#REVIEW: “X-MEN ’97”

By Justin Waldman

Bringing back a beloved show that is 27 years old, that had ended with (spoilers) the death of Charles Xavier is certainly a challenge. Marvel and Kevin Feige manage however, to handle it shockingly well. With a new Showrunner, there was some lingering doubt among the fandom about where this show would fall in the ever apparent superhero fatigue. However, X-Men ’97 not only manages to escape this, it also manages to create a brilliant Season Six essentially (even with a slightly different Voice Cast). The audience not only is left with great anticipation every week, but a massive cliffhanger after the premiere, addressed in episode three, will leave audiences with jaws dropped.

Without spoiling the Show, the X-Men consisting of Jean Grey, Cyclops, Rogue, Wolverine, Beast, Morph, Gambit, Storm, Jubilee, and Bishop (voiced respectively by Jennifer Hale, Ray Chase, Lenore Zann, Cal Dodd, George Buza, JP Karliak, A. J LoCascio, Alison Sealy-Smith, Holly Chau and Isaac Robinson-Smith), are still reeling from the death of Professor X. They have to try and move on with their lives and respect the legacy Professor X wanted to leave behind. While the first three episodes focus on who becomes their new Professor X, set next to lead the X-Men, former foes reappear and rear their ugly heads, giving the X-Men potentially their most difficult challenge to date. While each episode could be bottled, they do tie into each other (thus far) and it does appear there will be a singular story overarching throughout the season.

While some of the voices have changed, and it is a little jarring hearing some of the characters being voiced by different actors as this Series is a direct continuation, the storytelling and animation prevail first and foremost. The Show is captivating. The animation has not been updated or modernized, instead it just is in high definition this go. The style which made X-Men back in the ’90s one of the definitive cartoons of the superhero universe, is still here and even more engaging than ever. This may sound hyperbolic, and maybe it is the mentioned fatigue that has fully set in, but this is the best X-Men project audiences have received since X2. It truly is one of the best things Marvel Studios has put out in a while, and the best Marvel television project since Wandavision. Simply put, if you loved X-Men back in the ’90s and this was your cartoon back then, this continuation is simply perfection. The only thing that could be changed would be dropping it all at once because patience is no longer a virtue.

X-Men ’97 is a revelation that truly excels at revitalizing something that brought so much joy nearly 30 years ago. With the same animation and a change in voices, this feels perfectly placed in ’97 and an excellent start to a Season Six.

With many of the MCU TV Series getting 4K physical releases, maybe we can hope to see the original series get a proper release past the DVDs. Regardless though, X-Men ’97 is a perfect show, there are no notes. It is simple perfection, a rare feet to accomplish in an over-saturated market today.

X-Men ’97 launches exclusively on Disney+ Canada Wednesday, March 20, 2024 with a two episode premiere at 12am PT, 3am EST with each further episode premiering Wednesdays.