‘X-Men ’97': 1990s Marvel Animated Series Gets 2023 Revival on Disney+

[xXx: State of the Union]

Social media has decided to promote a bunch of pages covering X-Men 97 to me because I used to actually like Marvel, and it's literally nothing but people complaining about bigots and chuds and racists and homo/transphobes and blah blah blah

Like holy shit the fans of this sound annoying as fuck.

 

[The Lawgiver]

I saw another trailer for this thing today and I can't fucking believe they turned morph into the" that just happened!!" guy. The inflection in the trailer makes it feel almost like a fucking parody.

 

[Life is Hell...]

I saw another trailer for this thing today and I can't fucking believe they turned morph into the" that just happened!!" guy. The inflection in the trailer makes it feel almost like a fucking parody.

Speaking of Morph, the guy who voiced him actually did an interview recently.

Link: https://www.cbr.com/x-men-97-jp-karliak-interview (Archive)

 

[Michael Wade]

I actually want to watch it but I keep waiting for them to fuck it up at the last min and pull some shit

 

[Overly Serious]

I couldn't sleep and I figured watching the third episode of this might help. The first two episodes were merely dull and slow but the third has taken it, dare I say it, into the increasingly rare So Bad It's Good category.

When you're a kid you love So Bad It's Good. But with age eventually you can no longer laugh at it ironically and instead just find it depressing. But this? This is dreadful! It really is just a very bad soap opera but animated.



(I am, entirely pointlessly, going to put the next part in a spoiler on principle. But really, no amount of advance knowledge could spoil this show).

Spoiler

I'm not entirely sure where to begin there's so much wrong with it but I think it really has to be the cliff-hangar of another Jean Grey appearing, in a storm of course, at the end of last episode and then fainting like a Wilkie Collins heroine. Cue confusion and excitement and bizarrely the putting of newborns in cauldrons. At least it looked like a cauldron in the shot as Mr. Sinister puts an lid on the baby.

Hardly any of it makes sense. There's a clone of Jean Grey - but *gasps* the Jean Grey Scott has just had a kid with is the one that is a clone. And then the baby is stolen by what looks like a cross between a vampire and an Eighties movie starring Tim Curry. The clone was created in order to conceive the child to be stolen. But as the child just gets stolen with the X-Men's full awareness anyway, why not just steal a baby from the natural mother? Or was the clone programmed to be broody and want a kid. Which if so is hilarious in its implications for the real Jean now she's back. Is she going to say 'that's okay, I didn't really want a kid' ? Or is it because the clone Jean Grey gets activated into evil mode by her baby monitor and in some He-Man style "I have the Evil" transforms into Dominatrix Jean. Like, for real, she rises up into the air and her clothing turns into thigh high boots and a black leather one-piece. Does Clone Jean have the power to materialise objects now? Or did she have that lying around and just telekinetically pulled it out of the wardrobe and dressed herself in it? In which case I imagine Scott's first reaction when she comes down stairs in it to be "Um, Jean. Why are you wearing our private clothes?"

Oh, and she declares herself to be "The Goblin Queen". Why? What? Are there goblins now? Is she a goblin? Why is she a queen (I thought Magneto was the only queen in the mansion based on his outfit)? And then everybody starts hallucinating their deepest fears. Which for Gambit is Rogue making out with Magneto in some weird body-horror Cronenburg hook-up scene.

Jean and Clone Jean (Queen Jean?) have a mental duel and make-up session where they conclude neither one of them can work out at which point the switch happened and they're both equally good and valid Jean Greys). Goblin Queen Jean splits the scene, and before she goes tells OC Jean to call her "Madeline Pryor". Why? Does that mean anything? It's delivered in such a portentous way but it sounds like just a random name she picked. Actually, no - it sounds like a folk singer. Isn't there a folk singer named Madeline Pryor? I don't know! It's bizarre it's hammy and weird. And what's also weird is that OC Jean ends up with the baby and is the one to send the baby to the future to be cured of its "techno virus" that Mr. Sinister infected it with. You would think it's actual mother would be the one to want to keep it or at least see it off. But no - baby hand over time from actual mother to cloned but not actual mother. Meanwhile Scott runs out of the room dramatically crying about how he can't abandon his son because his father abandoned him so he can't be a part of this and must... abandon his son?

That's what I mean about this being a bad soap opera. There's so little rhyme or reason to most of the actions, they're there just to make a dramatic scene and everything else is there to enable it. Nothing is organic about the plot. They're all just mouthing lines. It's like this was written by an AI or worse, a committee.

Truly, this is some of the worst writing I have seen in years. From Rogue's "why ah surely do think yall crazier than a parcel o' kittens in a barn full of mices" yokel dialogue to the long pauses to signify emotion. And oh, I've found out why Rogue sounds like a pensioner, btw. I looked up the VA and she's older than Yoda. Seriously - Rogue sounds like she's about to check into a nursing home. And the animation whilst it looks okay-ish in stills is so clunky in movement you really have to see it.

This show just cracks me up!

 

[UnsufficentBoobage]

It really is just a very bad soap opera but animated.

Both the Goblin Queen and her being called the weird name are from comics, but fuck me if I remember contexts.

 

[glass_houses]

Both the Goblin Queen and her being called the weird name are from comics, but fuck me if I remember contexts.

The story arc was called "Inferno" and was published in 1989. I read it many years ago, but can't recall a huge amount of it. But yes, there was some weird shit with Jean being a clone and Sinister stealing Cyclop's and clone Jean's baby and then sending it into the future to become Cable.

 

[Sinner's Sandwich]

Kinda sad how the US animation industry is taking L after L. Sure japanese cartoons can have absoluty abysmal writing but at least the animation is mostly top notch.

A billion dollar company can't be arsed to hire good or at least decent animation sweatshop studios.

 

[Overly Serious]

Both the Goblin Queen and her being called the weird name are from comics, but fuck me if I remember contexts.

Right. That makes sense and I did recall the name from somewhere. But you're a random poster on the Internet, you're under no obligation to remember contexts. But the show-writers should provide something. In the context of the show it's all bizarre. "I am <dramatic reveal> THE GOBLIN QUEEN".

I'm sitting there like, is this a Labyrinth reference?


I mean they both steal babies. Or thinking about it, do they really? I mean - the wrote it as if she'd abducted Jean and Scott's child but she was the mother. Original Jean actually isn't. Which is part of what I was going on about in my post. They treat it like it's Jean's baby and not GQ Jean. Sorry - Madeline (for some reason).

 

[xXx: State of the Union]

When did "it was in the comics" become a valid defense for criticism for something being bad/shitty?

I've seen it pop up in these weird advertisement posts on social media for Magnetos goofy outfit and Rogue wanting to fuck him and other shit.
Like...lots of dumb/bad shit was in the comics. Ms. Marvel getting kidnapped and CCA approved raped by her weird future/interdimensional son was in the comics, Gwen Stacey cheating on Peter with Norman Osborn was from the comics, Peter making a deal with a demon was from the comics...

I dunno, I'm sure bad shit has it's fans, but the sheer amount of "people" I see using the "it's from the comics" as a defense on social media reeks of bot/wikipedia fans to me.

 

[Evil Peter Griffin]

I forgot Cable's mom was Madelyne Pryor and her alias was the Goblin Queen. Did the comic ever explain why Mr. Sinister was so obsessed with Scott and Jean's DNA?

 

[starborn427614]

I mean they both steal babies. Or thinking about it, do they really? I mean - the wrote it as if she'd abducted Jean and Scott's child but she was the mother. Original Jean actually isn't. Which is part of what I was going on about in my post. They treat it like it's Jean's baby and not GQ Jean. Sorry - Madeline (for some reason).

Sinister had her under his control and Nathan's baby daddy understandly didn't want his son to be experimented on or dunked into The Goo (tm). OG Jean was helping out because she loves Scott more than anything else.

 

[draggs]

I forgot Cable's mom was Madelyne Pryor and her alias was the Goblin Queen. Did the comic ever explain why Mr. Sinister was so obsessed with Scott and Jean's DNA?

Sinister thought Scott and Jean's DNA was perfect for making the perfect mutant that could kill Apocalypse for him

 

[Fatsuit Shinji]

Originally Madelyne Pryor was just a normal human with absolutely zero connection to Jean Gray or Mr. Sinister, whom Scott happened to meet iirc after Jean was already dead. Sometime pasts Scott and Madelyne are married with baby Nathan living in Alaska. Then Scott gets word Jean is alive and promptly abandons his family to go to Jean. Claremont and Marvel does a recon by making Madelyne a clone of Jean Gray which still doesn't help at all with Scott's abandoning his wife, irrelevant of being a clone or not, and his baby son.

 

[Tour of Italy]

I don’t care about anything else about this show but the writers belong in a camp for the sole reason alone of putting “97” in the title of a show released in 2024.

 

[The Connected Nose]

I don’t care about anything else about this show but the writers belong in a camp for the sole reason alone of putting “97” in the title of a show released in 2024.

What, you don't want to consoooooom more nostalgia-bait?

 

[Overly Serious]

I don’t care about anything else about this show but the writers belong in a camp for the sole reason alone of putting “97” in the title of a show released in 2024.

That's nothing. Kubrick released the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968. A full three decades early!

 

[AngryItalianAmerican]

I wanted to hate this show for what they did to Rogue's booty (although Jean and Storm are still delicious, so I don't know why (((they))) arbitrarily turned her so unsexy), but they really won me over with Cyclops' (a habitual cuck in most media depictions, now the badass from the comics he's meant to be) and Fagneto's characterization (truly cutting his usual bloodlust through a fairly justifiable reason).


I understand that it is cheaply animated goyslop, but the OG show isn't precisely deep (they had to do a straight line to Apocalypse during the early plot, to avoid asking the more uncomfortable questions about the intimate rivalry between Charles and Erik), nor it was pleasing on the eyes.

 

[A Grey Cat]

What, you don't want to consoooooom more nostalgia-bait?

It's a love/hate thing...nostalgia bait. You love it because it reminds you of life being simpler and carefree. Hate it because if done wrong it violates those cherished (and possibly rose tinted) memories to no end which brings me to my next point.

I wanted to hate this show for what they did to Rogue's booty (although Jean and Storm are still delicious, so I don't know why (((they))) arbitrarily turned her so unsexy), but they really won me over with Cyclops' (a habitual cuck in most media depictions, now the badass from the comics he's meant to be) and Fagneto's characterization (truly cutting his usual bloodlust through a fairly justifiable reason).


I understand that it is cheaply animated goyslop, but the OG show isn't precisely deep (they had to do a straight line to Apocalypse during the early plot, to avoid asking the more uncomfortable questions about the intimate rivalry between Charles and Erik), nor it was pleasing on the eyes.

So what...we all suddenly go from hating this show because it looked like nostalgia bait garbage that completely missed the point of the original and adds in current year garbage talking points one minute. Then all the sudden we say its not that bad or even love it because when we actually see it released and see what we thought would be major problems with the show are only minor annoyances at best? (Rouge and psyhloke getting the "no babes allowed stamp on them and morph being a nonbinary rainbow mafia pleaser)


I'm not falling for this trap just yet. I wanna see if it gets a season made without the insufferable dickhead who wouldn't stfu about how "progressive" his new xmen is and compared anyone who lobbed Even the tiniest bit of criticism at it to the "no muties" human Supremicists of the franchise heyday.

 

[Krokodil Overdose]

Originally Madelyne Pryor was just a normal human with absolutely zero connection to Jean Gray or Mr. Sinister, whom Scott happened to meet iirc after Jean was already dead. Sometime pasts Scott and Madelyne are married with baby Nathan living in Alaska. Then Scott gets word Jean is alive and promptly abandons his family to go to Jean. Claremont and Marvel does a recon by making Madelyne a clone of Jean Gray which still doesn't help at all with Scott's abandoning his wife, irrelevant of being a clone or not, and his baby son.

Yeah, it sounds like they're using this show to take a mulligan on the worse parts of the Jean Grey resurrection storyline (which Claremont was purportedly against, given how cleanly Jean's story had wrapped on the moon) but in so doing they're stunting stuff like Inferno, which went from being a demonic invasion of New York to a 10 minute nightmare sequence.

If they can get away from the Friends of Humanity shit and into more super battles it might improve, but right now it feels like a lot of untapped potential. Also Storm needs a voice actress that sounds less like Ugandan Knuckles.