two time travelers battle to save their own respective future timelines. Cable finds killing Bishop and helping Apocalypse distasteful, but is prepared to do what it takes to save his son and his future world from ending. Eventually, Cable comes up with the brainwave to deliberately let Wolverine get infected by the virus. Wolverine's healing abilities produce the antibodies needed to create a permanent cure, thwarting Apocalypse. Bishop returns to his timeline and discovers everything is still the same (although there is no longer a plague). Cable returns to his timeline and discovers his world is saved and his son is alive. | |||||||||||
| 22 | 9 | "A Rogue's Tale" | Larry Houston | Robert N. Skir & Marty Isenberg | January 8, 1994 | ||||||
| Mystique, Rogue's foster mother, forces her to revisit her own past. Due to Professor X's long disappearance, Ms. Marvel's suppressed consciousness begins to break free – causing Rogue to receive haunting visions. Mystique lures Rogue to the hospital where she sees Ms. Marvel's comatose body and remembers the past. She remembers how she ran away from her abusive, mutant-hating father and found Mystique. Mystique raised her and one day sent her on a mission to attack Ms. Marvel, resulting in Rogue absorbing her powers permanently. Unfortunately, when Rogue absorbed her powers, she also absorbed her consciousness – leaving Ms. Marvel in a coma and Rogue plagued with Ms. Marvel's psyche. Rogue finds Professor X who helps her suppress the visions along with her memories. In the present day, Ms. Marvel's consciousness begins to fight Rogue over control of her body. Jean uses Cerebro to help Rogue trap/restrain Ms. Marvel – Rogue is saddened regarding Ms. Marvel's fate but is left with no choice. Mystique tries to convince Rogue to join her, but Rogue declares Mystique made her worse than a killer. She visits Ms. Marvel's comatose body in the hospital, brings her flowers, and tells the nurses Ms. Marvel's real name. As she leaves, Ms. Marvel's body shows signs of life and gives a small smile. | |||||||||||
| 23 | 10 | "Beauty & the Beast" | Larry Houston | Stephanie Mathison | January 15, 1994 | ||||||
| Beast falls in love with Carly, a blind patient of his. The Friends of Humanity group attacks the hospital Beast is working in, resulting in Beast losing his job (partly thanks to pressure from Carly's mutant-hating father). Wolverine is enraged that the anti-mutant group would attack a hospital for the blind and Jean tries to calm Wolverine down, telling him the situation has to be approached "delicately". Taking her advice, Wolverine masquerades as a mutant-hating human named Logan to infiltrate the group. He talks to Graydon Creed regarding his plans to exterminate mutants and recognizes him as Sabretooth's son. Meanwhile, Carly gets kidnapped by thugs from Friends of Humanity. Beast and Logan infiltrate the group to rescue Carly and expose Creed's mutant connections to the members from Friends of Humanity (who desert Creed). Carly is successfully rescued, earning the gratitude of Carly's father. | |||||||||||
| 24 | 11 | "Mojovision" | Larry Houston | Brooks Wachtel | February 5, 1994 | ||||||
| An alien, Mojo, kidnaps and casts the X-Men (except Gambit and Jubilee) as his latest all-galaxy television hit. The X-Men are forced into acting out movie scenes for Mojo's entertainment. Eventually, they are set free by Spiral (Mojo's assistant) and Longshot (Mojo's previous actor), who wants his limelight back. Meanwhile, in the Savage Land, Professor X and Magneto find Magneto's citadel. They also encounter Sauron, who appears to be a dangerous foe. | |||||||||||
| 25 | 12 | "Reunion" | Larry Houston | Len Wein | February 12, 1994 | ||||||
| 26 | 13 | Michael Edens | February 19, 1994 | ||||||||
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Professor Xavier, Magneto, and Jean are captured by Mister Sinister, the Nasty Boys, and the mutates in Savage Land. It is revealed that Mister Sinister is the shadowy master who has been leading the mutates. Mister Sinister summons Sauron to use his mind control powers on Professor X, forcing him to send a message to lure the rest of the X-Men to Savage Land. The remaining X-Men are aware that they are walking into a trap but travel to Savage Land anyway to rescue Jean and the Professor. Upon touchdown in the Savage Land, the X-Men realize they no longer have their mutant powers (due to Sinister's machines) and are captured by the Nasty Boys and the mutates (who are unaffected due to Sinister's immunity belts). Wolverine alone evades capture by jumping off a cliff. He has to team up with Ka-Zar to rescue the others in the epic finale. | |||||||||||
After the five-part "Phoenix Saga", episodes were aired in a more random sequence. Also, due to animation problems with a few episodes, several did not air until the fourth or even fifth season.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 1 | "Out of the Past" | Larry Houston | Michael Edens | July 29, 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 28 | 2 | Len Wein | August 5, 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Wolverine's vengeful ex-girlfriend, a Japanese woman named Yuriko, lures Wolverine into the Morlocks' tunnels. Wolverine is playing basketball with Gambit and Jubilee when he receives a message that Yuriko is waiting for him in the tunnels. Gambit suspects it is a trap but Wolverine says he can handle it himself. Jubilee however convinces Gambit to help Wolverine anyway so they decide to tail behind him. Meanwhile, Yuriko blames Wolverine for the death of her father (the man responsible for Wolverine's adamantium injections) and has become Lady Deathstrike to get revenge. During the resulting battle after Gambit and Jubilee help Wolverine after he breaks free, Professor Xavier realizes the telepathic message he has been getting from the spaceship that Yuriko is after, is actually a warning, which comes true when Wolverine opens the ship to save Yuriko. Yuriko's alien discovery — a Shi'ar vessel — turns out to be a prison cell containing a voracious, gaseous prisoner, the Spirit Drinker, which absorbs the spirits of Jubilee, the Reavers, the Morlocks, and later Yuriko. Working together with Professor Xavier and the X-Men members who have arrived as backup, Wolverine and Gambit must keep the Spirit Drinker from reaching the surface. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 29 | 3 | "The Phoenix Saga, Part I: Sacrifice" | Larry Houston | Michael Edens | September 5, 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30 | 4 | "The Phoenix Saga, Part II: The Dark Shroud" | Mark Edward Edens | September 6, 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 31 | 5 | "The Phoenix Saga, Part III: The Cry of the Banshee" | Michael Edens | September 7, 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 32 | 6 | "The Phoenix Saga, Part IV: The Starjammers" | Mark Edward Edens | September 8, 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 33 | 7 | "The Phoenix Saga, Part V: Child of Light" | Mark Edward Edens | September 9, 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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An emissary of the alien race the Shi'ar, Erik the Red, takes over the Eagle One space station. Compelled by mysterious visions, Professor Xavier sends the X-Men (minus Rogue who is out on a mission) to take the places of the astronaut crew (minus Storm and Jubilee who would remain with Xavier on Earth) which leads to a confrontation with Erik and his mind-controlled astronauts. While entering the Earth's atmosphere on a space shuttle, Jean Grey starts to become possessed by the all-powerful Phoenix Force which sensed her mental pleas for help. The space shuttle crash-lands in Jamaica Bay. Though the other X-Men are unscathed, Jean Grey's fate is unknown, until she flies into the air, displaying powers and a new costume she has never used before, and proclaims herself the "Phoenix" before collapsing, suffering from confusion, memory loss, and vast new powers. Meanwhile, Professor Xavier's pained psychic connection with an alien presence manifests in an Astral projection of Xavier's dark side who's hell-bent on destroying the X-Men. The X-Men and Banshee go to save Lilandra (a runaway Shi'ar royal who is the source of Xavier's painful psychic visions) from Juggernaut and Black Tom Cassidy. Lilandra reveals that she arrived on Earth seeking help in protecting The M'Kraan Crystal from her tyrannical brother D'Ken. Jean Grey continues to exhibit inexplicable symptoms and fully embraces the Phoenix persona to come to the rescue of the X-Men from Sh'iar Imperial Guard Gladiator. Phoenix transports most of the X-Men to Lilandra's ship (excluding Storm and Jubilee), where she has hidden the M'Kraan Crystal. A group of space pirates called the Starjammers attack and steal the M'Kraan Crystal from the X-Men. The Starjammer's Leader Corsair plots to use the Crystal as bait to assassinate D'Ken and convinces Cyclops to aid him in his plan, which goes terribly awry. D'Ken gets pulled into the Crystal and becomes one with the universe inside it. This forces both the X-Men and the Imperial Guard to team up to desperately combat the seemingly omnipotent dictator to no avail as the Earth is suffering a multitude of environmental disasters thanks to the unstable M'Krann Crystal. Can the return of Phoenix help turn the tide? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 34 | 8 | "No Mutant Is an Island"[a] | Larry Houston | Sandy Scesny | September 21, 1996 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cyclops, still in mourning after Phoenix's death, quits the X-Men and returns to the orphanage he grew up in and encounters his friend Sarah. Cyclops suspects foul play of Zebediah Killgrave, Sarah's wealthy benefactor as he begins to adopt mutant children for an unknown purpose. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 35 | 9 | "Obsession" | Larry Houston | Adam Gilad | September 24, 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Archangel has become obsessed with destroying Apocalypse, whom he blames for ruining his life. Due to absorbing part of Archangel's evil side, Rogue feels obligated to join Archangel in his dangerous quest in hopes of calming him down (despite Gambit's protests). Meanwhile, the X-Men travel to Apocalypse's ship to find an alternate way to stop the immortal mutant madman. Beast bonds with the ship's AI system and constructs a trap, but will Archangel's thirst for vengeance destroy them all? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 36 | 10 | "Longshot"[a] | Larry Houston | Steven Melching & David McDermott | October 5, 1996 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Longshot, rebel from another world, tumbles into this world with no memory. He is discovered by Jubilee, who takes a liking to him, and they both find themselves on the run from Mojo and his hunters. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 37 | 11 | "Cold Comfort" | Larry Houston | Len Uhley | February 4, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former X-Man Bobby "Iceman" Drake is caught breaking into a top-secret government installation. It is revealed that Iceman was one of the original five X-Men members but due to his rebellious attitude toward authority quits the team to live a normal life with his girlfriend Lorna Dane who mysteriously disappeared. Moved by his plight, Jubilee joins Iceman in returning to the installation to find clues. The X-Men follow suit and find themselves in a skirmish with a government-sponsored mutant team called X-Factor. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 38 | 12 | "Savage Land, Strange Heart" | Larry Houston | Robert N. Skir & Marty Isenberg | September 10, 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 39 | 13 | September 17, 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sauron kidnaps Storm to the Savage Land in order to feed from her mutant energy. Wolverine, Beast, Rogue & Jubilee go after him back to the Savage Land. Garokk fuses with the island's volcano and the surging planetary force below it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 40 | 14 | "The Dark Phoenix, Part I: Dazzled" | Larry Houston | Jan Strnad | November 12, 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 41 | 15 | "The Dark Phoenix, Part II: The Inner Circle" | Steven Levi | November 12, 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 42 | 16 | "The Dark Phoenix, Part III: The Dark Phoenix" | Larry Parr | November 19, 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 43 | 17 | "The Dark Phoenix, Part IV: The Fate of the Phoenix" | Brooks Wachtel | November 26, 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Phoenix continues to inhabit Jean's body. Jean is beginning to lose control and the Phoenix begins to brazenly take over at will. When the Inner Circle Club learn of the Phoenix's power, they use Jason Wyngarde to create a new history in the mind of the confused Jean/Phoenix. While protecting Dazzler, a mutant club singer from being abducted by the Inner Circle, Cyclops and the X-Men get caught in this dangerous affair. As Professor X and Emma Frost battle for psychic control of Jean, the Inner Circle members quarrel over how to dispose of their prisoners, the X-Men. Meanwhile, the Phoenix begins to grow in her thirst for new evil sensations and turns on both the Inner Circle and the X-Men. The transformation of the Dark Phoenix is complete and she begins her rampage. When the X-Men confront the Phoenix and ask it to give up Jean's body, Dark Phoenix vows to destroy the team, defeating them easily. This forces the X-Men to try to figure out a way to expel the Phoenix Force from Jean's body without hurting her. In the Shi'ar court, Lilandra reveals Dark Phoenix's vast destruction of the D'Bari solar system and declares that Dark Phoenix has transformed into the Destroyer of legend and must die. Professor Xavier calls for a Trial of Combat for the custody of Jean Grey/Dark Phoenix which pits the X-Men to battle the Shi'air Imperial Guard on the Blue Area of the Moon as both the fate of Jean's entire being and the universe itself hangs in the balance. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 44 | 18 | "Orphan's End" | Larry Houston | Doug Booth | February 25, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cyclops discovers that Corsair is his father. Corsair is on the run from Shi'ar authorities, who demand that Cyclops turn him over to them. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 45 | 19 | "Love in Vain" | Larry Houston | Martha Moran | February 10, 1996 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wolverine witnesses the crash of a spaceship carrying horrific, humanoid insects—the Colony—which overwhelm him. Meanwhile, Rogue has a run-in with Cody, her first boyfriend, whom she unwillingly drained with a kiss with her developing mutant powers. He offers her a chance to be together again – but at the cost of her humanity. Rogue brings Cody to the headquarters and asks Professor X for some time off to spend a weekend with him (much to Gambit's annoyance). The rest of the X-Men proceed to search for Wolverine and get attacked by the Colony. Wolverine, Cody, and Rogue are infected by Colony spores and they begin to transform into insect-like creatures, but Wolverine manages to successfully reverse the transformation due to his advanced healing abilities. Wolverine lets Rogue absorb his powers so that she can also heal herself. Rogue realizes that Cody deliberately brought her to the Colony so that they could be together as Colony members. Eventually, Professor X helps the X-Men escape by telepathically freeing the creature hosting the Colony. Rogue tries to convince Cody to leave with her, but he is too far gone and is part of the Colony now. As the Colony leaves Earth, Rogue is comforted by Wolverine and Gambit. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Some of the Season 4 episodes were aired during Season 3 to compensate for episodes in that season being pushed back.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | 1 | "The Juggernaut Returns"[b] | Larry Houston | Julianne Klemm | May 6, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Juggernaut's life is at risk when someone else uncovers the Ruby of Cyttorak and claims the powers of Juggernaut for himself. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 47 | 2 | "A Deal with the Devil"[a] | Larry Houston | Eric Lewald | September 14, 1996 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Omega Red, the destruction machine from the former Soviet Union and a sworn enemy of Wolverine is thawed and sent two miles beneath the ocean to salvage a disabled, toxic Russian nuclear submarine threatening to break up near Hawaii. His only condition is that Wolverine and Storm go down with him as insurance. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 48 | 3 | "Sanctuary" | Larry Houston | Steven Melching & David McDermott | October 21, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 49 | 4 | Jeff Saylor | October 28, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Weary of battling for mutant supremacy, Magneto offers to transport all mutants to an orbiting asteroid named Asteroid M where they can live peaceful and human-free lives; however, Fabian Cortez tricks Magneto into an escape pod and launches him into space. As Magneto plummets helplessly to Earth, Fabian Cortez assumes control of Asteroid M and sends hundreds of missiles toward Earth. Meanwhile, Rogue goes to help the X-Men and tries to find a missing Gambit. Magneto frees himself and returns in time to destroy both the missiles and Asteroid M. Everyone escapes before the asteroid is destroyed and they all return home (Gambit included) Meanwhile, Cortez is rescued from the descending asteroid by Deathbird and Apocalypse. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 50 | 5 | "Xavier Remembers" | Larry Houston | Stephanie Mathison | April 27, 1996 | |||||||||||||||||||
| When Professor X suffers a slight concussion, his powerful psychic mind is suddenly open to manipulation. The Shadow King takes advantage of this and takes possession of Xavier, leaving his mind trapped on the Astral Plane. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 51 | 6 | "Courage" | Larry Houston | Michael Edens & Sandy Scesny | September 23, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||
| The day Morph rejoins the X-Men, terrorists attack a top-secret, high-tech weapons factory; the alert interrupts his homecoming party. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 52 | 7 | "Secrets, Not Long Buried" | Larry Houston | Mark Onspaugh | February 17, 1996 | |||||||||||||||||||
| When Cyclops flies solo to a tiny, western, desert community to see an old friend, his plane is blasted out of the sky. Injured and unable to use his powers, he struggles into town, only to discover his friend is missing and the town is caught in the grips of a militant, mutant-only, anti-human hate group: the Children of the Shadow. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 53 | 8 | "Nightcrawler"[b] | Larry Houston | Len Uhley | May 13, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Gambit, Rogue, and Wolverine take a ski trip in Germany. While Gambit & Rogue seem to be largely enjoying each other's company and time together, Wolverine is restless and longs for some action. When he hears reports of a demon hiding in a local monastery, his investigation reveals not a demon, but a mutant, Nightcrawler, whose devilish appearance is in stark contrast to his peaceful and deeply philosophical nature. Later the townsfolk attack and burn the monastery. The X-Men convince the townsfolk not to fear what they do not understand, Wolverine, too, learns something about the nature of faith. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 54 | 9 | "One Man's Worth" | Larry Houston | Richard Mueller | September 9, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 55 | 10 | Gary Greenfield | September 16, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Trevor Fitzroy and Bantam travel back in time to 1959 and kill Professor X as Master Mold ordered them. This creates an alternate present timeline, where a mutant-sentinel war has destroyed everything. Bishop and Shard arrive in 'alternate present', where sentinels battle violently against 'The Leader' Magneto, and his followers who include husband and wife Wolverine and Storm. Bishop & Shard recruit Wolverine & Storm to help stop Fitzroy, but they fail. Failing to stop the assassination of Xavier, Bishop, Shard, Storm & Wolverine travel forward to the future, a future changed so much that Forge's time travel machine has never been tested and Forge has no idea who these four time travelers are. After they convince Forge, they go back a few minutes before Xavier dies and save him. Everything reverts to normal. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 56 | 11 | "Proteus" | Larry Houston | Bruce Reid Schaefer | September 30, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 57 | 12 | Luanne Crocker | October 7, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Moira MacTaggert is trying to help her son Kevin (Proteus), but when he escapes from Muir Island she calls on the X-Men for help. Proteus who has never been off the island is wreaking havoc while trying to find his father. When Proteus discovers that his deadbeat dad is a prominent politician, he storms the Union Hall right in the middle of his dad's campaign speech on 'family values.' Proteus tells his father that he is his son, his father denies it and runs off in horror, crying for help. Angered at his father's reaction, Proteus creates havoc, but Professor X later calms him down, and he stops the rampage. Then he goes back to Muir Island with Moira MacTaggert. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 58 | 13 | "Family Ties" | Larry Houston | Marley Clark | May 4, 1996 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Shortly after Magneto breaks into the X-Mansion, High Evolutionary and his New Men capture him, Quicksilver, Beast, Wolverine, and Scarlet Witch, to do experiments on them. He also reveals that Magneto is Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch's father. The other X-Men later defeat High Evolutionary and his New Men and save the captured mutants. During this episode, High Evolutionary transformed Wolverine into a werewolf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 59 | 14 | "Bloodlines" | Larry Houston | Len Uhley | October 26, 1996 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Nightcrawler gets a mysterious message. He is informed that his birth mother (whom he never knew) is in trouble. He turns to the X-Men for assistance. Jubilee is baffled that Nightcrawler wants to help the mother who abandoned him. Nightcrawler admits there has been pain, but his faith in God has helped him overcome her rejection. The plot thickens when one of the team members recognizes Nightcrawler's mother's voice. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 60 | 15 | "Lotus and the Steel" | Larry Houston | Ted Pedersen & Francis Moss | February 3, 1996 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Wolverine, losing control, quits the X-Men and returns to the rural Japan of his younger days, in an effort to find himself. He works peacefully with a former spiritual teacher, the monk Oku, to build a temple. But the neighboring village is about to be attacked by bandits, led by the merciless Silver Samurai, unless payment is made. Some of the villagers want to resist and ask Wolverine for help. Wolverine is torn. This is just the sort of thing he had wanted to leave behind. Wolverine bests the Samurai in single combat by taking advantage of Samurai's habit of teleporting behind him: Wolverine anticipates the move and disables the teleportation device, humiliating Samurai. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 61 | 16 | "Weapon X, Lies, and Video Tape"[b] | Larry Houston | David McDermott & Steven Melching | June 11, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||
| A cryptic photograph unleashes a flood of maddening and painful memories in Wolverine that threaten to drive him insane. To keep his mind from being torn apart, Wolverine and Beast travel to the one location that may hold the answers to his hidden past; the ruins of the top-secret Weapon X lab where Wolverine's bones were laced with adamantium. There he encounters other former "test subjects" – Sabretooth, Maverick, and Silver Fox – who are suffering similar mental breakdowns. Later they find out that many of their memories were implanted, and their true memories are destroyed with the lab. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 62 | 17 | "Have Yourself a Morlock Little X-Mas" | Larry Houston | Eric Lewald & Larry Parr | December 23, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||
| As all of the X-Men prepare for a festive Christmas, foster child Jubilee is thrilled. She, Storm, and grouchy humbug Wolverine go last-minute shopping in Manhattan, only to be caught in a life-or-death crisis involving Leech, the littlest Morlock. Leech needs a blood transfusion, so Wolverine's blood is given and then Leech gets better. Additionally, Storm agrees to give back to Callisto her title as the Morlock's official leader. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 63 | 18 | "Beyond Good and Evil, Part 1: The End of Time" | Larry Houston | Steve Cuden | November 4, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 64 | 19 | "Beyond Good and Evil, Part 2: Promise of Apocalypse" | Jan Strnad | November 11, 1995 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 65 | 20 | "Beyond Good and Evil, Part 3: The Lazarus Chamber" | Michael Edens | November 18, 1995 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 66 | 21 | "Beyond Good and Evil, Part 4: End and Beginning" | Dean Stefan | November 25, 1995 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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In 3999, Cable attacks Apocalypse, but Apocalypse steals his time device and uses it to arrive at the axis of time which causes Bishop to be thrown off course and trapped at the axis of time. Present day, Jean and Scott finally get married again. Just as they are driving off after the ceremony, the Nasty Boys kidnap Jean – leaving Scott behind. Shard (Bishop's sister) travels to the present day in search of Bishop and arrives in time to see Mr. Sinister trying to take Xavier. Apocalypse kidnaps another psychic mutant. Lillandra warns Xavier of Apocalypse, and Xavier determines that he is capturing psychics. In anticipation, Shard and Wolverine go to protect Psylocke. Still, she is kidnapped by Magneto and taken to Apocalypse in the axis of time control center. In 3999, Cable reveals a plan to go back in time. Cable uses a time-traveling ship to go back to the past but unbeknownst to him he is thrown off course by Apocalypse. Cable lands in the present. The X-Men decide to help him in destroying Apocalypse's Lazarus Chamber. They go back in time to ancient Cairo however Apocalypse predicted this and uses the opportunity to teleport Xavier to the Axis. Cable and the X-Men destroy the Lazarus Chamber. They then use Cable's computer and Cerebro to trace a homing device on the Professor to the control axis where Apocalypse reveals his plan to use the psychics to destroy all time and recreate a universe, where he will rule unchallenged. Feeling that he was deceived by Apocalypse, Magneto attacks him when Cable arrives and joins the attack. Apocalypse begins draining the psychics which causes time and history to start to disappear. Bishop sees this and releases the psychics. Sinister & the Nasty Boys retreat. The heroes defeat the 4 horsemen of Apocalypse. In the end, the psychics move Apocalypse to the Astral Plane. Using Cable's time and spaceship, everyone else is returned to the present time at the Mansion. Cable travels back to his time. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Beyond Good and Evil" was meant to be the series finale, until Fox ordered more episodes at the last minute, but at a reduced budget. To save money, Saban produced episodes five to ten in-house rather than involving Graz Entertainment, to whom it had outsourced production of the series. Saban hired a studio in the Philippines, the Philippine Animation Studio (which also worked on the second season of the 1994 Fantastic Four series) because the prior animation studio AKOM was unavailable due to other projects. As such, starting with episode five (the first four episodes were holdovers from previous seasons), this season had a distinctly different animation style.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 67 | 1 | "The Phalanx Covenant" | Larry Houston | Steven Melching & David McDermott | September 7, 1996 | ||||||
| 68 | 2 | ||||||||||
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The X-Men are attacked by the Phalanx, a race of techno-organic aliens seeking to assimilate all life on Earth. The alien Warlock allies with Beast, Forge, and Mr. Sinister to defeat the Phalanx. The X-Men are attacked by the Phalanx, a race of techno-organic aliens seeking to assimilate all life on Earth. Warlock, Beast, Forge, and Mr. Sinister are trying to find help but Magneto at first sees this as his chance to watch humanity go down until he learns his son Quicksilver has been captured by the Phalanx. | |||||||||||
| 69 | 3 | "Storm Front" | Larry Houston | Mirith Colao | November 2, 1996 | ||||||
| 70 | 4 | Brooks Wachtel | November 9, 1996 | ||||||||
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The alien Arkon comes to Earth and begs Storm to return with him to his planet, to save it from meteorological chaos which threatens his people. After much pleading, Storm agrees but leaves a clue for the other X-Men to follow. Once successful, Storm is proclaimed savior throughout this universe. Then Arkon asks her to marry him. Spectacular preparations for Storm's wedding to Arkon proceed quickly. Meanwhile, the X-Men discover that Arkon is a ruthless tyrant. | |||||||||||
| 71 | 5 | "The Fifth Horseman" | Larry Houston | Steven Melching & David McDermott | February 8, 1997 | ||||||
| Fabian Cortez kidnaps Jubilee because Apocalypse is trapped in the Astral Plane and needs a host body. Cortez brings her to a temple, but Beast comes and rescues Jubilee and destroys the temple. In the end, when Apocalypse comes out of a portal, he takes over Cortez's body, transforming it into his form and banishing Cortez from it. | |||||||||||
| 72 | 6 | "Jubilee's Fairytale Theatre" | Larry Houston | Brooks Wachtel | November 16, 1996 | ||||||
| Jubilee leads a group of school children on a tour of a cave on Mansion property, only to be caught in a cave-in. As the water in the cave rises, she keeps the kids calm by spinning a medieval fairy tale of knights, princesses, trolls, and dragons. Some of these characters might just seem to resemble the X-Men. As she tells the kids the stories, the real X-Men arrive and save them. | |||||||||||
| 73 | 7 | "Old Soldiers" | Larry Houston | Len Wein | February 22, 1997 | ||||||
| Wolverine thinks back to the time when he fought during World War II and teamed up with Captain America. Wolverine & Captain America must break into a Nazi establishment to rescue the kidnapped scientist Andre Cocteau and fight the Red Skull. | |||||||||||
| 74 | 8 | "Hidden Agendas" | Larry Houston | Steven Melching & David McDermott | September 6, 1997 | ||||||
| Sam Guthrie's parents have contacted Professor Xavier about their son's mutant powers. Rogue goes back to the South to check things out and finds Sam living the life she never had. Family and friends support the young Cannonball, but Rogue must teach him how the rest of the world lives when shadowy Army officials attempt to use the youthful mutant. | |||||||||||
| 75 | 9 | "Descent" | Larry Houston | Steven Melching & David McDermott | September 13, 1997 | ||||||
| In London, England's Victorian era, two scientists, Dr. James Xavier and Dr. Nathaniel Essex, hotly debate Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection. Essex believes mutants are the next genetic step forward and begins a bizarre experiment involving mutant evolution. He creates for himself a minion, Jack, to procure mutant organs for him. Essex uses the mutant DNA of Jack’s victims to transform himself. The origin of Mr. Sinister is revealed, as Dr. Xavier attempts to stop Essex before he goes too far. | |||||||||||
| 76 | 10 | "Graduation Day" | Larry Houston | James Krieg | September 20, 1997 | ||||||
| At a Mutant/Human Relations Summit, Henry Peter Gyrich attacks and cripples Professor Xavier with an energy disruptor. The X-Men and Moira MacTaggert try to save Xavier, but all seems lost. Lilandra comes and has a cure, but Professor Xavier must leave and go with her to the Shi'ar Empire to be cured. Meanwhile, Magneto makes final preparations to take over the world with his mutant army, but on the eve of the invasion Cyclops, Wolverine, and Jean Grey infiltrate Genosha to tell Magneto that Xavier is dying. He halts the assault on humankind out of respect for his greatest enemy, equal, and only friend. The final scene of the show depicts a lasting moment as all of the X-Men and Magneto stand outside the X-Mansion and say goodbye to Xavier as he leaves with Lilandra and her ship to the Shi'ar home world. | |||||||||||
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Main articles: Spider-Man (1994 TV series) and List of Spider-Man (1994 TV series) episodes |
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | "Chapter IV: The Mutant Agenda" | Bob Richardson | Story by : John Semper, J. M. DeMatteis & Stevent Grant Teleplay by : Michael Edens | September 30, 1995 | |
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Spider-Man begins to worry about his growing mutation. In order to seek a cure, he heads to the Xavier mansion, where he encounters the X-Men. A brief fight occurs, after which Spider-Man explains his plight to Xavier, who tells Spider-Man that he cannot cure him. Beast tells Spider-Man to go to Herbert Landon, who is working on a cure for mutants. Afterward, Landon's men capture Beast. While Spider-Man is watching Landon's demonstration, the facility is attacked by the Hobgoblin. However, a mysterious telekinetic force holds the ceiling in place long enough for Spider-Man to escape. Wolverine begins to worry about Beast's disappearance. He discovers that Beast spoke with Spider-Man before he disappeared, and sets out to find Spider-Man. This episode is a crossover with Spider-Man season 2 episode 4. | |||||
| 18 | "Chapter V: Mutants' Revenge" | Bob Richardson | Story by : John Semper & Michael Edens Teleplay by : Francis Moss & Ted Pedersen | October 7, 1995 | |
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Wolverine catches up with Spider-Man, who is hot on the trail of the missing Beast. Meanwhile, the Hobgoblin steals the mutant technology information that Landon had prepared for Kingpin. Meanwhile, Genevieve, Landon's assistant, struggles with keeping her secret of being a telekinetic mutant, who saved Spider-Man from the collapsing ceiling. This episode is a crossover with Spider-Man season 2 episode 5. | |||||