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1992 was a pivotal year for superheroes, as it witnessed DC and Marvel kickstarting two iconic shows, which would go on to change the comic-book landscape forever. While Bruce Timm gave us the definitive version of the caped crusader withBatman: The Animated Series,withX-Men: The Animated Series,Larry Houstongave fans the definitive X-Men experience.
Considering how influentialX-Men: The Animated Serieswas for the genre as a whole, the series that succeeded had pretty big shoes to fill. However, the creators were shot in the foot by Kids’ WB, after they were denied to include one element, which was crucial for the character’s development.
Kids’ WB Was Against Romance inX-Men: Evolution
When it was announced thatX-Men: Evolutionwas set to follow the mutants in their teenage years, eyebrows were raised, as not everyone was enthralled by the idea. But against all odds, the show proved its skeptics wrong and would go on to enjoy four seasons. However, being a show aimed at kids, its network was hellbent on ensuring no lines were crossed, which would eventually become a problem for the creators.
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Similar to whatBruce Timmhad to endure with Fox Kids’ execs, asthey were against his idea of introducing vampiresinBTAS, Kids’ WB wanted to dilute the love shenanigans inEvolution. Being a show aimed at kids, the network felt these storylines would be too icky for their intended demographic. This was a major problem for the creators, as being a show that deals with teenagers, romance was at the center of some of its most captivating storylines.
Boyd Kirkland, one of the directors of the show, toldThe Dork Review:
“This is one of those areas where the network really boxed us in. We thought this kind of character development was crucial and consistent with the fact that these X-Men were teenagers in high school, but the network felt that 6-10 year old boys (their intended audience) would find such [fare] just icky.”
While it would take Timm another 15 years to bring his vision to life, theX-Men: Evolutionteam would get creative with their ways of incorporating romance into the narrative.
X-Men: EvolutionTeam Got Creative to Incorporate Romance Into the Show
Despite resistance from Kids’ WB, it didn’t stop the team from incorporating romance into the show, but they had to get creative with their methods.
The scene in which Lance puts his arm around Kitty in episode 9 of Season 4 is one perfect example, as the show didn’t shy away from alluding to romantic connections between certain characters.
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Buttheyweren’t the only victims of such practices back then, as Timm’sBatman Beyond: Return of the Jokerunderwent a similar treatment after being deemed too dark for kids by its network.
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X-Men: Evolutionis available to stream on Disney Plus.
Santanu Roy
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2539
Santanu Roy is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on movies, with over 2,000 articles under his belt. He has been pursuing a degree in Animation and possesses a deep love for the medium of animation. Having spent the better part of the last two years pumping out articles for FW, Santanu excels at covering movie analysis and news surrounding Pixar, DCU, DreamWorks, and Batman’s cinematic legacy.With psychological thrillers and intimate slice-of-life dramas ranking among his favorite genres, Santanu is a big admirer of Luca Guadagnino, Shane Black, Park Chan-wook, and Brad Bird.
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