There’s not much more I can say about how incredible the first three episodes of X-Men ’97 are that hasn’t already been said about the series from its current 100% Rotten Tomatoes score — my interview with Jake Castorena, as well as Twitter reviews from Laura and me.

But I’m going to try anyway because I simply cannot shut up about how amazing this series is! Hands down, watching the first three episodes of X-Men ’97 has probably been the happiest I’ve been watching anything in a long time!

I’ve spoken ad nauseam on how X-Men: The Animated Series was one of (if not THE MOST) pivotal nerd experiences that defined me as a comic book and superhero fan. So I can flat out tell you that I was excited but worried when a reboot was announced. We’ve seen reboots of old cartoons fail miserably in the past, with shows like Rugrats, Powerpuff Girls, Tiny Toons, and many others seeing cynical cash-grab rehashes with different voice actors that are vastly inferior to the originals. But therein lies the difference: X-Men ’97 isn’t a reboot. It *IS* the original series, reincarnated!

The show picks up a few months after X-Men: The Animated Series ended. Professor X has been taken to space with the Shi’ar Empire. He’s been gone long enough for the government to declare him legally dead. And Cyclops is doing his best to hold the team together in his absence. Logan is still a badass rebel. Gambit is still a horny ladies’ man. Storm is still the responsible second in command. Rogue is still the tormented Southern belle. And while the world has somewhat rallied behind mutants in the wake of Xavier’s “death,” many intolerant backwards-thinking humans are still plotting the extinction of mutantkind, prompting the X-Men to spring into action and protect themselves as well as those who fear them, in the name of their former headmaster’s dream of peaceful coexistence.

The first three episodes of X-Men ‘97 absolutely deliver on everything promised by the showrunners and animators that wanted to make this a direct continuation of the original series. It all feels as if not a single beat was missed, from the stylish animation to the vocal performances for the new and returning/surviving cast members. And that means everything to us fans.

Ray Chase steps into the role of Cyclops as a perfect successor to the late Norm Spencer almost sounding exactly as Spencer did. Cal Dodd sounds almost as perfect as Wolverine as he did in 1992, as do Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm, and Lenore Zann as Rogue. Admittedly a bit of subtle and graceful aging can be detected in the vocals of each. But they still sound like the voices we heard every Saturday morning at 10am on Fox Kids.

But more than the voice acting, what legitimately *is* X-Men: The Animated Series about X-Men ‘97 is the faithfulness to the storylines. I was amazed how episodes 1-3 tackle storylines from the comics almost beat for beat. These are not the easiest storylines to adapt either, from the trial of Magneto to the birth of Cyclops’ son. They are stories that, while fascinating, require a dense level of established mythology to keep up with. And yet the series doesn’t spoon feed you, water it down, or dumb it down. It gives you what you want: X-Men straight up!

However, if there is anything at all different about this iteration of the series that wasn’t present the first time around, let me assure you, these changes are only incredible improvements! For instance, without the Fox Kids censors, we now get blood, pregnancy, and low levels of PG-cursing (e.g. someone says “Hell,” which you couldn’t do in 1992, hence why the Hellfire Club was then known as “The Inner Circle”). This allows X-Men ‘97 to develop episodes into true adaptations of comics opposed to “mostly true.”

Another improvement is really how they upped everyone’s powers and the insane action sequences that accompany that. Now as a bias, Cyclops has always been my favorite character, but sadly the least favorite for many others. But X-Men ‘97 utilizes the character and his powers to their fullest potential with at least two standout sequences in the first episode alone that make you go “holy crap, concussive optic blasts are awesome!” There’s also an incredible sequence for Storm, as the series finally realizes the full Omega-level powers of the character. It’s jaw-dropping and awe inspiring all at once! And without spoiling anything in the third episode, there’s a surrealist, nightmarish scene that looks horrifying but so imaginative, in a Miyazaki-sort of way. All of this stands to show you that 1.) these animators are insanely huge fans just like us, and 2.) the animation game has significantly been upped since 1996.

Comic book accuracy and awesome action sequences aside, the series knows what X-Men is at its core: a social commentary about prejudice and humanity’s struggle to share the world with those different than themselves. I don’t care if this upsets the “anti-woke” community. This is and always has been what X-Men has been about since the inception of the comic books in September 1963. And in these first two episodes alone the show tackles the heavy subjects of intolerance, genocide, and political upheaval due to violent backwards thinking. And if you think all of this is too “woke” then not only are you an idiot, but you’ve completely missed the point of X-Men and deserve to be stripped of your fandom card.

Oh. And all those complaining about Morph being non-binary? They’re a shapeshifter that can be male or female at any given moment. That’s literally the point of the character. And referring to the character as they/them doesn’t affect anything within the storylines. So there’s literally no reason to complain or be upset, and you should seek enlightenment.

At the end of the day, X-Men ’97 is everything an X-Fan could ask for and more. For every single person who grew up loving X-Men: The Animated Series, this is an incredibly consistent continuation that does more than pay homage — it evolves and adds to the legacy of that show. And for everyone who has been a fan of the X-Men comics, this series remains true to the storylines and spirit of those adventures and characters, showcasing the true potential of how good a comic book adaptation could be when done faithfully and with the reverence it deserves. While we all know the X-Men’s struggle to fulfill Xavier’s dream will be eternal, the great news is that Marvel’s Merry Mutants have already fulfilled the dreams of all us X-Fans by returning at a time when the world needs them the most!

Overall Score: A+