Man Sues Marvel Claiming 'X-Men' Cartoon Theme Song Was Stolen From A Hungarian TV Series; Listen To Both And Compare For Yourself

It's been 22 years since X-Men (aka X-Men: The Animated Series) went off the air, but arguably the most famous aspect of that show – its stellar opening theme song – is now at the center of a lawsuit that was filed against companies like Marvel, Apple, Amazon, The Walt Disney Company, and more. The suit claims that the iconic instrumental opening rips off the theme song from a 1980s Hungarian TV show called Linda, and you can listen to both songs below to see if you think he has a point.

That does sound pretty similar, but I'm not sure if the two sound close enough for there to be a winning legal case here – but I'm pretty confident that the person who filed the suit is asking for way more than he thinks he can get. According to Deadline, a Florida man named Zoltan Krisko has filed the suit saying he represents Gyorgy Vukan, the late composer of the Linda theme song, which Krisko says is "a household name in Hungary and an entire country could identify the series through its iconic soundtrack."

But get this: Krisko is not only alleging that the X-Men theme ripped off the Linda theme, but he also says, "The soundtrack of X-Men contributed in a substantial manner to the business success of the X-Men" – meaning the entire brand, including the multi-billion dollar film franchise. This dude is basically saying that the X-Men: The Animated Series theme was so rad, it impacted the success of every X-Men movie that came afterward, even though the song clearly doesn't appear in any of those films. That's a bold claim, and seems like it would be incredibly difficult to prove in a court.

Disney, Marvel, Haim Saban, and others are named in the suit because of their association with the animated series itself, but Krisko is also going after Amazon and Apple for allegedly violating Vukan's copyright by selling episodes of the show online without the proper permission. There's no word yet on if the suit will be tossed out or if this could actually go to trial, but it's a fascinating and bizarre case with the potential for major financial implications from some of the world's biggest media companies.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to see if I can track down all of the episodes of Linda, because based on the video of its opening theme, that show looks like must-watch entertainment.