My Thoughts on X-Men '97
A ( kinda) love letter to Disney
"You're gonna lose."
Agent Colson slumps over, defeated after being stabbed in his back by Loki. Loki, standing over him, looks at him in a questioning way.
Loki asks, And, where exactly is my disadvantage here?”
I wasn't a fan of X-Men in the 90s show when it came out. I grew up reading The Uncanny X-Men of the ’80s and 90’s. The John Byrne, David Cockrum, Paul Smith, John Romita Jr., and Marc Silvestri, written by Chris Claremont era., compared my experience with everything X-Men so far, it just wasn’t up to par. It also wasn’t hard to ignore the show in terms of storytelling. It was the standard fanfare of most 90’s action cartoons: the end of the era where standards and practices had laws, where stories for kids had to educate and not just have weak moral standards, were gone. Just plain, god’ ol fun: Nothing fancy. It also didn’t help that I was already a big fan of anime. The artwork in the show compared to was subpar. To be kind, far below anything I was consuming from the land of the rising sun. Nothing but compared to my experiences with the likes of Akira, Fist of the Northstar, Ninja Scroll, or whatever Miyazaki movie was out at the time. For those reasons, it just wasn’t for me.
I gotta ask: What in Western animation ( outside of Thundercat opening) looks as good as this? Anime from the 80’s at that.
Fast forward two decades later to San Diego Comi-con 2022, where a friend of mine and I attended the Marvel panel. They were showcasing upcoming shows. Suffice to say, I wasn’t disappointed. Among the few announcements, were What If Season 2( with the premier of Captain Carter vs. The Hydra Stomper), the plot, character designs, and key art from Marvel, Zombies,( a continuation of the story from an episode of “What If” Season 1 that looked to be…incredible), Spider- Man: Freshmen Year, (looked cool. I liked where it was going), and "I am Groot” … including the first episode ( to which I loved.)
I was enthusiastic about Marvel's future on Disney+.
Then they announced they were doing an X-Men cartoon. Not only that, it wasn't a new version of X-Men, but a continuation from the 90’s show…. starting exactly where they left off.
Ungh.
The nail in the coffin: It was going to be drawn in the style of the original show and even include the voice actors of yesteryear ( the one decision I didn’t mind). A true continuation of the series. We even got to see some animatics and a very short preview of what was coming our way. They were going with the storyline plot of the Uncanny X-Men 200 storyline of Magneto leading the X-Men. New team members included Cable, Sunspot, Nightcrawler, and an X-Men team favorite ( of mine), Forge, which I liked, but for the most part, I was not impressed by the reveal. Truth be told, I was disappointed. I didn’t like what they said they were aiming for the revival of the old show.
A show was not a fan of.
I’ve also grown not to be a fan of nostalgia. Especially done as a gimmick.
Some two years later Disney released X-Men ’97 on Disney+. Up to this point, I was unimpressed by the trailers I've seen up to this point, but I was optimistic. “Shake it off, Japes. It’s Disney animation after all.”, I told myself. They have a track record of not only being able to stand with the best of anime but also of making great cartoons for both the silver screen and home viewing. Gems on Disney+ like Tron Uprising to The Proud Family are two drastically different shows with different styles of animation, tone, context, and content. Both executed well as well as others shows.
They’ll pull X-Men off.
So on March 20, I sat down and started watching X-Men 97.
I stopped around 11 minutes.
I turned it off and called a close buddy of mine.
“Hello;” he said. “I’m out!”, I said.
“ You didn’t like it? You’re an old man.” He denounced. “ Yeah, you’re probably right”, I said. He wasn’t right. I’m not an old man,… but I am fussy.
So went to conversation. He pondered how far I got. I told him it was around the 11-minute mark. It was after the X-Men saved Roberto, and it was Storm’s entrance that did it… actually, I think I got to after the kitchen scene. I was annoyed by the writing in that “same ol’ nineties” style… no substance, Just plain ‘ol fun… and exposition without integration.
Pal o’ mine negotiated, “What about Cyclops? You liked how they had him use his powers, right?”, he deposed. “ Dope,….as long as they don’t do the same trick twice,” I responded snarkily.
After some more of that back and forth, He suggested I keep watching. He threatened I might like it as it went on.
“We’ll see”, I responded.
So I did… And I did!
As it went on I slowly realized there might be something here. Something that wasn't in the ‘90s show. (Although it did have a lot of the same issues.) The lackluster animation style was there… albeit with more flare, but not up to Disney standards ( talking to you, “What If”), but it also did something else. It kept a soap opera (y) drama the comic had. Its’ execution in said drama however fluctuated. It was either under or over-dramatized and that was a big turn-off… and the crux of opposition in this article.
The kitchen scene in the first episode is a good example. Didn’t feel like a real conversation between roommates/ teammates/compatriots. It wasn’t casual,…as if whoever was watching couldn’t make the logical leap as to who they were to each other without the conversation being… expositionary first and foremost: Why beignets were more important than mission objectives.
And it very much felt that way.
It wasn’t even that the characters didn’t react appropriately, it was just unnecessary. Explaining as if a viewer wouldn’t pick up on tone/ attitude towards each other as the story went on. To make sure the audience really knew without experiencing it in the moment and especially over time.
A thing shows nowadays do regularly. Cartoons in particular, but we’ll get to that.
Storms monologuing in the beginning instead of just dealing with the threat. No real reason to do it.
And I get it, “exposition telling” is tough. How do you continue the storyline, without not providing information and at the same time keeping it natural?
The answer is: You decide to. The same way we do every day with each other. To make it conversational with tone depending on the actors involved.
Allow me to give you an example of how I solve that issue in my work. Here’s a page where I needed to give a lot of exposition but tell it in a very short space of distance and time. A conversation between two friends/ comrades. I also went “old school” comic storytelling where the panels are text heavy, so don’t freak out,…. It was intentional.
So back to X-Men 97.
Then comes the moment that Storm and Cyclops visit Henry Geirich doing their best “moral cop, uptight cop” routine. It goes as usual with the bad guy going on,…. wait, this is kinda dark. The dude starts an explosion almost Hitler-esque propaganda. Then it goes completely sideways, where Jean via Cerebro invades Geirich’s mind as a way to gain information… forcibly. This was when it seemed like the story started taking itself far more seriously and I started to see it. By the time the team was flying to the location Geirich “ forcibly snitched” about when the Sentinel tore open the Blackbird with the team having to quickly deal with their unexpected “freefall of death”, while Cyclops congratulated the team for working together as he asserts his leadership?
I was like…
For the rest of the first episode, I was enthralled. It’s not what I expected from an X-Men animated show. Dare I dream, was I getting the show I desperately wanted, but haven’t seen up to this point? The art got better….even though they kept the frumpy style of old, it jumped significantly! It was like somebody reminded the animators that they’re Disney Animation and not.DIC.
That moment where Gambit, jumps on Wolverine’s back while charging his claws, was a moment I hated when I saw the trailer. I remember thinking out loud, “Why would he do that when his kinetic charge causes an explosion?” Well to my utter surprise that was exactly the point. Executed to have Wolverine jump at Master Mole’s head, with the kinetic impact causing an explosion ending the fight. Hell, Wolverine’s arms were even singed from the impact of Gambit’s kinetic charge to another physical object.
Context in the little things: Priceless. X-Men was off… like a rocket!
Magneto then shows up to reveal he’s the sole heir to Xavier's Legacy, thus becoming the X-Men Headmaster, and leader,… not Scott? After coming out on the side of righteousness and some “do-gooding”, Magneto is charged with crimes against humanity and surrenders to the United Nations for prosecution. As his trial is underway, the common folk of the United States against mutant liberation/ existence protest outside the United Nations tribunal. In “January 6th-esque” fashion protests escalate into violence with a storming of the UN trial by the protesting crowd. The X-Men,…. aided by the police hold off the protesters? Storm is shot by the X-Cutioner, (a member of the anti’ mutant terrorist group Friends of Humanity) with a weapon that neutralizes mutant powers, all the while Jean and Cyclops fight for/ celebrate, the birth of their son Nathan ( after Rogue has to steal the doctor’s powers because he’s against delivering a mutant)… just to find out that that wasn't the real Jean but a clone created by Mr. Sinister to manipulate and control It and Cyclops’ child.?!?!?!? ( Ok, that last part was the third episode, but…)
Damn, Disney!!! Who the hell do you think you are?!?!?!? Bigotry, racism, wrapped in suspense, mystery, topped with ideology, philosophy…. in just two episodes?!?!?
Not to mention…
future episodes include love triangles, betrayal, murder, Hero’s ’gone “ Rogue”, ( See what I did there?), and an attempted genocide?!?!?!
The X-Men are better than ever! All the stuff from the comic book was here., with some real-life social commentary!
So, it was good, right? Great even?!?!? Well,… yeah,… kind of.
Let's delve.
Remember when I said I turned it off within the first 10 minutes? I won't go into it Storm’s monologue again, but there I was, yelling at the TV, “Is someone going to shoot or does she get to keep yapping?
Thanks, Incredibles. You’ve ruined monologuing.
I love Strom, but why do we need to hear who she is and what she can do? Just do the thing! Hell, even Bishop goes on to taunt her about how that wasn't going to work: too little too late for me which made it worse as It exposed that the showrunners knew it was redundant.
Why tell not show,… Like the 90’s show? Nostalgia… In lieu of better storytelling?
Aye, there’s the rub.
There it was, that “thing” a lot of shows do. The thing that makes them, “ Meh”. To make sure its’ audience knows the / what’s/ where/ where/ who/ why/ how, is happening, and/or even force backstory. The main ingredient for American cartoons nowadays. Little risk,…. little reward.
But wait,… Is X-Men ’97 a cartoon,…
or is it an animated show?
Allow me to qualify the question.
Throw in any cartoon from now back to the early 90’s. I’ll even be bold enough to say “cartoons with substance” ended with Animaniacs. Outside of South Park, Family Guy, and a few others which are “adult cartoons”, the stuff that they market for what I imagine are just for children created to sell toys and merch. Cartoons before did the same, but were vastly different in their execution., and even more adult-orientated than the stuff they make now. There was underlining meaning importance and value in them for those who watch other than kids. Although there are few nowadays that have leaked through the cracks, the overall simplicity stays the same. Comedic cartoon, silly, and simplistic. A dramatic cartoon, tells a story that isn’t too harsh, where the good guy always wins, and the bad guy loses. No real collateral damage, always a win, never at a cost.
Take Pixar’s “Up”, as an outlier. The silly/ funny talking dog; for the kids. A man fulfilling his lifetime wish he and his dead now wife promised to each other: for the adults. A movie for everyone.
Isn’t that what George Lucas meant when he said, ”Star Wars is for 12-year-olds”?
But we are adults far longer than we are children. That is the 10-year-old in me saying this.
I never understood the “aim for kids only” concept, even when I was little. I saw shows some would consider “not kid friendly”, by today's standards but as a kid, not only did I understand what was going on, but I also got the context/ importance of the moments in the story as well as the story overall. Even if I couldn’t explain what I just saw, at best I could tell you the things that happened and explain them in detail. At best, if there were things that happened that I didn’t understand, I figured I would probably better understand/ relate to it as an adult… which I did.
Even now, take American cartoons and compare them to their contemporary… Japanese Animation, AKA anime.
Naruto and The Last Airbender are great examples of the drastic differences in the same genre. With basically the same ideology a lot of their shows actually mirror each other. So, which is better? Naruto…. hands down. Why? It has real consequences thus teaching real lessons. Nothing cookie cutter, no simplistic resolution, even in the many filler episodes. No good is just good, and bad is just bad. It’s rather gray,.. like life as an adult… aimed at kids.
Hell, I’m not even talking about the existential stuff of adult anime like Angle’s Egg or the existential creators. Momaru Oshi, I'm referring to the light stuff. It’s all light years ahead of the stuff that is created in Western culture in terms of tone. It doesn't pander to the idea of something animated being created for the sake of children, but for the sake of all, balancing (in lighter cases) at worst what children are exposed to. Even though harsh by Western standards, there isn’t any detrimental effect on Japanese youth. Disney as a peer has always been the best and most consistent competitor to anime…
and X-Men 97 was very anime.
Gambit, quoting his catchphrase before he blows up the Wild Sentinel. Nightcrawler gives the eulogy at the funeral. Both are poignant and beautiful.
Magneto, before he attacks the wild sentinel, looks around Genosha and sees all the dead mutants, remembering the Naxi concentration camp and what that entailed, yelling, “ They shall be avenged!.” A vague sentence, with few words, is extremely impactful.
None of this was too much.
But for every good moment…
Professor X realizing, “Why am I listening to these idiots when I am Charles “f%$king” Xavier?”, then mentally makes the Shi’ar High Command “Come to Jesus” via Astral Plane/ demerit dolling fashion, only to yell in cringeworthy agony, “My Children of the Atom" after envisioning a recently deceased Gambit. How about Forge expressing his overall love for Storm 15 or so minutes after he meets her… not to mention resolving her problem to boot within two,… nope, one and a half episodes, compared to something that took over 12 issues in the comic (a literal year, and far longer in comic book time), to fully work itself out.
I’m not even going to mention where the outfit, change of hairstyle, and tiara came from.
I’m not saying it should have taken that long in the show, however….
Extra Op-Ed Rant.
Why did Storm get her powers back in two episodes or even the first season? How dope would it have been when they went to Astor M or against Bastion and his sentinels on Earth where Ororo was on one of the teams without her powers?
[SIDE NOTE…And for those who are quick to say that wouldn't work as she didn't have any powers,… she fought Cyclops for X-Men leadership and Uncanny X-Men 201 one without her powers in the danger room at full blast with Cyclops at full blast… and beat him!]
Extra Op-Ed Rant over.
So why are some things in this show so good, while others are sooooooo bad?
The answer is a complicated one.
In short, Disney understands.
Although I’m not a fan of the prequels, That dude dropped gems in all six of his movies.
But back to X-Men ‘97.
If the audience isn't told what's going on, not only in the present but about the past with a hint of what's to come in the future exhaustively, they could be easily confused. That confusion may lead some to lose interest and/ or walk away from the thing altogether. Best to keep it simple. Overcompensate… even for the sake of the story.
In short, Disney ( and most companies in the entertainment … not you HBO.) bet that although its’ audience is watching may not be paying attention.
As a consumer of content as we all are, I’m offended about the implication, .. bet I get it.
I understand where they're coming from and respect the insight because I have to ask myself the same questions as a creator.
At the same time, I didn't like it, and I decided not to pander to that ideology… regardless of whether it succeeded or not. Whatever I create, I demand whoever wants to experience it, give their full attention…less you may miss the point.
Isn't that the point?
Well, yes,… but no!
The thing is,… We don't fully pay attention to things anymore. We don’t have to for the most part. In this day and age of the Internet, social media, and the instant gratification that comes with it, we can divide our attention away to more than just one thing. That simple dopamine fix over the more instant experiences makes it easier to walk away from wanting/ needing/ appreciating those experiences that take longer to pull off. Moreover, if it doesn’t instantly, superficially grab our attention… we don’t even realize or understand that lack of attention may be internal,… not external.
It’s that premise that stopped X-Men ‘97 from being a masterpiece of storytelling. Along with the core story, the show also aimed to tie up old plots from the previous series, while introducing new ones and maintaining the drama and different ideologies of not only its core characters but the others in the world that the X-Men inhabit (and in the world, I mean the universe). Seemingly all done to cater to a greater range of audiences.
Doing a lot of different things, where one or two matter.
Almost as if it forgot it was a continuation where anyone who is confused could go back and (re)acquaint themselves.
Oh, wait, they know that. I instinctively forgot to refer to the above reasoning.
OY Vey.
Disney is a multi-international, multi-billion dollar company that wants everybody in the world, all races, all religions, all ideologies, all on the teacup ride, singing singing, “It's A Small World After All”.
Idealistically, I love that. The idea that we can all get along is not only great but something was should aim for as a humanitarian goal.
The thing is, this ain't Disney World. It’s storytelling.
Context in content matters. To reach out to those of the select few who usually disagree with everything is a waste of time.
Instead, tell stories that are compelling and of substance. If the story leaves the people who experience that is impactful, it will stand the test the time.
You’re Disney, you know that. You’ve done that. Not only that, you set that standard a long time ago. Even anime in some cases has imitated you.
I’m a grown-ass man and I still tear up when the hound gets shot saving his childhood friend the Fox.
Get back to that.
By the end of the season of X-Men ‘97, I honestly have to say that I liked most of what I saw. Pet peeves and minor annoyances aside, I think the creators tell a clear ( mostly) coherent story that can only come from our favorite band of mutants from Westchester, NY. Best of all, It is also a far leap from its predecessor. But with that, Disney, you keep doing the thing that brings down a lot of your content.
You just don’t tell the story. Instead, you aim to appease those way cannot be pleased. A thing cannot be for everyone unless it’s just “meh”.
X-Men ’97 is a lot better than, “Meh”. Your track record is a lot better than,“Meh”.
For example, I’m not a fan of Ms. Marvel. Everybody who I know who has watched it stands by it. I watched the first two episodes and stopped. Not that it wasn’t… fine. It just wasn’t for me. I’m just not interested in teen/ high school drama wrapped in a superhero suit.
It not being for me doesn’t mean it isn’t good. See what you did there? I didn’t cancel Disney+ because of it.
I didn’t like either of the Captain Marvel movies. Here, I can’t relate to them as women and what women go through, but I can appreciate a good execution… which neither had. But when it comes to a great story (combination of setup, plot, acting, directing, etc…), I’m on board no matter what it is, no matter what genre it is.
SIDE NOTE…
No better example of that than the movie “Women Talking”. Damn, that was an incredible movie, and I had absolutely no stakes in their plight on any level whatsoever.
Just keep it simple. Man, woman, race, religion, and ideology, are fine, but the story comes first. Stick to what you’ve been good at…for decades. Get back to what you’ve missed in the past couple of years, basically going back to Avengers: Endgame.
I liked Shang-Chi and The Eternals.
Fight me.
So in closing, here’s some wisdom… from a beloved character of yours.
I bring you back to Colson’s dying words. An exemplary ( and cautionary) line,… to your present selves from your past selves… the successful past selves That against the odds (Avengers= first successful comic book team movie)you/ they got it right.
The problem and the fix are within the comment. Call it providence.
Coulson is himself, and you (Disney) are Loki.
COLSON: You're gonna lose."
Agent Colson slumps over, defeated after being stabbed in his back by Loki’s spear. Loki, standing over him, looks at him in a questioning way.
LOKI: And, what exactly is my disadvantage here?
Colson looks up at him. He slightly raises his head and smiles as a little blood trickles out of his mouth.
COLSON: You lack conviction.
Colson then shoots Loki.
Hey Disney, don’t be that Loki.
It’s not in your nature.
Thanks for reading. I you’re interested in experiencing examples of my work, just click the link.
Here’s a piece I did celebrating the new show. Be sure to check out the process video. Yours to keep. ;)
Here’s a preview of the colored version available with a subscription to my Patreon. I look forward to seeing you there as well.
Until next time.