“X-Men ’97” is a series that comes trailing plenty of criticism, some of it regarding woke content. Surprisingly, it manages to stay faithful to the original 1990s Fox animated adaptation of the comics — but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t those willing to force their own narrative upon the Netflix series.
For those who haven’t seen the series or are unfamiliar with the premise, it is what the title sounds like: The narrative takes off where the Fox series got canceled in 1997 and moves the plot forward from there. Yes, there are the nods to wokeness (there’s a “nonbinary” character named Morph — although The Western Journal’s Michael Austin, who gave the series a mostly favorable review, noted he/she/they “fades into the background and is barely heard from” in the episodes released thus far), but otherwise the series remains faithful to the show and comics.
But, no: To those in Hollywood and the comics industry, this can’t just be a throwback to a different time and a different narrative. That’s why one half of the Russo brothers enterprise wants you to believe that the second episode of the series is about Jan. 6 — even though it is literally provable that it isn’t.
Joe Russo is the elder of the Russo brothers, the team that has helmed “Captain America: Civil War,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.” They’re also responsible for such classics as “You, Me and Dupree” and nothing else you’ve ever heard of, which speaks highly of how much they lean on source material for returns.
Anyhow, if you’ve watched “X-Men ’97” — and from here on in there’s going to be plenty of spoilers, so consider yourself warned — you’ll know that the second episode, “Mutant Liberation Begins,” may seem either political or familiar, depending on your knowledge of the franchise.
In the episode, villain Magneto is put on trial before the United Nations for terrorism. A group called the Friends of Humanity storms the U.N. headquarters to save him, but Magneto stops the assault and receives a pardon.
Now, you may have an educated guess as to what the mastermind behind “You, Me and Dupree” has to say about this, and you wouldn’t be wrong:
Do you think the MAGA crowd has figured out that Episode 2 of X-MEN ‘97 is about them and the January 6th insurrectionists yet, or nah? pic.twitter.com/sP5n2u0YQI
— Joe Russo (@joerussotweets) March 21, 2024
Hoo boy. We’ve been told. Except, um, this storyline predates the Capitol incursion by … [checks watch] 35 years.
Wow. That’s prescience.
As Bounding Into Comics notes: “Written by franchise icon Chris Claremont and appearing in 1985’s ‘Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 #200,’ the original The Trial of Magneto! story saw the eponymous Master of Magnetism attempting to to convince the International Court of Justice that, after years of terrorist activities and wanton bloodshed, his then-recent turn to the side of the angels was, in fact, genuine.”
Oh.
This did not go unnoticed on social media, as you might expect:
You are quite possibly the dumbest human i have ever seen. You do realize this is a decades old story created long before Trump was president? https://t.co/Wzd0mmLEJC
— Goth_Kitty (@GothKitty11) March 22, 2024
Here’s Joe Russo, still trying to turn everything that nerds love into a partisan political fight. https://t.co/CXYPOYlssL
— Chris Braly (@chrisbraly) March 22, 2024
The Trial of Magneto was written DECADES before any of that. https://t.co/m9cBGqNrFj pic.twitter.com/NZsbg6N7R1
— Jean Gentry (@JeanGen09181213) March 22, 2024
And yes — obviously, old stories can be repurposed to tell new narratives. This is not one of those cases. “X-Men ’97,” for all its flaws — mostly PR-induced — is not an expensive agitprop set-piece for The Resistance™. The canonical history and context makes it clear what the creators are trying to do.
In other words: Stop trying to make “X-Men ’97” #resistance happen. It’s not going to happen.
