The dream of mutantkind in the ’90s is alive on the web. Joel Furtado has crafted a new web series on YouTube (without any involvement from Marvel or Fox or any other corporate entity) titled X-Men: Danger Room Protocols. As Furtado explains,
X-Men: Danger Room Protocols is an 18 episode web series that centers around Professor X putting teams of two X-Men at a time through various training exercises in the Danger Room. In these exercises, you’ll see the X-Men face off against a variety of villains from the comics in some familiar settings to the fans.
The series appears to be based on the designs of the characters from the ’90s era of the comic book and takes a lot from the long-running X-Men cartoon, including its theme music. The look is that of the cartoon as filtered through a Sega game, with some pixellation in the characters’ design and movement. Here’s the opening intro for the series that Furtado posted a while ago:
More recently, Furtado released part one of episode one, which found Jean Grey and Wolverine battling a Sentinel in the Danger Room (a holodeck-type situation where the X-Men practice their moves and powers against imaginary foes). The first episode featured a novel spin on the “fastball special” with Jean Grey sending Wolverine into battle against the robotic behemoth. However, YouTube has since pulled that episode, so fans interested in seeing what’s next for the series will have to wait. (Furtado is currently working to get that resolved)
Even judged solely by that intro video, though, the series is a huge love letter to the comic book series, especially its ’90s incarnations, and shows a great appreciation and affinity for all of the characters. Clearly a lot of effort has gone into crafting this series and design. But with a new film on the horizon, and the first video already getting taken down by YouTube, it’s unclear if the series will be able to continue unabated from corporate interests learning of its existence. But since it’s a “by the fans, for the fans” situation, here’s hoping that, in the future, Furtado is left alone to continue his vision.