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Summary
Episodes reviewed:1-5 (season ongoing)
Parental guidance: violence, light language
The X-Men ‘97 production team maintains a strong story in Season 2 while increasing the stakes from Season 1 and rewarding fans, including comic enthusiasts, of the original series with dialogue and plot points. These aspects are polished, elevated, and compliment the first season. The show continues its tendency to give the nostalgia of the classic 90s episodes and the maturity to match the now older viewers.
Warning: there are spoilers in this review.
Story Stays Strong
Season 2 begins with returning to the X-Men after they’ve been split up after saving the planet from certain doom. The mutants have been scattered across time—some remaining in the 90s, others in the distant past, and the remaining in the future. Bishop and Forge are on a mission to get the X-Men where they need to be—or rather, when, with Bishop going to the past and Forge to the future. Those in the future discover a world that’s been destroyed by Apocalypse, including Storm, Jean, Cyclops, and a recovered Wolverine, who still has his mutant abilities sans adamantium ( you may recall, Magneto ripped the metal from Logan’s body). The team in the future encounter a young Cable—the son of Jean and Cyclops—who knows he’s meant to stop Apocalypse and receives training from his parents to prepare for that moment. Viewers will learn who brought the mutants through time with the goal of trying to stop the reign of Apocalypse.
Meanwhile in the 90s (Episode 2), Jubilee and Sunspot are recruited to X-Force, led by adult Cable with Psylocke and Archangel along for the ride. This team is hunting down War, one of Apocalypse’s horsemen, to get answers on what Apocalypse is planning for his attempt to dominate the planet. Along the way, there’s a straight up execution, accenting how serious Cable is about taking down the mutant who’s made the X-Men’s lives a nightmare. X-Force also takes on X-Factor—the U.S. Government’s own mutant team, acting as a roadblock on the mission to figure out when and how Apocalypse plans to strike. It’s in this episode Jubilee gets to shine as we see her signature stylish fighting (along with appropriate accompanying music) that’s been upgraded with some training from being on X-Force.
As for the mutants Magneto, Professor X, Nightcrawler, and Rogue, they are in the past. Bishop joins them after they encounter the mutant En Sabah Nur in 3000 B.C.E (Episode 3/4). This is the mutant who would one day become Apocalypse, and Magneto believes that setting him on a certain path could change the future in which the grey-skinned slave-turned-warrior becomes a psychopath. This two-parter episode provides at least one shocking death, a satisfying villain origin story, and the introduction of another villain—or at least a variant of him—showing how much interweaving of Marvel Universe lore the X-Men ’97 writers are willing to incorporate. By the end of the two-parter episode, the X-Men are able to escape the past with the understanding of how destiny seems to operate. This is significant for what it means for the mutants’ attempt in changing the future of a destroyed Earth.
After the first four episodes, Episode 5 acts as a filler episode; however, one that is important in exploring how Wolverine will manage to get adamantium back onto his skeleton, including his iconic claws. He recruits members of the Weapon X program, as well as Morph, to join him in returning to the place where they all were experiments. What awaits them is a threat that cannot leave the facility because it means another potential threat to the world.
What maintains consistent in each episode is the writing quality and story direction. I don’t feel cringy watching these heroes talk about world-ending consequences or hearing an edgy monologue or two. The show feels like I’m sitting in front of the giant screen television from my childhood but the experience has aged in a way that feels “right” for the modern era.
Balanced Nostalgia and Quality
Going back to watch the classic 90s X-Men animated series, one can feel a lot more cheesiness in the writing as it feels more appropriate to the era; however, the stories are still fun, flashy, and captures the attention of superhero fans. What remains a strength of X-Men ’97 Season 2 is the charm of its predecessor is upheld while also adjusting to the tastes of the modern superhero animation viewer. The original series had a different vibe compared to something such as Batman: The Animated Series; however, it had its own energy that feels carried over into the present as it evolved into X-Men ’97. I’ve always felt DC Comics has had stronger animation projects; however, some of its content has felt lacking in recent years. This has given way for other shows to shine, such as the revived X-Men series. I was glued to the screen watching Episodes 3 and 4 because they were so captivating in how they played out and how the voice acting brought the show to life. We also see a balanced focus on different mutants to give them their moment, which can be difficult when you have a large roster of heroes.
It would have been easy for the producers of the show to stay safe and refrain from killing off members of team; however, we saw Gambit die in Season 1, and with another significant death in Episode 4 of Season 2, they keep the pressure up. There’s also continued graphic violence in this season, including an impaled mutant, grotesque transformations of humans, and directly-displayed stabbing. Despite the violence, the show focuses on the raised stakes, worldbuilding of the show, and providing viewers of the original a show that will satisfy both their younger and present-day selves.
More to See
This review covers Episodes 1 – 5 of Season 2, and there are 4 more episodes to go. Apocalypse is out there and the team will have to figure out how to deal with him once he shows up. What I hope is coming are the rumored appearances of Onslaught and Horseman of Death Gambit as it would take creativity to make this happen in a way that doesn’t feel rushed but also unique to this take on X-Men. Episode 8 is titled “The Dead Man’s Hand,” which leads me to believe the rumors are correct, at least for Gambit. From what I understand, these characters appear in specific ways which will likely differ in this show.
I also haven’t forgotten the sighting of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson in Season 1 of X-Men ’97. Once this show wraps up or possibly before then, I would love for the producers of this show to reboot the Spider-Man animated series from the 90s to at least conclude how Peter reunites with Mary Jane. To my understanding, John Semper Jr., who produced, wrote, and developed that show, released a treatment where Peter does find MJ, but I’ve been unable to see this for myself.
Parental Guidance
As I mentioned earlier, the show has more graphic violence than the original series, but if you were fine with your child watching Season 1, you’ll likely be fine with them watching Season 2. There’s still stabbing, but there are some corpses lying about in one episode, but their state of death isn’t gratuitous (e.g., bloody bodies, limbs missing, gory). What I like about this show is it feels appropriate for audiences older than age 10, and though it is rated TV-14, I think you’d be okay with a 10-year-old child watching it if you approve of them viewing projects in the MCU.
