X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men!

[areaseven]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEvVgjwGzNU
X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men!
Marvel Productions/New World Productions, 1988
Best Film & Video Co., 1992 (Out of Print)
Directed by Ray Lee (G.I. Joe, Jem)

Written by Larry Parr

Based upon characters created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Len Wein, Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum

Running Time: 23 minutes
Rated TV-Y7 for some violence.

"This is Stan Lee of Marvel Comics warning you to look around you. Your classmates, your friends. You'll never know which one of them may be a mutant!"

Cast
Michael Bell (Duke in G.I. Joe, Prowl in Transformers) as Scott Summers/Cyclops

Neil Ross (Springer in Transformers, Keith in Voltron) as Logan/Wolverine and Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler

John Stephenson (Mr. Slate in The Flintstones, General Flagg in G.I. Joe) as Charles Xavier/Professor X

Kath Soucie (Fifi Le Fume in Tiny Toon Adventures, Janine in The Real Ghostbusters 2nd season) as Kitty Pryde

Dan Gilvezan (Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Bumblebee in Transformers) as Piotr Rasputin/Colossus

Alexandra Stoddart as Alison Blaire/Dazzler

Earl Boen (Taurus in G.I. Joe: The Movie, Gurlukovich in Metal Gear Solid 2) as Eric Lehnsherr/Magneto

Susan Silo (Sandra in Inhumanoids) as Emma Frost/The White Queen

Patrick Pinney (Mighty Mouse, Mainframe in G.I. Joe) as Cain Marko/Juggernaut

Pat Fraley (Ace in G.I. Joe, Max Ray in Centurions) as Saint-John Allerdyce/Pyro

Alan Oppenheimer (Mighty Mouse, Skeletor in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe) as Fred Dukes/The Blob

Frank Welker (Scooby-Doo, Megatron in Transformers) as Mortimer Toynbee/Toad and Lockheed

Stan Lee (like no one here knows who he is...) as the Narrator

Overview
The Uncanny X-Men. Who doesn't know this comic book series these days? Originally created by Marvel pioneers Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, this was the story of mutants (people born with powers instead of acquiring them from freak accidents) struggling to protect the innocent and endure the prejudice against them. It sold poorly in the 1960s and early 1970s and faced cancellation until Giant Sized X-Men issue #1 hit newsstands in 1975 and Chris Claremont took the writing helm shortly afterwards. From that point on, Claremont - along with memorable artists like John Byrne (Next-Men), Marc Silvestri (co-founder of Top Cow Productions) and Jim Lee (founder of WildStorm Productions) - churned out some of the best storylines in comic book history: "The Dark Phoenix Saga" (1979-1980), "Days of Future Past" (1981), "Inferno" (1987) and "X-Tinction Agenda" (1990), just to name a few. X-Men's popularity further expanded worldwide with four animated series, a series of box-office hit movies and a number of best-selling video games.

But the 1992 cartoon series wasn't the first time the X-Men were animated. In the 1960, the X-Men made an appearance in Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner as "The Allies for Peace" as substitutes for the Fantastic Four due to copyright issues. In 1981, the team made a number of guest appearances in Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (because Spidey's "Amazing Friends" happened to be fellow mutants Iceman and Firestar). Seven years later, Stan Lee and company decided to experiment with giving the X-Men their own show by producing a one-shot special titled "Pryde of the X-Men." It roughly chronicles the team's battle with Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

"Whatever the challenge, whatever the peril, the X-Men will be there!" - Stan Lee

Story: C
The way Kitty Pryde is introduced in this special is very awkward. In the original comics, Kitty is a Jewish girl from Chicago who joins Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters before her parents finalize their divorce. None of that is found here. Instead, Kitty takes a taxi to the X-Mansion and accidentally messes with the Danger Room. She's afraid of Nightcrawler (False, as she and Kurt are close friends in the comics) and Wolverine does not like the idea of a 14-year-old joining the X-Men (False again. Logan and Kitty are also close friends - check out the Wolverine and Kitty Pryde mini-series). Magneto steals Cerebro's central core for a sinister plan not even related to telepathic powers. The White Queen uses her telepathic powers to form an energy spear to disable the electromagnetic field inhibiting Magneto's powers. In the words of the WWE's Hurricane: "What's up wit dat?!"

Character development is a major issue here. There's no mention of Dazzler being a former disco singer. The White Queen was never a member of Magneto's Brotherhood (she was one of the Hellfire Club's elites). And what's with Wolverine and his Australian accent? He's Canadian, for crying out loud!

On the bright side, Pryde of the X-Men! maintains key elements of the comic: The X-Mansion, the Danger Room (which still has yet to see action in any of the movies), the Blackbird (as opposed to the current-generation X-Jet) and Asteroid M. It also keeps the concept of superheroes who are feared by the public because of their mutant traits. Still, it's pretty entertaining for its time.

Animation: A
Now this is how to animate a Marvel title (not the cheap quality you see in the 1992 series). The artwork has amazing detail and the animation is so good, it's almost anime. As a matter of fact, it still looks better than X-Men: Evolution.

Soundtrack: C-
Just a not-so-memorable BGM score and a theme song with cheesy lyrics.

The Bottom Line
Despite a cheesy storyline, Pryde of the X-Men! boasts much better animation than the first official TV series. It's well worth checking out for old-school Marvel fans and people who are interested in classic X-Men, True Believer.

Did You Know?
The characters used in this animated feature were also in Konami's X-Men side-scrolling arcade game.

Reference
The Internet Movie Database

Edited August 6, 2013 by areaseven

[MrDisco]

x-men pride? what colour flag do they wave?

[bsu legato]

x-men pride? what colour flag do they wave?

Are you suggesting....?

[BoBe-Patt]

wow, a non anime review! I'm surprised you even made a review of such an old animated feature. It's good to know though, thanx!

[JELEINEN]

Instead, Kitty takes a taxi to the X-Mansion and accidentally messes with the Danger Room. She's afraid of Nightcrawler and Wolverine does not like the idea of a 14-year-old joining the X-Men.

Isn't this the exact same thing that happens in all the other X-men shows/movies?

[areaseven]

Isn't this the exact same thing that happens in all the other X-men shows/movies?

I don't know how Kitty was introduced in the first series or Evolution, but in the movies, she does nothing but walk through walls. People who have not read the comics don't realize that she's also a computer genius.

[areaseven]

wow, a non anime review!

Well, I did review Wonderful Days, and that's not anime. Sometime next week, I'll cover Titan A.E. and another non-Japanese animated feature.

[JELEINEN]

I don't know how Kitty was introduced in the first series or Evolution, but in the movies, she does nothing but walk through walls. People who have not read the comics don't realize that she's also a computer genius.

I didn't mean that character specifically. I meant the young female mutant, who's supposed to be the one the audience identifies with, shows up and does most or all of those things.

[gerwalk25]

Titan A.E.

It's blasphemy when the TAE ship designer calls a ship the "Valkyrie". Booooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~G25

Edited November 29, 2003 by gerwalk25

[ShadowerV2]

Titan A.E.

It's blasphemy when the TAE ship designer calls a ship the "Valkyrie". Booooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~G25

blasphemy ?? Maybe the guy liked macross and was paying homage? An inside joke perhaps? Think about it.

[Max Jenius]

Titan A.E.

It's blasphemy when the TAE ship designer calls a ship the "Valkyrie". Booooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~G25

blasphemy ?? Maybe the guy liked macross and was paying homage? An inside joke perhaps? Think about it.

So any ship called a valkyrie is blasphemy? Macross has exclusive rights to that name? Come on...

[JELEINEN]

Yeah, and what's up with that Odin guy stealing the name for those dead chicks he uses to take souls durring battles?

[Keith]

Yeah, and what's up with that Odin guy stealing the name for those dead chicks he uses to take souls durring battles?

Yeah, let's go up to Valhala & kick his ass!

Anyway, I remember seeing this when it aired, it alternated on Sunday mornings (almost typed "Sundam" for those who care, what a bizzare fruedian slip) with the really bad first Robocop cartoon incarnation (not that the second wasn't even worse).

[Skull Leader]

I remember seeing that on Cartoon Network way back in the day (like... in CN's earliest days). Despite the differences in the animation from the comic (I'm a huge collector), I thought it kicked ass...

I hated the early '90s version, because they focused almost solely on blue team (with the exception of storm and Gambit), I mean... Colossus was my favorite one! Shadowcat (kitty) was also noticably absent from that series (Longshot and Dazzler also got no love in that series)

... and "Evolution"??? I'm sorry... Anime just isn't X-men's look. I stoped collection UXM around ish #400. It's just gone in a different direction.

[Keith]

I remember seeing that on Cartoon Network way back in the day (like... in CN's earliest days). Despite the differences in the animation from the comic (I'm a huge collector), I thought it kicked ass...

I hated the early '90s version, because they focused almost solely on blue team (with the exception of storm and Gambit), I mean... Colossus was my favorite one! Shadowcat (kitty) was also noticably absent from that series (Longshot and Dazzler also got no love in that series)

... and "Evolution"??? I'm sorry... Anime just isn't X-men's look. I stoped collection UXM around ish #400. It's just gone in a different direction.

I dissagree, especially since evolution is far from anime. Now Marvel Super Hero's, X-Men vs Streetfighter, & Marvel Vs Capcom, those are great examples of how it "does" work.

[Max Jenius]

I remember seeing that on Cartoon Network way back in the day (like... in CN's earliest days). Despite the differences in the animation from the comic (I'm a huge collector), I thought it kicked ass...

I hated the early '90s version, because they focused almost solely on blue team (with the exception of storm and Gambit), I mean... Colossus was my favorite one! Shadowcat (kitty) was also noticably absent from that series (Longshot and Dazzler also got no love in that series)

... and "Evolution"??? I'm sorry... Anime just isn't X-men's look. I stoped collection UXM around ish #400. It's just gone in a different direction.

Gambit was blue too IIRC.

Everyone knows that while Gold had it's awesome members (Iceman, Archangel), Blue was clearly superior.

[Isamu Atreides 86]

yep. Blue team owned.

Blue Team: Gambit, Rogue, Wolvie, Cyclops, Beast, Psylocke, Jubilee.

Gold: Iceman, Archangel, Jean Grey, Bishop, Storm, Colossus.

Plus, The Blue Teams run began with Jim Lee and Chris Claremont. X-men 1-8 are just about my faves of all time. awesome art, awesome stories.

[areaseven]

yep. Blue team owned.

Blue Team: Gambit, Rogue, Wolvie, Cyclops, Beast, Psylocke, Jubilee.

Gold: Iceman, Archangel, Jean Grey, Bishop, Storm, Colossus.

Plus, The Blue Teams run began with Jim Lee and Chris Claremont. X-men 1-8 are just about my faves of all time. awesome art, awesome stories.

Yeah, those were the last of the good old days. Now, I don't know what the hell's going on with the X-Teams. Gone are Excalibur, X-Factor and X-Force (which I didn't care too much about, especially since everyone hates Rob Liefield). Now I hear that Colossus may die of some incurable virus and Jean Grey's about to get killed and be resurrected as Phoenix once again.

I'd wish Claremont would come back to write X-Men, but nowadays, he seems pretty senile, given all of the bad reviews of his recent works.

[areaseven]

It's blasphemy when the TAE ship designer calls a ship the "Valkyrie". Booooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~G25

StarCraft also had attack ships called "Valkyries."

[southpaw]

what's with Wolverine and his Australian accent?

Its called foreshadowing...why did you think Hugh Jackman got hired in the first place!!

[Isamu Atreides 86]

yep. Blue team owned.

Blue Team: Gambit, Rogue, Wolvie, Cyclops, Beast, Psylocke, Jubilee.

Gold: Iceman, Archangel, Jean Grey, Bishop, Storm, Colossus.

Plus, The Blue Teams run began with Jim Lee and Chris Claremont. X-men 1-8 are just about my faves of all time. awesome art, awesome stories.

Yeah, those were the last of the good old days. Now, I don't know what the hell's going on with the X-Teams. Gone are Excalibur, X-Factor and X-Force (which I didn't care too much about, especially since everyone hates Rob Liefield). Now I hear that Colossus may die of some incurable virus and Jean Grey's about to get killed and be resurrected as Phoenix once again.

I'd wish Claremont would come back to write X-Men, but nowadays, he seems pretty senile, given all of the bad reviews of his recent works.

i think colossus has already been dead (again?) for a while and jean has the pheonix (again?!) and may already be dead. Grant Morrisons run on New X-Men had me come back, and its been okay. anyone who read the Invisibles or some of his other work will know his potential. X-force is hella wierd these days (Michael Allred of Madman fame is writing or drawing) and X-factor is dead (Lorna and Alex are regulars on Uncanny X-men once again). but since Morrison is leaving soon, hopefully marvel can make these books fun again....

Claremont really screwed the pooch on his relaunch (which did away with Adam Warren's great run on the books first series) of Gen 13, getting it cancelled after 16 issues. sucks too, cause they had always been one of my faves since J Scott Campbell's days. hope they decide to give this book another chance....

fanboy rant over....

[JRock]

Hey!! Is this the X-Men cartoon that had Wolverine wearing the Burgundy and orange suit and sounding like Juggernaut?? If it is, I remember when it was on the Marvel Afternoon in the late 80's (It aired right after the animated RoboCop series, believe it or not)

[Kamui 777]

I caught this by accident like 14 years ago I think.

I loved this. Especially the opening with the stone pillars hitting Collossus. Ah memories.....

[Ladic]

I have this on tape, very good i agree.

[Skull Leader]

Colossus died somewhere around the #390s in UXM (the ORIGINAL storyline.... not the offshoots)

After loosing his brother and sister to the legacy virus, it was discovered that a cure could be made, but it would require the sacrifice of one mutant. Going behind everyone's back, Colossus made that decision. This was shortly after he returned to the X-men from his brief stay with the alcolytes.

[areaseven]

Colossus died somewhere around the #390s in UXM (the ORIGINAL storyline.... not the offshoots)

After loosing his brother and sister to the legacy virus, it was discovered that a cure could be made, but it would require the sacrifice of one mutant. Going behind everyone's back, Colossus made that decision. This was shortly after he returned to the X-men from his brief stay with the alcolytes.

Man, that sucked. No Colossus means no more "Fastball Special" with Wolverine anymore.

[Ladic]

noone ever really dies in the marvel universe.

[EXO]

Gwen Stacy???

[dna]

Gwen Stacy???

You just need to wait longer.

[Anubis]

The golden days of X-men are long since over. Back when they had the Blue and Gold teams it rocked, now I don't know what the deal is. Got crappy, so I gave up on it.

[Ladic]

Gwen Stacy???

she has been back in clone form

[Golden Arms]

Yeah the collosus death in the X-men was very lame. The way he cured the legacy virus was one of the stupidest things I've read in a comic in awhile. The problem with Collosus was that none of the writers knew how to make interesting stories for the amored mainstay. The character is nearly 30 yrs old and the best the writers can come up with is killing his family off and having him align himself with magneto. <_< Pretty weak. The writing in some of the x-books is back to a very good level. Claremont seems to have regained his trademark style in Xtreme. He's reached a comfort level with the characters in the book, and he's back to creating multiple plot lines in his stories. Morrisons writing in New X-men has lived up to expectations. Who would have thought that Xorn was actually *&^%$)( all along.

Edited December 1, 2003 by Golden Arms

[Isamu Atreides 86]

Claremont seems to have regained his trademark style in Xtreme. He's reached a comfort level with the characters in the book, and he's back to creating multiple plot lines in his stories. Morrisons writing in New X-men has lived up to expectations. Who would have thought that Xorn was actually *&^%$)( all along.

i wouldn't have suspected Xorn. a real kick in the groin, that was. Morrison's gonna be a hard act to follow. Claremont pissed me off cause he killed of Betsy (Psylocke).....WHY???!!! His follow up to God Loves, man Kills was also extremely half-assed. but i guess if he can get Remy and Rogue their powers back, all could be forgiven......

....except the Gen 13 thing....

[Golden Arms]

Claremont seems to have regained his trademark style in Xtreme.  He's reached a comfort level with the characters in the book, and he's back to creating multiple plot lines in his stories.  Morrisons writing in New X-men has lived up to expectations.  Who would have thought that Xorn was actually *&^%$)(  all along.

i wouldn't have suspected Xorn. a real kick in the groin, that was. Morrison's gonna be a hard act to follow. Claremont pissed me off cause he killed of Betsy (Psylocke).....WHY???!!! His follow up to God Loves, man Kills was also extremely half-assed. but i guess if he can get Remy and Rogue their powers back, all could be forgiven......

....except the Gen 13 thing....

If the editors are smart that won't try to follow up Morrisons work. To do so would only result in a cheap imitation. They are better off by going in a new direction and trying some new ideas with a fresh face. Claremont didn't want to kill off Pyslocke. Her death wasn't meant to be permanent. When he started writing X-treme, the Marvel Books changed editorial staffs. The new editors instituted a freeze on characters returning from the grave. Betsy was merely a casuality of this policy. I think they've eased their stance on this policy since then. Claremont has stated that he would love to reprise writing her character. I think in some of the previous story arcs they might have left open the possibilty that she isn't dead. Not 100 % sure so don't qoute me on it.

GLMN's follow up was kinda weak, but atleast Claremont wrote it and not someone else. Marvel wanted a follow up to coincide with X2. Claremont wasn't the one pushing for the follow up. If he didn't do, some other writer would have, and could U imagine how bad that would have turned out?

[Isamu Atreides 86]

If he didn't do, some other writer would have, and could U imagine how bad that would have turned out?

yeah, it could have been Chuck Austen.

i really hope someone brings betsy back.....