X-Men ’97 Review – An Explosive Continuation of the Children of the Atom

Admit it: Reading the headline had everyone whistling the iconic theme song from X-Men: The Animated Series. The good news is X-Men ’97 continues this tradition – only tweaking the tune and the opening sequence ever so slightly. It’s a common trend found in the first three episodes of this continuation. While it respects the past and includes callbacks to special moments and characters, it also knows where it’s important to move forward.

Following the events of X-Men: The Animated Series, the X-Men struggle to deal with the loss of Charles Xavier. Cyclops tries to fill the role of leader and mentor, but even he knows his attention lies elsewhere, as the pending arrival of him and Jean Grey‘s baby looms. At the same time, the hatred of mutants grows stronger among humankind. Yet, the X-Men have always believed in Professor X’s wish of humanity and mutants sharing the planet, refusing to become bitter or violent. The question is, do others feel this way, too?

Borrowing from across the Marvel universe to create a quintessential story

Like the original series, X-Men ’97 continues to borrow elements of memorable storylines from the comics. However, the writers take it one step further by finding a way to also use these threads to fill the narrative gaps from unresolved storylines from the past. The X-Men comics tend to overwhelm (ask anyone reading all about Krakoa), but this show still finds a way to simplify complex history and decades of lore, establishing itself as the quintessential version of Marvel’s mutants. It’s accessible and easy to understand, and that’s something every comic book property could learn from.

Thematically, X-Men ’97 explores the same issues – i.e., the lack of tolerance and acceptance for others – from 30 years ago. Yet, here’s the catch: They feel even more prevalent now since society sucks in worser ways. Consequently, there are more than a few allusions to real-life world events sprinkled in these scripts. Now, for all those crying that the X-Men went woke, we have breaking news here: These stories have always been allegories about the struggles of minorities and the prejudice faced. If viewers only saw colourful costumes and superpowers on screen and failed to see any metaphors or messages, well, critical thinking is a friend – do not fear it.

A new but familiar era

As most people have realized by now, the animation style has changed from the original series. While there are still homages to the Jim Lee-inspired designs of X-Men: The Animated Series, X-Men ’97 embraces the available technology of the 21st century to update the look and feel of the show. This allows for more fluid motion of the characters as well as their interaction with backgrounds. Equally important, this also affords the opportunity for better and more exciting action scenes. The trailer footage where Gambit charges Wolverine’s claws is only a tiny sliver of what to expect here, as X-Men ’97 goes full throttle when the mutant mayhem ensues.

In terms of the voice cast, there have been changes. Some actors passed away, while others aged. Naturally, someone like Cal Dodd, who voices Wolverine, doesn’t sound the same way he did 30 years ago. People’s voices change as they get older – that’s life. That said, the cast carries the same energy and vigour from three decades ago. They make the viewer believe they are these characters and breathe life into the story.

Is X-Men ’97 worth watching?

Quite often, continuations either fail to capture the magic or move the story forward in an evolutionary way. X-Men ’97 suffers neither of these problems. It honours the past, but it understands it must also seize the future. This isn’t simply a walk down memory lane or tug at nostalgic feelings; it’s the prototype of how anything X-Men-related should and can be. If the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) can’t even match a third of this quality when it finally introduces the mutant team on the big screen, it shouldn’t even bother.

X-Men '97
Continuation of X-Men: The Animated Series (1992) .

	Creator: Beau DeMayo
	Cast: Ray Chase, Jennifer Hale, Alison Sealy-Smith, Cal Dodd, J. P. Karliak, Lenore Zann, George Buza, A. J. LoCascio, Holly Chou, Isaac Robinson-Smith, Matthew Waterson, Adrian Hough
	Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure
	Number of Seasons: 1
	Streaming Service: Disney+