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The X-Men are returning to the big screen on Dec. 18 as part of Avengers: Doomsday, with Cyclops (James Marsden), Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), and Magneto (Ian McKellen) joining all the biggest stars of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the fight against Doctor Doom. But you don’t need to wait six more months to see those characters using their mutant powers to fight an apocalyptic threat, because a new X-Men adventure is kicking off in just three weeks.
X-Men ‘97 launched on Disney Plus in 2024 as a continuation of X-Men: The Animated Series, complete with the same obscenely catchy theme song. The first season ended with a wild cliffhanger, and the first trailer for season 2 promises plenty of drama and action when the series returns on July 1.
Like its ‘90s predecessor, X-Men ‘97 embraces the weirdest aspects of Marvel comics with storylines that span space and time and include a huge cast of characters. If you’ve forgotten where (and when) everyone wound up, here’s a refresher.
What happened in X-Men ‘97 season 1?
X-Men ‘97 picked up where X-Men: The Animated Series ended in 1997, with a mortally injured Professor X taken to space by the Shi’ar leader Liandra. Much to the surprise of the surviving X-Men, Magneto (Matthew Waterson) revealed that Charles’ will left him in control of Xavier’s school for mutants. While the X-Men were reluctant to accept Magneto’s leadership, he proved himself by helping them protect mutants and humans alike. Magneto was also pardoned for previous crimes and advocated for the United Nations to recognize the mutant nation of Genosha.
Cyclops (Ray Chase) and Jean Grey (Jennifer Hale) had a baby they named Nathan, but the version of Jean who was pregnant was actually a clone created by Mister Sinister (Christopher Britton). The clone brought Nathan to Sinister, who infected the baby with a techno-organic virus. The time traveler Bishop (Isaac Robinson-Smith) took Nathan to the future in hopes of finding a cure.
Magneto was chosen to lead Genosha, and the X-Men attended a party celebrating the nation joining the UN. However, the festivities were interrupted by a Sentinel attack that killed thousands of mutants even though an adult Nathan, now going by Cable (Chris Potter), traveled back in time to try to warn everyone. Gambit (A. J. LoCascio) sacrificed himself to destroy the Master Mold leading the attack. Magneto was presumed dead, but was actually captured by the human-machine hybrid Bastion (Theo James). Bastion used Sinister’s techno-organic virus to turn people around the world into Prime Sentinels. A group of the new Sentinels burned down Xavier’s school.
Magneto escaped and released an EMP blast at the North Pole that created a worldwide blackout. Xavier (Ross Marquand) returned from space and tried to persuade Magneto to restore power to Earth. Magneto refused, so some of the X-Men confronted him on Asteroid M while the others battled Bastion’s forces on Earth. During the fighting, Wolverine (Cal Dodd) stabbed Magneto, who responded by ripping out Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton.
Xavier was able to control Magneto’s mind and make him restore power, but Bastion tried to bring the asteroid crashing to Earth. Xavier and Magneto instead sent it hurtling into space, where it exploded. While most of the X-Men were presumed dead, Bishop revealed that they had actually been scattered through time. In the far future, Cyclops and Jean encountered a teenage Nathan as part of a rebel group trying to stop Apocalypse. Rogue, Nightcrawler (Adrian Hough), Beast (George Buza), Xavier, and Magneto met a young Apocalypse in ancient Egypt. The present day Apocalypse was seen in the ruins of Genosha, where he found one of Gambit’s playing cards.
Will there be more X-Men ‘97?
Season 3 of X-Men ‘97 is already in production, with Marvel’s What If…? writer Matthew Chauncey replacing showrunner Beau DeMayo. Marvel is also expected to reboot the X-Men films following Avengers: Secret Wars, which is scheduled to hit theaters on Dec. 17, 2027.
