X-Men: The Animated Series‘ near-cancelation will change how a major Marvel villain is perceived. X-Men: The Animated Series is one of the most popular iterations of the titular team outside of Marvel Comics and began in 1992. Despite X-Men: The Animated Series being originally canceled in 1997 after season 5, its popularity will continue to serve as the basis for upcoming Marvel TV shows after its revival with X-Men ’97.

X-Men ’97 season 2’s story will continue the characters established in X-Men: The Animated Series just as season 1 did. This essentially means that X-Men: The Animated Series was not canceled in 1997, but instead placed on an almost two-decade-long hiatus. That said, X-Men: The Animated Series did have a notable near-miss regarding cancelation after its debut season, which changes the way a classic villain from the show is perceived.

X-Men: The Animated Series Season 1’s Nearly-Missed Cancelation Changes A Season 2 Villain

X-Men’s Near-Cancelation Changes The Villainous Character Of Mojo

Given that X-Men was almost canceled after season 1, the inclusion of Mojo in season 2 has a different meaning altogether. Mojo is a villain who appears multiple times throughout X-Men: The Animated Series and even X-Men ’97 and riffs on the idea of corporate TV. Mojo is from a universe called Mojoverse that is essentially a giant TV empire, with the villain at its head.

Mojo is first introduced in X-Men: The Animated Series season 2. Originally, X-Men was expected to fail, and the crew for season 1 was let go before subsequently being brought back after its popularity. Mojo then appeared as an evil, ratings-obsessed TV empire mogul in season 2 and terrorized the X-Men, making his perception change completely. While Mojo has been a character in Marvel Comics since the 1980s and this connection was probably not intentional by the creators of X-Men: The Animated Series, the added context of the show’s near-cancelation may change how audiences see the villain.

Why Mojo Is Often A Meta Marvel Villain

Mojo’s Nature Makes Him An Allegory For Modern Media

As alluded to, Mojo’s inclusion in X-Men: The Animated Series season 2 was likely not an intentional dig at the show almost being canceled. Instead, Mojo has often served as a way for Marvel properties to explore the nature of modern media in a meta storyline. In X-Men season 2, Mojo’s TV empire was losing ratings, leading him to kidnap the X-Men and make them endure dangerous tasks in the name of entertainment, thus increasing Mojoverse’s popularity.

Interestingly, this meta exploration continued with Mojo’s appearance in X-Men ’97. Smartly, the writers for the show’s reboot understood that in the late 90s, video games were becoming increasingly popular. This is why Mojo appears, not as a TV mogul, but as an aspiring video game connoisseur in X-Men ’97. This changed Mojoverse to Motendo, allowing for more meta commentary on the state of media, building on the same thematic elements Mojo explored in X-Men: The Animated Series.