X-Men ’97 Exceeds ’92-’96

Extremely exceptional.

Previously, on X-Men …

The original 1992 cartoon got me into the X-Men and, by extension, all of Marvel. It succeeded because it captured the spirit of the comics. In some cases, it adapted specific comic book storylines straight up. The animation, though not on par with Batman: The Animated Series, was pretty solid in the first few seasons.

The voice cast nailed each role (no inexplicably Australian Wolverine here), and a mix of standalone and serialized stories allowed each character to come into focus and have their time to shine. The memorable opening theme managed to distill everyone into their essence in a sequence of rapid-fire images. Just look at the different flying styles of Rogue and Storm at the beginning—how Rogue is flipping around while Storm flies on a straighter path, reflecting their different personalities. This cartoon told us in its first few seconds that it cared about its characters.

The series peaked with its excellent adaptation of “The Dark Phoenix Saga,” and it was swiftly downhill after that. I had stopped watching early in its decline, but I caught up in more recent years—and yeah, young me hopped off at exactly the right time. The animation got cheaper, the storylines flimsier. The voice cast was its sole remaining strength, but that wasn’t nearly enough to save it.

So, could we go home again even though the house was falling apart when we left it? Was X-Men ’97 destined to go the way of Star Trek: Picard seasons 1 and 2, or could we allow ourselves to hope for something closer to Picard season 3?

I’m pleased to report that they pulled it off. And not just pulled it off—they hit a grand slam. Like Picard season 3, there are things I could nitpick, but because of the many things they get right, I don’t want to.

The better comparison, though, would be the DuckTales reboot that ran from 2017 to 2021. That cartoon sought to entertain the whole family—the grown-up fans of the original as well as their children. I watched the pilot, thinking that would be all the DuckTales nostalgia I’d ever need, but then I kept coming back for more. I was kind of embarrassed at how much I enjoyed a DuckTales cartoon in my late 30s.

X-Men ’97 is most certainly not for the whole family. The violence and themes are too much for young children; middle school is probably the minimum age group. But like DuckTales, the show upped its game rather than settle for a retread of familiar territory.

SPOILERS ahead!

Only the first episode feels anywhere close to a retread, as the X-Men again save a young mutant and fight Sentinels. Sunspot fills the Jubilee role, and Jubilee is now enough of an old hand to help him get acclimated.

Still a strong episode, though, and it shows off the improved animation style. It bridges the old and new series nicely. Things pick up in the second episode, and they escalate fast from there.

The efficiency of the storytelling is downright astonishing. The season runs a mere 10 episodes, most about 30 minutes, and they draw direct inspiration from several comic book storylines that ran in the ’80s, ’90s, and very early ’00s.

“The Trial of Magneto,” “Inferno,” “Lifedeath,” “Operation: Zero Tolerance,” “Fatal Attractions,” plus a blending of “The Mutant Massacre” and “E Is for Extinction,” as well as Xavier’s time away in outer space, Jean’s clone, the origin of Cable, and the romantic triangle between Gambit, Rogue, and Magneto. We even get an affectionate nod to the X-Men arcade game, and Captain America guest stars.

That’s a lot of comics and a ton of story to get through in roughly five hours, especially when you consider the size of the cast. If I had known they were going to cover that much territory, my doubts would have multiplied.

And yet the series never feels rushed. Each episode gives itself just enough breathing room. Still, the writers could easily have expanded the season to 15 or 20 episodes without anything dragging, and that likely would have been easier than honing everything down to fit 10 episodes.

But honed they did, and they did it exceptionally well. X-Men ’97 doesn’t merely reference the familiar storylines—it’s not just saying, “Hey, it’s that thing you know!” The cartoon avoids relying too heavily on nostalgia. Certainly some of that was always going to be in the mix—I mean, there’s no reason for the team to switch to their ’80s costumes other than that it’s fun for old fans, and I’m not complaining. But the show draws genuine inspiration from the comics and weaves that material into its own cohesive storyline. We get to “Fatal Attractions” as a direct result of “Operation: Zero Tolerance,” for instance.

The high point of the series is the fifth episode, “Remember It,” a 30-minute masterpiece. This is the episode that blends aspects of “The Mutant Massacre” and “E Is for Extinction,” but the real heart of the story is the Gambit/Rogue/Magneto dynamic as Rogue works through her feelings for both men.

Again, SPOILERS!

Rogue and Magneto visit the mutant nation of Genosha. Gambit, not exactly the sort to take an interest in international affairs, tags along because he’s afraid of losing Rogue to the one man she can touch without absorbing his entire psyche.

The episode spends just enough time establishing the current situation and culture in Genosha while scenes at the X-Mansion advance some subplots, particularly the Jean/Scott/Madelyne triangle. And it does so without diluting the main story.

The character development comes first, and then the danger swiftly ramps up in the final act. A new breed of Sentinels strikes near the end of the episode, ruthlessly massacring the Genoshan population. Magneto, Rogue, and Gambit leap into action to save as many as they can.

Magneto struggles to protect a group of Morlocks, whom he had earlier promised to lead to a better life. The young boy Leech hero-worships him to the end, and we see the look of agonized horror in Magneto’s eyes as he realizes he can’t live up to that. He fails to save the Morlocks, apparently dying in the process himself.

Rogue witnesses this, and grief enrages her. She’s more determined than ever to stop these Sentinels, and she couldn’t care less whether she dies too.

But Gambit cares whether she dies, and this sets up his Big Damn Hero moment. He saves Rogue’s life, but then the Sentinels mortally wound him. After impaling him with a sharp metal beam, the Sentinel identifies Gambit with some generic mutant designation. Gambit, with his dying breath, uses his power to charge up the beam that’s sticking through him, which then charges up the entire Sentinel apparatus.

“The name’s Gambit, mon ami,” he says in his distinctive accent. “Remember it.”

The Sentinels explode. Rogue finds Gambit’s body in the debris, and here the episode delivers a gut punch that surpasses anything the original series achieved.

Rogue can finally touch Gambit, can finally feel his skin without her power activating, but she can’t feel his mind, can’t feel his soul, can’t feel any life in him whatsoever. It’s the ultimate expression of how tragic her mutant power is as devastation surrounds her.

The characters affect each other. The Morlocks affect Magneto, who affects Rogue, who affects Gambit, who affects Rogue in return, and the whole tragic disaster sets Magneto back on the path to his old ways.

This one 30-minute episode encapsulates everything the X-Men are about.

And the other nine episodes are great too! We could not reasonably have expected anything better than X-Men ’97.

Fortunately, it looks like we’ll get another season. It can’t arrive soon enough.