Marvel may be slow to introduce the X-Men into the MCU officially, but some things can whet fans’ appetites. Now airing on Disney Plus is the new animated series, X-Men ‘97.
The show is a follow-up to the much beloved X-Men: The Animated Series. Airing on Fox in 1992, it was an effort to bring the mutant team to the small screen, running for 5 seasons and covering many famous storylines from the comics. The series begins iconically at the mall, where teen mutant Jubilee encounters the X-Men for the first time.
The mutant-hunting robots known as the Sentinels have pegged her for her fireworks-dispensing powers, and the X-Men rush to the rescue. Jubilee is the perspective that introduces viewers to the world of Xavier’s school for mutants. While she’s there, she creates friendships and discovers there are more insidious forces at play. Like the comics, X-Men: The Animated Series has a world-class social commentary about racism, prejudice, and abuse of power. It also happens to have the best telling of The Dark Phoenix Saga ever put to screen. X-Men: The Animated Series concluded after its fifth season, but fans can still catch it at home.
Where is X-Men: The Animated Series streaming?
Following Disney’s merger with Marvel, most properties can be found on Disney Plus. This includes X-Men: The Animated Series, which has all 5 seasons streaming on the platform. Relive Jean Grey’s death, Cyclops’ space pirate father, and Magneto’s near-constant shenanigans. Then it will be that much easier to segue into the sequel, X-Men ‘97.
The new show functions as a season 6 of the old series, picking back up right where the old series left off. While it has been close to 30 years since X-Men: The Animated Series left the airwaves, the new series does an admirable job of bridging that gap. The animation of X-Men ‘97 honors the aesthetics of the original show while modernizing it where it can.
The first episodes pick up after the benevolent leader and powerful telepath, Charles Xavier, has died. In a shocking turn of events, the school is now in the hands of the sometimes-antagonist, Magneto. The season already has a score of 8.8 stars on IMDb. Nostalgic fans and new Marvel viewers alike have clearly enjoyed this venture into X-Men territory. Hopefully, it is only a matter of time before the team gets their own live-action film (Deadpool 3 notwithstanding).
Viewers can watch X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men ‘97 on Disney Plus.
