5 Best Marvel Cameos In X-Men: The Animated Series, Ranked

Before there was a Marvel Cinematic Universe dominating movie theaters, Marvel brought an interconnected animated universe to life on the small screen. This animated universe began with the launch of "X-Men: The Animated Series" in 1992. Beyond introducing the world to one of television's greatest-ever theme songs, the series also served as a gateway to the Marvel Universe for young viewers unfamiliar with the comics. In addition to the X-Men themselves, several other Marvel Comics characters made guest appearances on the series.

While certain Marvel characters received significant guest star roles, such as Carol Danvers (aka Ms. Marvel), who played a major part in Rogue's backstory, other characters appeared only briefly. For diehard Marvel fans, these cameos offered exciting glimpses of beloved characters. However, for general audiences less familiar with the comics that inspired the series, some of these sudden and unexplained cameos were likely more than a little strange. Still, the series' decision to populate every corner of the X-Men's world with Marvel legends made "X-Men" feel like a window into a wider comic book universe.

Bruce Banner's grumpy green goliath of an alter ego appeared on Season 4, Episode 1, "The Juggernaut Returns," though technically the Hulk wasn't really on the episode at all. The Season 4 premiere of "X-Men: The Animated Series" saw the unstoppable powerhouse, the Juggernaut, hunting down his half-brother, Professor Charles Xavier. With the X-Men away from the Xavier Mansion, Charles had to concoct another strategy to stop the Juggernaut. He lured the Juggernaut into the Danger Room, where he could use different holographic training programs to contain the advancing supervillain.

One of these training modules involved a robotic version of the Hulk, who attacked the Juggernaut in a desert environment. The Hulk's mechanical doppelganger apparently didn't live up to the real thing, though, and was quickly destroyed by the Juggernaut. The Hulk's cameo on "X-Men: The Animated Series" is noteworthy because his presence in a Danger Room training module suggests the mutant superhero team had crossed paths with him at some point in the past. However, the real Hulk never featured on the series.

The year after "The Juggernaut Returns" aired, the Hulk would land his own animated series set in Marvel's animated universe, meaning his "X-Men" cameo was technically the first appearance of this version of the character. While the Hulk appeared only for about seven seconds of screentime, this was still a more generous cameo than some other Marvel heroes received.

Thanks to Chris Hemsworth's portrayal of Thor in the MCU, the God of Thunder has become a flagship Marvel superhero. In the 1990s, however, Marvel's version of Thor was not the household name he has become today. The character wasn't a complete unknown — outside of the comics, Thor had already appeared in the TV movie "The Incredible Hulk Returns" and briefly led his own animated series called "Mighty Thor" almost 30 years before his "X-Men" cameo. Despite this, he still probably wasn't the best-known character to younger fans in the 1990s, and his "X-Men" cameo did precious little to change that.

Thor can be seen in the Season 3 episode "The Dark Phoenix," as the Phoenix Force grows in power within Jean Grey and prepares to leave Earth. Thor is one of several characters shown reacting to the Phoenix's power, including Doctor Strange and the Watcher. While Doctor Strange is seen in the Sanctum Sanctorum — and had appeared in a similarly Phoenix-themed cameo once before, on the episode "Starjammers" — and the Watcher is seen out in space, Thor is standing on a random New York rooftop, looking a little out of place. Given that he has never otherwise been seen or mentioned, it feels odd to suddenly learn Thor is just hanging around in New York. Any viewers who weren't familiar with the character would almost certainly have had questions about this unexplained Viking with a big hammer on a skyscraper.

The legendary protector of Wakanda was another Marvel character who appeared on "X-Men" prior to becoming a legend. Again, the MCU can be considered responsible for catapulting Black Panther to a newfound level of global popularity. At the time of his "X-Men" cameo, Black Panther had not appeared outside of comic books.

Black Panther makes a brief appearance in the Season 4 episode, "Sanctuary, Part One." The episode sees Magneto offering mutants sanctuary on Asteroid M, an asteroid in Earth's orbit where he had founded a mutant colony. While gathering mutants in Africa for the journey to Asteroid M, Black Panther is seen crouching on a rock, watching Magneto's transport depart.

The cameo is one of the briefest to feature on "X-Men," and the lack of explanation likely left young viewers wondering about the identity of this mysterious caped figure. Their answers were delivered shortly after this "X-Men" episode aired, when Black Panther made his first full appearance in animation on the "Fantastic Four" episode, "Prey of the Black Panther."

The "X-Men" episode's director, Larry Houston, later revealed that the Black Panther cameo was his idea. Producers worried about potential rights issues, so Black Panther was written in as "African Mutant 3." Now, the character has been officially acknowledged in the show's canon on the Disney+ continuation, "X-Men '97," which revealed him to be King T'Chaka rather than his son, Marvel's traditional Black Panther, T'Challa.

Spider-Man makes a cameo appearance on the "X-Men" episode "Child of Light." Only his hand is seen, spinning a web to save civilians in the midst of a supernatural storm in New York. More interestingly though, Spider-Man's clone, the Scarlet Spider, also once made it into an episode of "X-Men."

The 1990s saw the launch of the Clone Saga storyline across Marvel's various Spider-Man comic lines. This story features various clones of Peter Parker. Ben Reilly, aka the Scarlet Spider, is chief among them. "Spider-Man: The Animated Series" would eventually feature Ben Reilly's Scarlet Spider as an alternate universe's Spider-Man, but "X-Men" did it first.

The Season 4 episode "One Man's Worth, Part One" sees time disrupted, introducing a dark alternate timeline where Charles Xavier has been killed in his youth. In this reality, mutants led by Magneto are locked in an apocalyptic war with humanity. To fight back against Magneto's forces, the army is utilizing superhumans in this conflict. A group that includes alternate versions of heroes such as Captain America and Giant-Man are seen fighting the X-Men. Though less prominent than the other heroes, the Scarlet Spider can be seen in a few shots, fighting against the mutants.

The Clone Saga was in full swing at the time this episode of "X-Men" aired, so the Scarlet Spider would have been at the forefront of comic fans' minds. His presence here, in place of Spider-Man, helps cement this episode's alternate universe setting.

The Merc with a Mouth has become one of Marvel's most popular mutants since Ryan Reynolds brought him to life in the character's own live-action film series, but Deadpool isn't a character who naturally lends himself to a children's animated series. An ultraviolent mercenary with a penchant for bad language, crass humor, and picking up extreme injuries, Deadpool has found his niche in R-rated cinema. But the team behind "X-Men: The Animated Series" still found a way to include this fan-favorite character.

Like the Hulk, Deadpool technically doesn't appear in person on "X-Men: The Animated Series" and, like every other hero on this list, his identity is never explained and his name never mentioned. However, the series does manage to include the character in ways that acknowledge his ties to Wolverine via the Weapon X program, even without ever featuring him explicitly.

Deadpool appears twice via psychic visions on the series. On the Season 1 episode "Deadly Reunions," Professor X peers into Sabertooth's mind, searching for the cause of his trauma, causing images of Wolverine and Deadpool's faces to appear. On Season 3's "The Dark Shroud," Charles Xavier's dark side is unleashed. This evil Professor X creates a projection of Deadpool to attack Wolverine.

On Season 2's "Whatever It Takes," a tortured Morph also takes on Deadpool's form to torment Wolverine, shapeshifting into Deadpool alongside other figures from Wolverine's past. Interestingly, this implies that Morph is aware of Deadpool, perhaps meaning they have met.