5 Most Heartbreaking X-Men: The Animated Series Scenes, Ranked

After premiering in 1992, "X-Men: The Animated Series" quickly earned a reputation as one of the best superhero cartoons of all time, delivering stunning fight scenes, jaw-dropping plot twists, and heartbreaking deaths.

"X-Men '97" continued that trend on Disney+, picking up from a cliffhanger left dangling at the end of the original show's fifth season. In subsequent episodes, "X-Men '97" explored the bigotry and discrimination faced by mutants and showed just how far the X-Men are willing to go to defend their loved ones. Arguably the show's most shocking moment saw Gambit (A.J. LoCascio) sacrifice himself to stop the mutant-hunting robot Master Mold (Eric Bauza).

Gambit's death was just one of many moments across both shows that tugged hard on the heartstrings — and we've ranked the most heartbreaking of all from "X-Men: The Animated Series."

"Weapon X, Lies & Videotape" is not only a genius episode title — being a reference to Steven Soderbergh's "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" – but it also delivers a hard-hitting chapter of self-discovery for Wolverine (Cal Dodd). In this episode, Logan is forced to learn the truth about his time being experimented on at the Weapon X facility.

When he reunites with Silver Fox (Shannon Lawson) and his old teammates Sabretooth (Don Francks) and Maverick (voiced by an uncredited actor), they all discover their memories have been fabricated. That's concerning in itself, but the real gut punch comes when Wolverine and Silver Fox are left wondering if the relationship they had in the past was ever real.

Both Wolverine and Silver Fox are grieving a love that may have been used against them by Weapon X, and the possibility that they didn't have that slice of happiness in a difficult time makes for a depressing thought. The show twists the knife further when Silver Fox firmly rejects Wolverine, regardless of whether their past fling was real or not. Wolverine's life has never been full of light, but ripping away one of his only happy memories feels particularly brutal.

Most of the X-Men can at least pass for human, but that's out of the question for Beast (George Buza). The team's blue, furry scientist is quite obviously a mutant, and his inability to hide gets in the way when he falls in love in "Beauty & the Beast."

While working at a hospital, Beast treats and cures a blind woman, Carly Crocker (Caroly Larson), only to find that her father disapproves of his mutanthood. It isn't long before the Friends of Humanity militia attack the hospital and kidnap Carly. Sure, Beast and the X-Men save the day, but, in a scene at the end of the episode, Beast is forced to end his relationship with Carly before it can even begin.

Providing a real tearjerker of a moment, both Beast and Carly understand that any romance between them would place Carly in danger — but the dream of peace between mankind and mutants will keep them both going. Still, considering Beast has spent so long helping others, it's doubly heartbreaking that he ends up paying the price for who he is.

The "Phoenix Saga" arc is one of the most famous "X-Men" storylines ever told, and the animated series gave it the spotlight it deserved in Season 3. In "Child of Light," Jean Grey (Catherine Disher) and the Phoenix Force realize they have to sacrifice themselves to stop a powerful relic known as the M'Kraan Crystal by diving into the sun.

The most tragic moment of all comes when Jean speaks to her tearful teammates aboard a spaceship. Since she's saying farewell via psychic projection, Cyclops (Norm Spencer) can't even properly say goodbye to his one true love. In her final moments, Jean wishes Cyclops could see the beauty of the light of the sun.

Of course, Jean returns later in the season, but that doesn't matter. Here, the team truly believed that their friend had died — in a literal blaze of glory.

"X-Men: The Animated Series" ends on a shocking cliffhanger in "Graduation Day" – one that wouldn't be picked up until "X-Men '97," over 20 years later. Henry Gyrich (Barry Flatman) shoots Professor X (Cedric Smith) at a press conference, damaging his powers and putting him in a coma. Eventually, the X-Men find that the only way to save him is for Queen Lilandra (Kristina Nicoll) to take him to the planet Shi'ar. This will save his life, but he'll likely never return.

While Xavier's exit is sad enough, the fact that he's given the time to say goodbye to each teammate, telling each how proud he is of them, is crushing. It's also incredibly poignant that Magneto (David Hemblen) is there, too; Magneto tells his old friend and enemy that there's "nothing more important" than helping him.

All of this proves how meaningful Xavier is as a father figure, a teacher, a revolutionary, and a friend. It's the perfect way to end the series, proving just how far the whole team has come since that first episode.

The most heartbreaking scene from "X-Men: The Animated Series" comes in "Bloodlines," an underrated episode that explores Nightcrawler's (Adrian Hough) backstory. While investigating a mysterious ransom note for his long-lost mother, Nightcrawler encounters shapeshifter Mystique (Jennifer Dale) — who admits that she's the one he's been searching for. A flashback explains that Mystique was forced to abandon Nightcrawler when his Bavarian father was horrified by the birth of his blue-skinned mutant son. She fled into the forest, leaving him by a waterfall.

A mother forced to leave her baby behind is devastating enough, let alone the fact that the baby grew up always looking for the good in people. But there's also the tragic twist that mother and son find themselves on opposing sides in a bitter conflict, as the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants are sworn enemies. The fact that Nightcrawler still remains a beacon of hope, even after dealing with so much hatred and tragedy, proves that Kurt Wagner is easily one of the most resilient heroes on the team.