X-Men ’97 is the present-day continuation of X-Men: The Animated Series and is finally available to stream on Disney+.
After being announced in 2021, fans are finally able to watch the series. It starts exactly where the 1992-97 series left off–the death of Professor Charles Xavier. I’ll be curious to see what happens following the firing of Beau DeMayo as head writer. The head writer had completed work on the first two seasons while a third season is also in the works. In the meantime, the series gives fans their fill of X-Men while Marvel Studios works to integrate characters into live-action in the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Do not scroll down further unless you’ve already watched.
The first three episodes were sent to press. Because of traveling and jetlag, I did not get around to watching the fan-favorite mutants return until after launch on Wednesday. Let me just say that their return could not come at a better time. We need the X-Men in our lives so very badly right now. Maybe it’s just me thinking as much since the mutants were born to represent the Civil Rights movement and then redefined during the historic Chris Claremont run to be seen as an allegory for the LGBTQ community. The community is afraid of and fears mutants, much like how the right-wing behaves towards the LGBTQ community. At the same time, many Jews-especially those of us who are LGBTQ–are feeling like outsiders once again.
While Logan Howlett/Wolverine (Cal Dodd) is my personal favorite, Scott Summers/Cyclops (Ray Chase) is the clear leader of the team. What’s most intriguing about the series is how they respond to Charles Xavier’s will leaving everything to Magneto (Matthew Waterson). You just know that this isn’t going to sit well. Meanwhile, Mr. Sinister (Christopher Britton) and the Sentinels are clearly the antagonists for the new season. Meanwhile, some of the X-Men want to build a new life for themselves, possibly even leaving the team. All in all, this is a huge ensemble series that does its best in allowing characters to shine.
One thing I like about the series is that X-Men ’97 is starting right where the original series left off. The 1990s are a very different era unlike today. You couldn’t get away with a non-binary character (Morph) over 25 years ago. Obviously, you can do that today but bigots will still be bigots and throw a fit online. What I can say for certain is that they manage to keep the spirit of the earlier series. After all, they bring back as many of the original cast as possible. Where they are unable to do so, they hire another voice actor who keeps the spirit of the role. Maybe it’s the fact that I didn’t do a series rewatch ahead of time but I couldn’t really tell the difference. Visually speaking, they do give it something of a contemporary upgrade but it still feels like a 1990s-era show.
Much like the animated series, the younger audience is still the target demographic. Regardless, this is a series for adults in as much as it is for children. After all, it is the X-Men! The fact that it takes place in the 1990s is what really sets it apart from other superhero fare today.
Three episodes into its ten-episode season run, X-Men ’97 feels like a nice reunion with old friends. As a transgender Jew feeling very isolated from the general LGBTQ and especially transgender community, X-Men ’97 is exactly what the doctor ordered.
HEAD WRITER: Beau DeMayo
DIRECTORS: Jake Castorena, Chase Conley, Emi Yonemura
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Beau DeMayo
CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt
CAST: Ray Chase, Jennifer Hale, Alison Sealy-Smith, Cal Dodd, JP Karliak, Lenore Zann, George Buza, AJ LoCascio, Holly Chou, Isaac Robinson-Smith, Matthew Waterson, Adrian Hough
Disney+ launched the first two episodes of X-Men ’97 on March 20, 2024. New episodes will premiere weekly. Episodes 1-3: Grade: 4/5
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