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 as X-Men. In 1963, with the success of Spider-Man in "Amazing Fantasy", as well as the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, and the Fantastic Four, co-creator Stan Lee wanted to create another group of superheroes but did not want to have to explain how they got their powers. In 2004, Lee recalled, "I couldn't have everybody bitten by a radioactive spider or exposed to a gamma ray explosion. And I took the cowardly way out. I said to myself, 'Why don't I just say they're mutants. They were born that way. In a 1987 interview, Kirby said, The X-Men, I did