X-Men '97

X-Men '97 is an American animated series and a direct Sequel Series to X-Men: The Animated Series. Marvel Studios produced it, with Beau DeMayo as head writer. Original series creators Eric and Julia Lewald and director Larry Houston also worked on the series as consultants. Despite being a Marvel Studios production, Word of God has made crystal clear that it's not part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

X-Men '97 was released in March 20 2024, on Disney+.

Tropes used in X-Men '97 include:

• Back From the Dead: This trope is essentially the case with the Sentinels, who were destroyed in the original series but end up making a return here.
• Big Bad Duumvirate: Mr. Sinister and Bolivar Trask's Sentinels serve as this. Only to be upstaged by Bastian/Prime Sentinel.
• The Cameo: Uatu briefly appears in "Remember It".
• Casting Gag: Professor X was recast with Ross Marquand. Marquand previously voiced the Ultron Sentries in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which featured the series' theme music alongside an Xavier modeled after the incarnation from the original show.
• Continuity Nod: The first trailer features a shot of the Daily Bugle, with an article written by Eddie Brock and with photos by Peter Parker.
• Continuity Snarl: In Fantastic Four: The Animated Series, Black Panther was T'Challa (meaning T'Chaka was either dead, or too old to be Black Panther), yet here Black Panther is T'Chaka.
• Darker and Edgier: Thanks to the audience now being young adults, there's a lot more graphic violence and cursing.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?:
  • The Friends of Humanity marching on the United Nations during Magneto's trial is clearly patterned after the January 6 United States Capitol attack.
  • Sunspot hiding his mutant nature before "coming out" is clearly an allegory for gay kids coming out to their parents.
  • Jean's speech that there will be more mutants in the future. It's a clear analogue that, as the world becomes more progressive and accepting, younger generations are more comfortable coming out as LGBT+.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: "Remember It" has Scott ask this, noting all the good that the X-Men have done yet they're still regarded with hate and distrust.
• Feeling Oppressed by Their Existence: Why the Friends of Humanity do what they do. It's not anything mutants did, it's that mutants exist.
• Heel Face Turn: Magneto joined the X-Men after seeing the positive perception towards mutants provoked by the attack on Xavier during the 90s series' finale. Though he quickly goes into Heel Face Revolving Door territory.
• Mechanical Abomination: The Wild Sentinel.
• Mythology Gag: A citizen shouts "No more mutants!".
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Had Xavier told everyone that he was taking a sojourn to Shi'ar space and not dead, so many headaches could have been avoided.
• Odd Friendship: Cheeky Morph and grumpy Wolverine.
• Oddball in the Series: Unlike previous in-house Marvel Studios animated projects, the series is hand-drawn animated, not connected to the MCU, and focuses on a pre-existing continuity. Furthermore, the series is very direct in its adaptations of comic book storylines, whereas the MCU, even in series based directly on storylines such as Secret Invasion, are far more loose in its treatment of the source material.
  • For Disney-owned Marvel as a whole, this is their first X-Men-centric project after they got the rights back when they bought Fox.
• Production Foreshadowing: Marvel Studios, the production company behind the series, used the 90s X-Men theme (credited as "X-Men '97 Theme") in the film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and the TV series Ms. Marvel, whenever each project referenced mutants.
• Retcon: Magento's helmet can block out Xavier's telepathy, standard in the 21st century, but not the case in the 90s show.
• Superman Stays Out of Gotham: While other heroes appear, they don't do much to help. Though it at least shows that Iron Man and Captain America are protecting the US President during the danger (though no mention of the other Avengers), Doctor Strange is helping out at the hospital he used to work at, and Daredevil and Cloak & Dagger are assisting from the streets with dealing with criminals and Prime Sentinels.
• Time Skip: Long enough for Jean Grey really Madelyne Pryor to become pregnant, Illyana Rasputin to become Magik and Morph to become comfortable using their true appearance as their Shapeshifter Default Form.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: After Genosha is destroyed, Magneto forgoes any measure of kindness and attempts to commit human extinction.
• Tomato in the Mirror: Jean Grey for the first two episodes is really Madelyne Pryor, switched out by Mr. Sinister at some point during the Time Skip.
• Unexplained Recovery:
  • Eddie Brock/Venom somehow escaped the Dark Dimension and got rehired by the Daily Bugle.
  • Likewise, Captain America escaped the antimatter/matter vortex and rejoined the Avengers.
  • And Peter Parker somehow got Mary Jane out of limbo.
• What You Are in the Dark: A frequent theme in the show. How people treat and react to mutants is very much who they really are.
• You Are in Command Now: What Cyclops expected to happen following the death of Xavier. Only for Xavier to leave the X-Men to Magneto.