Like many of you, I grew up with the X-Men cartoon in the 90's. Well, technically I was 12 when the show started, but those were my formative nerd years. Surprisingly it was THIS show and not Batman: The Animated Series that was the full blown start of my relationship with comic books. I had dabbled before but it was X-Men that birthed the interests I still have to day. I saw the premier "Night of the Sentinels" in the US, just before we moved to Germany, where I lived for the majority of the show's run. I watched the first two seasons via the color coded VHS tapes I bought from the BX or by watching them on British cable. My relatives proved unreliable in recording me anything, so when we had a brief return to the US, I made sure to record a few episodes on tape.
Those first two seasons, I watched multiple times and I can quote most of them and remember very specific musical cues and scenes. I was all in on this show and have nothing but fond memories.
When Disney Plus started, I started a slow rewatch of the series. When X-Men 97' was announced and with it coming out tomorrow, I accelerated my consumption of the show's five seasons. It was then I was met with a harsh truth... this show is bad. Real bad. Our collective childhood have warped this show into something that it isn't. Good.
Let me elaborate. This show had a particular style that worked when it wasn't moving. Everything was covered in shadows, even when they are standing in the light of day. Batman: The Animated series came out a year before this and looks so much better by leaps and bounds. They clearly had the money that X-Men did not have. There are so many animation gaffes and while the characters move okay some of the time, the backgrounds are laughable. In later seasons (ALL of season 5), the animation is downright offensive. I didn't do any research, but they clearly started using other studios of lesser quality for the animation and it is painfully obvious. Our first exposure to this is the first two episodes of Season 3, "Out of the Past" that features Lady Deathstrike. Another example is "Cold Comfort" that is a clunky episode that introduces us to Iceman. There are so many more misses than hits in the last three seasons.
The X-Men had a rich history up to this point and I understand why they would want to adapt so many of their stories, including the grand daddy of them all, the Phoenix Saga. The problem is they have to sanitize it so much for a kids show that it feels hollow. This is the same for any other major story that they had to adapt. I know this is a kids show, but even though you are lowering the violence, you don't have to insult our intelligence. I hate to compare back to Batman, but that show had smart storytelling and they did not box themselves into adapting every Batman story under the sun.
I want to take a quick pause from pouring out my disgust by offering some praise. The voice acting on this show is top notch. The performances here set in our minds how these characters actually sounded and they did a remarkable job matching up everyone. With all the bad things that I will lay out about this show, the acting is a saving grace. If you close your eyes, you can be introduced to a wonderful radio drama. Maybe that's the way you should watch this show, honestly.
Now, back on my soapbox. This show is guilty of single handedly ruining our perception of Cyclops for at least twenty years. Before this show, in the comics, Cyclops could stand toe to toe with Captain America as a battle strategist and tactician. In this show, he is whiny with the most punchable face you've ever seen. Wolverine especially punks him and dismisses him so much, you wonder how he could ever lead anyone. This show also makes the mistake of giving us numerous solo episodes featuring Cyclops. Taking the least interesting character and devoting entire episodes to him was a bad move. On the flip side, I think the solo episodes with Wolverine is when the show was at its best.
Speaking of uninteresting characters, I like Beast. But I don't LOVE him. He also gets a lot of solo episodes and he is probably the second least interesting character. That's not fair. Morph is the second least interesting character. So Beast is the third. Every team needs the smart guy though, so he fits the bill. Unfortunately for us, when they pair the team down for some episodes, he seems to always find his way in. In later seasons, they give him a deus ex machina backpack and then that is when the fun truly begins. To be fair, I don't think they knew what to do with him.
By the way, Jean Grey. The most useless character in this show. She is an omega level threat in the comic books, but she's relegated to being the object of affection between Scott and Wolverine. And a daughter figure to Professor X. The Phoenix Saga doesn't really work because we're not invested in her at all, so when she does a heel turn, we don't care. We know how it goes in the comics, but if you're watching this show without knowing any of the comics, it feels strange and that's the lens I'm viewing this through.
My final gripe with the show and my biggest one, is Wolverine. They have to nerf him so bad that whenever he acts like a threat, you don't believe him. In the comic books, he was FEARED. He was the prototypical loose cannon that could go off the rails at any moment. With that, he also got respect because he was willing to do what no one else would. Given his power set, he is the character that constantly gets dunked on, because he can take it. But by being the punching bag, as a viewer, you can't take him seriously. I get it. A dude with metal claws that cut through everything can't be slicing up people. So he only truly unleashes when he has to fight robots or chop up weapons.
I know you may have fond memories of this show. I did. You may think, "But Kevin, there are a lot of great episodes that I love, what are you TALKING about. You're such a hater." Yeah, I thought that too. And yes, I am. There is way more bad than good. Do yourself a favor. Remember this show how it was cause if you watch it now, the warts on this thing are going to show. If you ARE going to watch it, stop after season two.
