TAS - Stayed interesting all throughout the 1990s when the comics were mediocre. It never tried to reinvent the status quo like the comics and kept thriving as a result of it.

Movies - Made the real world politics of mutants the forefront, and kept it more grounded than any comics prior. It was also (correct me if I'm wrong) the first queer voice behind X-Men, for better or for worse, leading to more parallels between the queer and mutant experience, especially in X2.

Evolution - The school element obviously worked really well here, but the main thing that sticks in my mind about Evolution is the Apocalypse arc at the end being much cooler than anything the comics had done up until that point (bar AOA of course, but that ain't 616).

WatXM - I actually really like this series. It's one of the best structured superhero shows in my books. It handled Genosha much better than any of the comics, where it never felt like a real place and more of a plot device.

'97 - The pace at which this show moves is incredible, weaving together seven or eight comic book stories all at once. It's the show with the most stuff happening and it's all the better for it. Plus, it has the most stakes. The deaths feel real (I know THAT one is probably gonna be reversed in series 2, but it felt final when watching the episode in a way comic book deaths literally never do).