The official announcement was made in November 2021 and after three years, we have finally been able to see how X Men ’97 materialized before us. Although it may not have been the most anticipated Marvel product at first, X Men ’97 has achieved the impossible: taking us back to our childhood with a project full of charm, magic, and love for the comics it is based on.
And it is that before the appearance of Tony Stark and company, the youngest will remember how they were introduced to Marvel through series like Spiderman or the one that concerns us today, X Men. If the series has left you wanting to know more about its characters or its origin, here are some details and curiosities that will surely catch your attention.
Origin of X Men 97: original series
X Men ’97 picks up the story from where the original series left off, premiered in 1992 and whose last episode aired, precisely, in the year 1997. Although it is not the first animated adaptation of the comics, it was the one that had the most success by far.
Throughout the episodes, comic book fans were able to see adaptations of the most popular X-Men stories, such as Days of Future Past or the Dark Phoenix Saga. Originally, the series was supposed to end in its fourth season with an epic battle between the X-Men and Apocalypse, the mutants’ greatest enemy. However, the great success of X-Men led to its extension with much more inconsequential and poorly animated episodes.
It is worth remembering that X Men ’97 is NOT canon within the MCU, at least in the Sacred Timeline. For now, the closest we will see to the X Men in the MCU will be the upcoming movie of Deadpool and Wolverine. Other confirmed members of the X-Men in the film are Colossus, Yukio, and Negasonic Teenage Warhead.
The legendary header of the X Men
If you were one of those who used to watch the original animated series of X Men in the 90s, it’s likely that the opening brings you very good memories. The animation is, essentially, very similar to the original but with some small changes: now, the characters show their current design and also new ones appear, like Bishop or Morph.
In addition, the X Men ’97 header shows us other action sequences, such as Morph being attacked by Sinister. This is a direct reference to one of the events that happened in the 90s series, where Morph is revived by Sinister and then implanted with a part of his personality.
The group of villains that appears alongside Magneto also changes from the original. Here, the master of magnetism is accompanied by Juggernaut, Emma Frost, Lady Deathstrike, Pyro, Mystique, Sabretooth, and Avalanche.
Who is Roberto Da Costa?
During the early stages of the series, we are introduced to Roberto Da Costa. In the comics, he is better known as Sunspot and is able to channel the energy of the sun and use it as a weapon. The character, created by Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod, was first introduced in the comics in 1982. Da Costa has been part of X-Force, the young X-Men, the New Mutants, and even the Hellfire Club (through deception).
Which mutants appear?
As the chapters progress, we can see cameos and appearances of other mutants, like Calisto. The latter possesses healing abilities and superhuman strength and speed. Additionally, she is also capable of tracking other mutants.
Another one of the mutants that we will see appear in a secondary way is Leech. With green skin and a childlike appearance, his abilities allow him to neutralize the powers of any mutant that is around him.
Returning Voice Actors
X Men ’97 has brought back several of the actors who participated in the original series from the 90s. One of them is Sealy-Smith, an actress who is reprising her role as Storm once again. Smith has been voicing the mutant since the second season of X Men.
Another great comeback is that of Cal Dodd, who plays Wolverine. In addition to the animated series, Dodd has appeared in video games such as X-Men vs Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes, or Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes.
Lenore Zann and George Buza also return to bring Rogue and Beast to life, respectively. As a curiosity, the former voice of Jubilee, Alyson Court, also makes an appearance in the fourth episode as Abscissa, a digital clone of the character.
Hidden details of the first episodes
As expected, in the episodes we can find references to the Marvel universe everywhere. In the first episode, we could already see the Stark Industries logo, Yashida, and the Dacosta corporation, to mention a few.
In fact, few may have noticed, but even Spiderman has a brief appearance in the first episode. At the moment when the X-Men save Dacosta, we can see on screen a newspaper page belonging to the Daily Bugle. In said newspaper, the question of whether Spiderman is a mutant appears.
This is also where we see the organization Friends of Humanity. In the comics, it is a kind of sect founded by Graydon Creed, son of Sabretooth and Mystique. Essentially, the organization commits acts of terrorism against mutants and defends human supremacy over them.
