It’s the 90s again, and our favorite mutants are back in a new animated series, X-Men ’97. The X-Men are back on TV! But this isn’t a detailed review of the new series, as much as it me recounting how television shaped my X-Men life.

I been an X-Men fan for a minute. Long enough, so that when I first got into them the X-Men were still part of a subculture that perhaps a few people knew about. All of that changed when X-Men The Animated Series debuted on FOX television on October 31, 1992. Suddenly, the X-Men, and all the varied characters and villains, along with the heady politics of difference, persecution, and resistance, was beaming right into our living rooms! I actually had to sneak and watch that first episode. Because in Fall 1992 I was on line and trying to cross those burning sands so a few weeks later I could holler out “ONE-ONE-ONE-NINNNNNE… OOOHHHH-SIX!” If you know, you know. If you don’t, don’t worry bout it.

But watch that debut episode I did. And for the next five years, I was there for every season, all seventy-six episodes, until the show went off the air in September 1997. And it was glorious! Don’t get me wrong. I’m not letting nostalgia cloud my judgment here. The show had its share of cringe. The animation was…not always the best. The plots at times didn’t make sense. The dialogue could be laughter inducing and over the top. I mean Wolverine was mad *all* the time.

And of course, we all had to endure the infamous Professor X scream:

But we still loved that show! That’s why it lasted a whole five seasons. A lot of the production issues stemmed from the fact that we were far from the era of superhero flicks at the time. When the X-Men cartoon aired, we were still 6 years out from a big Marvel superhero movie, Blade (1998). And 10 years out from the first X-Men movie (2000). There wasn’t even an MCU at the time. Marvel the company filed for bankruptcy near the end of the series in 1996, and sold off the rights to lots of its big titles. We wouldn’t see the MCU begin to form itself until Iron Man (2008). And sure, X-Men: The Animated Series was by no means the first Marvel cartoon. But, it did occupy a certain integral space long before the era of superhero films in which we now live. I think it’s saved to argue that it garnered popularity with an entirely new generation of viewers for who the series may have been their first introduction to comic books and the X-Men. And that foundation would have a profound impact on helping forge the MCU and age of supehero blockbusters. Fight me on that, but I think there’s merit there.

Now, I was a somewhat different story. I was older when the X-Men Animated Series premiered on television. GEN X STAND UP! (But not too fast. Might pull something. Pace yourself.) I’d been into comic books since I glimpsed the first one being read by my aunt. I was maybe seven and she was just ten years older. She let me have some of her stash, which were mostly old Spider-Man books. Then, I discovered comic books at my local library and checked those out when I could. There were also some titles I might pick up at any 7-11 from those revolving wire rack displays. Anybody remember those?

But, that made my comic book reading a sporadic hodgepodge. I just read whatever I could get my hands on. From the library, that meant Star Wars comics and lots of DC–especially Legion of Super Heroes, set in the 31st century with young heroes and heroines, including Superboy. Me, I wanted to be Chameleon Lad! For some reason, the 7-11 that I frequented carried random Avengers comics (how I got introduced to Black Panther, as a team member) and lots of Defenders. That was probably the one I read somewhat in order: Gargoyle, Valkyrie, Daimon Hellstorm, Hellcat…sometimes Doctor Strange would pop in. It was weird. Loved it tho.

Now you may ask, why didn’t you go to a comic book store? Uhhh, cuz I didn’t know those existed? And there were none near where I lived. But most of all, because I had no comic book money. I was a broke-ass kid. Remember that? Being a broke-ass kid? My weekly allowance was for doing chores. Hadn’t even graduated to higher allowance lawn mowing money. Mostly spent my meager ends on Funyuns, Now and Laters, at the arcade, or a Nutty Buddy from the ice cream truck. Any comics I bought were a rare luxury. Helped that they were like 60 cents back then. But my broke-ass wasn’t going to be getting a pull list to purchase bi-weekly, perusing through back issues and buying slip covers and backboards till I was making that gooooood late teen job money.

In all those early books, I don’t remember ever hearing about mutants or the like….if I did, it went over my head. My introduction to the X-Men, however, also in cartoon form. A cartoon called Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends that premiered as a Saturday morning cartoon on NBC from 1981 to 1983. I was familiar with Spidey, of course, from comics and from his old cartoon with that catchy theme song. So, I was definitely there for the 80s joint. And he had friends–it’s right there in the title. Basically, the cartoon followed a college-age Peter Parker who lives in a high-rise apartment with his two friends (Bobby and Angelica) who, when not being co-eds, are secretly superheroes who fight crime. And monsters.

No, that intro doesn’t make much sense. No, there was never an episode where they fought a giant fire monster. But as a kid, I was all for this future life where I could be a superhero living in a posh secret pad while saving the world. When I first started watching the show, I still had no idea that Spider-Man’s “amazing friends” were in fact mutants. I just thought they were…superheroes. With interesting ice and fire powers. Elemental stuff. One named Iceman. The other Firestar. Good enough for me. I watched episodes where they battled a video game guy who literally walked out of a video game with early 80s graphics. There was another where Dr. Doom got a magic amulet and a dude got turned into a giant clam. Yes. A clam. Spidey and his friends went to Asgard and met Doctor Strange and Captain America. And on, and on.

Then, one fateful morning, I saw an episode called “The Origin of the Ice Man” that aired in Season 2 of the series in September 1982. In that episode, Bobby (Iceman) begins losing his powers. Peter hooks him up to some memory gadget, and we get to see him recount about being a mutant. I’d never even heard of mutants–at least I didn’t remember hearing about them in my earlier comic book reading. Then Bobby talks about a group called the X-Men, how a great telepath named Charles Xavier called to him, and how he joined these X-Men alongside the Beast (pre-blue fur), Cyclops, Jean Grey, and the Angel. Whaaaat? Whole new superheroes?!? Tell me more! But there wasn’t more. They just gave me a taste.

I had to wait until the next episode aired aired called “A Firestar is Born.” In that one, both Ice Man and Firestar go off to an X-Men reunion. (They seem to just have those).) And this time, it’s the more modern updated X-Men (at least since 1975) with the international crew. For the first time I saw Storm! She’s actually introduced by Angel, “I want you to meet Storm, one of a our new members.” And Bobby’s all goggle-eyed at her outfit. I was goggle-eyed too! A new Black superhero? With weather powers? Shut the Front Door! Then they introduce another new member named Wolverine–in the old school back and yellow striped number! I remember thinking, does that guy have claws in his hands? Actual claws? My kid mind was going bonkers! (Weirdly tho, in this first introduction of Wolverine on TV he has an Australian accent. For years later, when I finally started reading the comics, I would code Wolvie with an Australian accent until it clicked on… waitaminute…he’s Canadian.) We even get introduced to a central X-Men villain–the Juggernaut. They do the whole background on him, complete with the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak….and not whatever those X-movies were trying to do with him. In the end, Juggernaut attacks and almost bests the X-Men until Spidey uses his acrobatic skills to remove his helmet–leaving him vulnerable to Professor X’s commands. The X-Men would appear again in Season 3, (this time with Colossus, Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde, and Thunderbird) in an episode aptly named, “The X-Men Adventure.”

There had actually been a previous episode with mutants back in Season 1–featuring none other than Magneto! I kid you not. It aired in October 1981 in an episode called “The Prison Plot.” But it was low on info. Magneto was presented as a run of the mill mustache-twirling villain. He did present himself as a mutant. And in the episode, his entire purpose is to free his fellow Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, namely Blob, Mesmero, and Toad. He says a bit about mutants being above “mortals” and talks about ruling the world. But that’s bout it. There’s no mention of X-Men. No hint at the politics of mutants vs humans. He doesn’t even appear to recognize Iceman or Firestar. This Magneto felt a lot like the days before Chris Claremont took over: just your average criminal sociopath no different really than Green Goblin or Doc Oc. There was nothing to make me think there was anything more to him, or mutants. That wouldn’t happen until those Season 2 episodes where they fleshed out the larger world of the X-Men and told us who and what mutants were. In brief flashbacks, both episodes got across that mutants were something different from other heroes. Both Iceman and Firestar recall the manifestation of their powers, and how it made them shunned outcasts–which of course is central to the X-Men, and what helped hook me.

Still, I didn’t run right out and start reading X-books after seeing these episodes. Broke-ass kid, remember? That wouldn’t be until years later, as a teen, in high school in fact. Some kid was reading a tradeback of the classic God Loves, Man Kills that had actually been released way back in 1982. The story starts off with the literal lynching of two black mutant children (seriously, they are *lynched*) deploys the words “n*gger-lover,” has an anti-mutant hate group called Purifiers modeled blatantly on white supremacists (complete with a type of Celtic Cross symbol) and has Magneto at perhaps his most Malcolm X-esque. This “racial symbolism” was part of what many consider the X-Men’s “Golden Age,” during the Claremont run. This where we really get the whole mutants being persecuted, the calls for mutant separatism in response, and so much of what makes the X-Men such a fascinating story. Yes, I’m aware of the debates over whether the whole Martin Luther King Jr. (Professor X) versus Malcolm X (Magneto) analogy is proper. Wrote about it here. Whatever the case, I may have read God Loves, Man Kills years late, but it arrived right on time for my teen mind buzzing with racial politics, questions about identity, thoughts on difference, etc. I latched onto that book, re-read it like a dozen times, then made my way to a comic book store and started grabbing every X-title I could find.

By the time the X-Men Animated Series appeared on TV, I had been baptized in all things X-lore–from “Days of Future Past” (dating back to 1981) to the “Age of Apocalypse” (which came out during the show’s later years, 1995-1996). I stayed on, as an avid reader, through House of M. “No More Mutants” had me shook! Then I kinda slacked off. But returned for House of X and Powers of X (2019) and a few more. A few later animated X-series appeared on television, one in 2003 called X-Men: Evolution where they’re reimagined as teens and another in 2009 called Wolverine and the X-Men. Then there were the movies of course. But those were…hit or very much miss. X2 (2003) and Days of Future Past (2014) stand out as the best in the film franchise. Most were “meh.” Some were worse. Like that X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)? Whew. Burn it with fire, bury the ashes, then bury the shovel. The Wolverine film franchise also felt lackluster, until arriving at a thorough hit with Logan (2017)–which may be one of the best X-franchise flicks out there. The Deadpool flicks have also done some interesting mutant-related stuff, from cameos to mutant characters plucked from the comics. But these are more so “mutants as a punchline.” Enjoyable certainly for what they are but not the X-Men.

Now, we’re on the cusp of the MCU slowly introducing mutants…what, to me, had always been a massive missing piece. Thanks to Disney’s acquisition (yaaay, big media? I guess?) the Marvel Universe on screen is getting a chance to be whole. And we don’t have to create entirely new fictive backstories for rather prominent mutants like Wanda Maximoff or her brother, simply because legal has made it clear “you can’t say the M word!” Ms. Marvel took care of that. Though in this case, the MCU is turning a non-mutant character into a mutant. And who knows how they might link in the trove of mutants hanging out in the Deadpool movie universe.

Whatever happens next, we at least get to return to the 1990s with an entirely new TV show, X-Men ’97, that picks up exactly where the series left off. Professor X is dead. Jean’s pregnant with Nathan Summers. Cyclops needs some downtime. Ororo gonna face some problems right out of the 1984 comic book X-Men. Magneto is back, and sexy, and in charge like its 1985 again in Uncanny X-Men #200. He got on the whole purple outfit with the shoulders out! Wolverine got anger issues usual. The whole narrative of human hate groups and mutant vulnerability is taking center stage in a BIG way. Morph is alive! In the first episode of the 1992 series, this non-canon (he was invented for the show) died from a Sentinel blast. The new series just gonna act like that didn’t happen, as him doing his shapeshifting thing. He’s also non-binary, which is making the usual worst people upset. Because they obviously missed the whole POINT of the X-Men. “ThEy’Re tRYiNg tO mAkE tHe X-Men WOKE!” Like the X-Men ain’t been WOKE before WOKE was a word. Sitcho dumbass down. Out here acting like a whole ass villain from the franchise. Oh, and the second episode of the new series ends on a cliffhanger that had me shout out “Is Madelyne Pryor bout to make an appearance up in this piece??”

No doubt, this show is made for a mature audience. For those who watched the animated series from the 90s–as kids or adults. And for those who know something of the larger X-universe. X-Men 97 looks like it’s all gonna be good stuff. And it arrived just when we needed it. Looking forward to this new era of X-Men back on TV. Hope it lasts!