Seventeen years after its finale, X-Men: Evolution still stands out as one of the most unique and inventive adaptations of the X-Men. Although the show briefly enjoyed its own run of comic books, both the animated series and the comics saw cancellation before their plots could fully come to fruition, which means there is still plenty of potential to explore in a new comics continuation.

Part of what made Evolution so unique was its willingness to reinvent the concepts and characters at the heart of the X-Men in a way that still felt true to the original vision. The show positioned the majority of the characters as teenagers attending a public high school. Professor X, Storm and Wolverine were the only adult members of the team at the start of the first season.

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The result was a refreshing take on familiar characters, allowing the audience to grow with them and watch as they learned to navigate the world not only as teenagers, but as outcasts. The public high school of Bayville served as the perfect proving ground for stories of discrimination, peer pressure and bureaucratic mismanagement that X-Men stories ha told for years, but in a more familiar and tangible way.

X-Men: Evolution grew increasingly complex across its four-season run, expanding the ranks of the Xavier Institute with a new class, deepening the backstory of its cast and introducing an ever-expanding array of antagonists like the Brotherhood of Mutants, Magneto and his Acolytes and the Weapon X program that debuted X-23 before she even came up in the mainstream Marvel continuity.

Unfortunately, the series ended way too early.

While the final season did manage to tie up the plot neatly, bringing the mutants of the world from across the moral spectrum together to fight the threat of Apocalypse, the creators gave a vision of the future that hinted at many storylines they would sadly never have the opportunity to do. These included the reform of Magneto as he taught the New Mutants, the advancement of Sentinels and the Dark Phoenix Saga..While Xavier's brief glimpse into the future served as an adequate sendoff, even all these years later it just leaves fans hungry for more.

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With Marvel reprinting the show's comics for its 20th anniversary, it's a reminder that the show's remaining storylines could continue in a new comic series. A final view of the X-team at the series' end hinted at so much potential, with Spyke rejoining the team after leading the underground Morlocks and then-villain Colossus becoming a hero.

If creators don't want to pick up where X-Men: Evolution left off, embracing a time-skip could also offer new storytelling opportunities. Seeing how the world of Evolution changed in the ensuing 20 years could be a fascinating examination of an alt-universe X-Men team and their allies. The show never shied away from change and if reviving the show itself isn't possible, comics shouldn't be out of the question.

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