A High Five Review of “X-Men ’97”: The Comeback We’ve Been Waiting For

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Our favorite team of mutant superheroes is back! It seems like a resurgence is in the cards for the X-Men, coming from the most unexpected place—a continuation of its ‘90s Saturday morning cartoon.

X-Men ‘97 picks up where the original animated series left off—with a group of superpowered mutants, a world that continues to hate and fear them, and a presumed-dead mentor. But how does the revival of an old cartoon fare compared to other X-Men adaptations? In this High Five review of X-Men ‘97, we’ll take a look at what makes this series the X-Men comeback we’ve all been waiting for.

A Longstanding Animated Tradition

The X-Men have both benefited and suffered from being forerunners of the superhero movie boom. While the original trilogy of X-Men films from 20th Century Fox helped popularize comic book movie adaptations in the early aughts, it left a lot to be desired for diehard fans of the mutant super team. From wardrobe decisions like opting for inaccurate and lackluster leather costumes, to using the trilogy as a way to tell a Wolverine-centric story instead of focusing on the entire team, the X-Men were a victim of filmmakers veering away from “comic book-y” stories and prioritizing a more Hollywood-friendly star vehicle.

And while live action X-Men movies are currently being folded into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe with Professor X’s (Patrick Stewart) appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), Beast’s (Kelsey Grammer) appearance in The Marvels (2023), and the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), the franchise is still undoubtedly looking for its foothold in the superhero movie landscape after two decades of constant presence on the big screen.

However, the same cannot be said for its animated adaptations, which have always found creative ways to stay true to the core of the X-Men while being unique in their own ways: X-Men: Evolution premiered a few months after the first X-Men movie in 2000 and introduced most of the team as teenagers in high school to appeal to a younger audience; Wolverine and the X-Men was developed by the same creative team in 2009 and had a more mature tone, following Wolverine as he tries to reform the X-Men after the disappearance of Professor Xavier and Jean Grey; and Marvel Anime: Wolverine and Marvel Anime: X-Men, which both premiered in 2011, were anime adaptations by renowned animation studio Madhouse catering to Japanese fans.

This tradition, of course, includes the original X-Men: The Animated Series, which first aired in 1992 and made the X-Men a household name for millions of people around the world. X-Men ‘97 continues this strong animated tradition by respecting the source material and characters, all the while leaning into its Saturday morning cartoon roots. The series was developed by Beau DeMayo, who is no stranger to adapting various media and served as writer and producer for The Witcher, Moon Knight and Star Trek: Strange Worlds series. Original producers of X-Men: The Animated Series also served as consultants on the project resulting in a spiritually faithful continuation that is grounded in character-centric drama and action-packed animation.

Focusing on the Ensemble

Still from Marvel Studios Animation

At their worst, the X-Men can be reduced to Wolverine being cool with the other characters being relegated to supporting roles. While the movies certainly took this approach, it’s perfectly understandable due to the limited runtime and the lack of precedent when it comes to superhero movies with an ensemble cast. However, at their best, each member of the X-Men gets a chance to shine, which is why long-running formats like comic books or series tend to do better in fleshing out each character’s potential.

X-Men ‘97 definitely enjoys the benefit of an episodic format, being able to spend each episode focusing on a few characters and switching points of view. Each episode has room to focus on small stories while building up to the main arc of the season, giving characters the spotlight that they otherwise would not have in a movie with a limited runtime. Cyclops, Storm, Gambit, Rogue and many others show off their skills, motivations, and fears, building on a rich interior world for each character that lets viewers relate to each one in turn.

A Spiritually Faithful Adaptation

In this case, it’s faithful to two things—the world of the ‘90s animated series and adapting beloved storylines from the comics. We pick things up a year after we left the X-Men in the original cartoon, still fighting for their place in the world, feeling more uncertain than ever with their leader, Professor Xavier, out of the picture. The series looks as if it’s not out of place in the continuity, but at the same time it feels timeless in a way that is rarely ascribed to things that look so dated in the ‘90s. Chalk it up to nostalgia, the classic Jim Lee costumes, or the fact that bright bold colors have been increasingly uncommon in mainstream media adaptations of comic books—the series just looks visually stunning, with smooth animations making the heroes of our childhood come to life.

The show’s commitment to authenticity goes even further, as the animators used modern techniques to figuratively go back in time and maintain the retro aesthetic of the show, even going so far as to research camera setups, animation styles and cinematic elements that were common in the decade the original cartoon was airing so that they could emulate these elements. “Now, we broke those rules, but we broke those rules in really specific times when the drama of the story demanded it,” shared Brad Winderbaum, Marvel Studios Head of TV, Streaming, and Animation, in an interview.

And with just a few episodes remaining in the first season, X-Men ‘97 has already adapted beloved comic book arcs like “The Trial of Magneto,” “Inferno,” and “Lifedeath.” While one can’t call these adaptations entirely accurate, they are certainly within the spirit of the originals and make sense in the continuity of the series. Episode 2 featured a more succinct “Trial of Magneto” to establish the woes of mutantkind, episode 3’s “Inferno” was a psychically induced infestation of demons that turned the X-Mansion into a house of horrors due to Madelyne Pryor finding out that she was a clone, and Episod 4 and 6’s “Lifedeath” was a 2-parter that dove into Storm’s inner conflict and her growing relationship with Forge. The series respects its source materials, knows its place within the greater X-Men canon, and knows its characters inside and out, resulting in character-driven stories that emotionally resonate with audiences.

Superpowered Underdogs in a Sci-fi Soap Opera

Still from Marvel Studios Animation

Aside from how well it foregrounds its characters, X-Men ‘97 gets one thing about the X-Men consistently right—they work best with their backs against the wall. The most iconic X-Men stories almost always have them going up against the world. “The Dark Phoenix Saga,” arguably the most retold story in the title’s publication history, is literally about them fighting a cosmic entity that is considered a galaxy-level threat. Despite having fantastic powers and impossible abilities, the X-Men almost always fight back from below as the David to whatever the arc’s Goliath is.

Another thing the series understands is that the X-Men are always mired in melodrama—from love triangles, to evil twins, to shocking reveals, the X-Men is very much a soap opera. This adds another layer to the society-altering conflicts that they always find themselves in—will they be able to resolve tensions within the team to unite for a common cause? Will they be able to find a happy ending even after the threat has been dealt with? The ongoing drama set in the backdrop of apocalyptic battles with unfathomable stakes is what makes the X-Men the team we want to root for—at the end of the day, we just want all of them to be happy and playing baseball together.

Cool Action Sequences

This may seem juvenile, but genuinely, the word that best describes the action sequences in X-Men ‘97 is “cool.” Right off the bat, we get to see a creative use of mutant abilities as Cyclops uses his optic blasts to propel himself across surfaces and cushion incoming impact; we see their strength and power as Rogue and Beast easily tear through Sentinels, and Storm commands the elements like it’s nothing; we see their teamwork as Gambit charges Wolverine’s adamantium claws, and Wolverine uses Morph as a trampoline to decapitate Master Mold—and these are all just from the first episode.

The rest of the series is just as action-packed, but it’s in combination with all the previous points that X-Men ‘97 marks a truly triumphant return for our favorite team of mutant superheroes. SEA Wave rates X-Men ‘97 a 4.5/5.

Catch it on Disney+ and let us know your thoughts about it in the comment section!

 

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