For fans of X-Men ’97, the wait for season 2 — and a resolution to that cliffhanger — has been a long one. A newly revealed comic may make that wait just a little more bearable. On Friday, Marvel Comics announced a prelude series for the second season of X-Men ’97, and the comic’s release date is our best hint yet as to when the next season of the animated show might drop.

X-Men ’97: Season Two comes from writer Steve Foxe and artist Salva Espin. It’ll pick up right where the first season left off and lead into the show’s second season. “Follow the X-Men left behind in a world that hunts and hates mutantkind! Can they survive? And just where — or when — are the X-Men now?!” Marvel teased in a news release. It also hints that the prequel comic will feature “major new characters — and teams — joining the cast,” meaning it might give us a preview of what new mutants (and maybe even more New Mutants, who knows?) the second season has in store.

Foxe noted how season 1 ended with a wild cliffhanger, and “our prequel for Season Two doesn’t take any cheats or shortcuts around that wild status quo.”

The prequel will be a five-issue series, with the first book arriving on June 3. That release date seems to hint season 2 of X-Men ’97 is still on track for a summer 2026 premiere, and it might be premiering sooner than you think.

While you might expect a prequel comic to wrap up before the start of a season, that wasn’t the case with the first season of the show. X-Men ’97 also had a tie-in prequel comic announced before the show had an exact premiere date. Ultimately, issue #1 landed in comics shops a week after the first episode of the show dropped on Disney Plus. Will the same thing happen for season 2 and its tie-in comic? We’ll have to stay tuned for more information.

Check out the two covers of X-Men ’97: Season Two #1 revealed so far. The main cover is by Todd Nauck, while the season 1- and Marvel vs. Capcom – Clash of Super Heroes-inspired variant is by Jhony Caballero.