X-Men ’97 Is a Bright Spot for Modern Marvel

X-Men ‘97 on Disney+ is how to do a series. So far, five episodes into season two, it is fantastic. They’ve done something unique, in that they took a beloved cartoon series from the 90s and continued where the original series left off. It’s a lone gem among so many of the unsuccessful Marvel movies and shows released since Avengers: Endgame. So, what are they doing right?

• it’s honoring the original material. They’ve gone so far as to bring back as many of the original voice actors as they could. Some have since passed away, but characters like Wolverine and Storm have the same iconic voices from before. That said…

• It grew up with the audience. Technology has progressed since the 90s, and the animation in this show has as well. Also, the storylines are more mature, as is the portrayal of violence and language. It’s not over the top (I’m no fan of gratuitous violence or heavy swearing), but it’s not something that would fly on Saturday morning cartoons back in the day, either.

• no moral posturing or injecting modern culture wars into the story—just entertainment.