💥 The oral history of 'X-Men: The Animated Series’ risky debut

Tuesday

Nov 01 2022

Almost 60 years after their creation, the X-Men are still one of the most popular superhero franchises around, but in the early ‘90s, most people had never heard of them.

While characters like the Hulk, Spider-Man, Batman, and Superman had all made the leap from the pages of comics to live-action movies and shows or cartoons, Marvel was still struggling to crack the X-Men. Then, in 1992, everything changed.

Against all odds (and despite the meddling of Stan Lee himself), X-Men: The Animated Series debuted on October 31, 1992. It was an instant hit, which means a lot when you consider that kids literally stayed home on Halloween night to watch the debut episode, “Night of the Sentinels: Part 1.”

To celebrate this historic occasion, Inverse spoke to the writers, artists, actors, and studio execs who brought the X-Men to life. You can find our exclusive oral history and more in today’s issue of Inverse Daily.

What's New

FEATURE

Entertainment

Night of the Sentinels: The oral history of X-Men: The Animated Series’ risky debut

Thirty years ago, the world met the X-Men.

Although the comic book characters debuted in 1963, in the early 1990s, awareness of the property wasn’t as widespread as heroes like Spider-Man or the Fantastic Four. There had been no movies or television shows about Marvel’s mutants. Hollywood was skeptical about the marketability of the superpowered team of outcasts.

The most notable exception was Margaret Loesch. From 1984 to 1990, Loesch was the president and CEO of Marvel Productions, and during that time, an X-Men cartoon became her passion project. She even financed a pilot for the X-Men in 1989. While Pryde of the X-Men failed, Margaret didn’t stop believing in the X-Men. So when she became CEO of Fox Kids in 1990, she returned to the property.

“I identified with the X-Men,” Loesch tells Inverse, “I believed in the show, even when Fox was telling me I was risking my job over it.”

The result was X-Men: The Animated Series, the groundbreaking cartoon that ran for five years and became a runaway success. To mark the occasion of 30 years since the cartoon’s debut, here, talking to Inverse, is the creative team behind X-Men: The Animated Series and its pilot “The Night of the Sentinels.”

RIP

Science

NASA's flying telescope SOFIA is no more — what happens next?

NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy or SOFIA mission is over. The 747 touched down after its last flight in the predawn hours of September 30, 2022, about five months after NASA announced the end of the program.

Like the James Webb Space Telescope, SOFIA viewed the universe in infrared light, whose wavelengths are just slightly too long for our eyes to see. Infrared telescopes shed light on distant galaxies, the births and deaths of stars, and the worlds of our own Solar System.

Inverse looks back at NASA’s flying telescope, relives a routine science flight on SOFIA, and looks ahead at what’s next for far-infrared astronomy.

DRUG WAR

Mind and Body

Is it finally time to stop drug testing workers?

In 2019, Jared* was set to move across the country to start a new job at a clean-energy company.

After he accepted the offer, the company told him he'd need to take a drug test, a requirement he says wasn’t mentioned previously. Jared, who requested to use a different name for this story for privacy reasons, told his new employer that he had a doctor’s note for medical marijuana. (Because the FDA hasn’t approved cannabis for any medical purpose, people typically receive “recommendations” as opposed to formal prescriptions.) Jared used it regularly, and would likely test positive for the drug on a test. A few weeks later, he got the results: As expected, the lab detected THC in his sample. The job offer was rescinded.

Today, workplace drug tests are commonplace, but they can be traced back to 1971 when President Nixon declared a “war on drugs” — a cause President Reagan would later take up and explode in 1982. Reagan advocated strict penalties for even low-level drug offenses, ushering in an era of mass incarceration. The ripple effects of those policies extend beyond prisons — including in the prevalence of workplace drug tests.

KNOCK ON WOOD

Innovation

Forget plastic: This see-through wood material is millions of times more sustainable

If you’ve ever used a paper straw, you know the singular disappointment of trying to sip a refreshing beverage through a soggy, slowly collapsing tube.

Of course, the alternative isn’t much better: Plastic straws may offer a satisfying drink experience, but each one we use adds to the roughly 8.3 billion polluting beaches around the globe.

But what if there was a wood-based plastic alternative that held its own against your beverage of choice? Turns out, there is — transparent wood.

This futuristic material is flexible, moldable, and see-through, just like traditional petroleum plastics. But rather than being derived from fossil fuels that worsen climate change, it’s mostly made of trees.

Learn more

Inverse Interview

Movies

How to film a breakout sci-fi thriller at the literal edge of the world

Nyla Innuksuk made a unique Hollywood product: Homegrown sci-fi straight from the Inuit hamlets of her childhood.

The first-time director spent her summers surrounded by snow-capped mountains and constant sunshine in northernmost Canada. It may seem like an odd setting for a young adult horror flick, but she defends her decision to set SLASH/BACK in Pangnirtung, a town with a population of roughly 1,500.

For Innuksuk, the area’s isolation (and its cultural history) made it the perfect setting for a scary story.

“It’s so fun exploring the different creatures and stories from Inuit mythology,” Innuksuk tells Inverse. “There are all sorts of stories we’re told as kids to spook us into behaving well. I think that’s the same for all cultures around the world. But the fact that the Arctic is just so extreme and dangerous makes our children’s cautionary tales much scarier.”

Meanwhile...

The strange history of hallucinating without drugs

Brain study suggests the workday needs to be radically restructured

'House of the Dragon' Season 2 update confirms a disappointing release date rumor

Marvel's 'WandaVision' sequel could set up 'Avengers: Secret Wars'

Today in history: The general public was able to view Michelangelo's fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel for the first time November 1, 1512.

Song of the day: "X-Men: The Animated Series intro"

About this newsletter: Do you think it can be improved? Have a story idea? Send those thoughts and more to us by emailing newsletter@inverse.com.

share Inverse Daily

Do you know someone who would enjoy reading Inverse Daily? Take a few minutes to share it with them.

You're receiving this email because you signed up to receive communications from BDG Media. If you believe this has been sent to you in error, please safely unsubscribe.

315 Park Ave. South, New York, NY 10010

Copyright 2022 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

View in browser

💥 The oral history of 'X-Men: The Animated Series’ risky debut

Older messages

🎃 Why do we eat candy on Halloween?

🧠 Let’s talk about pumpkin seeds

🌐 The best of both (virtual) worlds

🦠 Microbial astronauts

⚔️ What's next for 'Rings of Power' Season 2

You Might Also Like

☕ Great chains

Pete Hegseth's confirmation hearing.

Honourable Roulette

📬 No. 62 | What I learned about newsletters in 2024

⚡️ ‘Skeleton Crew’ Answers Its Biggest Mystery

I Tried All The New Eye-Shadow Sticks

How To Stop Worrying And Learn To Love Lynn's National IQ Estimates

☕ Olympic recycling

Ozempic has entered the chat

How a major bank cheated its customers out of $2 billion, according to a new federal lawsuit