Disney+’s X-Men Reboot Will Be Completely Different To Most X-Men Stories

X-Men ’97, Disney+’s revival of X-Men: The Animated Series, will be different from most X-Men stories for a multitude of reasons. The X-Men have a storied history in the Marvel Comics universe, with a robust mythos and a large enough fan base to keep the property popular long before its films rights reverted to Marvel Studios following Disney’s acquisition of 20^th Century Fox. X-Men ’97 will resume the story of one of the most popular X-Men adaptations, putting it in a unique position, compared to others.

X-Men: The Animated Series began in the fall of 1992, quickly solidifying itself as one of the most accurate and accessible adaptations of the X-Men comics. X-Men lasted for five seasons, where it developed its sizeable cast of characters and adapted numerous famous story arcs from the comics. The series was highly influential, inspiring 20^th Century Fox’s X-Men film series in 2000, which itself helped establish the modern superhero blockbuster film.

X-Men adaptations typically start fresh, putting their unique spin on the characters and famous storylines from the comics. This won’t be the case for X-Men ’97, which will pick up where X-Men: The Animated Series left off after five seasons of storylines. This will give the series a different status quo and future than most X-Men adaptations, since the original show’s series finale, “Graduation Day,” ended with Charles Xavier leaving Earth to be treated by the Shi’Ar for potentially-fatal injuries.

Charles Xavier bringing the X-Men together and leading them against villains like his old friend Magneto is one of the most common components of the status quo in X-Men adaptations. In the Fox X-Men film series, Xavier’s death in X-Men: The Last Stand and retirement in Dark Phoenix was soon followed by a major continuity shift and the series ending, respectively. In the Wolverine and the X-Men animated series, part of the overarching plot was Wolverine bringing the X-Men back together after the disappearance of Xavier. X-Men ’97 will begin with Charles Xavier already gone and the X-Men team not having disbanded, making for an interesting new dynamic.

The original five seasons of the X-Men animated series also adapted numerous comic storylines, particularly from Chris Claremont’s famous run of Uncanny X-Men from the 70s into the early 90s. This included stories like “Days of Future Past” and the “Dark Phoenix Saga,” which were popular enough to adapt to film as well. X-Men ’97 will likely tell a combination of original stories and adapt more modern storylines from the X-Men comics.

The X-Men animated series was a beloved and respectful X-Men adaptation with significant ramifications on the superhero TV and film genre, making its revival highly anticipated. With the original series ending with such a significant status quo shakeup, it will be fascinating to see the new direction that the series goes in with Xavier off-world. X-Men ’97 will continue the story of X-Men: The Animated Series, making it a unique and refreshingly different X-Men adaptation.