X-Men: Evolution was my first experience with what I would come to learn was called shipping hell. There were so many characters and so many options for romantic pairings, and at 11 years old, I didnt know where to start.

This wasnt the most important aspect of the cartoon, which took our favorite X-Men characters and put them in a high school settingwith some of the older mutants acting as teachers and mentorsbut at the time, it was the only thing I could focus on. Would Nightcrawler and Kitty Pryde get together since they seemed to be flirting a lot? Would Scott Sommers finally ask Jean Grey out? What about Rogue and Gambit? Was that a thing I should be looking out for? Is it weird because Gambit is an adult and Rogue is still in high school?

The X-Men had been around for decades at that point, and these characters were all established and well known, but this was the first time I had ever encountered them. I didnt know what to expect. I didnt know that these teens would deal with a genocidal mutant, or struggle to take control over their powers or have to battle giant robots and prejudice just for the right to exist openly. I certainly didnt see Apocalypse coming and how he would kill many of the characters outright just as the show was wrapping up.

X-Men: Evolution wasnt the first animated X-Men show on TV. That honor belonged to X-Men: The Animated Series, which ran for five seasons in the early 1990s. That one was more of a straight X-Men comics adaptation, following Charles Xaviers School for Gifted Youngsters as they fought in the most recognizable of the franchises story arcs, including the Dark Phoenix saga. Most of the characters were adults by the time we caught up with them, but as the show was for kids, the creators picked a young avatar in Jubilee. She was supposed to be the main character, allowing the audience to experience the world of mutants with fresh eyes. She was new to the team and as such, had a lot to learn. You can argue that she didnt learn much, nor was she depicted in a positive manner, but the idea was there. In order to introduce those not familiar with mutants, Marvel, or X-Men, the audience needed somebody closer to their age. That was the perception anyway.

Whether or not this should be the standard in how people create adaptations of niche material for a broad audience (it probably shouldnt), it certainly helps. So when X-Men: Evolution comes along and introduces a version of the world where the bulk of the characters are teenagers, it might seem like overkill. But the X-Men has always been about a school, and its always built itself around the experiences of teens. For most, and as established in the comics, mutant powers emerged as a result of puberty in a very on-the-nose allegory. Over time as the mutants got older, it distanced itself from these experiences. But one of the core concepts of this band of heroes and villains has always been changing and metamorphosis, regardless of the characters ages. Why not put them in the middle of when those changes would be occurring?

The show revels in this concept, sometimes a little too much. Season one is bland and relies too much on those teen drama/high school elements, and not nearly enough on the comic book material, its drawing from. Its a lot of repetitive introductory episodes that highlight a mutant as they discover their powers and get recruited by Professor X or Mystique, whos putting together a Brotherhood to help Magneto out. The first episode gives us Kurt Wagner or Nightcrawler. The second Kitty Pryde, and so on for about five or six episodes. We get introduced to Spyke, a mutant created specifically for the show. Most things are kept simple and formulaic: a mutant gets introduced, has to deal with their powers. Usually, Mystique shows upand secrets are kept. For those with no knowledge of the X-Men its not obvious, but in hindsight, you cant really cast Magneto in shadow and act like its a big reveal that hes been conjuring up evil schemes for an entire season.

This shifted over time to where it seemed to find the perfect balance between the teen drama and the super heroics. There are instances where the characters have to deal with fresh teen angst, like having to go on a date at the school dance, but its spaced out among fantasy conflicts. Despite not being in high school, we get plenty of episodes where Wolverine has to deal with Weapon X, or the teachers (Storm, Professor X, and others) are faced with governmental threats on their being. By the end of season two, Earth knows about the existence of mutants, leading into the bigotry conversations that the X-Men franchise is known for in season three.

It was in this season that the show seemed to reach equilibrium in juggling all aspects of its identity. It was all genres at once: teen romance, sci-fi action, family drama, and comedy. You can have one episode that exploits the shenanigans between Nightcrawler and Toad, but also one about mental instability in which Rogue becomes overwhelmed by all the personalities shes absorbed. By season four, it went too far away from its light-hearted concept, relying too heavily on the source material it was adapting and not taking the time to have fun with the main cast. In its final season, the show became grim and hopeless.

But this transition from high school drama to large-scale comic book event shows how X-Men: Evolution was able to blend in all parts of the X-Men franchises identity. This included obscure elements from the comics, such the Morlocks.a team of disfigured, underground mutantsBolivar Trask and the Sentinels, mutants such as Mastermind, and even the Szardos family (although theyve been vastly changed from their magic-based comics identities). It even took liberties of its own, having been the space where X-23 (set to make her cinematic debut in Logan) was created. Its voice acting wasnt always great, but what it did with the story was masterful.

But any conversation on whether X-Men: Evolution pays tribute and respects the source material wouldnt work if the creators hadnt spent time crafting personal relationships between the characters. This is why when I think about the show, over 15 years later, I think about the stories that connected the characters and the events that drove them towards one person or another. I would talk about how my first fanfiction ever was written based on X-Men: Evolution, which included my first self-insert, Mary Sue OC (original character) who was the perfect mutant for Nightcrawler because she looked just like him, but I dont think youd want to hear that. But how other mutants treated Nightcrawlerfrom Kitty to Mystique to Rogueshaped his character, turning him from the class clown into a caring, sensitive soul with a complex psychology. Thats just one example, but theres also the will they/wont they nature of Scott and Jean, the way Gambit treated Rogue when she felt isolated, and the star-crossed nature of the romance between Kitty and Avalanche. Its no wonder that its basically Marvel shipping hell and that its stuck around in my mind.

A lot went down in just four seasons of animated kids television. We got a teen drama and an animated comic book. We got a serious take on the consequences of bigotry on those being targeted and moments of kickass girl power. We got Magneto, the Sentinels, and Apocalypse. We got back stories on a number of X-Men characters. We got a Legion episode over a decade before most people knew who David Haller was. We got an introductory crash course on X-Men all told through the eyes of teenagers for a young audience who could relate to simply the emotions of the main characters. If youre adopting an older, dense franchise for a younger audience, X-Men: Evolution set a template and a path. If you wanted to know more, you can always pick up the comics. Or watch the movies, or keep up with it years later. You can engross yourself in internet holes of exposition. Its a good place to start.

All four season of X-Men: Evolution currently avaiable to stream on Amazon for $14.99 per season.

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'X-Men: Evolution' Is the Gateway Drug of Comic Book Shows - Geek