Spoiler warning for the first two episodes of “X-Men ‘97.” Read with caution.
On Mar. 20, Disney released the long-awaited continuation of the action-packed ’90s cartoon adaptation of Marvel’s mutant team, “X-Men ‘97.” “X-Men ‘97” debuted with a two episode premiere that has been highly praised by critics and fans alike.
The show has also become one of the highest rated Marvel projects of all time. As for myself, I couldn’t agree more with the fans and critics on this one, and I am not just saying that as a biased X-Men geek.
The show isn’t just a copy-and-paste of previous X-Men episodes, it takes place after the end of the fifth season where Professor Xavier passes away and the team has to pick up where they left off without their trusted leader. All of the characters play an important role in the story, but so far, the character that has been taking the lead so far has been Scott Summers aka Cyclops.
Personally, I have never been a big fan of Cyclops, I think he’s a decent character with a cool ability in which he can shoot lasers from his eyes, but that was all he had for me. However, this show changed my mind on him a lot since they give him a compelling conflict about being the X-Men’s new team leader and if he’s worthy enough to fill the leadership role Professor X once had.
Scott Summers isn’t the only one to have intriguing character work, though. Like I said, everyone in the team has a vital role to play in the story.
One of the best scenes in the whole show so far is a scene in episode two where Magneto is on trial with the United Nations for his crimes against mankind, and his trial gets ambushed by the mutant assassin X-Terminator who was supposed to shoot Magneto but ended up shooting Storm by accident. The bullet X-Terminator shot her with would remove her mutant abilities, leaving her to become human.
Magneto, enraged by what has happened, lifts the U.N. into the sky and goes into a monologue about how if he were the man he was before, he would’ve had no qualms with killing them. However, due to his oath to honoring Professor X and his belief in mutant and human equality, he lets them live but leaves them to live in guilt that they still let mutant oppression live on. This scene as well as many others represent not only how this show stands out against its predecessor but, more importantly, it represents how this show explains why the X-Men are still relevant today.
Injustice is still alive and no matter where you fall on the political compass, it is still clear as day that people in marginalized groups are still being attacked. Ever since they were created in the 1960s by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the X-Men have always represented marginalized groups. No matter how many fights the X-Men win against Magento or Mr. Sinister, their battle against prejudice is constant.
There are many powerful storylines that represent the injustices mutants go through with mankind such as “God Loves, Man Kills” by Chris Claremont. The story is about various mutants going missing around the world, and the X-Men themselves become targets. One of the most prominent moments in the story is when Kurt Wagner aka Nightcrawler is exposed by the story’s villain, a preacher named William Styrker, and in that panel, Stryker points at Wagner and says, “You call that thing, human?” He proceeds to spread hatred about mutants, calling them unholy abominations. The theme of this comic and the theme of the X-Men as a whole is standing up to the oppressors.
Nowadays, standing up against oppression has never been more vital. With outrageous bills being passed that attack minorities, hatred being taught and spread online poisoning the minds of the youth and atrocities being committed that are being ignored by the U.S., the lessons taught from the X-Men about fighting against oppression has never been more important. The X-Men will always be a vital team because not only do they teach those to stand united against hate, but they also give a voice to the voiceless.
I highly recommend checking out “X-Men ‘97” as well as X-Men media in general. Not only are they a cool superhero team, but they also represent themes much more important than just being born with super abilities.