The upcoming X-Men ‘97 was one of the main focal points at Marvel Animation’s first Comic-Con panel. And while we didn’t get a full trailer for this highly anticipated revival of X-Men: The Animated Series, we did see glimpses of the many mutant characters who will be appearing. The ‘90s are clearly alive and well at Marvel.
What classic X-Men storylines will the series adapt this time? How exactly is the series building on the finale of its predecessor? Thanks to the panel, we have some important clues about the plot of X-Men ‘97.
When X-Men originally went off the air in 1997, the series ended on a very open-ended note. Professor X left Earth to be with Lilandra and the Shi’ar, leaving a (mostly) reformed Magneto to lead the X-Men into a new era. It appears the revival series will be building directly on the backbone of that finale.
That twist draws on various plot points from the 1980s-era Uncanny X-Men and New Mutants comics. For a time, Xavier did indeed attempt to retire in space while Magneto took charge of his old friend’s school. In addition to becoming headmaster to a new class in the pages of New Mutants, Magneto was put on trial for his past crimes in Uncanny X-Men #200.
The fact that the panel included artwork of Magneto in his infamous Uncanny X-Men #200 costume (the purple unitard with the giant white “M” logo) suggests that Mags will face a similar legal battle in the animated series. He may have turned over a new leaf, but that doesn’t change the fact that he attacked a NASA facility, kidnapped a presidential candidate and created his own orbital space station over the course of the original series.
With Magneto in charge of the Xavier Institute now, we have to wonder if X-Men ‘97 will introduce the New Mutants alongside the core X-Men roster (which is confirmed to be the same as in the original series). Rather than Jubilee filling the role of underage trainee, will there be an entire team of junior X-Men learning the superhero ropes this time?
Adding fuel to that fire is the fact that Cable and Sunspot were among the supporting characters teased during the panel. Sunspot is one of the more popular New Mutants members, and he was also a founding member of X-Force when Cable arrived to transform the New Mutants into a more militaristic super-team.
One complication is the fact that we technically already saw X-Force in the original series, though only as a silent cameo. Does that imply the New Mutants already existed in this universe?
It’s also possible the series will focus on Generation X rather than the New Mutants. Generation X became the de facto young X-Men team in Marvel’s ‘90s comics, and it just so happens Jubilee was a core member of that team.
Apocalypse was one of the main recurring villains over the course of the original series, and it would be a shame not to continue that trend in X-Men ‘97. Could we even see a full-fledged adaptation of the fan-favorite Age of Apocalypse crossover?
Granted, the original series already loosely touched on that material with the two-part “One Man’s Worth” storyline in Season 4. But while that story showed us an alternate timeline where Charles Xavier never survives to form the X-Men, it didn’t deal with Apocalypse at all. There’s certainly plenty of room left for X-Men ‘97 to tackle a longer and more ambitious adaptation.
An Age of Apocalypse adaptation makes even more sense when you remember that Wolverine and the X-Men was going to cover that ground in Season 2 before that series was canceled. Maybe X-Men ‘97 can succeed where Wolverine and the X-Men failed.
The Sentinels were the main villains of Season 1 of the original series, showing just how far humanity was willing to go to keep the growing mutant population under control. And while Bolivar Trask, Henry Peter Gyrich and their robotic creations mostly faded from the spotlight in later seasons, it seems these characters are making a comeback in X-Men ‘97.
Some of the footage teased at the Comic-Con panel shows Cyclops confronting Trask, and we also learned that ruthless government agent Val Cooper is being introduced this time. All of this suggests the government is renewing its war on mutants and likely restarting the dormant Sentinel program.
We can’t help but wonder if this means the show will adapt the crossover storyline Operation: Zero Tolerance. That X-Men epic dealt with the rise of a new villain named Bastion, who turned out to be a fusion of Master Mold and the futuristic Sentinel Nimrod.
X-Men ‘97 will bring back at least one other familiar villain from the original series. Mister Sinister is back, but maybe not in the same role as before.
During the Comic-Con panel, fans were teased that Sinister is less an outright threat to the X-Men than someone encouraging them to achieve their full potential as mutants. We could even see the series draw some inspiration from Marvel’s contemporary X-Men comics, where Sinister is working alongside the X-Men as a citizen of the nation of Krakoa. Though as in the comics, it’s probably just a matter of time until Sinister’s true motives become clear.
It would also be interesting to see X-Men ‘97 touch on the mystery of the third Summers brother. Way back in 1993’s X-Men #23, Sinister accidentally slipped up and referenced Cyclops’ “brothers” in a conversation, suggesting Havok wasn’t Cyclops’ only sibling. That loose end wasn’t resolved until many years later, as the miniseries X-Men: Deadly Genesis revealed the existence of Vulcan and an entire team of X-Men that Xavier kept hidden.
With Xavier off-world now, X-Men ‘97 could mine plenty of drama out of airing the professor’s dirty laundry and digging even deeper into that twisted dynamic between Mister Sinister and the Summers family.
What classic X-Men comics do you want to see adapted in X-Men ‘97?
There’s tons of news for all your favorite shows, films, games, and more coming out of San Diego Comic-Con 2022, and we’ve got the full schedule to guide you through the weekend of panels, announcements, trailers, and surprises.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
