After several delays, it seems Marvel and Disney+ are finally ready to release their continuation of the original X-Men: The Animated Series television show and have unveiled a teaser trailer to hype the impending return. Does this new show have what it takes to simultaneously recapture its audience from 27 years ago and inspire a new generation of fans to get pumped about Homo superior before the inevitable MCU live-action movie? The ComicsXF staff fired up the clip on YouTube to offer the following 10, er, X reactions.
In case you missed it, here is the trailer:
I. Set dressing
I am deeply fascinated by the dressing of the set as the camera zooms in on the TV that will eventually show the trailer. To the left is the Scott and Jean photo (by original series artist Dan Veesenmeyer, I believe) that stars in one of the series’ most loved memes, so that makes sense. On the other side is a carded Toy Biz action figure, contemporaneous to the series, which also makes sense. But it’s a re-carded version of a pretty terrible Colossus figure (He can’t even punch anyone!) from the line’s first wave. Why the re-carded version? And why feature Colossus, a character who was barely featured on the series and an action figure with little love among fans? These are not important questions, but someone had to have made these decisions and I want to know why!
II. Fashion show Easter egg
Blink and you might have missed, well, Blink, along with Nature Girl, Dust, Banshee, Maggott and … is that STACY X(?!?!) on the issue of the Daily Bugle that floats by at the 30-second mark. What does this mean for the expanded cast of the show, or is this like in the original series where you’d see a random member of X-Force on a TV screen and then never see them again?
III. There’s Not Much Here
After the tease of the conclusion of the original X-Men: TAS, this plays out as not much more than a sizzle reel. There’s really only a couple of plot points on display: Cyclops is leading the X-Men, there’s something up with Jean’s abdomen and Magneto has inherited the assets of Charles Xavier. Otherwise, it’s all out-of-context action shots. Some cool ones, but still…
IV. Hot Claws Redux
Look, we’re typically Hot Claws agnostic, but the shot of Wolverine and Gambit midfight creating an explodey mutant circuit with Gambit’s powers and Wolverine’s … skeleton is pretty cool. Not sure how that’ll work for Logan once he stabs whoever he’s stabbing, but hey, it looks cool.
V. Jean & Scott 4Ever
There’s a great moment where Jean touches her stomach, presumably because she’s experiencing indigestion brought on by the struggle to eat enough dietary fiber during intense days of superheroing, and Scott tenderly comforts her. This small domestic moment does a great job showcasing Jean and Scott’s simple, effortless bond. Hopefully, the show will continue to spotlight Jean and Scott’s historically uncomplicated relationship as a refreshing break from the supernatural melodrama informing so much of the rest of the X-Men’s world.
VI. It sure looks like a cartoon from the ’90s!
If you happen to enjoy the sometimes stiff and limited animation style of American Saturday morning cartoon shows from the early to mid-’90s, then congratulations! Looks like they nailed it.
VII. Time’s not on their side
While all the flashing images with the costumes and music scream ’90s, time has in fact marched on in a decidedly not ’90s fashion. While various hands behind the scenes have changed, most of those bringing vocal life to the characters have not. Naturally, though, those iconic voices have aged, and it’s quite noticeable. That’s no mark against these voice actors, they only play ageless, timeless characters in the sound booth. Why does this stand out? Because every aesthetic is meant to pretend that not a day has passed since the show went off the air. Natural wear and tear on the vocal cords signifying the passage of time says otherwise. Pretending it is still an earlier age despite clear signs that it is not sure feels fitting for this era of nostalgia.
VIII. To me, my X-Men
The concluding moment (before the last will & testament “stinger’) of the trailer, featuring Cyclops uttering the now-iconic “To me, my X-Men” is arguably the coolest animated Cyclops has ever been (which is more damning of the original iteration of the show than praising this one).
IX. Is it the shorts? Is it the shoes?
Based on what everyone is wearing when Magneto reveals himself, it sure seems like we’re going to get some animated X-Men playing basketball (Wolverine, Jubilee and Rogue are styled exactly like they are during the Jim Lee-drawn basketball game in X-Men Vol. 2 #4). With Jean as the *sigh* referee, apparently.
X. Is it a Saturday morning cartoon?
Details on the release are slim, but we do now have a release date of March 20. Will X-Men ’97 be unceremoniously dumped all at once onto Disney+ a la Echo? Or can we expect a Saturday morning cartoon timeslot for new episodes on the streamer? Guess we have to wait to see, X-fans. Until then, your guess is as good as ours as to why Morph looks like his Age of Apocalypse counterpart, who’s in Jean’s baby bump or whether Brian Michael Bendis is getting a royalty check for the Last Will and Testament of Charles Xavier.
Adam Reck is the cartoonist behind Bish & Jubez as well as the co-host of Battle Of The Atom.
Anna Peppard
Anna is a PhD-haver who writes and talks a lot about representations of gender and sexuality in pop culture, for academic books and journals and places like Shelfdust, The Middle Spaces, and The Walrus. She’s the editor of the award-winning anthology Supersex: Sexuality, Fantasy, and the Superhero and co-hosts the podcasts Three Panel Contrast and Oh Gosh, Oh Golly, Oh Wow!
Austin Gorton also reviews older issues of X-Men at the Real Gentlemen of Leisure website, co-hosts the A Very Special episode podcast, and likes Star Wars. He lives outside Minneapolis, where sometimes, it is not cold. Follow him on Twitter @AustinGorton
Scott Redmond
Scott Redmond is a freelance writer and educator fueled by coffee, sarcasm, his love for comic books and more "geeky" things than you can shake a lightsaber at. Probably seen around social media and remembered as "Oh yeah, that guy." An avid gamer, reader, photographer, amateur cook and solid human being.
Tony Thornley is a geek dad, blogger, Spider-Man and Superman aficionado, X-Men guru, autism daddy, amateur novelist, and all around awesome guy. He’s also very humble.
