The following article discusses spoilers for the first season of X-Men 97.
I was excited to see the return of the 90’s Saturday morning cartoon version of the X-Men. However, I wasn’t sure if Marvel, under the auspices of Disney, could capture the flavor of the original and at the same time make a modern show that older fans in their 30s and 40s could enjoy. And X-Men 97 is a complete play on our nostalgia, which makes it even weirder. And it’s better than the original in almost every way.
Of all the Marvel baubles that need some love, the X-Men arguably need it the most. The ten-episode series managed to pack in so many storylines, cameos, comic sagas, villains, plot twists and even deaths that it was hard to process at times – but I loved how brutal it was. X-Men 97 is going difficultespecially if you’re already an obsessive fan.
When Marvel first launched their readable comic book app, I delved heavily into the X-Men back catalog, especially stories by two of my favorite writers, Chris Claremont and Grant Morrison. X-Men 97 embraces the characters and stories I love so much. Magneto is put on trial and a (brief?) redemption arc begins, Jean Gray becomes a clone, and the cartoon condenses its nearly year-long comic arc, Inferno, into one episode. Other arcs include Lifedeath, Fatal Attractions, Motendo, Operation: Zero Tolerance, etc., either wholesale or with some riffs. includes.
The highlight of this first season (the second is already underway) has to be episode 5, where the mutant nation of Genosha is decimated by a high-powered sentinel mothership… ugh. Just before the attack, mutant adults, mutant children, and eventually even X-Man, Cable, the time-traveling son of Scott Summers and Jin’s clone, are destroyed. (See: Inferno, mentioned above) reappears to stop the attack. But he fails again and his mother dies.
As the mutants are killed, Magneto is left helpless and forced to relive the genocide he experienced as a child. Finally, Gambit sacrifices himself and lights up the entire robot with his mutant ability. This is after Rogue rekindles her romance with Magento, changes her mind and decides to be with Gambit. Like I said, every episode is a lot.
I may be alone in this, but I still prefer the animation style and look of the older series. In my opinion, the cartoon might look a little corny – or maybe I’m 39 and not a Disney director. Most of the action scenes are also excellent. Cyclops is finally not dirty and thrives in battles. There are few great combination strikes that can compare to the iconic fastball special.
At times the show can feel a little too “anime” (And I love anime, don’t get me wrong!), the ridiculous scale of the fight here kind of took away my interest in it. Great, Bastian has metal wings in the last episode. Yes, yes, very nice. But didn’t one of his super vigilantes wipe the floor by the middle of the X-Men series? And did we need the Phoenix to reappear (again!) so Jean could save her 50-year-old son from the future? Probably not.
But this is X-Men. Without such nonsense, there would be no X-Men.
I was also impressed by the attention to detail. How Storm reverted to her original comic book outfit, Rogue switched to her green and white look, Magneto wore the same black and white suit as the original comic book during the trial. X-Men 97 doesn’t miss a chance to sprinkle in other Marvel characters as well. Captain America appears several times, we see a costumeless Spider-Man watching Asteroid M fall with Mary Jane Watson. Silver Samurai, which had its own episode in the original series, looks like Tokyo. He loses his power due to Magneto’s attack on the entire Earth.
In other episodes, an older Polaris, Rachel Gray, and more mutants appear briefly in a vision of the future. The series is full of references, easter eggs and surprises. Did you know that Bastian is briefly, obliquely, on screen during the horrific attack on Genosha, long before he emerges as the main antagonist of the X-Men? Well, he is. This is a show ripe for debate and discussion in an age of Reddit, Discord and YouTube reactions.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has made it imperative that both the cast and music return for the project to happen. I’m glad it did, and I’m glad the song is still playing.
