GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids Comic-Con has announced that it will be hosting a gathering of the cast and crew of the 90s X-Men: The Animated Series. The Grand Rapids Comic-Con will be held November 11-13 at The Devos Place.
The guests will include Eric Lewald, who co-developed the series with Sidney Iwanter and Mark Edens. Julia Lewald and Len Uhley, who were both writers for the series, will also be guests. The event will also include series director Larry Houston.
Cal Dodd, who voiced Wolverine/Logan, was the first actor announced for the event. Dodd also voiced the character in the video games X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994), X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), and Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes (1998). Outside of Wolverine, Dodd voiced Donko Dorkovitch in YTV’s Weird Years, Bob Wire in Family Channel’s King, and Slappy the Dummy in Fox Kids’ Goosebumps.
Catherine Disher, who voiced Jean Grey, will also be at the event. After the series ended, she later reprised the role in the 2000 video game X-Men: Mutant Academy and its 2001 sequel X-Men: Mutant Academy 2. Disher also voiced the X-Men character Storm in the video games X-Men: Children of the Atom, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, and 2000’s Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes. Outside of Marvel, Disher’s voice work includes Mrs. Claus in 2008’s A Miser Brothers’ Christmas, Mrs. Goose in Nick Jr.’s Franklin, and Elizabeth and Mimet in Sailor Moon. Her work in live action includes Hallmark Channel’s Good Witch franchise, Lifetime’s 2012 television film An Office and a Murderer, and the CTV television film Terry.
More guests will continue to be announced throughout the week.
X-Men: The Animated Series aired on Fox Kids from 1992-1997. The series’ team included Cyclops/Scott Summers (Norm Spencer), Wolverine/Logan, Rogue/Anne Marie (Lenore Zann), Storm/Ororo Munroe (originally voiced by Iona Morris, and later by Alison Sealy-Smith), Beast/Dr. Hank McCoy (George Buza), Gambit/Remy LeBeau (originally voiced by Chris Potter, and later by Tony Daniels), Jubilee (Alyson Court), Jean Grey, and Professor Charles Xavier (Cedric Smith). In the series, the X-Men’s main antagonist Magneto/Eric Magnus Lensherr was voiced by David Hemblen. Throughout its run, the series adapted many of the Marvel Comics storylines including Days of Future Past and The Dark Phoenix Saga. The characters were also guest stars in two episodes of Spider-Man: The Animated Series, which also aired on Fox Kids. Storm would later return as part of Spider-Man’s team in an adaptation of the Secret Wars storyline in the show’s final season.
Decades after the series ended its original run, its influence on the franchise continues to be seen. In this year’s Marvel Cinematic Universe film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the show’s theme song can be heard when Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) is introduced. A comic book continuation of the series called X-Men ’92 ran from 2015-2017. Another comic book series inspired by the animated series, X-Men ’92: House of XCII, began being published earlier this year. During Disney+ Day in November 2021, it was announced that the series would be revived in a continuation for the streaming service titled X-Men ’97.
The Grand Rapids Comic-Con will be held November 11-13. Information on purchasing tickets can be found on the event’s website.
