It’s not an easy thing these days to tell a story that feels genuine. Nostalgia is the new order of the day: writers and showrunners can’t seem to get a project greenlit without attaching it to some bygone IP, and there seem to be more sequels and spinoffs than there are original films and shows. The latter might be the most demoralizing part of being A Fan™, regardless of the major franchise you subscribe to. But there are, of course, exceptions, and X-Men ’97 is the one that defies this new normal.
If the animated series was ever an attempt to cash in on X-Men buzz, it’s impossible to tell. While X-Men ’97 started as a much-delayed follow-up to the original X-Men cartoon of the 90s — cribbing heavily from its kitschy tone and animation style — it wasted little time establishing its own stake in the franchise. Its first season seemed to come out of nowhere, bringing the fun back to the X-Men title with a whirlwind of comic-accurate adventures, character-driven angst, and the kind of soapy melodrama that has eluded the mutant team for the past 30 years. Its balls-to-the-wall cliffhanger left us wanting more in the best way — and after a two-year wait, X-Men ’97 reaffirms that investment was in no means misplaced.
