Why X-Men '97 Must Embrace Its Classic Corny Charm

The beloved X-Men: The Animated Series is getting a revival with X-Men '97, courtesy of Marvel Studios. The original series remains a fan favorite with 76 episodes spread across five seasons, and Marvel is determined to continue the story from where it left off. While the live-action movies struggled to do justice to characters like Cyclops, Beast, and Gambit, X-Men: The Animated Series did a fantastic job with each iconic superhero. Beau DeMayo, a writer known for his work on Moon Knight, The Witcher, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, is leading the reboot.

Fans of the original series can look forward to hearing familiar voices in X-Men '97, with several voice actors from the original show returning to reprise their roles. The first season of the revival is set to premiere on Disney+ in late 2023, and a second season is already in the works. For X-Men '97 to succeed, it must recapture the vibrant animation style and accurate portrayal of beloved mutants that made the original series such a hit. At the same time, it must also embrace the sincere tone and serialized storytelling that made the original an instant classic.

The X-Men Animated Series Was The Right Amount Of Corny

X-Men: The Animated Series was successful in part because it took its characters and their stories seriously. Despite having superpowers and flamboyant costumes, the mutants were portrayed as human beings. When a character was in danger, the show didn't make light of the situation; instead, it elicited genuine fear from both the characters and the audience. For X-Men '97 to succeed, it needs to avoid the temptation to rely too heavily on MCU-style humor and instead embrace sincerity. While there can certainly be moments of levity, there also need to be scenes that delve deep into the complex emotions and struggles of these troubled characters. With their rich backstories and multidimensional personalities, the X-Men are the perfect subject for a serialized TV series.

DeMayo's vision for X-Men '97 is to pay homage to the original cartoon while also updating the stories and characters for a contemporary audience. His approach of creating a "big soap opera" aligns with what made the original show successful - a dynamic mix of emotions and interpersonal relationships among a diverse cast of characters. With DeMayo's understanding of these elements, fans can trust that X-Men '97 is in capable hands.

The Original Series Explored Big, Complicated Storylines

X-Men: The Animated Series was a true TV show, utilizing the serialized format to its advantage. Unlike many MCU TV shows which feel like stretched-out movies, X-Men: The Animated Series took advantage of the format to give each story beat room to breathe. While Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law started out with their roots in classic TV genres, they ultimately fell into the third-act trappings of a movie narrative. In contrast, X-Men: The Animated Series was specifically designed for TV and it shows in its use of the format.

X-Men: The Animated Series was known for tackling some of the biggest storylines from the X-Men comics with multi-part episodes that captured the complexity of the narratives and the many different perspectives of the ensemble. With season 2 of X-Men '97 already in development, there is hope that it will follow suit and become an open-ended superhero saga with a lot of potential for future development. In doing so, it presents Marvel Studios with the opportunity to embrace television as an art form and tell longer stories with a broader scope, something that cannot be accomplished in the feature film format.