X Men: The Animated Series Theme Song On Bass
In recent years, though, the creation of the theme has courted controversy in the form of a 2019 copyright lawsuit leading to questions surrounding the song's creation, history, and status as a central component of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's inclusion of the X-Men franchise. Likewise, as the earworm's pop culture significance continues to elevate with each new MC-clue, how is the song being credited, and is it being appropriately tied to its creator?
X Men: The Animated Series Theme Song on Bass
In the early '90s, prior to the debut of 'Night of the Sentinels, Pt. 1' on October 31, 1992, composer Ron Wasserman wrote a variety of theme songs for Saban Entertainment, including the X-Men animated series theme song and the similarly lauded Slayer-meets-Megazord theme song for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
In 2019, a lawsuit alleged the X-Men: The Animated Series' theme song copied music from an '80s Hungarian series titled Linda. While it's not the first time fans have noticed musical similarities between the theme and other songs (Whitney Houston's "I'm Your Baby Tonight " and La Bouche's "Be My Lover" incorporate arguably comparable melodies), it is the first prominently reported lawsuit tied to the song.
Despite the two songs' uncanny resemblances, armchair analysis at the time anticipated massive difficulties proving copyright infringement of an obscure theme written in Hungary and a popular theme written in California. According to Jeff Trexler, interim director for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, "Such cases tend to be hard to win. Many wouldn't survive even a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim."
Following this ruling, in January 2021, the lawsuit was officially settled, with sparse details of the settlement included in the court order. Presumably, this action satisfied Marvel and company's legal teams enough to encourage this year's resurgence of the X-Men animated theme song without fear of legal retribution. According to Trexler, "The settlement specified dismissal with prejudice - Any attempt to revive the suit elsewhere would be challenged & dismissed on collateral estoppel grounds."
While the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness moment led to theories that this variant of Professor X could be from the animated X-Men universe, the implication that the MCU's Kamala will be a mutant (instead of an Inhuman like she is in Marvel Comics) suggests this may well be the theme song for any instance of mutants moving forward.
In either scenario, both instances of the song are credited as the X-Men '97 theme, composed by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy. With issues of creative credit a long-running concern in the world of comics, it's easy to imagine Wasserman might want his name in the credits instead, but he appears at peace. "Working at Saban was like getting paid to go to college. Haim and Shuki took full ownership, rights and revenue for what all their composers wrote. They were up front about the deal from the beginning. Three of my six years there I wrote hundreds of things for them. I left in 1995 and have always been properly credited on all projects since then."
After some tumultuous years, the song finally appears controversy-free, and set to score the incredibly exciting arrival of mutants in the MCU. So the legacy of the rebranded X-Men '97 theme lives on, resurrected like a Krakoan for what appears to be a significant role in the MCU.
X-Men, also known as X-Men: The Animated Series, is an American animated television series which debuted on October 31, 1992, in the United States on the Fox Network as part of its Fox Kids Saturday morning lineup.
I changed the Wolverine multiball to Powergloves version of the X-Men theme. That probably wouldn't work since you have the animated theme in the game.For ice man I used a karaoke version of ice ice baby. It's fantastic.
I changed the X-Men callouts to callouts from the 90s animated series (and some from video games) including Beast, Storm, Rogue, Cyclops, Phoenix and Gambit. Also changed out most of the X-Men mode music, and music for Brotherhood, Hellfire MB, and Sabertooth, Juggernaut, Omega Red modes.
I changed some of the X-Men callouts to callouts from the 90s animated series (and some from video games) including Beast, Storm, Rogue, Cyclops, Phoenix and Gambit. Also changed out most of the X-Men mode music, and music for Brotherhood, Hellfire MB, and Sabertooth, Juggernaut, Omega Red modes.
In the music video X-Ecutioners, Mike Shinoda and Joe Hahn can be seen playing with Rob Bourdon on drums, Phoenix on bass, and Wayne Static from Static-X on guitar, even though none of the three are featured in the actual song. Other cameo appearances in the video include Chester Bennington and Brad Delson, members of Adema, Xzibit, hed (p.e.), the Liks, and the Beat Junkies and some professional skateboarders.
At the start of the show, music from the combatants' respective series were used during their analyses, and music from both series were used during the fight, though sometimes other music was used as well. "Invader" by Bryan Kei Mantia and Peter Joseph Scaturroantia was used as the intro theme for every episode except Goku VS Superman and Goku VS Superman 2.
As more and more superhero-themed movies hit theaters over the next decade (close to forty in the next few years alone) composers will release hundreds of new songs and themes to match up with them. Of the hundreds of tracks already in circulation, most, while appropriate within the context of a scene, have become mostly forgettable by all but the most avid of cinephiles. In an in-depth video by the folks at Every Frame a Painting titled The Marvel Symphonic Universe, they explore why most Marvel superhero themes aren't memorable (an argument for a later time), but that got us thinking, "What ARE the best musical superhero songs to ever be released?"
Choosing just one song from this score is tough to do, because they're all fantastic. An argument can be made that either "Vespertilio" (the movie's opening track) or "Barbastella" are better pieces musically, but "Molossus" ties both of those previous tracks together in a way that fully resolves each of them. Whether it's the driving percussive beat of the bass drums and tympani or the slow-building horn swells, this track leaves a dark, heavy impact on the movie. Fun fact: The tracks are titled after species of bats.
The modern age of superhero movies started in 2000 with Bryan Singer's adaptation of X-Men. Had it failed (which it did not, obviously) then it's possible we wouldn't have a plethora of superhero movies to even discuss right now. However, its success paved the way for Sony to make Spider-Man and additional X-Men titles. While Michael Kamen's score for that film was adequate, it was little more than background music for individual scenes. It wasn't until the sequel, when John Ottman was brought in, that the movie received anything resembling a theme song.
For this movie, as he did with Batman, Elfman decidedly chose to created a theme song for ol' Web Head -- a recognizable tune that was sustainable enough to extend throughout key moments of the film that audiences could quickly associate with Spider-Man. From the staccato bongo beats, to the blistering low brass, to the haunting choral voices, his "Main Title" theme playing during the opening credits is a great example of what a superhero theme song should be.
We picked "The Avengers" as the best track from the movie (played during the end credits) because it recalls the team's theme song from earlier in the movie. It easily reminds listeners that the Earth now has a mighty band of warriors and heroes to protect it from virtually any threat (alien or domestic) that may try to harm us. Silvestri does a really nice job of mixing massive horn swells and an incredible string section with unique percussion sounds here, ensuring that any listener will quickly associate the tune with Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
"What Are You Going to Do When You're Not Saving the World?" begins playing during the final moments of the movie and leads into the end credits. Zimmer slowly builds the tension for the first part of the song, using sober piano notes to guide listeners on a musical journey that mimics Superman's. As the song continues to build, it becomes so musically complex that your brain may find itself questioning whether it will be able to handle all the layers. But finally, he brings it all together for a robust, hard-hitting, theme that fits nicely alongside the modern take on the Last Son of Krypton.
After the Superman franchise took a nosedive in the '80s, Warner Bros. turned to its other big name hero to save their box office bacon - Batman. With Michael Keaton under the cowl, Jack Nicholson behind the makeup and Tim Burton behind the camera, the studio only needed turn to Danny Elfman as composer to complete the team. Elfman did more than just deliver an amazing score for the movie: he created an iconic theme song for the Caped Crusader that has yet to be matched.
Using a blend of traditional orchestra (which includes woodwinds, brass and percussion), with choral voices layered on top for a haunting effect, Elfman has created a truly unique theme song for Batman. The theme endured for years, and a version of it was even laid over the infamous opening sequence of the beloved '90s TV show, Batman: The Animated Series.
King Kong, commonly referred to as The King Kong Show and released to DVD as King Kong: The Animated Series, is an animated television series funded by Videocraft International of America with animation by Toei Animation of Japan. A 56-minute pilot episode premiered on ABC on September 6, 1966 and the series subsequently began airing on September 10 alongside the animated spy spoof series Tom of T.H.U.M.B.; each episode consisted of one Tom story bookended by two King Kong stories. The show concluded its initial run on March 4, 1967, with its pilot being split in half and aired as the series' 25th and 26th episodes, respectively. Reruns continued to be shown on ABC until August 31, 1969.[1] 041b061a72