Review: X-Men ’97 “To Me, My X-Men; Mutant Liberation Begins”

Overview

“To Me, My X-Men”

Cyclops races to find the source of new anti-mutant technology that threatens to upset mutant-human relations. His search leads them to an unexpected reunion with an old foe, even as the X-Men welcome a new addition to the team…

“Mutant Liberation Begins”

When Magneto is forced by the UN to stand trial, a group of anti-mutant rioters test his resolve…


Our Take

Overall, for the first two episodes, X-Men ’97 continues the tradition of what made the original cartoon so iconic right down to the theme song and opening sequence from the original 1992 cartoon while updating it in such a way that it works. For the first episode, it felt refreshing and nostalgic as it should be while staying true to the many of the cinematic soap-opera aspects the original cartoon (and even the comics) often had, complete with decent action sequences and visual easter eggs mostly from Morph who uses his shape-shifting powers to greater effect. Strangely he’s become the subject of controversy due to his changed appearance for the sake of representing the “non-binary” crowd which I wasn’t too bothered by, as they found unique ways to make him useful in the narrative while catering to fan service with the random characters he shifts into. Bishop was an established recurring character in the original show. But outside the comics, I don’t remember him staying with the team full-time in the original 1992 cartoon, or the fact that Magneto’s helmet made him immune to telepathic attacks (which was something that was first introduced in the 2000’s Fox movies) so that’s different. Of course, it can’t be sugar-coated, but the new animation isn’t going to be the same. Even the fifth and final season of the original show changed its art style. But here it attempts to carefully replicate Jim Lee’s 90’s designs, even if parts of the animation looked stiff in places that felt like I was watching a very colorful episode of Archer mixed with random spots of cel-shading that sometimes involve the scenes with the Sentinels or the Blackbird Jet.

I was mostly impressed by the opening action sequence of Episode 1 involving Cyclops kicking some ass as the fight choreography in his movements appears as if they were lifted from the classic Capcom Fighting games which was a nice touch. On the subject of Cyclops, he’s voiced by Ray Chase (“Bruno” from Jojo: Golden Wind and “Gabriel” from the horror film “Malignant”) who does a decent job with what he’s given as he carefully replicates the stern cadence of the late Norm Spencer (RIP). Half of the original voice cast reprises their voice roles from the 92 series. But the other half are either relegated to new voice roles or have been understandably replaced due to some of them passing away. I also need to talk about the major elephant in the room as a comic fan. And that’s the twist ending of episode two without actually spoiling it. Here’s the thing… The new promotional toys somewhat spoiled the twist unintentionally, but as someone who’s read the comics growing up, part of me felt like this particular twist was going to happen at a much later episode. But what shocked me the most is how they revealed the big twist so damn early which not only shocked the hell out of me, but it was one hell of a cliffhanger to leave me hooked! I don’t know what they plan to do with these multiple plot threads moving forward, or what directions/references they could go with the core characters, but I look forward to seeing how it all unravels!