X-Men ’97 Season 2 Episode 1-4 Early Review

*The following is a spoiler-free review of the first four episodes of X-Men ’97 Season 2. Season 2 premieres July 1st on Disney+*

At this point, time displacement is second fiddle to the X-Men. From comic books to movies to TV shows, there are always events taking place that threaten to disrupt the flow of time and the foundations the world is built on, while thrusting beloved members of the team into increasingly tense situations they have to fix and rectify so the fabric of the universe isn’t torn apart. With its second season beginning next month, ‘X-Men ‘97’ is the latest addition to that growing list.

Season 2 picks up soon after the events of the previous season’s finale. Months after the X-Men attempted to stop Asteroid M from crashing and stop Magneto’s emotionally anguished wrath, the aftermath of halting that potential extinction event seems to have scattered the X-Men across different moments in time. Cyclops and Jean Grey, for instance, are trapped in the future in 3960 A.D., while characters like Magneto, Rogue and Charles Xavier are trapped in the past in in 3000 B.C. in Ancient Egypt. Both these moments in time, however, seem to be aligned perfectly with the origins and rise of Apocalypse, as the future unleashes his final form to destroy the X-Men once and for all, while the past introduces En Sabah Nur, the mutant who eventually becomes him, to the world. The only hope to stop this evil? Finding a way back to the 1990’s.

If the first four episodes of Season 2 are any indication, it would appear that the development team behind ‘X-Men ’97’ have not lost their touch when it comes to exploring its characters and bringing life to some incredibly staged action sequences. Much like the stellar first season, this sophomore outing is as emotionally poignant and thoughtful as it is visually striking and vibrant. It wastes absolutely no time getting going, immediately kicking off with efforts to rectify the time displacements and dealing with new threats that attempt to thwart any progress. The animation is once again remarkable, drawing from the original animated series’ aesthetics and its continuation in Season 1 with a slew of dazzlingly realized and colorful environments and moments where characters get to have standout moments with their powers and abilities. There is a love for the material and its crew that seems seeped into the filmmaking here, and the series is all the better for it.

What makes ‘X-Men ’97’ such a terrific series, however, is also that dense core in the middle of it that allows for plenty of smaller moments with the characters. Whether they are brief moments of humor interspersed between the tense action and heightened drama, or more somber moments where they reflect on past events and the losses they have suffered, the writing in every one of these early episodes does not miss a beat, and makes the sequences where their lives are on the line even more intense and personal, given how much the audience has come to care for them. It also allows some of the choices to come through more effectively, even if they may be choices from characters that seem reckless in concept (and even potential execution). Some of the more surprising character beats come through scenes with En Sabah Nur, as it does a rather compelling job in showcasing scenes where an understanding is displayed in regards to why he is currently the way he is, and allows for a more introspective look at how his development is, and even raising questions around this season’s central concept: “what if everything happens because…it has to?”

When the action goes down, it feels quite literally like a comic book brought to life, flipping through the pages of some of the finest X-Men issues, from moments where a swarm of enemies have to be taken down on a sprawling landscape, either in the future or in the past, or a incredibly lively chase sequence through a city or in a facility. These scenes are beautifully crafted and so colorful in every facet, and all of it backed by an excellent, retro score from The Newton Brothers, who once again adapt the themes and motifs of the 90’s animated series wonderfully. There’s a resonance to each sequence as well, in how it often feels like something can go awfully wrong for the X-Men at any moment, making those tense moments in the middle of battles more desperate to watch. 

Fans of the series will no doubt have fun picking up on some of the surprises and references sprinkled in here, and if the first four episodes of Season 2 are anything to go by, many more such moments are still to come. There are moments that will amuse, excite and even shock viewers, and the handling of all those tonal differences is beyond seamless, with incredibly careful handling of each scene and line of dialogue. ‘X-Men ’97’ is among the best works of Marvel television to date, and Season 2 continues to prove that the first run was no fluke. It is reported that a new season is planned for every year going forward, and one can only hope that every single run be as wonderful as these have been.

*still courtesy of Marvel*

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Shaurya Chawla