X-Men '97 was always destined to be a hit with 1990s kids, but the Disney+ animated series ultimately proved to be one of the surprisingly standout entries in Marvel's Multiverse Saga. In an era where the Marvel brand is being diluted by an overabundance of content. X-Men '97 It delivers pure, concentrated comic book greatness. The show is dedicated to celebrating the entire history of the X-Men and squeezing in as many fan-favorite characters and team-ups as time and budget allow.
in X-Men '97 In Season 2, there are not just one team of X-Men, but two teams. That's because the band of mutant heroes are spread out across two different timelines. Furthermore, the absence of a team of X-Men in 1997 means that other mutants must band together to protect Earth and the mutant race on their behalf. As a result of this shake-up of the status quo, Season 2 took on an almost anthology series format, as each episode focused on a different team of characters. The quality has remained impressive throughout the season, but of course, some teams have proven to be better than others, either because of more interesting hero rosters, stronger team dynamics, or just because they're more fun to watch.
5
team x
Lineup: Wolverine, Sabretooth, Lady Deathstrike, Maverick, Garrison Kane, Moff
Episode 5 of X-Men '97 Season 2, titled ‘Weapon The Thing (With a little seasoning alien A hint at additional flavor) in which Wolverine leads a band of old friends and enemies as they break into a Weapon X facility in the snowy Canadian wilderness. This corresponds to Logan's college reunion. That's because each ally is a former Team X member, a group of mutants experimented on by Weapon X scientists. Also joining us is Morph, Wolverine's best friend and secret fan.
There are plenty of heavy hitters in this lineup, but it's no surprise that such a collection of renegades would be ill-equipped to work together as a team. After discovering that the Weapon The final nail in the coffin for this team's performance comes when it is revealed that Wolverine had been lying to his crew all along about the real reason they broke into the facility. Although he had no prior knowledge of the Brood's incursion, when it occurred Team X was more cannon fodder for Logan's secret plans than a proper team in its own right.
4
X Factor
Lineup: Polaris, Havok, Multiple Man, Wolfsbane, Strong Guy
In Episode 2, “A Force To Be Reckoned With,” fans learn that in the X-Men's absence, the government has formed its own team of mutant superheroes. Dubbed X-Factor, the derivative nature of the group is overshadowed by the fact that two less famous relatives of X-Men members are on the roster. namely, Polaris (Daughter of Magneto) and Havok (Brother of Cyclops). Havok is ostensibly the team leader, but unlike his brother Scott, he seems unable to inspire complete loyalty from his teammates.
Although they seem well-intentioned and serve as a useful promotional tool for mutant relations, X-Factor is ultimately toothless as a superhero team, as they only do what government official Valerie Cooper tells them to do. And Cooper himself is taking orders from anti-mutant President Robert Kelly. Essentially, the team acts as nothing more than super-powered guards at a government facility that holds young mutants deemed potential threats to national security. Polaris ends up betraying the team to help Jubilee and X-Force, and eventually rejoins the X-Men, but this shows just how vulnerable this group of proxy X-Men really is.
3
X-Men 3960
Lineup: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Storm, Morph, Forge
When the X-Men were transported back in time, half were transported to the distant past and the other half to the distant future, where the world ruled by Apocalypse had become a desolate wasteland. The X-Men have visited more dystopian futures than Wolverine can count on his fingers and claws, so this wasn't an entirely new experience for the gang. Perhaps this is why the X-Men seem to adapt to their new location in the timeline with ease, even if they don't quite emerge victorious in defeating Apocalypse once and for all.
In Season 2, Episode 1, hilariously titled “Days of Past Future,” Forge travels to the year 3960 to save a group of X-Men. Finding them, he discovers that they have become quite native, joining the rebels against Apocalypse's tribe and even finding new elder mentors themselves. Mother Askani, a mysterious wise woman and leader of the surviving Askani tribe, was able to help them adapt to this time period. It was ultimately revealed that it was Mother Askani who sent the X-Men to the past and future in the first place.
By the end of the episode, the X-Men 3960 team has had mixed success. On the one hand, they were able to prevent young Nathan Summers from becoming the next host of the Apocalypse, and in the process free the future from the dictator's clutches. On the other hand, they were unable to stop Apocalypse from traveling back in time and escaping their clutches once again.
2
X-Men 3000 BC
Lineup: Professor X, Magneto, Rogue, Beast, Nightcrawler, Bishop
Mother Askani brought some of the X-Men to the future to end Apocalypse's reign of terror, but those sent to the distant past had a greater mission to accomplish. That's avoiding the villain's origins in ancient Egypt. Dispatched to 3000 B.C., this half-team is an unlikely ally with the young and idealistic En Sabah Nur, as Bishop discovers when he travels back in time to retrieve them in the two-part “Rise of Apocalypse” episodes 3 and 4.
Unaware of his fate as an apocalypse, Nur acted as the leader of a legion of freed slaves known as the Sandstormers and led a rebellion against the tyrannical pharaoh Rama-Tut (a variant of Kang the Conqueror). Interestingly, it was Magneto who most took Nur under his wing and attempted to instill in him a sense of morality and ethics. But Nur was too vengeful to seek revenge, and with the help of rediscovered Celestial technology, he turned into Apocalypse. Apocalypse's first evil act was to vaporize Magneto.
On the surface, the X-Men 3000 team is much less successful than their future counterparts, as they not only completely failed to prevent the creation of the Apocalypse, but also lost their own team in the process. Still, the 3000 BC team gets points for having the more compelling storyline of the two split X-Men groups and for the novelty of having an X-Men lineup led by Professor X and Magneto.
1
xforce
Lineup: Cable, Jubilee, Sunspot, Psylocke, Archangel
It was fun having different teams working in different regions. X-Men '97 The biggest takeaway from Season 2 is X-Force. The ultimate example of 1990s comics' love for all things gory and gritty, X-Force ironically never appeared in the original. x-Men: The Animated Series, So that's exactly right X-Men '97 I finally fixed that serious error. X-Force made such a mark on the show that they even hijacked the title sequence for Episode 2, and the series was temporarily rebranded as Expos '97.
What makes X-Force the standout team of the season is the dramatic conflict in their storyline. Despite being Scott and Jean's child, Cable has a different methodology than his parents and the X-Men as a whole, and his clashes with Jubilee over which lines should and should not be crossed make for some great scenes. Contrasting her youth and principles with Cable's gray morality arguably results in the best use of Jubilee. X-Men Adaptation to date. Plus, having more screen time for underrated characters like Archangel and Psylocke is always welcome. 10 years have passed and fans are still not done X-Men: Apocalypse The duo's treatment.
In a world where fans have lost xforce The film starring Josh Brolin, Marvel Studios dedicated an entire episode of . X-Men '97 It's a welcome consolation prize for a team that's tough as nails. Episode 2 may just be wishful thinking, but it feels like a backdoor pilot for a more mature spinoff focused on the group's exploits. Audiences will happily accept more from X-Force. X-Men '97 We continue to expand this highly populated corner of the Marvel Multiverse.
- release date
-
March 20, 2024
- network
-
Disney+
- move
-
Jake Castorena, Emi Yonemura, Chase Conley
- author
-
Charlie Feldman, Anthony Seliti, Bo DeMayo, JB Ballard
