The choice of 1997 as the time of action seems not accidental. That's when the original cartoon ended its run. If we look at the X comics published in the United States at that time, we will notice great similarities between them and the main plot threads of “X-Men '97”.
Let's go back to the 1992 animation for a moment. It was created at a time when the comic book X-Men were undergoing major changes. A year earlier, after several years, Chris Claremont, the screenwriter who created most of the famous heroes and made mutants the flagship title of Marvel Comics, was fired. On the pages of comics, well-known heroes faded into the background and new ones debuted, whose past was often shrouded in mystery (or, to put it another way, the creators of pictorial stories were just inventing it), such as Gambit, Cable and Bishop. The animated “X-Men” combined the new with the old, throwing the modern team into classic adventures, appropriately softened for the youngest viewers – after all, the production was addressed to them, primarily intended to advertise subsequent series of toys with the images of beloved heroes and villains.
The character design was also “modern”, referring to Jim Lee's drawings. Animation must have made a huge impression over thirty years ago. Today, however, it stings the eyes. It should also be noted that the creators remained blind to the constantly developing comic book world of X-Men. What debuted in the comics after 1992 – e.g. unraveling the mystery of Gambit's past or Cable's origin – never appeared in the cartoon.
“X-Men '97” is released with the additional baggage of over thirty years of comic book stories that have significantly changed the world of mutants many times. However, the starting point is the ending of the original animation. The action begins a few months after the seriously injured Professor Charles Xavier left Earth, leaving his charges under the leadership of Magneto – his best friend and greatest enemy.
The first episode does not prepare us for the emotional ride that the creators have prepared for us. Unlike the original, the new animation is aimed at a slightly older audience and makes use of a higher age category. While at the beginning we get a plot not based on a specific comic book, reintroducing us to the world of the X-Men, from the second one we start jumping around known stories. We will see threads drawn from classic stories and the newest ones – and sometimes one will flow smoothly into the other. It's impressive that we managed to put it together into a coherent whole. At the same time, the series has been running at full speed since the second episode. If I had to compare the emotional level of “X-Men '97” to something, it would probably be this “Game of Thrones”, except with the death of Ned Stark in the second episode and the Bloody Wedding mid-season. I'm not exaggerating, it's so intense.
The large cast does not get lost in the multitude of impressions. I'm glad that the plot doesn't focus only on the still most popular Logan, and instead gives everyone their five minutes. Perhaps it would be useful to have another episode to lighten the tone a bit, allow you to catch your breath and focus on the relationships between the characters. However, these are reflected in every scene and gesture – we see that we are dealing with a team that has become almost a family over the years. Another advantage is the fact that, unlike the original animation, the crew is not permanent. Old heroes leave the group and new ones take their place. Nightcrawler works great, being a perfect adaptation of the comic book hero with a demonic appearance and a heart of gold.
“X-Men '97” skillfully deals with themes that are common to Marvel's stories about mutants. What comes to the fore here is tolerance, the fight for one's rights and remaining true to one's principles. The story of Magneto, who abandoned the path of violence to fulfill his best friend's last wish, seems particularly moving. His speech in the finale of the second episode is probably the best scene in the entire audiovisual history of this character. I wish Ian McKellen or Michael Fassbender had ever been given material this good. The storylines of Cyclops and Rogue and Gambit are equally moving. Big affairs are mixed here with romances taken almost from a soap opera – which should not be anything new for X-Men fans.
If something is grating in places, it's the original dubbing. In this case, nostalgia went a bit too far, as the cast from the original cartoon was invited to lend their voices. This is how twenty-something Rogue and Storm sound like sixty-year-olds. Wolverine is also somehow unconvincing. However, other characters were cast perfectly – here I am mainly mentioning Cyclops and Magneto.
The animation is also uneven. The drawings themselves are neat and several classes better than other superhero series, such as “Young League”, where everyone looks identical. The execution is impressive and breathtaking with dynamic and always well-thought-out action scenes. Especially the finale of the fifth episode resembles the most exciting scenes straight from high-budget anime. Unfortunately, the quality of the animation drops when the pace slows down. Dialogue scenes sometimes bring to mind Internet videos created in Flash at the beginning of the 21st century.
Some people may also be bothered by the numerous references to the wider Marvel universe. Characters from mutant comics will appear on the screen every now and then (and there are literally thousands of them), but at some point we will also see heroes and villains known from other titles. This takes the story a bit out of rhythm. It remains to be seen whether they will be better utilized in the planned seasons. For example, won't there be a clash between the animated X-Men and the Avengers?
“X-Men '97” is a bit short of great. However, this does not change the fact that we are dealing with a perfect example of a production “from fans for fans”. It makes up for mutant fans for several long years of cinema and television drought. After all, it's terrible “X-Men: Dark Phoenix” premiered in 2019. “X-Men '97” skillfully refers to the comic book original, and at the same time stands firmly on its own feet. It balances perfectly between different tones and a dozen or so main characters. The only thing that hurts is that now we have to wait several months for the second season. The first one effectively aroused the appetite for more.
8/10
“X-Men '97”, USA 2024, platform: Disney+, streaming premiere: March 10, 2024