‘X-Men ‘97’ Review — Marvel Returns to the ’90s in X-traordinary New Series

Before Tobey Maguire was Spider-Man, before Hugh Jackman was Wolverine, and even before Wesley Snipes’ Blade, for many of us, our first introduction into the world of Marvel was X-Men: The Animated Series. Airing for five seasons from 1992 to 1997, X-Men: The Animated Series was a surprisingly serialized series that didn’t shy away from darker topics, despite airing on the Fox Kids block of animated shows. From the very first episode, the show discussed difficult topics like racism and the Holocaust, all while creating an exciting superhero series with a dynamic cast of characters. Even today, X-Men: The Animated Series stands out as one of the best examples of how to tell a comic book story in an entirely new medium.

As the first X-Men project since Marvel Studios regained the rights from 20th Century Fox, X-Men ’97 is a direct continuation of X-Men: The Animated Series, and while the animation is certainly better and some of the voice actors have changed, X-Men ’97 captures the spirit of the original show and expands what made that series so great. After the first three episodes, X-Men ’97 certainly feels like it was made by fans of The Animated Series who have been waiting nearly thirty years for this show to return. In doing so, they’ve created a follow-up that heightens these characters and stories beautifully, taking them in exciting directions, and making a spiritual successor that more than lives up to the original — it nearly perfects it.

What Is ‘X-Men ’97’ About?

X-Men ’97 starts soon after the events of The Animated Series finale, where a dying Professor X says goodbye to his students (technically, he’s not dead, but rather, he’s gone to the Shi’ar home world to find a cure for what is making him sick. But, you know, same difference). A year later, the X-Men crew is still struggling with the loss of their leader, but have remained united as a team. Cyclops (voiced by Ray Chase) has taken over the de facto leader position, while the group still struggles with close-minded mutant haters, like the Friends of Humanity, who want to see their kind eradicated, and all range of iconic supervillains ready to take out the Professor X-less X-Men.

‘X-Men ’97’ Takes ‘The Animated Series’ and Improves It in Every Way

Created by Beau DeMayo, X-Men ’97 latches onto what made the original series so exciting but enhances those key elements in ways that simply couldn’t be done on network television at the time. X-Men ’97 is probably more for adults who remember X-Men: The Animated Series and want to see where this story would continue, rather than being a series for kids, and ’97 plays to that. X-Men: The Animated Series could have discussions on discrimination, marriage, love, hatred, death, etc., yet X-Men ’97 can be more overt and dissect these topics with more care and insight. DeMayo handles these stories as though these characters have stayed the same age as we remember when we left them, yet knowing that we’ve grown to accept more in-depth, introspective storytelling as adults, and finds the perfect balance for that.

That’s also true of the animation by Studio Mir, who has previously worked on animated superhero shows like My Adventures with Superman, Harley Quinn, and Black Dynamite. The animation here is evoking the original designs, but modernizing them with flair, as everything looks more dynamic, the characters are vibrant, and the action scenes are truly jaw-dropping. Everything from the sparks that Jubilee (Holly Chou) shoots off to the charged cards thrown by Gambit (AJ LoCascio) is gorgeous to watch. Without spoiling what happens in these first few episodes, X-Men ’97 directly references fight scenes from the early days of The Animated Series, and it’s absolutely stunning how far this show has come. Watching how these characters play off each other in these extraordinary action sequences is a thrill for any fan of the X-Men, and narratively, shows how essential each member of this group is.

‘X-Men ’97’ Expands Its Characters in Tremendous Ways

Speaking of, The Animated Series was always brilliant at introducing characters and explaining their deal quickly and naturally, and the same goes for X-Men ’97. Not only does X-Men ’97 have to catch the audience up on where this story ended 27 years ago, but it also has to reintroduce these characters, where they are in their lives, and also bring in new characters. Yet it’s remarkable how exquisitely ’97 handles all of this, never dumping information on the audience and teaching us what we need to know through practical means. Maybe we learn something through how someone fights, or a small aside tossed out, but the economical way this show is written is truly impressive. ’97 smartly takes some of its cues from how the original series did things, such as introducing us to this world through a newcomer. Originally, it was via Jubilee, but this time, it comes from Roberto Da Costa/Sunspot (Gui Agustini), a kid with rich parents who don’t appreciate their son’s mutation. But even if you’ve never seen anything about the X-Men before now, the first episode does a tremendous job of explaining everything you need to know about this world and these characters.

And it’s the characters that X-Men ’97 prioritizes and improves in exceptional ways. Again, it’s as if DeMayo and his team have been waiting for decades to show the true greatness that these characters have, and it’s a joy to behold the best possible version of them. For example, The Animated Series often directly called Cyclops a boring character, yet within the fight sequences in the first episode, “To Me, My X-Men,” the series seems focused on making Cyclops as cool as humanly (or mutantly?) possible. Instead of simply blasting lasers out of his eyes at enemies, he’s utilizing his power as a way to move around enemies swiftly, stop himself from massive falls, or even share his powers to enhance the skills of others.

This enhancement of the characters is both handled narratively and in these fight sequences. Cyclops’ relationship with Jean Grey (Jennifer Hale) becomes key in the first few episodes—far more interesting than it has ever been before. With Professor X gone, characters like Storm (Alison Sealy-Smith), Rogue (Lenore Zann), and Wolverine (Cal Dodd) are all faced with what their position and purpose are within this group now that it has irrevocably changed. Even a character like Morph (JP Karliak), who was only intermittently in the original series, has more agency in these first few episodes, as a person who can turn into anyone has to reckon with who they truly are. It’s another beautiful example of how ’97 borrows from the past to make something even more extraordinary.

Magneto Gets an Incredible Evolution in ‘X-Men ’97’

But among this substantial cast of heroes, it’s Magneto (Matthew Waterson) who manages to leave the biggest impression. This character is emblematic of what ’97 is doing, taking characters we know and love and imbuing them with the complexities and gray areas that we’ve always known were there while bringing that to the surface. In these first few episodes, we find Magneto soon after a failed mutant uprising that was attempted at the end of the original series, who now has to reckon with the last wishes of his closest friend, Professor X. This is a Magneto unlike any we’ve ever seen on the screen before, and it’s a captivating iteration on this character, showing the intricacies of this post-mutant world.

Since 2000, there have been thirteen X-Men movies, be it prequels, individual character spin-offs, or entire reboots, and none of them have quite been able to capture this team quite like The Animated Series. But X-Men ’97 takes what worked so well in that first series and develops it into one of the greatest X-Men projects so far, quite possibly the best animated series to come from Marvel. It took nearly three decades to return to this world, but X-Men ’97 makes the wait well worth it.

X-Men ’97

REVIEW

X-Men ’97 is a brilliant continuation of X-Men: The Animated Series, taking time to expand these characters and stories in a way we’ve never seen before.

Pros

• X-Men ’97 feels like it was created by fans who have been waiting nearly 30 years to tell this story.
• These characters are more exciting and compelling than they’ve ever been.
• The animation pays homage to the original series while taking the characters and their designs into bold new directions.

Cons

• Understandably, after only three episodes, a few characters haven’t got the spotlight they deserve. Yet!

X-Men ’97 debuts with its first two episodes on March 20 on Disney+ in the U.S., with new episodes releasing on Wednesdays.

WATCH ON DISNEY+