X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men pilot effectively marked the end of the Marvel animated universe created by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises/Marvel Productions, which began with "Fantastic Four" (1978) and continued with "Spider-Woman" (1979), "Spider-Man" (1981), "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends" (1981) and "The Incredible Hulk" (1982). The X-Men themselves had previously guest starred in several episodes of "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends", although that particular series isn't necessarily in the same continuity as "Pryde of the X-Men". Narrated by X-Men co-creator Stan Lee, "Pryde of the X-Men" stars Professor X and the X-Men who were known as Cyclops, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Wolverine, Kitty Pryde, and Dazzler saving
X-Men Red was killed nearly 15 years earlier in "New X-Men" #150. According to review aggregator Comic Book Roundup, the debut issue received an average score of 8.2 out of 10 based on 33 critical reviews. In a review for "Newsarama", David Pepose praised the plot of the book for its focus on the coexistence of humans and mutants, which he said was the main premise of the X-Men franchise. IGN reviewer Jesse Shedeen agreed, saying the "franchise has a bad habit of ... losing sight of the mutant metaphor and its allegorical power", but was glad "X-Men Red" makes it a