When I was a kid, I truly didn’t know how good I had it TV-wise. I had shows like Power Rangers, Pokemon, Batman TAS, Superman TAS, Justice League, Spider-Man TAS, and, of course, X-Men: The Animated Series. These were the shows that helped define me as a nerd and would influence me for decades to come (I make comics if you didn’t know.) So when I heard that Marvel was going to do a sequel series to X-MEN: The Animated Series, I was shocked, as were many others. Today, Marvel Animation’s X-Men ’97 has gotten its first trailer, highlighting the true “evolution” of the franchise in more ways than one.
The big thing is that they emphasize right off that this does pick off where the original story ends. Charles Xavier is dead, and the X-Men must continue to fight the good fight for Mutantantkind. We see many familiar faces, but we also see growth through them, including Jean being pregnant with Scott’s child. We also see teases of the dangers to come, including the return of the Sentinels, the arrival of Magneto to “take everything Charles gave him,” and so on.
Many of the original voice actors have returned to the show, like with Wolverine, Rogue, and Storm, while others have been replaced with solid enough voice actors. Overall, I think it feels like a worthy successor. The only “hitch” is that the trailer doesn’t do the best in showing off the animation style at times, and I’m curious how it’ll look when we’re watching the full episodes.
Check out X-Men 97 on Disney+ next month, and the trailer below:
Marvel Animation’s X-Men ’97, an all-new series, arrives March 20 on Disney+.
