Wild C.A.T.s

Production

The idea for a Wild C.A.T.s cartoon came from Jim Lee’s agency, Creative Artists Agency, which pointed out that X-Men: The Animated Series had made networks hungry for superhero shows. CAA arranged a meeting between Lee and Nelvana, a Canadian animation studio. Lee pitched his comic to them, and Nelvana showed him their work on Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, which convinced him to partner with them. Together, Lee and Nelvana took the pitch to CBS, and the network liked it enough to put the show into development.

CBS had also picked up options on Savage Dragon, Freak Force, and Youngblood, hoping to build a 90-minute block of Image Comics cartoons that could rival Fox Kids’ X-Men. The network passed on Freak Force but moved forward with Wild C.A.T.s. Savage Dragon was dropped, and CBS had a heated dispute with Youngblood creator Rob Liefeld over content changes he refused to accept. Wild C.A.T.s aired alongside Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Skeleton Warriors as part of the Action Zone showcase, which used an animated fly-through sequence before the credits to link the three shows.

In March 1995, CBS announced there would be no second season. The Action Zone concept ended around the same time, though TMNT kept its credit sequence for another two years. After the cancellation, USA Network picked up Wild C.A.T.s and ran it on their USA Action Extreme Team block from 1995 to 1996. The show’s team matched the original comic roster, with Helspont as the main villain and the Troika and Coda appearing as supporting characters.

Mr. Majestic showed up occasionally but wasn’t part of the group. The series had a rock soundtrack, and the theme song was performed by Sheree Jeacocke and Gerry Mosby.

Marketing tie-ins

To promote its Action Zone programming block, CBS put out a one-shot comic that brought together the Wild C.A.T.s, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the Skeleton Warriors, with Jim Lee providing the cover art. Playmates Toys produced a six-inch action figure line for the series from 1994 to 1995. The lineup included Spartan, Grifter, Zealot in both Kherubim Warrior and Coda Uniform versions, Warblade, Maul in standard and Flexon Combat Suit forms, Voodoo, Void, Helspont, Pike, and a generic Daemonite.

The Image Universe sub-line, aimed at comic fans, featured Mr. Majestic, Max Cash as Black Razor, Slag, and a color variant of Pike. The only vehicle released was the Bullet Bike. Larger ten-inch figures of Spartan, Grifter, and Maul also hit shelves. A Super NES video game based on the TV show came out in 1995 from Playmates Interactive, letting players control only Spartan, Warblade, and Maul.