This Forgotten X-Men Pasta Commercial Is Genuinely Disturbing For A Weird Reason
It's time eat your favorite X-Men, kids. Back in the '90s, comic book junkies and children religiously tuned in to watch "X-Men: The Animated Series," which brought the iconic mutants to the small screen. Decades later, the animated series has been revived in the form of "X-Men '97," which boasts a massive Rotten Tomatoes score. With the show back on everyone's minds, fans are looking back nostalgically on the OG series — and its genuinely disturbing tie-in. To capitalize on the franchise's popularity with the youth in the '90s, Marvel teamed up with canned pasta manufacturer Chef Boyardee to create a special can of "X-Men"-themed pasta. While tie-ins are always welcome, this one was just weird.
To promote the superhero-centric meal, Chef Boyardee released an animated commercial that featured the nefarious Mister Sinister turning the X-Men into pasta.
Done for a Chef Boyardee commercial https://t.co/CbEEmnNCgI pic.twitter.com/9YtEZR4H6s
— Cool Comic Art (@CoolComicArt) May 22, 2024
The advertisement is legitimately maniacal, showing mutants like Wolverine, Storm, and Beast being abducted by the villain. For some reason, Mister Sinister's plan involves turning the superheroes into a canned pasta that's both shelf-stable and delicious. The animated ad ends with Professor X imploring fans to set the trapped heroes free, presumably by eating them.
Mister Sinister, who is also one of the villains of "X-Men '97," does a great job of at least making this threat disturbing. Rewatching the forgotten ad has some fans remembering just how unhinged the promotion was. "That seems insane to me. I remember that commercial. Gorgeous artwork," wrote user @dEnny_UK on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Chef Boyardee X-Men commercial was co-created by an iconic Batman artist
Watching the Chef Boyardee and "X-Men" crossover is an absolute doozy because of its crazy premise, but the advertisement does look gorgeous. The animation style is completely in line with the original animated "X-Men" series, with characters like Wolverine and Beast particularly standing out. Comic book fans and superhero junkies will be surprised to know that the pasta commercial's animation was actually sketched out by David Mazzucchelli. While "X-Men" fans may not know who that is, Batman fans definitely do!
One of the most celebrated artists out there, Mazzucchelli is responsible for the art in "Batman: Year One," one of the most influential comics to ever hit store shelves. Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky was once on board to bring "Batman: Year One" to the big screen. Christopher Nolan would later take cues from "Year One" when it came time to film "Batman Begins," which launched the "Dark Knight" trilogy. In addition to working on DC's flagship hero, Mazzucchelli has plenty of Marvel clout as well. The artist is responsible for the work in "Daredevil: Born Again," widely considered one of the best arcs for the Marvel hero.
The creative's other work includes "X-Factor," which is loosely tied to the larger "X-Men" franchise. While Mazzucchelli isn't as prominent in the world of superheroes as he once was, it's fascinating to know that his talents extended beyond comics and ventured into the world of tie-in advertising.