Nostalgia can be unsafe . What we once thought of as enceinte in our youth can wrick out to be mediocre when it ’s viewed with fresh , modern eyes . The 1992 - 1996 seriesX - Men : The Animated Seriesis one show that has n’t aged well ; what once seemed dynamic , exciting , and fun to keep an eye on for a 10 - yr - honest-to-god in the early ’ 90s now seems gawky , corny , and bad to a maturate grownup in 2024.X - mankind : TASis less timeless and masterful than , say , Batman : The Animated Series , and as date stamp and creaky asDenver , The Last Dinosaur .
Fortunately , X - Men ’ 97 , the newfangled sequel / reboot serial publication now streaming onDisney+ , threads the phonograph needle very cautiously between honoring its source material while also updating the dealership for a modern hearing . From its colorful , expressionistic animation to its starring voice acting to its Greco-Roman cliffhanger - ending storytelling , X - Men ’ 97is a retro blast that will gratify devotee of the original while at the same time bring home the bacon over new acolyte to Xavier ’s band of merry mutants .
Shows of Future Past
ten - Men ’ 97wastes no fourth dimension in pluck up right whereX - Men : The Animated Seriesleft off when it ended near three decade ago . Do n’t bonk what occur ? Do n’t interest , all you want to know is Professor Xavier is dead , Jean Grey is meaning , and mutant are still hunt and fear by the human universe . The first installment , To Me , My X - Men , is a soft remaking of the original serial ’ classical undoer , Night of the Sentinels : Part 1 , with solar - powered good guy Sunspot in the role of the newbie mutant learning just who the heck all these ex - piece are that Jubilee recreate all those years ago .
She ’s here too , and she ’s still a SoCal mall crumb trim in a bright yellowish trench pelage and oversize dark-green shades . There ’s also team leader Cyclops , more of a Boy Scout than ever , but now a bit ill at ease in the role Professor X used to occupy ; Jean Grey , eight months with child , but still able to tamp a mean telepathic lick ; Storm , still schoolma’am of the elements , but now with a snazzy mohawk ; Rogue and Gambit , locked in an eternal “ will they or wo n’t they ? ” flirtation ; Morph and Wolverine , who can only bear each other ’s comportment ; Beast , the eloquent , Shakespeare - quoting blue - hairy strong man ; and Bishop , a relative newcomer who can absorb vim and boom it back at his opponent .
These ten - Men are all assembled , disconsolate , gathered , to do what they ’ve done since the beginning : protect mutants from those giant royal machine predict the Sentinels and to advocate tolerance over hatred . Yet , whatX - workforce ’ 97does so smartly , both in its opener and in its subsequent episodes , is to add a bite of an boundary to everything , and the sense that anything can fall out to any character , no matter how darling they are .
That ’s why in addition to the Sentinels , the X - Men also have to treat with the Friends of Humanity , “ normal ” folk who apply Sentinel technology to attempt to whoop some ten - Men prat . They do n’t acquire , of trend , but the stake are raised higher and high , until the first instalment reveals the show ’s first jaw - eye dropper of a cliffhanger : Magneto , the squad ’s oldest adversary , is back , and he wants to join the decade - Men .
From the Ashes
That is n’t a despoiler as the promo spots already gave that twist by , but it underlines just how devotedX - Men ’ 97is to changing thing up . This is n’t just nostalgia bait ; it also wants to push these characters forward , which results in a show that ’s authentically thrilling . You do n’t eff what will happen next , and is n’t that the aboriginal appeal of serialized storytelling ? Whether it ’s a comic book or an renovate series , you ’ll want to turn the page or stay tuned for the next episode .
It helps thatX - Men ’ 97has so much beneficial source stuff to play with . LikeX - Men : The Animated Series , X - Men ’ 97liberally pulls from classic storyline , put them into a liquidizer , and make a bizarre hybrid that experience both intimate and fresh at the same time . That ’s never more true than in the season ’s third episode , Fire Made Flesh , which has elements ofInferno , Fall of the Mutants , Rogue and Magneto ’s storyline in the Savage Land , andX - Factorissue No . 68 .
This might seem chaotic , and to some degree , it is , but it also allow for some slap-up reference moments , like a glimpse at Morph ’s unrequited love or what motherhood really means to Jean . The episode itself is glowering and more adventurous than the original series ever dared to be , and hints at the risks and reward future episode may take and reap .
When assessing the aliveness style ofX - Men ’ 97 , it ’s crucial to retrieve that phone number , 97 , and what it means . The show is not only set in that year , but looks it , so if the visuals seem old - fashioned , that ’s on role . To me , the living is miles ahead of the original serial , and is more kindred to mid- to late-1990s anime likeSerial Experiments Lainin its rich , textured colors and bland character movements . The action pop out more due to the show ’s refurbished tone , with Cyclops ’ visual blasts flashing more red than before , and Gambit ’s playing card vigor blasts exhibit a more brilliant purpleness than in premature iterations .
The voice acting is better , too , with many of the same actors from the original series back to resume their old part . Of the sometime guard , Alison Sealy - Smith ’s Storm shines the bright . The team ’s resident conditions witch is still prone to create highfaluting statement ( “ Surrender the boy or face my fury ! ” ) , but she also has several moments when she ’s really vulnerable , and Sealy - Smith delivers more nuance and emotion than you ’d expect a cartoon lineament to have . Among the new addition , old-timer voice actress Jennifer Hale does Jean Grey right , and Ray Chase manages to make the sometimes square Cyclops seem shockingly interesting .
The Age of X-Men
X - man ’ 97might have seemed to some like a cheap play at easy nostalgia , but give credit to Marvel Studios — they recognize what made the original show so pop to a generation of fans , and what needed to be updated to make a revitalization work in 2024 . The end consequence is not only a electrifying and adventurous animated show , but one of the best comic rule book adaptations in years . This show truly buzz off the X - Men like few others have , and that includes the 20th Century Fox celluloid and even late X - Men comic strip .
hug drug - Men ’ 97doesn’t need to beSpider - Man : Across the Spider - Verseto brook out , nor does it strive to be anything else than what it is — an almost perfect encapsulation of what made those Saturday morning cartoons so good to commence with . The original serial publication may no longer measure up to others in the musical style likeBatman : The Animated Series , but I can safely say thatX - Men ’ 97does . It will remind you just why you fall in love with these superheroes in the first seat .
The first two episodes ofX - Men ’ 97are now teem onDisney+ . New episode will debut every Wednesday until May 15 .
