Without a doubt, readers of this website know that I’m a big fan of the X-Men. We have reviewed at least four different X-Men video games at this point, the graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills, and even the X-Men Vs. Street Fighter arcade cabinet from Arcade1up. While I had been a Marvel Comics reader already in the early 90’s, it really was the X-Men cartoon that hooked me in a big way. As has been previously discussed, I was just completely obsessed with Gambit and literally wanted to be him. Never has a kid been more into something than I was with X-Men, and Gambit in particular.

When the most important TV show of your childhood is revived, it’s expected that one will need to talk about it, and so here we are. I’ve even wearing a Gambit t-shirt as I write this. So let’s get into it, shall we?

Before evaluating the new show, it’s worth reflecting on how monumental the original X-Men cartoon really was. Sure, Batman: The Animated Series tends to get the most credit for revolutionizing what a superhero cartoon could be. And the next series seen as elevating the medium would probably be Disney’s Gargoyles. However, I think X-Men actually made the biggest impact on my generation and left the biggest impression on pop-culture at large. Like Batman and Gargoyles, X-Men struck a darker tone than your usual Saturday morning cartoons, but I tend to think it tackled its big issues more directly.

To quickly recap what’s been said before in our other articles: [Previously on X-Men…]
The mutant metaphor lends itself to exploring some reasonably sophisticated themes, from prejudice and discrimination, to fear and bigotry, and of course the isolation of being an outsider. But the X-Men cartoon never talked down to its audience, even if we were presumed to be 10-year-olds. As a result, years after we’d all been steeped in X-Men storylines, Marvel’s mutants became a neat little reference point for discussing social issues; a cultural touchstone that everybody understood. On top of that, the X-Men cartoon was just plain cool. Colorful and stylish character designs, interesting story beats, meta-conflicts layered on top of personal conflicts—it was just legitimately entertaining. Plus that theme song!

The X-Men cartoon was so good in fact, that Marvel Studios decided to bring it back 30 years later! Not a remake or a reboot either, but a true continuation of the 90’s cartoon. X-Men ‘97 starts off right where the original show ended. They even managed to bring back some of voice cast from the original show too, including Lenore Zann as Rogue, who actually served as a member of Canadian parliament in between X-gigs.

So how’d they do? Is the new incarnation of X-Men any good? Well, the short answer is “Yes”. And the slightly-longer-but-still-short answer is “Whoa, X-Men ‘97 f#^*ing rules!”

Reviving a beloved Saturday morning cartoon 30 years later really should not work at all. And yet XM97 doesn't simply pull it off, it excels in basically every category. Instead of a simple nostalgic cash grab, this show genuinely takes the torch from the original series and runs with it, offering a challenging, poignant, and at times devastatingly powerful story. This is definitely one of the best Marvel Studios productions in years. In fact, it’s potentially their best effort to date.

Apparently Gambit can charge Wolverine’s claws with them exploding *only* *because* adamantium is indestructible. But like…how did they discover that?

Visually the show is perfect. Character designs have been altered a bit here and there, but that’s mostly just a matter of standardization and tidying up. The animation quality is lightyears ahead of anything we were given in the 90’s. That said, the show does try to emulate the vintage look to some extent, which is greatly appreciated. The jump in quality is especially apparent in the action sequences, which are truly excellent and well-staged. Imagine how huge the X-Men would have been if the original series looked even half this good! And if you didn’t think Cyclops was a badass before XM97, the first episode will show you what old Slim One-Eye can really do.

XM97’s opening sequence is an incredible reimagining of the original as well. While it initially appears like it will be a shot-for-shot remake, the sequence in fact changes a little bit from episode to episode. One alteration that is immediately apparent, he main cast of active X-Men heroes shown in the intro changes as characters come and go. (This can small change can actually be a little heartbreaking.) The interstitial action clips displayed will also change, often to call back to related events in episodes of the original series.

On the audio side, the new rendition of the X-Men theme song is appropriately epic and awesome. And to my surprise, I found myself really loving the version used for the end credits. It’s really drives home the drama perfectly, and leave you just dying to watch just one more episode.

Obviously the “Motendo” episode is pure joy for 90’s video games fans, myself included.

Castwise, it was great to see Bishop back in action, and acting as a full-time X-Man. He was always a cool character when he popped up in the original show, but he never stuck around for more than a couple episodes. Unfortunately that also appears to be the case here, as he doesn’t get too much screen time before he’s off time-traveling again. It’s too bad, I’d like to see him rejoin the team sooner rather than later.

Morph is back too and now feels like an integral part of the team. No longer using male pronouns, Morph is now gender-nonconforming—which makes intuitive sense for a shapeshifter—and sports a blank white face when not using their powers. Most interestingly, Morph’s shapeshifting powers seem to grant them the physical attributes of the person they emulate, the limits of which are not clearly defined. So turn into Archangel and Morph can fly. Turn into Colossus and Morph is bulletproof. Turn into the Hulk and Morph can smash? This aspect of their powers probably makes Morph the single strongest member of the team.

Basically Morph has become a cheat code for the show’s animators, and any “Morph cameo” is a visual treat for the audience.

On top of looking like a demonic elf, Kurt Wagner is also a swashbuckling acrobat.

Halfway through the season Nightcrawler also joins the main cast, which is an excellent addition! Nightcrawler is such a cool hero, both in terms of character and visual design, and his teleportation powers are great. He’s always been my second favorite X-Men character (right after Gambit) and I’m pumped to see him take a larger role in this show.

Storywise, XM97 is a lot! This show is a freight train that takes off fullsteam ahead and never looks back. The show speedruns through a few classic storylines of the Chris Clairemont era at breakneck pace, such as the Trial of Magneto, the Goblin Queen arc, and Life Death. However, for the most part, things don’t feel too overly rushed. Granted, the turn of Madelyne Pryor to a villain—and then back to hero again in the span of one half hour episode—could have been given more time to breathe. But it’s shocking to me how much these storylines can be compressed and still work. In fact, the more convoluted aspects of X-Men lore, like Cable’s origins or the whole Goblin Queen/Inferno thing, are probably more satisfying in this simplified cartoon format.

All the Goblin Queen stuff was visually stunning.

But prepare yourself X-Fans, because holy f#^*ing s*!# this show gets intense… What starts off as the triumphant return of your favorite Saturday morning cartoon superheroes swerves super dark pretty quickly. And the trauma train barely lets up from there.

Do my best not to spoil anything, the fifth episode in the season titled “Remember It” absolutely destroyed me. Yes, a 30-minute cartoon managed to profoundly affect this 40-year-old man. A few of my friends even reached out to check in and make sure I was OK. And I was fine…if a bit depressed. Of course, being an adult, I felt obligated to rewatch the episode for a second viewing. This time the cartoon was paired not with a bowl of cereal, but with a glass of whiskey. And there were still tears.

Now clearly this show was made for adult fans of the original series primarily, not necessarily for today’s kids potentially seeing the X-Men in cartoon form for the first time. Because the mature tone of the original is even more overt and mature here. From the grownup relationship drama, to the level of violence, to the subject matter of how casual prejudice can lead to genocide—this is not a cartoon made for kids.

Which is not to say that kids shouldn’t watch XM97. If they’re able to connect with this like we did with the original show, then kids should definitely check it out. I just don’t think they were the target demographic for this particular project.

Honestly, by the season’s 3-part finale, I started to wonder if X-Men ‘97 might be going a little too hard. Especially if they plan to make more than one season. I mean the showrunners had me emotionally gutted by the fifth episode, but they just kept ratcheting up the stakes from there. This 10-episode season manages to cherry-pick story elements from multiple separate storylines (Inferno, Life Death, Operation: Zero Tolerance, Fatal Attractions) and cram them into one ongoing narrative. And while it all comes together surprisingly well, the result is just a lot to process.

My fear is that—much like the X-Men comics did in the 90’s—this show will become too driven by major upheavals and crossover events. Personally I find it difficult to remain invested in a story when the status quo is just complete and utter chaos the entire time. Hopefully they’re not steering us into the Onslaught Saga (they likely will eventually), because that one made me check out of comics altogether back in the day.

Storm rules! And this show’s telling of Life Death was genuinely excellent.

There’s a part in Episode 9 that struck me as an odd inclusion, where the team dons their 80’s era costumes for a mission. It kind of felt like the show was doing a visual homage to Pryde of the X-Men (a 1989 cartoon pilot which was never picked up). I mean, it’s cool that they are working so much fan service into this show. I’ve actually even enjoyed the cameos from the broader Marvel universe—Get me pictures of Spider-Man!—but this particular visual element felt a tad bit unnecessary.

Still, even with some pacing issues and the emotional intensity cranked all the way up to 11, this series is just plain incredible. It’s X-citing! X-ceptional! X-traordinary! Uncanny…? And the season’s ending, while it goes to unexpected places, is still very satisfying.

X-Men ‘97 is more than just a good 90’s revival or a well-executed nostalgia project. It’s a tour de force that, honestly, some of us longtime fans might not be able handle.