It has been almost 30 years since X-Men: The Animated Series aired on people’s TV, airing one of the most emotional finales to be seen in any Marvel Animation. It was the end of an era. With Marvel Studio’s new division, Marvel Animation, X-Men: The Animated Series has now risen from the ashes in the form of X-Men ’97.
X-Men The Animated Series is nostalgic for a lot of people, but for me personally, I just spent the last two weeks watching it for the first time. Though I now have a connection with these characters that I didn’t have before, it won’t be the same as the people who watched this when they were younger. I’d say the only major callback that people could call nostalgia bait is the returning intro, but personally, it feels necessary for the show’s DNA, and without it, the show somehow wouldn’t feel the same.
X-Men ’97’s intro is almost the same, with a slightly remixed theme and the addition of two new members who appeared frequently in X-Men: The Animated Series: Morph and Bishop. Almost every single beat and sequence is similar in the intro, but thanks to the improved animation by Studio Mir, some of the fight scenes in the intro itself look more fluid and showcase what to expect from the show itself. A few of the fight sequences showcased in the intro seem like they could be from future episodes, as they did this in the past with Season Five’s intro to X-Men: The Animated Series.
For those unfamiliar with the storylines that took place in X-Men: The Animated Series, one of them featured Morph, who was originally a member of the team until he was left behind during a Sentinel attack and presumed dead. It would be in Season Two that it would be revealed that the villain, Mr. Sinister, rescued him at the last moment and brainwashed him to betray the X-Men and use him for his own sinister (pun intended) plans. Morph tried rejoining the team in the past but kept having to deal with the trauma that Mr. Sinister caused him, which stopped him from permanently joining, but now it seems like he’s back to good. X-Men ’97’s intro gives us a tease that Mr. Sinister will be returning, and Morph will be a very big part of that storyline as his trauma most likely returns.
X-Men ’97 Season 1 Episode 1 Spoiler Review
We return to the world of mutants with a major reminder that Charles Xavier had been assassinated, which took place in the season finale of X-Men: The Animated Series titled ‘Graduation Day’. It has been a year since then, meaning the Shi’ar have not yet been successful in bringing Xavier back to life, but there is still hope for the return of Charles Xavier as he appears in the intro, meaning he’s likely to have a much larger role in this season of X-Men ’97. The news channel does mention that this assassination has caused people to change the way they think about mutants, with some showing sympathy towards them, yet it’s clear that not everyone has warmed up to the mutants as the Friends of Humanity are still operating.
The Friends of Humanity have been kidnapping mutants and sending them off to their buyer, who’s offering $10,000 for each one. The buyer at hand is most likely Boliver Trask, who is using the kidnapped mutants as “target practice.” Their latest victim is the mutant Roberto Da Costa, who was collared before they could even find out what his mutant power is. Roberto is the heir to the Da Costa fortune and begins to bargain with them, hoping that money will be the answer to setting him free. Roberto continues begging for his life, attempting to make the FOH sympathise, which ends up ultimately failing as they show no remorse for the Mutants and only hatred.
Before the FOH can continue with their plans, they get interrupted by an incoming storm (pun intended). Without wasting any time, they grab for their Sentinel Blasters, which seem to be new technology taken from Sentinels to create weapons that humans can use against the mutants. Storm and Bishop enter the scene in cool fashion and start a fight with the FOH before getting knocked out by an explosion. Cyclops then enters the scene, introducing himself to Roberto and showing off his new moves by using his optic blasts to manoeuvre around and fight at the same time. Throwing us straight into the action is the best way to showcase the new animation and how fluid the fight scenes will be, compared to how they were in the 90’s. Cyclops ends up tricking the FOH into thinking he’s surrendered, as they’ve taken his visor, but he opens his eyes, setting off a large optic blast that takes them out.
There are a few other fight sequences later on in the episode that show the team fighting together and making use of each other’s abilities to help them have the upper hand, which is there as a reminder that the X-Men are a team and fight together as one. Storm even gets a better sequence later, showcasing why she’s labelled an Omega Level Threat mutant, and it’s a scene that captures the essence of her powers perfectly.
Roberto is brought to Xavier’s School for the Gifted, and we get our first glimpses of Rogue, Gambit, Beast, Jubilee, Morph, Wolverine, and Jean Grey, who is now pregnant with Scott’s kid. Roberto is brought up to speed as Jubilee tries to calm him down, as she also went through a similar ordeal in the premiere episode of X-Men: The Animated Series, which we will go into detail about later. Cyclops questions him about whether he knows anything about the new Sentinel technology that the FOH has their hands on, but Roberto is clueless and also offers them money, hoping they’ll let him leave. Roberto is later taken to the danger room when he’s asked if there’s anything else to do in the house. He’s put up against Magneto, whom he doesn’t take seriously as he knows it’s all fake, but is brought to his senses when Wolverine turns up and taunts him with his claws.
Roberto manages to sneak away from the school to escape but is quickly found at a nightclub, which the FOH were also at, but thankfully they were scared off by the X-Men. Jubilee dances with Roberto as she tries to persuade him to return to the school and join them in the fight against the opposition. Towards the end of the episode, Jubilee starts to relate with Roberto to help him feel at ease, as the X-Men also rescued her after Sentinels attacked her at the mall. Roberto reveals that his mutant abilities let him harness solar power, which makes him extremely strong. Roberto has yet to come to terms with his abilities and is still conflicted about joining the team, as he doesn’t know what he truly wants. Though he decides to leave, we’ll certainly see more of him, as it seems likely that his relationship with Jubilee will develop throughout the season.
Returning to earlier in the episode, Scott contacts Valerie Cooper to ask if she knows anything about the resurgence of the Sentinel weapons, but she’s unaware and tells them that Trask is missing and that he can’t be creating Sentinels as they destroyed the only Master Mold factory that he had. The Sentinel blasters aren’t the only worry on Scott’s mind; he is also worried that he isn’t doing as good of a job leading the X-Men as they seem laid back compared to when Xavier was in charge. Jean urges Scott that it’s only normal and that they also had similar behaviours when they were young. Jean also suggests that they should leave the team to focus on their child and their new family, but it doesn’t seem like Scott is ready to let go of the X-Men just yet. Their absence from the team isn’t only affecting Scott; it’s also affecting Wolverine, as he discusses it with Morph at the club while he’s disguised as Jean.
Cyclops, Storm, and Bishop head off to Gyrich to interrogate him about the whereabouts of Trask. Trask warns them that the sympathy that has arisen from Xavier’s death is only a “fad” and states that “under all that fashionable sympathy, normal people know the more room we make for your kind, the less we leave for ours. So we might wear tolerance on our sleeves, but we know the naked truth. Tolerance is extinction.” Tolerance is extinction, which is the name of the three-part finale, so this is possibly hinting at mutant-human relations turning for the absolute worst and that they’ll most likely lose faith in the humans who were previously showing sympathy.
Jean Grey then reveals herself, linked up to Cerebro, which amplifies her psychic abilities. She begins searching in Gyrich’s head and discovers that there is another Master Mold and where it’s located. Unfortunately, that’s not the only thing she witnesses; she starts to see her unborn child in her hand and thousands of graves, which at first seem to be linked to the Master Mold but on a second watch, it seems like there is more to what Jean Grey saw that they’re letting on.
On the way to Trask to take out the Master Mold, they’re taken out of the sky by a Sentinel attack, and here we get to see the first showcase of how Morph uses his powers as he turns to Archangel to rescue Wolverine, while Rogue rescues Beast and Gambit. In this freefall scene, Cyclops shows that there are more ways he can use his optic blasts as he uses them to break his fall and land the superhero landing.
As mentioned previously, a big battle plays out with Trask, Master Mold and the X-Men, with the X-Men coming out victorious as Trask is arrested by Valerie Cooper and the X-Men get to return home. Back at the school, Scott and Jean announce that they’ll be leaving the X-Men, which leaves fellow members such as Jubilee worried about who will lead the X-Men once they’re gone. Before they can get their answer, they’re interrupted by an alarm coming from Xavier’s office. To their surprise, Magneto is the one who has broken in, but this time not to fight; he’s arrived to give them the news that Xavier has handed everything over to him as it’s stated in his last will and testament, meaning that Magneto is now in charge of the X-Men.
Let’s not forget the Easter eggs that are included in the episode. An easter egg that was mentioned prior was Morph’s transformation into Archangel, who was originally Angel before he got transformed into one of Apocalypse’s horsemen. Morph also transforms into Blob during the battle against Master Mold. Some may not consider Morph’s transformation as Easter Eggs, but it will be fun to keep track of which mutants he changes into each episode. The final Easter egg that I noticed was also featured in the trailer, which was the mention of Spider-Man, questioning if he’s a mutant, and the Hellfire Gala on the newspaper seen in the beginning.
Final Thoughts
“To Me, My X-Men” is a great premiere that familiarises old and new viewers with the main cast by introducing new dilemmas and making callbacks to the very first episode of X-Men: The Animated Series. This episode also takes its time to focus on Scott and Jean and their place within the school while also preparing for a kid. This might be the very first episode, but it has already teased what to expect in the three-part finale, and with Magneto now the supposedly new leader of the X-Men, will he be the reason humans lose all sympathy for mutants?
X-Men ’97 is streaming now on Disney+
