If you were a comic book fan in the 90’s, your Saturday mornings were occupied with both the animated Spider-Man and X-Men series. These cartoons are some of the most beloved versions of the superhero characters ever produced and one fan wants to relive the experience. An animator has produced 18 unauthorized episodes and is set to premiere X-Men: Danger Room Protocols later this month but will infringement issues prevent the show from every appearing?

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Originally airing on Fox in 1992 and lasting for five seasons, *X-Men* was the television show to watch while chomping down cereal on Saturday mornings. The show featured Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, Storm, Beast, Gambit, Jubilee, Jean Grey, Professor X, as well as an original character, Morph, who is quickly disposed of…or is he? Although the majority of the series’ stories are original, a number of story lines and events from the comics are loosely adapted on some of the most famous comic books stories of all time including “The Dark Phoenix Saga” and “Days of Future Past”. Many people, like me, still miss the show and its catchy theme song but one person took his love of the show to an all new level. Canadian animator, [Joel Furtado](http://www.joelfurtado.com/), created *X-Men: Danger Room Protocols*, an 18 episode animated web series. According to Furtado, in each episode of* X-Men: Danger Room Protocols, *Professor X puts two X-Men through various training exercises in the Danger Room. In these exercises, the X-Men face off against a variety of villains from the comics in some familiar settings to the fans. Furtado describes the series as “a love letter to Marvel and my childhood, as well as a way to give something back to the fans.” The first episode, which will pit Wolverine and Jean Grey against a group of Sentinels, premieres on YouTube on January 19th….unless some super-powered lawyers get in the way. Furtado places a disclaimer that he is not affiliated with Fox or Marvel in front of the trailer that can be seen below but this is not enough to shield him from claims of infringement. Let’s start with a simple premise: Furtado’s animated series is infringing Marvel’s and Fox’s copyrights because it uses characters, story lines and music without authorization. These are unauthorized, unlicensed reproductions of storyies and the appearance of characters that are owned by Marvel. Recently, many people have made comments, and even a defendant in the *Star Trek* fanfiction movie we reported on [Monday](http://piratedthoughts.com/cbs-sues-over-fan-made-star-trek-movie/), claiming that it is not infringement if no profit is earned. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Infringement is infringement and it does not matter whether the infringer makes a profit or not. The producers of the *Star Trek* fan film are facing a lawsuit for infringement and a similar fate might fall Furtado. Unless he can reach some agreement with Marvel, I don’t think the series will premiere in January unless Furtado wants a lawsuit.