Do you recognize this sound? This video is for you. And Bobby and I’m your friend you know, it’s just a little bit too much about pop culture. Released on Halloween night in 1992, X-Men the animated series follows the adventures of the Fantastic Four. I’m just kidding. It’s the X-Men. Prior to the show’s release, superhero cartoons were basically just glorified 30-minute toy commercials. But there was one TV executive, Margaret Loesch, who set out to change that. Loesch had long championed for the X-Men to finally make their debut on the small screen. In 1989, she oversaw a failed pilot for an X-Men show called Pride of the X-Men that featured a Wolverine with a very interesting Australian accent and this theme song. X-Men, X-Men, this is the day, this is the day. Wasn’t that great. Then in 1990, she became CEO of Fox Kids and she had never given up on the mutants so she immediately ordered for 13 episodes of a new X-Men show to be made. With an engaging narrative and incredibly complex characters and a kick-ass theme song to boot, X-Men the animated series was a huge hit. The show addressed issues like prejudice, discrimination, and the struggle for human rights while also exploring the personal struggles of the X-Men and their relationships with one another. Shows like X-Men and also Batman the animated series opened the door for exploring the humanity of superheroes, which is a trend that we see in superhero media today. If you’re interested in hearing the crazy production journey of X-Men the animated series as well as some other Saturday morning cartoons centered around superheroes, I just did an entire episode all about that on my podcast, the afternoon special podcast, so go check it out.