X-Men 97 | Review, 5 things I liked and disliked about it

Cast & Crew:

Writer, Director and Creator: Beau DeMayo
Ray Chase as Cyclops / Scott Summers
Matthew Waterson as Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto
Ross Marquand as Professor Charles Xavier / Professor X
Cal Dodd as Wolverine / Logan
George Buza as Beast / Henry McCoy
Holly Chou as Jubilee / Jubilation Lee
Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey and Madelyne Pryor
Lenore Zann as Anna Marie / Rogue
A.J. LoCascio as Remy LeBeau / Gambit
Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm and Adversary
JP Karliak as Morph
Gui Agustini as Robert Da Costa / Sunspot
Adrian Hough as Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler

Plot:

The story of the X-Men animated series continues with an intense turn of events. Professor X was severely injured by Henry Gyrich as he faced a critical moment. Lilandra from the Shia’r Empire takes him away to treat him with advanced technology, offering hope for his recovery.

Professor X departed with heartfelt goodbyes from his students at Xavier School and his old friend, Eric/Magneto. Magneto, now the leader of the X-Men, also represents mutants on an international level. Initially, no one was ready to accept Magneto as their leader. However, as events unfold, we see the X-Men trying to work with Magneto until things take a turn for the worse.

From there, we see Charles Xavier, now healed and living in retirement in the Shiar Empire. He receives a telepathic vision of the events happening on Earth. Seeing the turmoil, Professor Xavier decides to return to Earth to address the problems personally.

Charles Xavier returns to Earth, joining the remaining X-Men to fight against those responsible for the terrible incident.

Review:

The story from X-Men: The Animated Series continues in X-Men 97, revived by Marvel Animation. Marvel brings back almost the entire cast from the earlier installment, preserving the classic feel of the original series. There are some new cast members who have replaced the deceased and retired voice actors, such as Ross Marquand, who now voices Professor Charles Xavier, and Jennifer Hale who voices Jean Grey and Madelyne Pryor.

When it comes to the series and its storyline, this is the best animated show I have ever watched. This show might even be the best project Marvel Studios has ever released. It surely has to be in the top five alongside Avengers: Infinity War, Endgame, Captain America: Civil War, Loki Season 2, Iron Man 1, and now this. I could not have imagined Marvel pulling off the mutants in such a manner, especially considering how they handled projects after Phase 3.

Before this series, I was really worried about how Marvel would handle the mutants after messing up with the new and upcoming Avengers in Phases 4 and 5. Considering the future of Marvel after the events that will take place following Avengers: Secret Wars, we will see more projects focused on the X-Men and other franchises from Marvel Comics and fewer projects related to the Avengers. However, this series has given me confidence that the future of Marvel could be better than I imagined.

With the upcoming rise of the DC Universe under James Gunn and Peter Safran, we will witness the epic rivalry between the two best comic manufacturers in the world come alive again.

5 things I liked about X-Men 97:

1. The best thing about the series is its pacing. The 30-minute episodes feel like they fly by, as they engage the viewer so well that you can’t get bored at any point in the entire series. The series remains power-packed and full of entertainment. X-Men 97 easily surpasses its predecessor, X-Men: The Animated Series, in every way.
2. The wonderful animation style carried throughout the series is something to watch out for. Although the animation style is carried over from X-Men: The Animated Series, Marvel Animation adds much more detail, coloring, and movement, enhancing the viewing experience even more. There were moments when we could see characters expressing their emotions, that animation was just beautiful to watch.
3. The epic fight sequences were just too good to be true. Right from the beginning, where Cyclops saves Robert Da Costa and dives from the plane, performing a superhero landing with his lasers, to Gambit charging up Wolverine’s claws, the fight at Genosha, Magneto showcasing his powers to the world, and many more. The fight sequences in X-Men 97 are much better than those in the original animated series.
4. Bringing back the previous cast to reprise their roles was one of the most respectful, heart-warming, and fan-serving things Marvel has done recently. Many people were connected with this show and enjoyed watching it when it used to air. X-Men: The Animated Series is still considered one of the best animated shows ever made. It was watched and enjoyed by people born in the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s. Bringing back the previous cast played out really well on the aspect of nostalgia and enhanced the continued watching experience.
5. The seriousness and darkness of storytelling is not something I expected to see today. Over the years, we have seen a toning down of storywriting presented to younger audiences. Back in the ’90s, shows had serious stories to narrate through their animation. However, over time, censor boards made stories lighter to avoid exposing children to dark and mature themes, causing a massive decline in the quality and quantity of animated shows for children.
   Whether it was X-Men, Justice League, or shows like Spider-Man and Batman, which dealt with the personal struggles and trauma of the characters, these shows were beautifully written and presented to younger audiences. They had a massive fan following, even among adults, who cherished and applauded the storytelling.
   X-Men 97 brings back this style, offering one of the darkest comic book adaptations. The writing paid off so well that Marvel is now considering bringing back more shows from the ’90s.
   I have not seen such high-quality storytelling from Marvel in a long time. Yes, Loki was brilliantly written and portrayed well on screen, but X-Men 97 definitely stands out as one of the best projects Marvel Studios has ever made. Considering the recent projects Marvel has brought to the big screen and TV shows, Marvel needs to hire more writers of this caliber if they want to make a comeback in the pop-culture era and be relevant again. Honestly, I don’t think many people are currently keeping up with Marvel’s projects regularly.

5 things I disliked about X-Men 97:

1. Just before the release of X-Men 97, we learned that Marvel fired Beau DeMayo for unknown reasons, which have yet to be revealed. After watching the current season of X-Men 97, I feel this is the worst decision they have made. The entire series has been packed with excitement, and every episode kept us hooked. The character development, the way the story unfolds, and how the intensity of the ongoing moments is set up was incredible to watch on screen. Although we don’t yet know what was the cause for Marvel firing such a talented writer but I think Marvel needs to hire such writers if they want to revive the Marvel Cinematic Universe again.
2. The entire series was so good that the 8 episodes felt too short. I wanted to watch more of this masterpiece, and I want it soon again. This is the kind of writing I expected Marvel to deliver after the events of Avengers: Endgame, considering the writing the Russo Brothers brought us. In the end, I hope Marvel brings X-Men back soon or revives the rumored Spider-Man: The Animated Series from the ’90s.
3. After the inclusion of X-Men characters with Marvel Studios, I expected more interaction and scenes of other Marvel characters. Yes, we got a brief cameo of Captain America (voiced by Josh Keaton) and even other characters like Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Iron Man, Daredevil, Black Panther, Cloack & Dagger, and more. I hope we get to see the mutants interact with them more in Season 2.
4. It would have been better if the series was rated R. I don’t think there are many youngsters following this series, and since most viewers are those who followed it back in the ’90s, it would have been fantastic to see the fight sequences and the storyline get even darker and grittier. The massacre of Genosha, humans turning into Sentinels, the last fight sequence between Magneto and the remaining X-Men, and definitely Magneto taking out Wolverine’s Adamantium would have given us scenes to remember.
5. The only weak point of the entire series was the filler episode featuring Jubilee, where she was taken to Mojo land in a game simulation. I wish they could have excluded this story from the series; the entire season could have been perfect without it. Otherwise, the series was fantastic and definitely one to look out for if you are interested in watching the mutants slowly get integrated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.