Do you like this song? #548
Yes I like it, I already know it
Yes I like it, first time listening
No I don't like it, I already know it
No I don't like it, first time listening
Ron Wasserman - X-Men 1992
X-Men: The Animated Series is an American animated superhero television series aired for five seasons from 1992 to 1997. Set in the same fictional universe as Spider-Man (1994–1998), it was followed by a revival, X-Men '97, which began airing on March 20, 2024, on Disney+ to critical acclaim. In the 2022 MCU film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the theme song from the TV series (orchestrated by Danny Elfman and credited as X-Men '97 Theme) is played when Charles Xavier (portrayed by Patrick Stewart) first appears; in the film, unlike his previous performances as the character in Fox's X-Men franchise, Stewart's Xavier is visually redesigned to match his animated counterpart, complete with his iconic green suit, blue and black tie, and yellow hoverchair. (let's be fair; his entry scene with this music is the only thing worth remembering about that film) In the Ms. Marvel episode "No Normal", the X-Men theme is played when Kamala Khan discovers that she is a "mutant".
Ronald Aaron Wasserman, also known as Aaron Waters and The Mighty Raw, is an American musician who composed the original theme songs for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and X-Men: The Animated Series. He composed the theme songs for Sweet Valley High, Teknoman and VR Troopers. During his early days at Saban Entertainment, Wasserman worked as a music engineer, sometimes contributing background music and co-writing themes for several of their smaller series. Shows Wasserman worked on during this period include King Arthur and the Knights of Justice (which he composed the theme for), Little Shop, Saban's Around the World in Eighty Dreams, Saban's Gulliver's Travels, and Video Power.
In 1992, Wasserman wrote the theme song for the animated X-Men series and co-composed background music for it, with this being the first hit show he worked on. Wasserman did not know anything about X-Men when he was asked to compose the theme. In a retrospective 2022 article, Wasserman remembered, "it was two weeks of hell putting that song together", adding that "I kept getting notes saying they wanted more baseline, then more high-hats. It was a real pain in the ass to do all that back then too. It came out really great though, the theme was really catchy and interesting and it was especially interesting when they animated to it." Wasserman also wrote some of the show's background music, with other composers from Saban also working on the background music. For the early episodes, the show's closing credits featured an instrumental heavy rock song from Wasserman, but for later episodes it was replaced by a shortened version of his opening theme.
Wasserman's X-Men theme would later be reworked by The Newton Brothers for X-Men '97 (2024). The series is a continuation of X: Men: The Animated Series, which originally ended in 1997. One of Feige's stipulations for reviving X-Men: The Animated Series was ensuring Marvel Studios was able to use that series' theme song. Following legal battles with Saban Entertainment over the use of the theme, Marvel Studios paid a large sum to secure the rights to it in 2022. This was done on the condition that it be re-recorded for future projects and credited to the original series' music executives.
"X-Men" received a total of 89,3% yes votes! A special shout-out to those of you who knew this theme would show up because I have mentioned X-Men a few times here before already, lol. 😂 I chose to put the '97 version on the reveal video with the original remaining on the poll's audio. :)
