Pour a bowl of cereal, throw on your cleanest pair of Wolverine underoos, and get ready to join the 
coolest mutants of the 90s. Coinciding with the debut of the hotly-anticipated series on Disney+, X-Men ‘97 is a new comic series that reintroduces the classic versions of the characters for a new era. All your old favorites, like Blue Furball, Cajun Card-Player, and Claws Guy are back and ready to once again defend a world that hates and fears them.
Like any good tie-in, X-Men ‘97 attempts to bridge the gap between the end of the original animated series and the much-hyped relaunch of the same name. This issue hits all the beats of a classic X-Men story: team exercise in the Danger Room, multiple returning villains, a dash of melodrama, and a sprinkle of Jubilee being treated like a child. The fact that it takes place during one of my favorite childhood cartoon’s canon is just an added bonus really.
As someone who has yet to watch any of the new episodes (I’m still on Season 3 of my much-delayed re-watch), I can’t make any comparisons apart from the art, which seems to reflect the style of the new series succinctly. The art team of Salva Espin and colorist Matt Milla deliver a bright and vibrant aesthetic with character designs that are faithful and full of personality. Rogue’s weirdly popular pink dress makes an appearance, while Storm debuts her new look with an outfit that needs to exist in mainstream continuity right this minute.
Writer Steve Foxe’s script is relatively basic, likely due to editorial constraints (gotta save the good stuff for the tv viewers) but he does a fine job of filling in gaps and adding new wrinkles, with just the right amount of call-backs, including a dazzling guest star and sinister villains like the Friends of Humanity and the Nasty Boys. The character dynamics are very much what you’d expect from this cast, from Cyclops’ and Wolverine’s bitter rivalry to the playfulness of Rogue and Gambit’s would-be romance. made all the better by how seamless this fits in with the established continuity.
If you’re a fan of the merry mutants but either haven’t seen or remember much of X-Men ‘92, this is a solid jumping-on point, though you may want to watch the final episode to understand the current status quo. Otherwise, this is a great call-back to a bygone era that many long-time Marvel fans fondly remember, with characters that act and sound the way we remember. Foxe nails the voice of each character to the point where I could easily hear the original voice cast deliver every line. I strongly recommend pulling up that iconic theme music on Spotify before you start reading. Chef’s kiss.
X-MEN ‘97 #1
4.99
Credits
- Writer: Steve Foxe
- Artist: Salva Espin
- Colorist: Matt Milla
- Letterer: VC’s Joe Sabino
- Design: Adam Del Re, Jay Bowen
Credits (cont)
- Editor: Jordan D White
- Publisher: Marvel
