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X-Men ’97 Review
Image Credit: Marvel Animation
Loading...Author’s Note: This is a non-spoiler review of the first three episodes of X-Men ’97, based on the recent launch event.
Marvel’s Merry Band of Mutants is back. The seminal animated series that helped give rise to a golden age of animated television, Marvel superhero shows, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe itself, X-Men: The Animated Series, returns with a new animated revival, dubbed X-Men ’97. The new show is no mere reboot. X-Men ’97 is Season 6 of the original show, picking up after the events of the final episode of the original series, “Graduation Day.” Some recent animated reboots of classic shows of that Fox Kids and Disney Afternoon era have been fantastic, such as Ducktails, to middling, such as Animaniacs, to disappointing, such as Tiny Toons. As a revival, X-Men ’97 gets the job done, both reviving the classic series and telling action-packed stories inspired by the X-Men comic mythos.
The world premiere launch event in Los Angeles featured the first three episodes of Season 1. The good news for X-fans is that Season 2 is on the way, and it appears that Season 3 has already begun development. Episodes 1-3 did not disappoint.
Image Credit: Marvel Animation
The most promising aspect of X-Men ’97 is the return to the epic, long-form storytelling that made the original series so well-known. The new series not only builds off of the previous five seasons but sets up larger season-long arcs, if not longer.
While the original series did leave some loose ends untied, it ended on a relatively decisive note with the series finale, “Graduation Day.” At the very least, the ending was conclusive enough, especially compared to many other shows of that era that never had a proper finale or ending. X-Men ’97 uses the series finale as the jumping-off point. While not legitimately dead, Professor Charles Xavier is gone and will not return. His surrogate children, the X-Men, are now left on their own without his guidance, and they must pick up where he left off to keep his dream of peaceful mutant and human co-existence alive.
However, life and times are changing. Life begins to pull the X-Men in different directions. Although Cyclops, aka Scott Summers (Ray Chase) feels the most obligated to carry the torch passed onto him by Xavier, he has a wife and family to think about now, as Jean Grey (Jennifer Hale) is pregnant with their first child and due to give birth soon. Unfortunately, while Xavier and the X-Men worked tirelessly to establish the X-Men’s reputation as heroes and improve the situation for mutant rights, the disease of prejudice is not so easily cured. That brings some old enemies and familiar robotic antagonists back to the forefront, along with another deadly foe who seeks to turn over a new leaf.
The first three episodes lay down the gauntlet. Can the X-Men keep Xavier’s dream alive without him? Is there a future for true human and peaceful co-existence? Considering the tumultuous journey of Cyclops in recent years, the new season wonderfully highlights the longtime field leader. In the first three episodes, Cyclops and Magneto (now voiced by Matthew Waterson) emerge as the clear standout characters. The first season looks to be a gargantuan showcase for the Cyclops character, and in three episodes, he’s put through an emotional wringer. Voice actor Ray Chase delivers a tremendous performance creating a voice similar to the original voice of Cyclops from the ’90s series, Norm Spencer, and Chase does the best work among the new voice actors for the returning characters.
Image Credit: Marvel Animation
While the first three episodes are heavy on Cyclops and Magneto conflict, there are moments for all the other characters to shine. Considering the relatively large ensemble cast, significant time all the characters receive significant time and development. Just about everyone gets a chance to shine in the first three episodes, but subplots take root to set up what will later become eventual grand climactic moments. Much like Jubilee in the first season, Roberto da Costa (Gui Agustini) plays a similar role to her character in Episode 1, “To Me, My X-Men.” That creates a compelling dynamic between Jubilee (Holly Chou) and Roberto, as she’s walked in his shoes before. Roberto’s conflict about his mutant abilities makes him relatable as he struggles to accept his identity and life as a mutant.
The show exceptionally executes adapting some deep storyline cuts from the comics. Much like X-Men: The Animated Series put its own spin on specific storylines, X-Men ’97 does so as well without breaking from the continuity of the previous series. Fans who have seen the new action figures and merchandise can already guess where things are going.
One of the major concerns for the new series was the new animation style. The animation in the original series was not always its strongest suit, and it’s probably one of the more dated aspects of the show that hasn’t aged as well, while some episodes look better than others. The new animation style takes a bit of getting used to, but it’s relatively consistent. There are times in wider shots where character movement appears jankier, with the obvious use of CG character models. That said, the new series delivers incredibly animated action and fight scenes. The individual character action beats look smoother and more elaborate than ever. The X-Men’s powers have never looked more visually complex and impressive in animated form than they do here. These moments include Cyclops using his optic blasts in more creative and tactical ways, and Storm (Alison Sealy-Smith) shows why she is a living goddess incarnate.
Image Credit: Marvel Animation
The other benefit to the new series is that X-Men ’97 is no longer shackled to the TV-Y7 rating. At the TV-14 level, X-Men ’97 provides content that’s edgier and rougher than the original series, but not in an explicit way. Fans shouldn’t expect Invincible levels of graphic violence and language, but characters do bleed and get cut. The dialogue has become far more suggestive and mature, so the show doesn’t have to constantly cut corners with the dialogue and avoid using the words “kill” or “death.” In addition, the show doesn’t have to use contrived, forced phrases like, “You’re destroying him!”
The creators also clearly understood the importance and iconography of the show’s classic animated intro. The new intro is an exceptionally faithful recreation of the 1990s series. The opening theme music is not only intact, but many of the same shots, character beats, and introductions are recreated in the new intro sequence. There are new visuals, new character introductions, and animation beats in the intro sequence, and they also vary from episode to episode. The updated intro sequence also comes with tons of new Easter Eggs. Additionally, the closing outro sequence recreates the closing credit sequence from the first season, so the show provides some joyful nostalgia to see those sequences return.
Since X-Men ’97 episodes run longer than the standard half-hour TV animated format, all the episodes run exceptionally well because they never feel rushed. The stories, character development, and emotional conflicts have time to breathe, enhancing the show’s narrative depth. If the show can maintain this level of narrative storytelling over three seasons, the revival will have been worth the nearly 30-year wait.
X-Men ’97 begins streaming on March 20 on Disney+ with the first two episodes. The remaining episodes of the 10-episode first season will be released weekly on Wednesdays until May 15.
