X-Males ’ninety seven Evaluate: A Rollicking Return to Type for Mutant-Sort

Fans disillusioned over the recent MCU nosedive in quality or just needing a child-of-the-90s fix will not want to miss X-Men ‘97, the new revival of the beloved animated series. Despite carrying over styles, characters and actors from three decades ago, the show, in sum, represents Marvel’s best release in years. Yes, better than anything else in movies, live-action, streaming, or animation.

X-Men ‘97 picks up one year after the original series concluded. The X-Men, led by Cyclops (Ray Chase, replacing the late Norm Spencer) and Storm (Alison Sealy-Smith), continue to mourn the loss of Professor Xavier (Ross Marquand) and police the world against anti-mutant terrorism. Wayward X-Men Morph (JP Karliak) and Bishop (Isaac Robinson-Smith) have joined the team full-time, and a very pregnant Jean Grey (Jennifer Hale) prepares to welcome a son with Cyclops.

A Familiar Threat

A group of terrorists using Sentinel technology lead the team to the young mutant Roberto da Costa / Sunspot (Gui Agustini), and to the possibility that the longtime anti-mutant activist Bolivar Trask has revived the Sentinel program. After a harrowing battle, the X-Men return to the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters and come face-to-face with their longtime nemesis Magneto (Matthew Waterson, replacing the late David Hemblen). Magneto reveals that Xavier has willed him the School and that he has come to take his place as the new leader of the X-Men.

Viewers will first notice that the animation, which maintains the original style and color scheme, looks brighter and clearer than it ever did before. The original X-Men: The Animated Series famously suffered from a low budget and numerous production issues that left the quality of animation wanting, to say the least.

Here, the advent of computer technology has paid off in spades: audiences finally get to see the show as the creators had envisioned it. The animators keep the original show’s trademark jerky movements (another result of the series’ low budget) throughout, though they seem to ease in more fluid animation as the show progresses. Though X-Men ‘97 retains the original character designs, the new show also works in more contemporary camera angles and shot compositions, which evoke Akira and other modern anime.

The same goes for the sound. Though X-Men ‘97 revives the theme song of the original series, a higher budget has swapped out cheap synthesizers for a full orchestral treatment. Everything feels the same but evolved, giving the show an air of familiarity while also pushing it in a more epic direction. The first episode of X-Men ‘97 also functions as a semi-sequel to the original pilot “Night of the Sentinels,” managing to evoke nostalgia without smothering viewers with it. This show wants to continue the legacy of X-Men, but has a story of its own to tell.

Subtle Ribbing

That story, above all else, will keep viewers hooked to X-Men ‘97. Contrary to toxic fan speculation, the real elephant in the room here isn’t the diversification of the X-team (adding Morph as a non-binary character, introducing Bishop and other characters of color as members), it’s the legacy of the X-Men movie series. Those films, inspired, in part by the success of X-Men: The Animated Series, have had a lasting effect on all subsequent incarnations of the characters. Here, creator/producer Beau DeMayo, introduces subtle nods to the films—the design of a Pentagon “situation room,” identical to one seen in X-Men: First Class, for example—but doesn’t go out of his way to adapt the show to popular audience conceptions.

DeMayo & company do, however, use X-Men ‘97 as an opportunity to criticize some of the film series’ dumber creative choices. A scene involving Magneto and a helicopter recalls one of the worst moments in Dark Phoenix, though this new animated version plays with more tension and better choreography. A subplot involving a weaponized mutant “cure” evokes one of the most contentious elements of X-Men: The Last Stand. The new series, however, treats the idea in a much more logical way, with characters (Magneto, in particular) behaving true to their established personalities rather than one born out of lame plot contrivance. Viewed together, these moments don’t feel born out of contempt so much as a taste for justice. The creative minds behind X-Men ‘97 have a clear love for these characters and this universe. Making subtle jabs at boneheaded creative choices feels as much like a celebration as a vindication.

Mutants, and Proud

That celebratory attitude also carries over to the dialogue as well. The writers love giving their favorite characters delicious monologues: Storm and Magneto both deliver stand-out speeches, full of passion and adult, philosophical thought. That also affords the cast a chance to relish their roles. Sealy-Smith plays Storm to the heavens, imbuing the character with an almost religious fanaticism.

Lenore Zann, reprising her role as Rogue, suggests real vigor and pathos, particularly as the show explores some of the character’s darker feelings. It warrants mentioning as well that most of the returning cast—which also includes George Buza as Beast and Christopher Brittan as Mr. Sinister—sounds just as they did in the mid-90s. Only Cal Dodd, as Wolverine, has noticeable age in his voice. That said, adding a little more gruffness works for a character like Wolverine, and viewers probably wouldn’t substitute Dodd’s beloved gravel for a sound-alike.

Characters do have a habit of vomiting exposition, at least in the first three episodes provided to critics. That does not, however, take away from the explosion of joy on display here, or from the rush most viewers will have visiting this world. Longtime fans of the comics will love the cornucopia of references and characters the new show integrates, while lovers of the original series will find their beloved story executed with more polish and thought.

If the rumors that Marvel Tzar Kevin Feige has retooled the flailing MCU to rely on the introduction of the X-Men characters, X-Men ‘97, though not part of the MCU continuity, represents a giant step toward re-exciting the Marvel audience. If Dark Phoenix ended the Fox X-franchise with a cowering whimper, this inauguration of the X-Men to Disney/Marvel plays like a mighty thunderclap…one possibly conjured by a beloved mutant with a mohawk.

Rating: 8/10 SPECS

X-Men ’97 arrives on Disney+ March 20.