X-Men '97 was always destined to be a hit with 1990s kids, but the Disney+ animated series has ultimately proven to be one of the surprising standout entries in Marvel's multiverse saga. In an era where a plethora of content has arguably diluted the Marvel brand, X-Men '97 Delivers pure, focused comic book greatness. The show is dedicated to celebrating the entire history of the X-Men and celebrating as many fan-favorite characters and team-ups as time and budget allow.
in X-Men '97 Season 2, there's not just one X-Men team but two, as the band of mutant heroes are scattered across two different timelines. What's more, the absence of the X-Men team on their homeland in 1997 means that other mutants must come together to protect Earth and mutantkind in their stead. The result of this shake-up of the status quo is that Season 2 almost has the format of an anthology series, as each episode focuses on a different team of characters. The season has maintained impressive quality, but of course, some teams have proven better than others, whether it's because of a more interesting roster of heroes, stronger team dynamics, or just because they're more entertaining to watch.
5
Team X
Lineup: Wolverine, Sabretooth, Lady Deathstrike, Maverick, Garrison Kane, and Morph
Episode 5 X-Men '97 Season 2, titled “Weapon X, Lies, and DVDs,” offers a thrilling tribute thing (Experienced with some Aliens cues for extra flavor) as Wolverine leads a group of old friends and enemies to break into the Weapon X facility in the snowy Canadian wilderness. It's the equivalent of Logan's college reunion, as each of these allies is a former Team X member, a group of mutants used by Weapon X scientists. Along for the ride is Wolverine's best friend (and secret admirer), Morph.
While there are plenty of heavy hitters in this lineup, it shouldn't be surprising that such a collection of Renegades would prove incapable of working together as a team. After discovering that the Weapons X facility has been taken over by an alien brood, extractable extraterrestrials make quick work of Team X, with both Maverick and Kane losing their lives during the mission. The final nail in the coffin for this team's performance comes when it's revealed that Wolverine lied to his team about his real reason for entering the facility. Although he didn't know about the brood infection beforehand, when it came down to it, Team X was more like cannon fodder for Logan's secret plan than a proper team in their own right.
4
The X-Factor
Lineup: Polaris, Havok, Multiple Man, Wolfsbane, and Strong Guy
In episode 2, “A Force To Be Reckoned With,” fans learn that the government has assembled its own team of mutant superheroes in the X-Men's absence. Dubbed X-Factor, the derivative nature of the group is lightened by the fact that their roster includes two less famous relatives of X-Men members. Namely, Polaris (Magneto's daughter) and Havok (Cyclops' brother). Havok is clearly the leader of the team, but unlike his brother Scott, he seems unable to inspire complete loyalty in his teammates.
While they mean well and seem to serve as a useful PR tool for mutant relations, X-Factor is ultimately toothless as a superhero team because they're doing whatever government official Valerie Cooper tells them to do—and Cooper himself is taking orders from anti-mutant president Robert Kelly. In essence, the team serves as little more than super-powered jailers for a government facility that imprisons young mutants deemed a potential threat to national security. Polaris betrays her team to aid Jubilee and X-Force, and eventually joins the X-Men once again, but this shows just how weak this ersatz X-Men group really is.
3
X-Men 3960 AD
Lineup: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Storm, Morph, and Forge
When the X-Men were displaced in time, half of them ended up in the distant past and the other half were transported to the distant future, where the world was a desolate wasteland ruled by Apocalypse. This wasn't exactly a new experience for the gang, as the X-Men have visited more dystopian futures than Wolverine can count on his fingers and paws. Maybe that's why these X-Men seem to be adjusting so easily to their new place in the timeline, even if they're not completely victorious in defeating Apocalypse once and for all.
In Season 2, Episode 1, titled “Days of Future Past”, Forge travels to the year 3960 to rescue this group of X-Men. After finding them, he discovers that they've gone home for good, joining a rebel army opposing Apocalypse's lackeys and even finding a new elderly mentor for himself. Mother Askani, a mysterious wise woman and leader of the surviving Askani tribe, was able to help them adapt to this time zone. It is finally revealed that Mother Askani sent the X-Men to the past and future in the first place.
At the end of the episode, the X-Men 3960 team has a mixed success rate. On the one hand, they were able to prevent young Nathan Summers from becoming the next host of the Apocalypse, freeing the future from Depot's grip in the process. On the other hand, they couldn't stop Apocalypse from traveling back in time and escaping their clutches once again.
2
X-Men 3000 B.C
Lineup: Professor X, Magneto, Rogue, Beast, Nightcrawler, and Bishop
While Mother Askani brought some X-Men into the future to end Apocalypse's reign of terror, those sent to the distant past had an even greater task to accomplish: preventing the villain's origins in ancient Egypt. Sent to 3000 BC, this half of the team – as Bishop discovers, when he returns to the past to retrieve them – becomes an unlikely ally with a young, idealistic En Saba Nur in episodes 3 and 4, the two-part “Rise of the Apocalypse”.
Nur, unaware of his fate as the Apocalypse, served as the leader of an army of freed slaves known as the Sandstormers and rebelled against the tyrannical pharaoh, Rama-Tut (a form of Kang's conqueror). Interestingly, it was Magneto who most took Noor under his wing and tried to impress upon him morals and ethics. However, Noor proved too vindictive to redeem and, with a little help from some rediscovered Celestial tech, turned into Apocalypse. Apocalypse's first evil act was to vaporize Magneto.
On the face of it, the X-Men 3000 team is far less successful than their counterparts in the future because they not only failed completely to stop Apocalypse's creation, but they lost one of their own in the process. Still, the 3000 BC team gets points for having the more compelling storyline of the two split X-Men factions, and for the innovation of having an X-Men lineup led by both Professor X and Magneto.
1
X-Force
Lineup: Cable, Jubilee, Sunspot, Psylocke, and Archangel
As fun as it is, many separate teams have been operating X-Men '97 Season 2, the biggest breakout among them has been X-Force. The ultimate example of 1990s comics' love of all things grim 'n' gritty, X-Force ironically did not feature in the original run. X-Men: The Animated Series, So it's only right X-Men '97 Finally that serious error has been resolved. X-Force makes such an impression on the show that they even hijack the title sequence of episode 2, the series was temporarily rebranded. X-Force '97.
What makes X-Force the standout team of the season is the dramatic conflict in their story. Despite being the offspring of Scott and Jean, Cable has a different modus operandi than his parents and the X-Men, and his feud with Jubilee makes for some great scenes on the lines they should and shouldn't cross. Contrasting her youth and principles with Cable's grizzled gray morality results in Jubilee's best use. The X-Men Customization up to date. Also, getting more screen time for underrated characters like Archangel and Psylocke is always welcome. A decade has passed, and the fans are still not finished X-Men: Apocalypse's Treatment of the couple.
In a world where fans lost to one X-Force A movie starring Josh Brolin, devoted an entire episode to Marvel Studios X-Men '97 A welcome consolation prize to the tough-as-nails team. Episode 2 feels like a backdoor pilot for a more mature spin-off focusing on the group's exploits, though that may just be wishful thinking. Audiences will likely happily settle for more from X-Force X-Men '97 Marvel continues to expand into its most populated corner of the multiverse.
- Release date
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March 20, 2024
- network
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Disney+
- directors
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Jake Castorena, Amy Yonemura, Chase Conley
- The authors
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Charlie Feldman, Anthony Cellitti, Beau DeMaio, JB Ballard
