X-Men: The Animated Series has stood the test of time with its ability to be re-watched, even if some episodes are better for this purpose than others. Bringing the X-Men to the forefront of Marvel’s non-comic media for the first time, the cartoon went a long way in popularizing the mutant heroes, presenting the definitive versions of the characters in the eyes of many. Just like the best episodes of X-Men ’97, its follow-up series, some of the most memorable moments of the 90s animated show are just as good when revisited again and again.

Admittedly, X-Men: The Animated Series struggles with some intense serialization, making it difficult to jump in at certain points without the context of long-running arcs. Many of its episodes are parts of larger two, three, or even four-part stories, making them harder to justify watching on their own. Luckily, a few standout episodes work on their own as bottle stories, keeping X-Men: The Animated Series ahead of the pack as the best X-Men cartoon, at least before the premiere of X-Men ’97.

10

The Juggernaut Returns

Season 3, Episode 19

The Juggernaut holds the rare honor of a distinctly X-Men-associated character that isn’t actually a mutant, gaining his powers from the Crimson Gem of Cytorrak, an ancient, magical artifact. “The Juggernaut Returns” explores this, as well as Charles’ own relationship as Cain Marko’s half-brother. When the Juggernaut comes after Professor X only to lose his powers and fall into a coma, it’s up to the X-Men to wake him up and find the new Juggernaut who got their hands on the gem.

There’s a lot to love about this episode as it puts the tragically underdeveloped relationship between Professor X and his sibling in the spotlight while describing the mystical rules of the Juggernaut’s power. Seeing the new Juggernaut try to use his powers to impress women is hilarious, and an extended danger room fight with a Hulk cameo makes for a highly re-watchable sequence. However, “The Juggernaut Returns” does abruptly introduce a lot of elements without fully resolving any of them, leaving it on the weaker side of the series’ returnable episodes.

9

Deadly Reunions

Season 1, Episode 4

Though only the second appearance of Magneto in X-Men: The Animated Series, “Deadly Reunions” makes it clear the master of magnetism means business with an all-out declaration of war against all mutants not willing to join him in seeking world domination over the humans. As if that weren’t enough, Professor X decides to delve into the mind of Sabretooth, Wolverine’s arch nemesis, much to the clawed hero’s chagrin. What follows is one of the strongest standalone stories in the first season.

Being so early on in the series, not much context is needed to appreciate the episode, beyond some working knowledge of who Sabretooth and Magneto are. Better yet, Xavier’s trippy journey into Sabretooth’s fractured psyche is a visual treat every time, and Rouge’s struggle with controlling Cyclops’ powers is also an unfailingly entertaining scene. At the end of the day, “Deadly Reunions” doesn’t re-invent the wheel, resulting in standard X-Men adventure fare early in the show’s life that’s still worth revisiting.

8

Weapon X, Lies And Videotape

Season 4, Episode 16

Unlike most incarnations of the X-Men outside of comics, Wolverine isn’t usually the star of the show in X-Men: The Animated Series. That being said, the episodes that do center on him are usually gripping self-contained stories that are easy to come back to, and the dramatic payoff to his long-teased backstory certainly ranks among them. In “Weapon X, Lies, and Video Tape“, the show finally doles out some concrete answers on Logan’s past.

Determining which of Wolverine’s memories are real has always been a fun dance within the context of the show, and the episode does a great job keeping up the mystery to the very end. It’s interesting to come back to as essentially a better version of Fox’s abysmal X-Men Origins: Wolverine for the sake of taking notes on how to do a Wolverine origin story justice. That being said, some more obscure characters like Silver Fox are abruptly introduced without much lead-up, making the story rely a little more on a larger place in the series’ bigger picture.

7

Graduation Day

Season 5, Episode 10

The final episode of X-Men: The Animated Series, “Graduation Day” works strangely well on its own. As Magneto prepares to assault the Earth, the anti-human assassin Henry Gyrich takes aim at Professor X, mortally wounding him. It’s up to the X-Men to find a way to save their leader while juggling their responsibilities as protectors of the Earth.

Being the episode that leads directly in to X-Men ’97, the series finale is a great story to come back to in order to help bridge the gap between the two shows. Despite being the very last episode, the narrative isn’t over clouded by previous developments, with the Shi’Ar race being the one standout element reliant on some continuity from earlier episodes. Though it works better in the context of a finale, “Graduation Day” is still worth coming back to as a prologue to X-Men ’97 if nothing else, slightly confusing though it may be.

6

Old Soldiers

Season 5, Episode 11

Like the many cameos featured in X-Men ’97, X-Men: The Animated Series wasn’t afraid to indulge in a few crossovers from Marvel characters unrelated to the mutant struggle. One of the most enjoyable of these was the introduction of Captain America’s history serving in World War II with Wolverine, pairing the two time-displaced heroes in a single prequel story. Red Skull also gets a nod as villain of the week, giving the two a harrowing enemy to hunt down together.

The diametrically opposed viewpoints of Wolverine and Captain America make for an interesting pairing, with Stever Roger’s naive heroism bouncing off of Logan’s sarcastic hide. Their Nazi-hunting fight scenes are animated fluidly as well, making the fun period piece a novelty of an episode to enjoy for repeat viewings. That being said, if one could only pick a single X-Men: The Animated Series to go back to, the one featuring the fewest X-Men characters might not be the best choice.

5

The Cure

Season 1, Episode 9

One of the most mocked lines in the Fox X-Men live-action films is the moment in which Storm tells Rogue she doesn’t need curing, despite the touch-starved mutant suffering from very real negative consequences as a result of her power. “The Cure” pulls on this particular thread, exploring the ramifications of Rogue curing herself of her mutant troubles while simultaneously introducing Archangel and Apocalypse. Meanwhile, the time-traveler Cable races to stop the spread of the cure before it’s too late.

The introduction of Apocalypse is handled masterfully in this episode, presenting him as a mastermind slowly pulling the strings and gathering his horseman rather than a walking brute. It’s great to come back to this episode as a better version of X-Men: The Last Stand, tackling the same subject matter with more nuance. Granted, the narrative has a lot of moving parts to keep track of, but for those willing to put in the work, “The Cure” is a great choice of an episode to re-watch.

4

The Final Decision

Season 1, Episode 13

Sometimes, coming back to X-Men: The Animated Series roots from a strong desire to simply see the iconic team take down hordes of Sentinel robots with increasingly creative uses of powers. No episode embodies this better than “The Final Decision“, in which the X-Men face off against the largest army of Sentinels the show had ever seen. As if that weren’t enough, they must also rescue the hateful Senator Kelly from the clutches of Magneto.

Seeing the X-Men struggle to keep someone alive despite their clear hatred of them is perhaps the most emblematic scenario of their ideals in the entire series. Getting to chew on this dynamic is a good enough reason to come back to his episode in particular, but the spectacular Sentinel action scenes also make for some of the most gripping material in the show’s entire run. For a solid episode emblematic of the series overall, it’s hard to reach for a better example than “The Final Decision.”

3

Cold Vengeance

Season 1, Episode 6

The history of Wolverine and Sabretooth’s rivalry goes back a long way, and stories like “Cold Vengeance” explores why Sabretooth is in the running for the most violent Marvel villain of all time. After losing Jean Grey to Cyclops officially, Wolverine leave the X-Men, finding a new family among a fishing village in Canada. It isn’t long before Sabretooth threatens his newfound peace, obsessed with hunting down his rival once and for all.

Wolverine and Sabretooth’s bitter rivalry is always a treat, and getting to see them fight one-on-one in the desolate Arctic is worth re-watching alone. The B-Plot of the other X-Men going to Genosha for the first time is also a great way to quickly get filled in on the location, which ends up becoming important in X-Men ’97. The only thing keeping “Cold Vengeance” from being one of the top two best episodes of X-Men: The Animated Series to revisit is the cliffhanger ending.

2

Beauty & The Beast

Season 2, Episode 10

If there’s one criticism to be made about X-Men: The Animated Series, it’s the way that certain characters are reduced to caricatures of themselves, such as Beast’s one-note intellectualism. However, “Beauty and the Beast” is a rare Hank-focused episode that delves deeper into the furry blue scientist’s full range of emotions. The episode revolves around Beast’s efforts to cure a young woman’s eyesight, only to face prejudice from her anti-mutant father. Meanwhile, Wolverine goes deep undercover among the Friends of Humanity hate group.

The episode is a great encapsulation of X-Men: The Animated Series‘ themes of prejudice, both at the micro and macro levels between Beast and Wolverine’s stories. Getting to see Beast experience a full range of emotions beyond simply quoting classic literature is also a rare treat worth preserving. The tear-jerker of an ending is the capstone to one of the best-made, and most easily re-watchable episodes of the entire show’s run.

1

Nightcrawler

Season 4, Episode 8

Despite being a fan-favorite with one of the greatest opening scenes to an X-Men movie, Nightcrawler shows up surprisingly little in the original animated X-Men cartoon. It’s all the more fitting that his debut episode is one of the series’ best, exploring his origins and religious nature. While the X-Men are on vacation in Germany, they stumble across the demonic-looking persecuted mutant, and help him gain acceptance from humanity.

This episode’s thoughtful dissection of faith and perseverance of hope in the face of hatred is incredibly touching, with Wolverine himself learning to be a little less nihilistic in the face of Nightcrawler’s words. Kurt’s premiere appearance may be relatively low-stakes for the series, but has some of the biggest emotional impact of any episode, and getting to see the X-Men’s dynamics in a more relaxed vacation environment is always a fun prospect to return to. Though quiet and meditative, “Nightcrawler” is by far the most re-watchable episode of X-Men: The Animated Series.