Series Review: X-Men 97, a series that is intended to be nostalgic and is very unimpressive

Nostalgia is something that sells very well these days, making remakes, reboots, and re-releases of series and movies to give them that modern “touch” is what attracts locals and strangers to want to consume this type of products, while the originals are scrutinized by studios to see what of all this material can be reused.

When we talk about a classic it is something that has already been around for a long period and continues to look good, fresh, and even current depending on the case, studios like Marvel have recycled their ideas over and over again to take them to a level where they new generations understand how things were and how they can be now.

The series that marked an entire generation, which series September 1997 brought an inconclusive close for many of us.

What is the series about?

The X-MEN are a group of mutants who use their extraordinary abilities to protect a world that hates and fears them, without Professor Xavier at the head of the team they will have to trust each other to protect humanity from a catastrophic fate. which is imminent.

The producer and director of the animated series Own and Strange, within Marvel Studios Animation, planned to bring these popular mutant characters back to the small screen, they thought of something completely new that would identify more with the new generations than with the classic, after much thought. and faced with the imminent failures they have recently had, they chose to advocate nostalgia again, reviving something they should not have touched.

The idea of a continuation is not entirely bad as long as they are carried out under the same rules that were previously established, the adaptation that took place from ink to film tried to be as faithful as possible to its original and it is in part where its success lies, although animation in the 90’s was not the best compared to today’s standards, it was perfect for audiovisually narrating the story of these mutants, drama, action, adventure, etc. What we saw and enjoyed.

When Disney bought Fox in 2019 it was a surprise but we also knew that there would be very significant changes in the productions of these studios, with the Marvel Cinematic Universe already established the obligatory question among fans was, How soon would the Men to this universe? Would those that followed continue to be the same leading actors? Would they respect the current canon of films and what was established at Fox from the beginning? And if not, what would these new mutants be like? questions that until today have not had a concrete answer.

What we do know is that X-Men ’97 is not entirely a reboot, it is a continuation of the stories and characters that were developed through the animated series broadcast from 1992 to 1997, some of the original voice actors have returned to continue giving a voice to these characters, something that at least they should have, but not everything is what it seems and not everything here is what they promise, however, perhaps the problem is wanting to modify a classic and adapt it to something more modern, So far the first two episodes are a near-perfect recreation of their predecessor.

It is inevitable not to make the pertinent comparisons between this series and the original, the serialization of the series in the 90’s was a format that worked at that time which meant a problem for the repeater networks in other countries since the delays between seasons were For more than a year, this new series is free of that problem and each of the episodes already broadcast merge with each other giving a more agile and clearer narrative of what we see and what is happening.

As a central theme we have a drama and a moral dilemma of Cyclops to stay with the X-Men as their leader or make a quiet life with Jean Gray and her future baby away from the team, with the absence of Professor Xavier the responsibility for this entire school and what is happening as a secondary plot is a great responsibility, another of the changes that are evident and very noticeable is that in this new continuation and new continuity it is more focused on being part of a shared universe perhaps with other series to come from the series—same animation studio.

The 2 episodes already available are:

1. To Me, My X-Men

In this first episode, we see that the existence of the It was destroyed, the mission is to find out where it came from and who is responsible for this, Bolivar Trask is the one who has been behind this persecution and has activated a sentinel that this group must deal with, in the end we see that Magneto is in the school for mutants that has been inherited by Professor Xavier.

2. Mutant Liberation Begins

In this episode we see that the gang called the Friends of Humanity to subjugate some mutants with physical alterations and that therefore live in the sewers, later they are rescued by Magneto who invites them to be part of his mutant community in Genosha, Rogue, and Magneto had a romantic relationship in the past and if this was known it could change her status within the team of heroes considering her a traitor, Magneto is accused of crimes against humanity and arrested by Doctor Cooper to be tried, which does not seem like a group not sympathetic to the mutants who want their execution and death, Jean Gray gives birth to her son who they call Nathan Summers who at some point we will know as the mutant Cable, in the end, not everything is what it seems since there is another Jean Gray.

The message in these 2 episodes is very clear and is the one they have handled since their creation, racism and aggression towards mutants is another of the subplots that we can see taking the stories published in comics too seriously is not easy at all. and even less so in these times in which a new generation is the one that is exposing its disagreement with the smallest things, for better or worse this new series completely leaves aside any notion or outline of being aimed at a children’s audience and leans by a more discerning public.
Nowadays the way of watching animated series has radically changed a little differently and has adapted more to the modern environment and the social problems that we face as a society, presumably the tendency that this series has is to mix drama with action and leave us as spectators. more interested in seeing what is going to happen throughout this season.

The animation does not feel or look as classic as its predecessor, the opening theme composed by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy remains almost the same, now introducing a new mutant called Morpho who is defined as non-binary, this to be included in a series in which this does not matter nor does it contribute anything to its plot, it is only to comply with a moral requirement, the mixture of animation styles takes away from the program the classic of the previous one and gives it its personality, something strange that remains in the limbo between what is a sequel and a reboot.

The voice cast is made up of Ray Chase, Jennifer Hale, Alison Sealy-Smith, Cal Dodd, J. P. Karliak, Lenore Zann, George Buza, A. J. LoCascio, Holly Chou, Isaac Robinson-Smith, Matthew Waterson and Adrian Hough who do a good job, convincing but lacking any nostalgic credibility.

The music composed by The Newton Brothers takes samples from the original series with more modern chords, a work that at times is unnecessary and goes unnoticed and at other times has all the strength and power for the action scenes.

In conclusion, X-Men 97 is a well-made nostalgic project that serves as a pretext to sell more collectible action figures and merchandising and to advocate for a nostalgia that should have stayed as it was, that it is a continuation gives too much weight that we do not know yet if, in its 10 episodes, it can resist it.

X-Men 97 is now available on the Disney + platform.