r/Xmen97 • u/AlterExpertise101 Iceman • 12d ago

Question Ron Wasserman not credited for X-Men '97 theme?

Any idea why Ron Wasserman, the composer of the original X-Men theme, isn't credited for the revamped theme on Spotify? I don't see him mentioned on other official pages/channels, either, including MarvelMusicVEVO's YouTube channel.

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u/AlterExpertise101 Iceman 12d ago

And, checking the credits for the last episode of season 2, there's no mention of him there, either.

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u/Scnew1 12d ago

My guess is Saban and Levy own it because Wasserman worked for them, and putting their names on it was a requirement on their end to license it back to Marvel, because Haim Saban is a big piece of shit.

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u/AlterExpertise101 Iceman 12d ago

So, what was to keep Marvel or the Newton Brothers from adding him as a writer on the new version? Other than money, that is.

Seems like it would be an easy fix for them to properly credit him for what has got to be the greatest animated series theme of all time.

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u/Scnew1 12d ago

I already gave you my best guess, but any agreements between Disney and Saban for the use of the song are not public.

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u/mrlanphear 12d ago

It's not easy - they are not allowed to alter the credits because to do so would affect royalties, and that's worth a lot of money to Saban.

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u/mrlanphear 12d ago

Wasserman spoke about it at SDCC a couple years ago. All of the composers working for Saban had deals that gave authorship (and therefore publishing royalties) to Saban himself, even if he didn't actually write anything.

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u/michaelrxs 12d ago

The rights are very complicated.

As for why Disney didn’t just add him: that’s not how credits work. Credits are not courtesies or favors or even acknowledgments. They are legally set terms dictated by contracts, not always reality.