Remember when Wednesdays used to be fun? You know what I’m talking about: You’d get up in the morning, flick on the TV, open up the Disney+ App, and there would be an episode of X-Men ‘97 ready for you to enjoy.
Not an old episode, but a brand spanking new one, all lined up and waiting to be watched. All you needed to do was press play and you’d suddenly be transported to the Marvel Universe and into the lives of your favourite mutants.
And then for the next 30 minutes or so, it would be instant pleasure. A rush of endorphins all hitting you in quick succession as the adventures of Cyclops, Storm, Rogue, and Wolverine all played out before your eyeballs.
Wasn’t it a glorious time to be alive? A time when life slowed down to a crawl, where children laughed, birds sang, and the world was a much, much kinder place.
Ah, sheer and utter bliss. I wouldn’t have changed it for anything.
*Looks off wistfully*
OK, so X-Men ‘97 only ran for ten episodes, spread out over nine weeks, but wasn’t life so much better back then? Wasn’t it so much better than it is now?!
These days Wednesdays are just rubbish. We get up, we go to work, and that’s it!
Because Disney only served us devoted fans (and paying subscribers) ten episodes of X-Men ‘97, we’ve now got nothing left in our lives. Sure, we have family, friends, pets, hobbies, and the aforementioned work, but beyond all this, what else do we have?
Nothing! We have nothing.
We don’t have new episodes of X-Men ‘97, that’s for sure! We don’t have the promise of another new adventure next week.
Disney got us hooked on one of the best Marvel shows of all-time, got us invested in the lives of Jean, Morph, and Cable, and now we’ve been tossed aside and left to fend for ourselves.
What the heck are we supposed to do with ourselves? Go outside and enjoy the summer? No thank you!
*Sigh*
OK, so I may be exaggerating things just a touch here, but there is some truth in what I’m saying. For the past few weeks X-Men ‘97 has been a huge breath of fresh air, millions of people have filled their lungs with it, and now it’s over we’re all left shrugging our shoulders and asking the all-important question: What now?
The obvious answer is we wait. All being well, season two will be out sometime in 2025, so it’s not all doom and gloom.
But doesn’t it all feel a bit frustrating? Disney got us on board, got us happy to be forking over our subscription fee on something we adore, and now it’s all ended and there’s nothing to keep us going?
Could it be X-Men ‘97 was so too successful? Could it be we were spoiled?
Nah!
But maybe the success of the show was something Disney should have anticipated and made better provisions for. In short: Maybe Disney should have made a back-up plan, to keep us (loyal Disney+ subscribers) entertained while waiting for more.
Let me explain.
When I say X-Men ‘97 was successful I’m not kidding around. The show has been a big, big hit for Disney.
X-Men ‘97 is Disney+‘s most watched animated series this year. It is also the streaming service’s third most watched original series of 2024 after Marvel’s Echo and Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Each week X-Men ‘97 has pulled in huge audiences for the Mouse House, ensuring millions of eyes are firmly on Disney+ and not switching over to Netflix. And not only this, but many of these same eyes have also gone back through Disney’s back catalogue of X-Men: The Animated Series episodes, creating a surge in views for that show too.
In addition to all this, X-Men ‘97 has trended on social media every week since its launch, and it has been a huge critical hit. The series currently has a score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, as well as a rating of 9.0 on IMDb, and this very blog awarded it a top score of 5 out of 5!
Whichever way you cut it, the show has been huge and this is of course great news for Disney. But with no new episodes to sustain audiences for the foreseeable future, what happens now?
Sure, we wait patiently, but doesn’t it feel like Disney is failing to capitalise on this popularity? Surely from a business point of view the studio should be pointing us toward some more X-Men content to keep us interested, right?
And herein lies the rub: After ten episodes, Disney doesn’t appear to have much of a plan in place for the months ahead. The studio has essentially invited us to an amazing party, has shown us a great time, but then hasn’t planned another shindig to get us coming back next week or the week after.
OK, so maybe that’s not completely true, as Disney has released a ‘making of’ documentary about the show as a bit of additional bonus content, but this hasn’t been well advertised. It’s one of those things you either stumble upon by accident or you learn about through fan groups – Disney has hardly fallen over itself to promote it.
But hey, a documentary is still welcome, right? Sure, but erm… could we maybe have more?
Just throwing this out here, but could we not have some extra X-Men content built around X-Men ‘97and X-Men: The Animated Series? Something to keep the hype up and the interest levels high?
Having watched the documentary it sure feels like Disney only scratched the surface. There is so much more that could be produced to accompany the show.
I’m spitballing ideas but what about a 30-minute feature on the writing process of X-Men ‘97, covering the story arc and the inspiration behind it? Why was the Bastion/Sentinels story arc chosen for season one, and why did the writers take the characters in this particular direction?
Season one also takes inspiration from various storylines in the X-Men comics (E is for Extinction, Operation: Zero Tolerance, etc), so why not talk about all of this? Not every viewer has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the source material, so surely a discussion around the comics wouldn’t be a bad thing?
Heck, a similar feature could be produced around X-Men: The Animated Series. Going season by season, talk about the story arcs, and highlight the comics, writers, and artists who helped shape the tales that were told in the ‘90s.
Moving beyond this, how about a feature on the best episodes of X-Men: The Animated Series? Maybe Disney could conduct an online fan-poll, getting viewers to pick out the top 25 episodes with a few examples promoted through the socials.
Alternatively, maybe a feature on essential episodes for newcomers. Not everyone will sit through all 76 episodes of X-Men: The Animated Series before watching X-Men ‘97, but a viewing guide covering four or five key episodes from each season might convince a few subscribers to dip in and out.
And sticking with the ‘90s show, how about a documentary covering the incredible popularity of the X-Men in the 1990s? Maybe a feature on the hugely successful action figures from ToyBiz, which hit shelves before the show started and were still popping up in toy stores long after the series ended?
I’m sure someone could wax lyrical about the endless Wolverine figures that propped up the line. Jeez, even an episode devoted entirely to Wolverine figures would give Disney hours of material to work from.
Yes? No? Hmm… can I get a show of hands?
Alright, so I appreciate a lot of these ideas need some work, as well as producers, directors, writers, and a dedicated budget, but isn’t there something here? Couldn’t Disney do a little more?
OK, so no one knows how successful a show will be until it airs, but I can’t help but feel Disney have missed a trick with X-Men ‘97, especially when it comes to some of the most obvious bonus content. For example, wouldn’t it have been great if X-Men ‘97 had been accompanied by an after show?
Think about it: A dedicated series where fans could debrief and discuss plot lines. Maybe even a place to highlight all the little Easter eggs which are hidden in each episode.
I know there are plenty of videos like this all over YouTube, from some very passionate and knowledgeable fans, but an official version of this from Disney/Marvel seems like a no-brainer. Just think about all the guests they could have invited from the show.
*Heavy sigh*
I guess my big problem with X-Men ‘97 is I’m having significant withdrawals. I’ve still got the tie-in comic (for now), but the comedown is real, and I don’t know what to do with myself!
If I could get another X-Men fix I’d be really grateful. Come on Disney, hit me up!
I can’t even rush out and buy the toys to satiate me because the tie-in action figures have pretty much sold out. Hasbro underestimated the popularity of X-Men ‘97, under produced the figures, and now they are harder to come by than hens teeth!
Good luck if you or your kid want a Rogue or Gambit figure – you’ll struggle to find them. Unless you’re willing to pay a high price on the secondary market, or meet a strange man down a dark alley, you’ve got next to no chance.
You can have all the MCU peg warmers you could ever want, but sorry, no X-Men ‘97. You’ll simply have to purchase a Jimmy Woo or an Agatha Harkness instead, because that’s what’s available.
And hey, while I’m on the subject of X-Men figures, Hasbro if you’re listening, now would be a really good time to send any old X-Men inventory you might have in storage to retail stores. Might even be a good time to reproduce or repackage some old Marvel Legends figures too, to take advantage of the interest in X-Men ‘97.
So many X-Men characters weren’t even featured in the X-Men ‘97 line, but they have previously appeared in other Marvel Legends lines (Morph, Beast, Jubilee, etc). Is there no chance of a re-release of any of these figures?
I’m sure there are logistical hurdles to overcome, but I need solutions here people! I don’t want to know why you can’t do it, I want to know when you will do it!
Please.
Don’t make me beg.
This entire post may seem like a huge rant at Disney (and then Hasbro), but the point I’m trying to get across is X-Men ‘97 is big and not enough thought seems to have been put into the show beyond airing the episodes. The producers, writers, cast of X-Men ‘97 did their job, they delivered the goods, but why has the show not been given the support it needs?
You’ve got all the recent episodes over here, and all the future episodes over there, but what’s going on in the middle? There seems to be a big empty space here with not much going on.
My only hope is that Disney uses this time to plan ahead for season two. Do some brainstorming, come up with some accompanying content, and be better prepared next time around.
Don’t just keep us invested for 9-10 weeks and then set us free to wander in the X-Men wilderness, keep us on board for months and months at a time. Feed us, for we are hungry.
Oh, and maybe ask (and then pay) the cast to do some conventions. Make a big thing of it, bring the X-Men to the fans, and continue to promote the show.
I’m not just talking about sending the cast to San Diego Comic-Con for a quick bit of PR, I’m talking about other shows or opportunities to keep the X-Men riding high. Talks, Q&As, fan events etc – the cast are loved by the fans, so hook us all up!
Heck, record what you can. Then for the love of all that is holy, please plug the content directly into my eyeballs.
Thank you!
If even a small fraction of what I’ve suggested above was available right now, then I wouldn’t need to write this post. Jeez, I’d be so high on X-Men-related shows I wouldn’t even have time for this!
And isn’t this the goal of streaming services? To give us so much content we no longer have time in our busy schedules to complain about anything? Isn’t this the dream?
Yes, I think that’s exactly the goal of a streaming service. So, Disney, if you want to achieve such lofty pursuits, please, please, please give us more X-Men ASAP.
I don’t ever want to experience X-Men ‘97 withdrawals again. It’s not pleasant and I don’t like it.
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