The X-Men are mostly known for fighting against evil Mutant Mastermind Magneto. However, it appears that everyone’s favorite mutant superhero team have another challenge on their hands – namely, a lawsuit with their name on it.
Or, to be more specific, a lawsuit with the names of Disney, Fox, Amazon, Marvel and more on it.
So, what’s the deal? Well, according to TMZ, it turns out the X-Men cartoon’s famous theme tune is staggeringly close to the theme from Hungarian police drama Linda, which aired in the 1980s.
A man by the name of Zoltan Krisko, who manages the estate of the late Linda composer, Gyorgy Vukan, claims that the X-Men animated series’ Powers-That-Be regularly came into contact with Hungarian filmmakers in the 80s. Therefore, they would have known about Linda’s existence – and stole the tune years later for their cartoon.
That’s quite an incredible claim. But a quick listen to both theme tunes does reveal a striking similarity melody-wise. First, there’s the X-Men cartoon:
Then, here’s the Linda theme for comparison:
The lawsuit makes the incredible claim that the X-Men: The Animated Series‘ success was due to this theme song – which itself, it also alleges, is stolen material.
Lawsuits in music are a common species. Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot filed a lawsuit against the writer of Whitney Houston’s ‘The Greatest Love of All’ for allegedly stealing 12 bars of his song. It was later dropped when Lightfoot contemplated the negative effect it would have on Houston.
In 2015, it was revealed that Sam Smith’s ‘Stay with Me’ was melodically similar to Tom Petty’s ‘Won’t Back Down’. Smith’s team and Petty came to an agreement, which gave Petty and Jeff Lyne 12.5% songwriting credit.
Meanwhile, only time will tell what’ll become of the X-Men: The Animated Series lawsuit.
Do you think the X-Men and Linda themes sound the same? Or do you think their similarity is overrated? Let us know in the comments below!
A writer who loves sci-fi, great TV shows, videogames and more!
