X-Men ’97 should not be this damn good! With the modern age of reboots and revivals getting ruined by “adapting old stories for modern audiences”, X-Men ’97 was doomed to fail (Much like the recent Marvel Cinematic and Star Wars Universes) as word went around about things that would be inclusionary but annoy the older audience this show would need to survive, but that was not the case. X-Men ’97 continues to be a surprise that over 4 million people viewed it when it debuted 2 weeks ago.
Title: X-Men ’97
Production Company: Marvel Studios Animation & Studio Mir
Distributed by: Disney+
Directed by: Jake Castorena
Produced by: Danielle Costa & Sean Gantka
Written by: Beau DeMayo
Starring: Ray Chase, Jennifer Hale, Alison Sealy-Smith, Cal Dodd, J. P. Karliak, Lenore Zann, George Buza, A. J. LoCascio, Holly Chou, Isaac Robinson-Smith, Matthew Waterson, & Adrian Hough
Based on: X-Men by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
Release dates: March 21, 2024
Running time: 28 minutes per episode
Episodes: 10
By the way, if you admit that you skip the intro to X-Men: The Animated Series or X-Men ’97 at any point, you’re no longer allowed on this site and we can’t be friends…
This Week on X-Men ’97…
Story Summary – SPOILERS
Story Review – Some Vague Spoilers
The episodes over the last 2 weeks bring an interesting combination of an adaptation of a comic book storyline/introduction and a completely original story split over two different stories. Are you confused yet? Well, I was.
Given that X-Men ’97 is only going to have 6 more episodes to resolve the many already-established storylines that they created in the first three episodes:
- Magneto taking over leadership of the X-Men
- Genocia joining the United Nations
- Storm losing her Mutant powers
I don’t think throwing in a half-episode to a completely throwaway one-shot story was the way to go.
Episode 3, called “Fire Made Flesh” brought in a couple of the more interesting villains to exist in the X-Men universe, Mr Sinister and the Goblin Queen/Future ruler of hell herself: Madelyne Pryor. Anyone who has read Uncanny X-Men since around 1989 would know of Madelyne Pryor, who she is, and how she came to be. To see this adapted into animated form was well done as the production team played it off in a horror style that would be fitting as a Halloween episode from any other animated show, with some of the X-Men’s greatest fears or desires (Yes, this is where they show that Morph has some attraction to Wolverine. It ultimately comes off as nothing to be concerned about or even noteworthy) in a twisted manner.
Adding to the above horror aspects of the episode is also the idea that Jean has been wanting to leave the X-Men and raise their child, Nathan, in a somewhat normal way where he can get away from all the anti-mutant hate, having a more accepting childhood than she did. This also comes into issue with Scott, who wants to do right as a husband but is still untrusting of Magneto as Magneto has taken over the team… Though this gets sorted out by the end of the episode in one of the weirdest moments in the show so far. But the Jean leaving thing ends in a good place and keeps the door open for future episodes containing the one who leaves… I’m just not saying who.
As for Episode 4, called “Motendo” for the first half, and “Lifedeath – Part 1” for the second half, is one of the weirdest production decisions made thus far in the show.
“Motendo” is full of references of X-Men stories, locations, past episodes, and the Genesis video game. However, what gets me with this half of the episode is that it is not needed. I’m sure that somewhere in Disney HQ, some producer or writer wanted to have an episode revolving around video games and other forms of entertainment media, but again, it is not something that was needed given the short span of this season. I do have another issue with it, but I’m going to leave that till later as I’m giving people enough warning here to WATCH THE EPISODE FIRST and then read the rest of this review as I cannot point out a major flaw with the episode without spoiling who the villain is and why it doesn’t work. Also, this push for Roberto not only means something outside of D&I requirements in media these days but also getting him into a relationship with Jubilee is so forced that it comes off as ungenuine and annoying.
As for “Lifedeath – Part 1” it is doing something to forward the bigger long-running storyline revolving around Storm and her lost powers from Episode 2. At the end of Episode 3, we get the appearance of another X-Men character who explains that he can help Storm regain her powers. In Episode 4, we see more of the relationship (even if one part, moves too fast on one side) between Storm and her new friend as they try to repair Storm’s connection to the elements via psychological means but also using technology. We also learn why this person contacted Storm and why they want to undo the damage done to her. It’s a great story that touches the soul of the characters as people, who can be flawed but helpful at the same time… However, please don’t force these two together like they are doing with Roberto and Jubilee, again, it comes off as ungenuine and annoying. (Yes, I know they fell in love with this story arc in the comics, but with the limited time frame it does not work as well as it did in the comics)
X-Men ’97 Continues What Worked in 1992
As I said at the beginning of this review, X-Men ’97 has no right to be this damn good in this day and age. Most people would think that this type of storytelling, being subtle about messaging, having fun with the subject matter and characters, and being RESPECTFUL to the previous entries in the series is a completely lost art… But here we are.
“Fire Made Flesh” is one of those episodes that belongs in the top 10 episodes of this series, including the original X-Men: The Animated Series. It is that good. From the horror atmosphere to the characterization of Mr. Sinister pulling the strings from behind the scenes, to the introduction of Madelyne Pryor into the the show, everything comes off as “chefs kiss” when it comes to the writing and acting. To say that this would be one of those episodes that I will rewatch many times over, holding it up as the measuring stick for X-Men ’97 going forward.
As for “Motendo / Lifedeath – Part 1″… I can take it and leave it.
The “Motendo” story is ok, filled with nostalgia, but its choice of villain does not work. “Lifedeath – Part 1” on the other hand, comes off as very well written, Alison Sealy-Smith puts some major emotion into her work as Storm, a fitting continuation as THE voice for that character, and seeing her new friend trying everything they can to help not only her body but her mind comes off as something that not even the original series would have thought of… And that twist at the end… Amazing. I cannot wait to see “Lifedeath – Part 2” in two weeks.
Still a Few Gaps in This Mutant DNA
There are still some animation issues at work here. Some moments in the show come at the sacrifice of drops in frame rate, the animation still looks too clean for modern TVs, and some background art or in-between animation looks horrible and low quality. I’m coming to accept that this is going to be something that will repeat throughout the whole season, so this is the last time that I’ll bother pointing it out.
Now, let us get to the big problem with “Motendo” that I’ve been delaying for most of this review, it is going to come off as the comic book nerd in me being nit-picky, but here it is: Motendo’s biggest flaw is casting Mojo as the main villain. There, I said it.
They rewrite Mojo to suit a modern audience or at least modern media trends and it isn’t done right. In “Motendo”, Mojo starts as a thin version of himself, stating that broadcast media (aka TV) has become so out of date in Mojo World that he has starved himself thin. To combat this, he has pivoted to video games as they are the “new big thing”, allowing him to regain his girth through the SAME ENERGIES HE USED TO FEED ON.
Want to see where the flaws are here? Well…
- Mojo could have pivoted to streaming media, it is the same thing
- Mojo’s plan to have everyone trapped in a Motendo system would devoid him of his energy source
- Video Games are an interactive medium, not a passive medium
- THERE IS A VILLAIN CALLED ‘ARCADE’ WHO WOULD HAVE BEEN PERFECT FOR THIS VILLAIN ROLE!
“Motendo” comes off as a “How you doing fellow kids?” meme in animated form. I have no idea what the producers or writers were thinking when they came up with this waste of an episode. Not only did they take a semi-interesting premise of Jubile turning 18, allowing her to either evolve her mutant powers, have an adventure-filled day where everything “goes wrong”, or even put her into the storyline where she becomes a vampire (Yeah, that’s a thing). But nope, we get the Mojo World episode where it makes no sense. With 10 episodes to work with, this should be an example of what NOT to do with a limited schedule.
Also, can we stop with the forced “shipping” of characters, please? Scott and Jean are enough to create relationship drama in the show, we do not need a relationship between Roberto and Jubilee for no reason, and I do not care if it is comic accurate, the Forge and Storm relationship needs longer to develop than two episodes. If it was throughout a whole season, then I’m all for it, but this version of events is moving too fast.
Press Start for Additional Players
X-Men ’97 Xcells in Being the Revival We Need
With four episodes done and six more to go, I’m still amazed at how good this season has been so far. Sure, they fumbled a little bit with “Motendo,” but everything else remains not only the expectations that fans dreamed of for this revival but also sets a new bar when it comes to single-episode storytelling with “Fire Made Flesh.”
Going into the final six episodes, not only am I looking forward to the conclusion to “Lifedeath,” but I’m also interested in the other episodes, two one-off episodes and a three-part finale. X-Men ’97 continues to be the frontrunner in how to handle the revival of a long-dead animated series. Now, about that Spider-Man ’94 sequel…
Summary
“Fire Made Flesh” sets a new bar for not only the animation side of X-Men’97 but the storytelling and character development side too, as it is the best episode of this new season so far. However, “Motendo” does become pointless nostalgia bait, and not in a good way as it fumbles on the biggest part: The Villain. “Lifedeath – Part 1” sets up a great, hopeful conclusion, to Storm’s storyline in a way that it deserves its full episode to finish it.
Pros
- Madelyne Pryor’s introduction scene
- Return of a past X-Men Voice Actor in “Motendo”
- Storm emotional efforts in “Lifedeath – Part 1”
Cons
- The forced relationships
- The villain in “Motendo”
- This show only having 6 episodes left
