X-Men '97: The Animated Series (Disney+)

[Frontier]

Opening updates! The real Jean is in it with her ponytail, we've got Jubilee and Longshot facing off against Mojo (because of the plot of the episode), a scene from the Iceman episode with X-Factor to remind you about when present-day Forge first appeared (including a very extreme close-up of him just to make sure you see him) as well as the Inner Circle...which actually had no bearing on the episode other than to just show them (and Emma) off.

There's nothing more expected of an X-Man leader than putting the team through Danger Room sessions and getting into a love triangle.

Honestly I'm kind of disappointed we didn't get to see Scott and Jean at the UN summit for Genosha's admittance...trying to focus on Mutant politics rather than their shaky marriage.

Jubilee is 18! Our cute firecracker is finally a legal adult but still ready to party at the arcade! Can you imagine how different this story would've been had Magneto actually been willing to go to an arcade?

Then again...who in their right mind plays a random game console you have no memory of being in your room? I guess age didn't quite come with maturity by that point, Jubes.

Honestly I found skinny Mojo more off-putting than fat Mojo, though while he sounds different from what I remember from the original series, David Errigo Jr. gave him a lot of manic and shameless producer energy which you kind of need for Mojo.

I love how they got stuck in a 8-bit beat 'em up actually reminiscent of legit X-Men beat 'em ups of that era complete with a bit of a nostalgia trip (featuring Thunderbird! Domino! Blob! Sunfire! Sauron) and of course the final boss is classic Magneto on Asteroid M, though it made me miss Magneto's old suit and helmet.

The overall theme of the first segment was Jubilee coming of age and dealing with the rapidly changing situations with her family while longing for the older days, presented in video game form, while still limiting herself and her potential which she then sees realized in her adult clone. Similarly Roberto is still hesitant to embrace his Mutant side and hasn't quite gotten the hang of using his powers yet, let alone admitting it to his family.

Of course who better to voice Jubilee's older clone with a mature but similar attitude than the original Jubilee voice herself Alyson Court? And surprisingly enough she actually sounds like an older version of Holly Chou's Jubilee compared to her old Jubilee voice.

Hey, the actual Spiral! Voiced by Abby "I'm your girl!" Trott! Still slaving under Mojo, but looks like she was in charge by the end of it.

What's a better birthday gift than a first kiss? And maybe more the way she pushed him onto her bed and the scene faded out...did our little Jubilee just climb the stairway to adulthood?

Speaking of intimacy, Ororo and Forge are living together and getting pretty close, especially when Forge is quite a catch with his good looks, natural charm, and chili that would make Oliver Queen jealous. The horseriding doesn't hurt either.

Oh hey, X-Factor picture! And wait...is that Bastion!?

Of course Storm's main priority is getting her powers back because she feels directionless and like a shell of herself without them...even though as just Ororo Munroe she's still got the bearing, beauty, and charisma of a Goddess. Forge definitely approves!

Let this be a lesson...never come up with plans that can be co-opted and upgraded by the government into something worse and could be used on a superpowered minority group. It can also kill your love life.

"I love you!" Dang Forge, the segment hasn't been that long! Not surprised he got slapped though, Forge is a sweet talker but that can only take you so far.

Storm can't catch a break! She gets a mohawk, loses her powers, the man she was falling for and who claimed to be helping her is partially responsible, and on top of that now she has to deal with the Adversary!

[Nate Grey]

That corrected opening though...just makes me smile.

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

Yeah, great episode AND opening again lol.

I actually had to look up when Hot Topic and Rogaine existed, to make sure the show wasn't becoming anachronistic. But they're good. Still accurately being contemporary to 1997.

[Nate Grey]

Well I mean specifically this:



At the time I always assumed there would be an ep explaining why Warpath was fighting with Mags...and I don't know who or what that is supposed to be beside him.

Like I said...seeing it "corrected" makes me smile.

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

Right right, but it's great how the opening evolves every episode so far, too.

[Deathstroke]

Man, I hated the entire Jubilee part of the episode. Just seemed like an utter waste of time.

I liked the Storm/Forge stuff though.

[Factor]

Well I mean specifically this:



At the time I always assumed there would be an ep explaining why Warpath was fighting with Mags...and I don't know who or what that is supposed to be beside him.

Like I said...seeing it "corrected" makes me smile.

I believe both showed up incarcerated in season 1’s Genosha arc. But I never found out who the short one was supposed to be. The new intro makes a lot more sense.

[Sandydandy]

This latest episode felt like filler...but it's okay. Need a break from the intense stuff. It's good that they're pacing themselves to focus on some character development. Even the original show had these kinds of episodes.

Overall it's great!

I picked up the first issue of X-Men '97 and thought it was solid. Especially the explanation for Storm's hair. Can't wait for the next one.

[kcekada]

I believe both showed up incarcerated in season 1’s Genosha arc. But I never found out who the short one was supposed to be.

Looks like Gremlin.

[ChrisIII]

According to some sources he's just kind of an animation error who was left there.

He does have some physical similarities to Mutant Alpha, who de-aged Magneto and the Brotherhood in the comics, and who made a brief cameo in the show.


https://marvelanimated.fandom.com/wiki/Alpha

[James Cameron]

I liked the episode a lot, but I was disappointed because I thought the person in the Hound armor was going to be Rachel

[kidfresh512]

Man, I hated the entire Jubilee part of the episode. Just seemed like an utter waste of time.

I liked the Storm/Forge stuff though.

Completely agree the entire Jubilee part was a waste imo. Forced this episode to be the weakest so far by a mile and threw off the extremely excellent quality the season had previously. The Storm/Forge section saved it from being completely skippable.

[Tofali]

Lifedeath part 1 needed a quick romantic montage in different seasons with Forge and Ororo to sell the "I love you Ororo" I loved the animation for the story and I needed more.

[j9ac9k]

Splitting it up the way they did just made me think they didn't trust people would like an entire episode dedicated to someone's spiritual journey and needed to throw some action into the ep. The result was rushing through Storm and Forge's relationship in a way that the ending didn't have the emotional weight for me they were going for. It's a shame since the original story was a real departure (esp with the gorgeous BWS guest art) - it's why that story stands out. Hopefully part 2 will redeem that.

[Adam Allen]

The thing is, the culmination of Illyana's story wasn't actually all that important to Inferno. Even though it was supposed to be the culmination of everything Claremont had been building up for her since she was first taken to Limbo in Uncanny 160, that element of the story was limited to just the New Mutants issues and the whole Limbo rebellion was little more than the setup for the Maddie story that was the focus of both Uncanny and X-Factor. If it had been as important as the Maddie story, it would have at least crossed over with Uncanny and the X-Men would have been there to witness Illyana's sacrifice instead of only Colossus even being aware anything was going on with her.

It was so unimportant that they couldn't even bother to have Belasco appear despite Claremont clearly setting up that the culmination of Illyana's story would be a final battle with Belasco. He wrote it outright multiple times in the Magik miniseries and New Mutants. Instead they created a brand-new demon in N'Astrih who took Belasco's place in Illyana's final story but could also have a focus on Madelyne, whereas Belasco would be completely focused on Illyana. It also seems that the writer of New Mutants at the time forgot Illyana's origin and thought she killed Belasco, and by then Bob Harris was the X-Men's editor, and he wanted to get rid of Illyana as quickly as possible because he was on a crusade to destroy everything related to magic in the X-Men franchise and couldn't be bothered to do the editor's job on a subject and character he hated.

Basically, Inferno was a mismash of the X-Men writers trying to fix the problems created by Cyclops running out on his wife and baby when they stupidly brought Jean Grey back while also inelegeantly ending the Magik and Limbo plotlines at the same time and not bothering to do so in a manner that actually pays off Illyana's story in a manner consistent with what had been set up or which gave it the weight it deserved due to an editor who hated her and a writer who forgot her origin.

It's not that much of a surprise the entire Magik plot was left out of 97's adaptation of Inferno when said plot was so badly handled and so shockingly unimportant in the original story. Illyana's return in 2007 was the story her death in 1989 should have been in the first place just by virtue of the fact that the 2007 story actually remembered that she merely banished Belasco instead of killing him and had her face him again.

Oof. When you're right, you're right. I have probably not read the whole arc since it was published as individual comics, so I'd forgotten how badly the execution was butchered for Illyana. You are right about the rebellion in Limbo just being setup to make Maddie the Goblin Queen, and the introduction of completely unoriginal and disposable "main villain" N'Astirh is only one place where the sloppiness is apparent. Claremont did a serviceable job depicting Maddie's villain turn (much as it was a bs story direction to go in) but I'd forgotten that Simonson was writing New Mutants by this point.

The way the New Mutants title and characters were kind of butchered after Claremont left, as they transitioned into X-Force ... yeah, it was an unfortunate ending for a good title, no doubt. You're right, Illyana's arc deserved better. Kind of like Cypher deserved better than he got in the original run; could have just been written out to live on somewhere, but it definitely felt like he was a character they couldn't wait to get rid of.

I mean, in retrospect, I absolutely see why the New Mutants run was wrecked the second Claremont was off the book. I doubt any other writer was even interested in trying to mimic it, but it still could have had a better ending. Inferno was kind of the big payoff of the NM most major arc, and it was done in a rushed and half-hearted manner.

Art is imperfect, I guess? Most of that run before Simonson took over is great, though. Reason the NM characters didn't completely disappear into obscurity, I suppose.