After waiting for over two years since the project had been announced, superhero fans finally got their first look at the “X-Men” revival series late last week.
On Thursday, Marvel Animation released the trailer for “X-Men ’97.” Expectations are high for the upcoming show, considering it picks up right after the incredibly popular Saturday morning cartoon “X-Men: The Animated Series,” which ran from 1992-1997.
At first, many fans were excited to see the iconic mutant team in ’90s nostalgia-inspired fashion once again. However, after the initial hype faded, not everyone was pleased with the animation or voice acting (wokeness aside).
While “X-Men ’97” tries to emulate its predecessor’s retro-animation style, the reboot looks slightly different. Unlike the classic 2D-drawn “X-Men” series, its successor was rendered in 3D. Several people noticed this subtle difference and found it odd.
The animation style in X-Men ‘97 is that annoying 3D-animation-but-rendered-to-look-kind-of-like-2D style…
AKA the same “fake 2D” nonsense that “What If” and “The Dragon Prince” has, and I’ve just gotta say: it looks BAD.
Just do real 2D animation, cowards. This ain’t it.
— Aaron Hinton (@aaronhinton92) February 15, 2024
how do you remake a 90s animation without using 90s animation? all time fumble. https://t.co/eH9dfoumPS
— Marquedon Watkins (@FutureWatkins9) February 15, 2024
Would you watch this series?
Others found the voice acting subpar, which is a shame considering some of the voice actors from the original series reprised their roles.
The original cast members who returned include Cal Dodd as Wolverine, Lenore Zann as Rogue, George Buza as Beast, Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm, Adrian Hough as Nightcrawler, and Christopher Britton as Mister Sinister.
Why does the voice acting sound AI generated? https://t.co/FoPt1LCESE
— SierraWhiskey (@SierraWhiskey9) February 15, 2024
That wolverine voice is gross 😭😭😭😭
— Que22 (Bruce Wayne ) (@JusAGuyinToms22) February 15, 2024
Despite these shortcomings, there remains some excitement for how the series turns out.
Something about the animation is lacking, but aside from that LET’s GO still THE best heroes score across the whole board. Xmen better than the avengers hands down
— Broken Deity (@BroknDeity) February 15, 2024
Still, viewers may not be able to get past the inherent progressive messaging that the show will likely push with one character. The shape-shifting Morph, previously depicted as a male in the original series and comic book source material, will now be “nonbinary” thanks to Disney.
“This is a lighter take on the character, who is nonbinary and has an interesting buddy relationship with Wolverine,” the April issue of Empire Magazine reads. “The character’s past with Mister Sinister, the show’s villain, could also come into play.”
Per Empire Magazine, “X-Men ’97” will be turning Morph, previously depicted as male, into a “non-binary” character.
This is not new information. Showrunner Beau DeMayo previously referred to the character using “they/them” pronouns. pic.twitter.com/s6wHe40uDF
— Michael Austin (@mikeswriting) February 15, 2024
Given this character change and quality control problems with the animation and voice acting, the reboot doesn’t look too promising. Come next month, it remains to be seen whether it can become a success for an entire generation as the original series was.
“X-Men ’97,” which features ten episodes in its first season, will premiere on Disney+ on March 20.
