10 Things The MCUs Reboot Needs To Learn From X-Men 97

Warning: This article contains spoilers for X-Men ’97 season 1.

Marvel Studios can learn valuable lessons about how to handle the live-action X-Men team in the MCU from Marvel Animation’s recent popular animated series, X-Men ’97. X-Men ’97 season 1 released ten episodes between March 20 and May 15, 2024, acting as a revival of X-Men: The Animated Series, which previously ran for five seasons between 1992 and 1997. The series reintroduced audiences to the nostalgic X-Men team from the ’90s, picking up roughly a year after Professor X’s departure from Earth in X-Men: The Animated Series’ finale, and has become one of Marvel Studios’ most highly-praised projects.

While X-Men ’97 brought back the X-Men team from the 1990s, Marvel Studios is also preparing to reinvent the X-Men completely for the MCU’s upcoming live-action X-Men reboot. These two projects are expected to be completely separate, though the massive success of X-Men ’97 could provide valuable lessons on how to handle the X-Men in the MCU’s main continuity. X-Men ’97’s monumental 99% and 94% critics and audience scores, respectively, on Rotten Tomatoes prove that the series should be a benchmark for the MCU’s live-action X-Men stories, and Marvel Studios can learn a lot from this overwhelming success.

10 Wolverine Doesn’t Need To Be X-Men’s Main Character

Wolverine Was Sidelined For Most Of X-Men ’97

Many viewers may be used to seeing Wolverine as a leading character in Marvel’s X-Men adaptations, as Hugh Jackman’s clawed mutant was a breakout star of 20th Century Fox’s live-action X-Men franchise. However, X-Men ’97 sidelined Wolverine for much of the series, only bringing him out when absolutely necessary, proving that he can still be effective even when not a primary focus of the X-Men’s adventures. This is something that the MCU must take into account when bringing the X-Men to the MCU.

He is, of course, still expected to be a huge part of the MCU’s X-Men team, with many actors already fan-cast as the MCU’s Wolverine. However, X-Men ’97’s sidelining of Wolverine allowed other powerful heroes to get more focus and shine, which would be brilliant to see in the MCU. Wolverine had some memorable moments, too, but he doesn’t need all the attention to be effective.

9 Smaller, Episodic Stories Work Perfectly For The X-Men Team

X-Men ’97 Season 1 Explored Many Different Storylines

A TV series format worked perfectly for X-Men ’97’s storylines, as smaller, episodic adventures allowed the series to have a fast pace, and enabled Marvel Animation to bring many iconic Marvel Comics stories into the show. Over the duration of its ten-episode first season, X-Men ’97 saw the X-Men battle the Sentinels, put Magneto on trial, depowered and repowered Storm, included several soap opera-style love triangles, marked Jubilee’s 18th birthday, and caught up with Professor X among the Shi’ar Empire.

Marvel Studios can utilize this technique when bringing the X-Men into the live-action MCU, though this will be more difficult in a feature film format. There has been speculation that the MCU’s Phase 7 could focus entirely on mutants and the X-Men, which suggests mutant-focused Disney+ shows could connect the X-Men’s appearances in feature films, providing the perfect opportunity for these smaller stories to be told.

8 Marvel Needs To Focus On The X-Men’s Family Dynamic

The X-Men Team’s Family Dynamic Is Very Important

One thing that 20th Century Fox’s X-Men franchise constantly neglected was focusing on the X-Men team’s family dynamic, perhaps by putting too much focus on Professor X, Magneto, and Wolverine. However, Marvel Animation’s X-Men ’97 showed just how well this can work, as the family-like drama, tension, and love were put on full display throughout the series. This was particularly evident when focusing on the romances between Cyclops and Jean Grey, and Rogue and Gambit.

Marvel Studios must take note of the impact of this for the MCU’s live-action X-Men team. These mutants are all outcasts, many of whom have been shunned from their biological families, but they find their own family within the X-Men team. This was only alluded to in Fox’s X-Men franchise, but needs to be given more attention in the MCU, making the X-Men team members seem even more relatable.

7 Mister Sinister Needs To Finally Be Adapted Into Live-Action

Mister Sinister Deserves A Live-Action Adaptation After Years Of Being Teased

X-Men ’97 did a fantastic job at bringing some of Marvel Comics’ most exciting X-Men villains to the forefront, including Mister Sinister, the Victorian-era genetic scientist Nathaniel Essex. Mister Sinister was teased relentlessly in Fox’s X-Men franchise, particularly in X-Men: Apocalypse, Logan, and The New Mutants, but has never actually made his live-action debut. X-Men ’97 has proven just how terrifying this villain can be, so Marvel Studios needs to finally bring Mister Sinister into a live-action X-Men project.

Mister Sinister has been rumored to be the primary antagonist of Marvel Studios’ first X-Men movie, but this is purely speculation. The villain deserves a live-action adaptation more than most, however, and he could pose a significant and consistent threat to the X-Men for several years, as he is obsessed with experimenting on mutants. X-Men ’97’s Mister Sinister was truly haunting, so Marvel Studios can repeat this in the MCU proper.

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6 MCU’s X-Men Shouldn’t Rush To Tell Major Storylines

X-Men ’97 Built Up Its Biggest Storylines Gradually

While X-Men ’97 has proven that smaller, episodic storylines will benefit the MCU’s live-action X-Men, the series has also provided advice on what to do about the bigger mutant-centric storylines. These major stories should be built up slowly, rather than being rushed into, just as X-Men ’97’s adaptation of Marvel Comics’ Operation: Zero Tolerance was. This story formed the foundation for X-Men ’97’s three-part finale, but was gradually teased throughout the entire season before finally unfolding.

This is also true for X-Men ’97’s suspected Onslaught-focused storyline, which has been set up for future seasons of the animated series thanks to Professor X and Magneto’s battle in X-Men ’97’s finale. While other major storylines, such as E is for Extinction and Fatal Attractions, unfolded fairly quickly, they still made sense in the season’s overarching narrative, and were still built up gradually over several episodes.

5 Every X-Men Member Deserves To Show Their Powers Fully

X-Men ’97 Showcased Abilities That 20th Century Fox Completely Ignored

One of the benefits of sidelining powerful characters such as Professor X and Wolverine is that X-Men ’97 was able to showcase other heroes’ powers more than any previous X-Men adaptation. This is something that Marvel Studios must copy, as it was fantastic to see Cyclops use his lasers to safely land on the ground, Storm turn a desert into glass, Jubilee battle Bastion with her fireworks, and Gambit explode a Sentinel using his gift, but it would be even more impactful to see similar moments to these in live-action.

All four of these heroes, and many more who were given more attention in X-Men ’97, were neglected throughout Fox’s X-Men franchise. X-Men ’97 showed how Marvel Studios can appropriately give every hero their moment to shine, and while animation may be the perfect medium to showcase these abilities, live-action could really do them justice.

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4 MCU Viewers Love Easter Eggs & Callbacks

X-Men ’97 Featured Many Easter Eggs & Superhero Cameos

One thing that both X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men ’97 did so well was their use of Marvel Comics Easter eggs, callbacks to previous adventures, and cameos from other Marvel superheroes. This became even more prominent in X-Men ’97, as Marvel Animation had greater access to superheroes from the MCU and beyond, and expanded the world of the X-Men further than ever before. Marvel Studios is already experienced at including Easter eggs and callbacks in its MCU projects, but this could increase with the X-Men team’s debut.

The inclusion of the likes of the Daily Bugle newspaper, heroes such as Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Daredevil, and Cloak and Dagger, and callbacks to the Dark Phoenix storyline and Magneto and Rogue’s relationship expanded X-Men ’97’s universe massively. Marvel Studios can have established characters cameo in its X-Men projects to cement mutants in the wider world of the MCU.

3 The X-Men’s Most Terrifying Villain Is Humankind

Humans Caused Huge Problems For The X-Men In X-Men ’97

While X-Men ’97 pitted the X-Men team against some of Marvel’s most iconic villains, such as Mister Sinister, Bastion, the Sentinels, and the Goblin Queen, among others, humanity is still the team’s greatest threat. Civil rights themes have always been at the center of Marvel’s X-Men storylines, and should be at the forefront of the team’s MCU projects. X-Men ’97’s double-premiere featured human villains including Henry Gyrich, Bolivar Trask, and the Friends of Humanity, which should be included in the MCU’s X-Men stories, too.

Currently, superpowered individuals in the world of the MCU are celebrated, so Marvel Studios will need to make some changes before introducing these themes for the MCU’s X-Men. 20th Century Fox did a good job of demonstrating humankind’s hatred for mutants, but X-Men ’97 made this concept more complex, and Marvel Studios can give it even more attention.

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2 The MCU’s X-Men Can Be Comic-Accurate

X-Men ’97 Proves Audiences Love Comic-Accurate Depictions Of The X-Men

20th Century Fox’s X-Men franchise failed to ever really give its mutant heroes comic-accurate upgrades, and this ultimately became one of the biggest criticisms of the franchise. X-Men ’97 changed this completely, bringing comic-accurate depictions of the X-Men to light, and gifting the team members several different iterations of comic-accurate costumes. The series’ huge success has proven that viewers would be receptive to this in the live-action MCU, so Marvel Studios shouldn’t be afraid to make its X-Men team more faithful to Marvel Comics.

Marvel Studios’ upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine will finally be giving Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine his comic-accurate yellow-and-blue costume, which suggests future X-Men projects in the MCU will continue this theme. The MCU has always done a good job of giving superheroes and villains their comic-accurate costumes, and the prospect of a full, live-action X-Men team getting comic-accurate upgrades is incredibly enticing.

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1 Marvel Shouldn’t Be Scared To Kill Off Main X-Men Characters (Meaningfully)

X-Men ’97 Included Many Shocking But Poignant Deaths

Marvel Studios has seldom killed off its main characters, though it has proven effective when the likes of Iron Man, Black Widow, Gamora, and Steve Rogers’ Captain America have left the MCU. While it doesn’t make sense for too many main characters to be killed off, meaningful deaths can enhance the power and poignancy of certain moments. This was proven in X-Men ’97, particularly with the death of X-Men member Gambit in X-Men ’97 episode 5, “Remember It.”

Gambit’s death was an incredibly emotional moment that hasn’t been undone, though he has been teased to return. Many mutants lost their lives during the attack on Genosha, Magneto had a shocking fake-out death, and Wolverine’s life hangs in the balance at the end of X-Men ’97. These moments all added to the gut-punch moments of the series, so Marvel Studios shouldn’t be afraid to repeat this in live-action.