When new animated show X-Men ‘97 made its debut on Disney+ a couple of weeks ago, it was a big smash hit for Disney+, drawing in millions of streamers. X-Men ‘97’s mix of great writing and good animation proved to be a winner, and the show quickly became the talk of social media.
Shortly after the show debuted, I took a look at Episodes One, Two, and Three of X-Men ‘97, to highlight the many references and in-jokes in the series which casual viewers may have missed. Today, I’m extending this discussion to include the new X-Men ‘97 spin-off comic, which recently landed on shelves and is connected to the series.
Published by Marvel Comics, X-Men ‘97 is a short-run prelude comic which is set before the events of the cartoon series. Issue #1 (which is discussed below) is available now, with three subsequent issues to follow.
Should you wish to know more about Issue #1 of X-Men ‘97 keep on reading. Below I’m highlighting 12 references and in-jokes which appear in the comic and are linked to the X-Men ‘97 cartoon, as well as X-Men: The Animated Series, and the wider X-Men Universe.
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Xavier, alive?
First up, the opening page of X-Men ‘97: Issue #1 contains a very interesting detail about Professor Charles Xavier, which suggests he is very much still alive. According to the first episode of the X-Men ‘97 animated series Xavier is dead, but the comic suggests this isn’t the case.
The first page of Issue #1, which is essentially the credits page, includes an opening blurb to set the scene. It is in this blurb that a couple of important details about Xavier are revealed.
The blurb reads as follows:
“Mutant hater Henry Peter Gyrich publicly attacked the team’s founder, Charles Xavier, outing him as a mutant and dealing him a fatal injury. While the world believes Xavier dead, the truth is far stranger. The X-Men still find themselves without his guidance for the first time in a world shaken by his supposed death.”
The key parts to note here are the line “While the world believes Xavier dead, the truth is far stranger”, and the phrase “his supposed death”. This wording suggests Xavier isn’t dead at all, the X-Men merely want everyone to think he is when the X-Men ‘97 cartoon gets underway.
And of course, fans of X-Men: The Animated Series already know that Xavier should still be alive, as he wasn’t actually killed off during the series finale, ‘Graduation’. Instead, he was gravely injured, and taken into space by Lilandra of the Shi’ar, where he would receive medical treatment beyond anything on Earth.
So, is he really dead in X-Men ‘97? Don’t count on it!
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Hair today, gone tomorrow
Next up, as the comic begins, the story opens up with a sequence in the Danger Room. In this opening scene, the X-Men are battling a simulation of Magneto.
What is most notable about this scene is Storm’s hair style, which matches her cut from X-Men: The Animated Series. As this first issue of the comic takes place between the events of X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men ‘97, Storm is still (temporarily) sporting her old hair cut.
However, this old hair style doesn’t last long, and just a few panels later Storm has a trim and adopts the Mohawk style seen in the X-Men ‘97 show. She claims she altered her look because the new millennium is approaching so she fancied a change.
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Names and faces
As the Danger Room simulation comes to an end, the story cuts to a scene with Beast watching a news report. The report details an incident involving the Friends of Humanity, who have abducted a mutant in the hopes of disrupting a memorial concert for Charles Xavier.
During this sequence, three X-Men-related characters are either referenced or appear in a panel, beginning with the kidnapped mutant, Dazzler. Dazzler previously appeared in X-Men: The Animated Series (albeit fairly briefly) and should be headlining the concert.
The second character to appear is news reporter Trish Tilby, who is the lead anchor on the report about Dazzler’s kidnapping. Tilby didn’t previously appear in X-Men: The Animated Series, but she is a character from the X-Men comics who first appeared in the pages of X-Factor back in 1986.
The third character to get a mention in this sequence is Warren Worthington III, who is described as “the event’s benefactor”. Worthington is better known as Angel/Archangel and appeared sporadically on X-Men: The Animated Series.
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Ice little mention
Another little nod to the wider world of the X-Men now, as the story moves away from the news report, and onto the rescue of Dazzler. The X-Men track the kidnapped mutant down and engage in combat with her kidnappers, the Friends of Humanity.
During this sequence, the X-Men confront the Friends of Humanity, leading one gun-wielding member of the ‘Friends’ to tell Jubilee to “Freeze, brat!”, as he threatens to shoot his weapon. Jubilee’s response is to ignore him and attack, while responding with the line: “Sorry, ice stuff’s a different mutant..”
The mutant Jubilee is referring to in this sequence is Iceman, aka Robert ‘Bobby’ Drake. Iceman appeared in the X-Men: The Animated Series episode, ‘Cold Comfort’, where it was established that he was an original member of the team.
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Enter: Val
As Dazzler’s rescue comes to a close, the authorities arrive on the scene, led by Dr. Valerie Cooper. Val gets her introduction here, before becoming a government liaison with the X-Men, as seen in the first episode of X-Men ‘97.
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The X-Cutioner arrives
As well as the arrival of Val, this same sequence in the comic also introduces A character named Agent Denti. This is Carl Denti, who will later become the mutant-hating X-Cutioner, as seen in the second episode of X-Men ‘97.
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An uneXpected arrival
As well as introducing Val and the X-Cutioner, issue #1 of X-Men ‘97 also introduces ‘Jean Grey’s’ pregnancy. This pregnancy storyline, which has connections to Mr. Sinister, becomes a key plot point in the X-Men ‘97 series.
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They call him Mr. Bishop
All throughout X-Men: The Animated Series, the time-travelling mutant known as Bishop was simply known by one name. However, in this issue, Beast calls Bishop by his first name, Lucas.
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Doom’s day
Another quick name check. In this issue, Jubilee mentions classic Fantastic Four villain, Doctor Doom!
Although Doom did not appear in X-Men: The Animated Series, he did feature briefly in the ‘90s cartoon, Spider-Man: The Animated Series. He appeared via the Secret Wars storyline, which featured multiple marvel characters including the Fantastic Four, Captain America, and Storm from X-Men: The Animated Series.
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A familiar face
X-Men ‘97 issue #1 continues the references to the past with a quick cameo for Dr. Moira MacTaggert. Moira appeared on a recurring basis in X-Men: The Animated Series, as a friend of Charles Xavier’s.
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Something Nasty this way comes
Back to the story now, and as the memorial concert for Charles Xavier gets underway, Dazzler takes to the stage to begin her set. However, before she has the opportunity to entertain the crowd she is interrupted by Mr. Sinister’s henchmen, the Nasty Boys.
Fans of X-Men: The Animated Series will recall the Nasty Boys appeared multiple times in the original show. The rag-tag gang of (evil) mutants popped up at various points from Season Two onwards, always to do Sinister’s bidding.
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A new direction
And finally, as Issue #1 concludes, it is revealed that (for once) Mr. Sinister did not instruct the Nasty Boys to attack the memorial concert. In fact, he has grown tired of the Nasty Boys altogether and believes a new team of allies/underlings is the way forward.
These new allies consist of Sabretooth and the Marauders, as well as Siena Blaze, and Hazard.
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