Why I Love “X-Men 97” and What It Means to Me in the Current State of Superhero Media
An Essay Written by Victor DeBonis
SPOILERS AHEAD IN THIS ESSAY!
“X-Men” is a franchise that I often found myself greatly appreciative of. I admittedly want to further seek more of the comics to see other great stories from there, but the idea of a super-powered group of outsiders taking on the forces of villainy while exploring their feelings from their isolated status always spoke to me. The movies were often hit or miss from me with the earliest movies being pretty good but never reaching greatness, no matter how many times I revisited them. Tales from the comics and the original cartoon from the 90’s were where this franchise shined the strongest in my eyes. The voice actors of the cartoon lent a vibrant presence to their characters, and the show also took time to successfully discuss adult issues, ranging from loneliness to divorce to the Holocaust.
“X-Men 97” takes a wonderful start via starting off in the story right where from the original series’ finale left off. Now that their beloved leader and mentor, Professor Xavier, has passed away (initially, at least), where do these heroes go now?
How do they go about their lives heading forward as a team and, more importantly, as a family?
Maybe, one of the most significant questions the new series addresses is this: How are mutants or those who are different treated following the end of an incredible leader of theirs?
The original voice actors who return haven’t lost their spark as they express the liveliness and gravitas that we know and love so much from these characters. Cal Dodd is terrific as ever as Wolverine. His gravelly voice lends greatly to his cleverly written one-liners before he enters a fight and his blunt statements about the craziness surrounding him. Alison Sealy-Smith is elegant and powerful in returning to her role as Storm. At one point, she voices a true line to a wounded character about dealing with one’s demons that helps one thrive greater from when one has learned to cope from his pains. It’s actually a rather thought-provoking line, too, and part of what sells it is the calmness and wisdom brimming from Sealy.
Returning her original role as Rogue (maybe, my favorite character in this show, which we’ll touch upon more in a moment), Lenore Zann once more embraces the playfulness of her Southern-born character and is great in some heart-breaking scenes.
Newcomer Holly Chou steps into the role of Jubilee, and she is free-spirited but, also, sincere in her emotional scenes. Maybe, the newcomer who impressed me the most was Matthew Waterson as Magneto. I’m not sure where they found this actor, but I already want to hear him do more voicework elsewhere. His subtle yet powerful voicework matches perfectly with this character and his vocal frustration with humanity.
Similar to the previous series, the writing is what makes this show amazing. Some of the lines and monologues are simple but poignant.
Consider when Nightcrawler talks about connecting to his adoptive sister and the meaningful bond that the two of them have shared. He states: “Blood is blood, but family is a choice.” I am happy and blessed with the parents I have and blood-related family I know, but I also have been fortunate enough to find bits of family outside of them, and I have also read about and personally known people who don’t have very good family by blood and find their comfort and hope in friends or chosen family outside of it.
It is truly moving to know a show encouraging others to find family and connection beyond who they’re biologically tied to and keep from isolation.
During one scene in which Jubilee is mourning the loss of Gambit and wonders where his ex-girlfriend, Rogue, is, Wolverine holds her as she weeps in comfort and tells her. “Grief’s a lonely war…Rogue’s gotta figure it out on her own.” That simple line read spoke to me as well. It briefly brought me back to when I lost my beloved aunt from COVID when the pandemic was going strong. That horrible feeling of loneliness attached to me despite hearing about millions of other lives who were lost during that terrible time. This line speaks true to others who have lost someone from that disease or cancer. I’ve also felt its hurt when some relationships of mine went sideways.
When Magneto is brought to trial and talks about his hope to try to carry on Xavier’s dream for encouraging others to accept mutants through doing good but is conflicted regarding his hatred towards humanity, he begins his speech via discussing his horrible experiences as a Holocaust survivor and links the show’s purpose of trying to empathize for others who are lost but fighting to stay firm to that goal with so much hatred and prejudice prevalent in the world. Never does he overstay his welcome with his words or keep on making speeches that all sound the same, either. What he says, combined with the fantastic talent eloquently voicing his frustration as calmly as he can, is stated with precision and comes from decades of hurt and anger from observing all he has through his lifetime.
I miss characters, particularly those from superhero stories, taking time to have meaningful conversations or state thoughtful bits of philosophy regarding what it means to be human and face the challenges surrounding us.
One of the greatest strengths of this show is its discussions about how those who are different can try to connect with others when they deal with much harm and prejudice. Magneto has aforementioned moments in which he discusses his angry disputes with humanity. He speaks of wanting to spread kindness to others as a noble cause while quickly pointing out how futile it feels when humans refuse to change their ways and cause more destruction and pain to those who are different. While this is on a smaller level, I’m never on Magneto’s side for what he discusses, but I also recognize the frustration he feels with many people’s refusal to look past their judgmental behavior and refusal to give others who are different the benefit of the doubt. I understand his anger at humanity repeatedly trying to destroy itself again and again. As much as I wish I could stop referring to the pandemic, I see the extent to which the horrible events of 2020 are still arguably causing people to lash out and show the worse parts of themselves after they and people before them mentally lost sight of their good values and are still undergoing the unconscious experience of giving into their worst impulses by being more on edge and not understanding of others outside of themselves.
In fact, the events in the episode “Mutante Liberation Begins” reminds me of the horrible occurence of January 6th, 2021, and the hateful people flooding the White House not dissimilar to the bigoted people attacking vulnerable souls in this show.
If you had to ask me what my favorite episode of the season was, it would be a fierce competition between “Remember It” and “Bright Eyes.”
If you were to ask me, right now, I would probably say “Bright Eyes” because it is a tragic yet strangely beautiful look at the reactions of others following a tragic event, such as the death and bloodshed in Genosha.
Following the events of “Remember It” in which a joyous occasion of mutants are celebrating their unique presence and place in the world and is brought to tragedy by Sentinels murdering thousands of people who are different, I couldn’t help but think of the Pulse nightclub massacre from 2016.
At the time of this essay, I think of the ongoing tragic conflict in Israel and countless people being senselessly murdered simply because they follow a different faith or culture.
Although this episode was completed far before the conflict of Israel could continue, it is an all-too-relevant story because similar tragedies continue occurring and taking numbers of innocent lives in reality. Just when minorities and people, in general, are getting closer to feeling accepted and free, the next horrific event happens, and those who are different go back to running out of fear and distrust from the villainous people who hate them for simply existing and being different.
During “Bright Eyes” the brilliant hero Beast bluntly tells a reporter in the most eloquent manner that humans need to do more than bring media attention when thousands of people are being threatened or killed because of their differences from others. While this conversation is happening, the camera takes a low angle as an unnamed mutant silently weeps at the front of a grave honoring her friends who were part of the casualties of the tragedy of Genosha. The sight of this anonymous person shedding one last tear before it transforms into a beautiful, tropical bird and soars off into the sky is a heart-wrenching scene I won’t soon forget.
Too many shows and movies show tons of death in one episode and hurriedly carry onto the hero or heroes moving onto the next plan in the next episode or scene.
“X-Men 97” chooses a different path and allows its heroes time to ponder over the bloodshed and tragedy that has just unfurled and reflect what the best plan forward is when evil massacres another group of innocent people in times like this.
Furthermore, it shows outcast souls debating what to do when they are faced with prejudice but, also, what causes them to feel so lost from past trauma when they disconnect others.
In the season finale episode “Tolerance is Extinction- Part 3” healed Xavier tries to get Magneto to see that he is not alone from feeling immense pain and trauma. There’s a beautifully animated and written sequence involving overwhelming waves of water and them representing the levels of trauma lingering in one’s mind. Xavier tries to reason Magneto by telling him that others, such as Rogue on a literal life boat, have their own mental pain and trauma that they are fighting with and are trying to seek better shores, so to speak, to try to recover and feel better.
Such a scene provides immense comfort to me and, again, makes me feel seen and heard from my past experiences of trauma and hurt, some of which has tied back to about a decade or so and has even happened before then.
Similar to many people, I have my guilt, and I have my regrets and have endured my hardship from the cruel pain of others.
I am quite happy with recent life in my present time and how far I have come, but that doesn’t mean that my own “raging waves” of uncertainty, emotional pain, and trauma have stopped crashing, and it was somewhat cathartic to see this hurt represented on screen as powerfully as it was in this sequence.
I like to think that, somewhere, there’s a kid or adult that finds some comfort in watching this sequence and feels a real joy and hope that they’re not alone in feeling lost or isolated.
The action sequences are a blast and are wonderfully animated, and the voice acting, as I have stated, is superb, but what makes this show wonderful are the ideas flowing from it.
“X-Men 97” dares to ask us: What type of world are we living in, and can we ever truly get better as people?
Is it possible to get better with so many selfish and bigoted people out there?
Can our demons and trauma help us grow or hurt us?
What is the best way to act when the ones we love, our most treasured family, are hurt or are maliciously taken from us?
What better example can we set for the future ahead, and can we stick to it without losing sight of our values?
How do we work well with someone who we have a bad history with from the past?
How can we empathize for others when our own isolation and pain feels overwhelming?
All of these are insightful topics of discussion brought up by this show, and I love hearing others ponder these ideas aloud following the end of each episode.
As much as I love Magneto as a villain/antihero and will always look up to Wolverine as one of the great lone-wolf heroes (my favorite kind), my favorite character through my journey with this show, similar to the original, is Rogue. I might love her a little more here than I did because, while she still has the same confidence and hope to do good after experiencing harsh demons and a horrible past as she did in the previous series, this element is further explored in 97.
The action sequences in which she flies through the air at high speed and wallops them are rather awesome, but, in all honesty, the scenes I love her the most are the dramatic ones involving her. Flashbacks and discussions with Gambit and Magneto show her revealing greater parts of her vulnerability and who she is afraid of losing. Rogue connects with Magneto through this season because both of them endure horrible demons from their own pasts and are trying to bring justice and do good in their own ways. I find this connection between them fascinating, due to this. Naturally, one person is more on the heroic side, and the other’s place is uncertain in terms of what side he ultimately falls on, but the relationship is neatly dived into, and their relationship is illustrated quite well through flashbacks and present scenarios in which they are trying to decide where they go in terms of their relationship and staying with the group.
There are plenty of moments in which Rogue is literally fighting to try to hide her own anger or pain. It’s also intriguing because, while she doesn’t always use her fighting abilities in selfless ways in this season, I feel that characters, such as her, represent the conflicted pain of people trying to cope with their trauma or anger or pain but not always knowing how to confront it.
I want to take a moment and also state that I love seeing her and others tear up in this season when they are conflicted or are confused. I can’t begin to tell you how much I miss when animated shows but especially live-action movies would show characters shedding vivid tears over something painful or hurtful that is happening. Art is often about reflecting the emotions we carry or are trying to figure out, and, when it takes the time to go beyond saying that it’s okay to express greater pain and actually demonstrates it, it allows people to feel less afraid about being vulnerable and can possibly encourage more to do the same when the time is right and they feel lost or confused about their feelings at hand.
Heck, the season made me cry hard with one moment involving Rogue’s family of X-Men coming to comfort her in the middle of aforementioned “Bright Eyes.”
One extreme close-up shows Rogue tearing up before she openly weeps for the loss of Gambit, and it reminds me once again of the power of true family through the darkest of times.
Life is filled with much hurt and pain, and the ones who truly love you show up and demonstrate their love when you are in your hardest moments.
Thanks to the incredible team behind this episode and show for demonstrating that.
From a character perspective, from a writing perspective, and from an animated front, “X-Men 97” is fantastic. It might be the best media to come with Marvel’s name attached in the post-“Endgame” era.
One last thing I want to mention in regards to this show for a minute is that I am happy for the hope it gives me for the current state of superhero media.
I’ve talked in the past time and time again about me being dissatisfied with most of the output of superhero stories from film as of late. Part of the reason I want to speak about this is that I am somewhat fearful of Marvel taking the wrong lessons from this show and wanting to create additional seasons only because they think that the show mostly worked because of nostalgia.
To be sure, some of the nostalgia and love of the previous series played a huge factor in getting many people to watch it. Yet, as we have all experienced in the present day, nostalgia by itself doesn’t automatically guarantee a huge hit anymore. Nor should it.
The topic of why the MCU and superhero media is struggling is a topic that could fill an entire essay for another day, but what I will say for now is this: The superhero stories that are successful, right now, are the ones that feel as though they come from artists and storytellers wanting to tell a story in their own vision and bring new ideas without being overwhelmed by studio notes.
“Across the Spiderverse” works because, in addition to fully realized characters and taking time to bring great qualities and vulnerability to them, it dares to ask its audience what the right thing to do for others and one’s self is when the supposed “right path” could still lead to somewhere unpleasant.
“Guardians of the Galaxy 3” was definitely divisive upon its release, but I would argue that it works, warts and all, because it shows challenging scenarios about heroes trying to overcome horrible trauma to get to where they are and that it comes from a talented and heartfelt artist committing to telling his story with his visual style and unique way of presenting heart.
Movies, such as, say, “Ant Man 3” and “Shazam 2” fail because the families in these movies don’t act caring to each other and don’t feel like a family as they did in the previous installments, and the humor in both films fall flat on their faces and still operate under the idea that just telling joke after joke will make them eventually funny, regardless of whether the jokes are humorous in the first place.
And, yes, the effect of one of the villains in “Ant Man 3” is one of the worst I’ve seen in a theatrical film in a long time and appears as a sign that, on a technical level, Marvel Studios didn’t seem to care, but I digress…
“Secret Invasion” fails because, setting aside its horrifically designed A.I. intro, there is nothing to admire or find interesting about these characters other than the fact that they’re played by famous actors, and the mini-series is this visually dim slog with uninteresting bits of action that flicker alive for a bit and quickly fade.
I could give a few more examples to illustrate, but the reason I bring up both good and bad examples is this: “X-Men 97” gives me hope for superhero media because it does stuff that most of the other comic book-based media aren’t doing.
It doesn’t interrupt its emotional scenes with a joke. It knows how to pace its humorous and action-packed moments well and balance with the heavier moments. It discusses thought-provoking ideas and takes real time to let characters demonstrate their strong points and pains. While there are references to other comic book works in this show, “X-Men 97” doesn’t heavily rely upon them to get audiences interested.
Most of all, “X Men 97” is clever and shows real heart and is allowed to be itself without studio notes interfering.
It gives me hope with its ideas but for the possible future of comic book-based media, in general.
If we want more great movies, such as the “Spiderverse” films, and great shows, such as “X-Men 97” studios need to separate from the formulaic approach of their shows and movies and let filmmakers experiment more with their stories and ideas, regardless of whether such projects will turn in a profit or not.
This season has wit and a great sense of exciting fun, and it wears its immense heart on its sleeve. I want to find more great “X-Men” stories in the comics and see the original again after watching this show.
I hope to see more like it in the future because this is what truly good superhero storytelling is all about.