When the first season of X-Men ‘97 began streaming on television screens back in 2024 it was an instant hit with viewers. The Disney+ show featured a strong mix of action and adventure, as well as a marvellous cast of mutants (Storm, Rogue, Beast, Morph!!!, etc) and for many the series served up the best version of the X-Men outside of the comics.
Conceived as a continuation of popular ‘90s cartoon show, X-Men: The Animated Series, X-Men ‘97 was fairly nostalgic too. It took various characters, plot points, and story beats from the original series, as well as the iconic theme tune, weaved them into the new storylines in an effective way, and kept fans old and new hooked across ten well-crafted episodes.
And due to the popularity of X-Men ‘97, Disney and Marvel spent no time in announcing to the world a second season was already in production (as well as a third). Both Disney and Marvel knew they were onto a winner with Season One, so pressed ahead with more animated adventures.
Those adventures have been a long time coming (everything takes ages these days), but they are on the horizon. And when they arrive this year, expect a continuation of the Season One cliffhanger, the return of the villainous Apocalypse, and of course, more mutant mayhem.
But if you’re patiently waiting for more episodes of X-Men ‘97 to drop, there are ways to make the best use of your time while you wait. You can prepare for the new season’s arrival, while maximising all things X, and here’s how…
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X-Men ‘97: Season Two Prelude Comic
Released to coincide with the new season, the X-Men ‘97: Season Two Prelude Comic is a five-issue comic which aims to bridge the gap between Season One and Season Two and will be hitting comic book stores this summer. According to Marvel, “X-MEN ‘97: SEASON TWO will lead directly from the end of the acclaimed first season to the start of the upcoming season two, setting the stage for the time-sprawling saga that awaits viewers, exploring the season’s biggest plot threads, and spotlighting the major new characters—and teams—joining the cast.”
The comic is written by Steve Foxe and illustrated by Salva Espin, while cover art is provided by Todd Nauck along with a variant cover by Jhony Caballero. The comic will be published monthly and should be a nice companion piece to the TV series.
Release: June 3rd
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X-Men ‘97: Season One Prelude Comic – Need more comics? Well, back in 2024, Steve Foxe and Salva Espin collaborated on the X-Men ‘97: Season One Prelude Comic. The four-issue comic added a little more detail to Season One, included characters such as Mr. Sinister, Sabretooth, Hazard, and Siena Blaze, and is currently available as a collected edition trade paperback should you wish to indulge.
X-Men: The Manga: Remastered – Published by Viz Media in conjunction with Marvel Comics, X-Men: The Manga: Remastered is a two-volume retelling of the X-Men: The Animated Series in Manga form. Printed in traditional black and white, the books focus on the first season of the show, covering everything from Night of the Sentinels to Days of Future Past, with effortlessly cool Japanese illustrations to tantalise the eyeballs!
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X-Men ‘97: The Art and Making of the Animated Series
Released shortly after the conclusion of X-Men ‘97 Season One, X-Men ‘97: The Art and Making of the Animated Series is coffee table book which takes fans behind the scenes of the show with a detailed look at the artwork, the animation, and the story development. The book includes storyboards, character sketches, animatic frames, costume designs, and so much more.
Each episode from the first season is given its own chapter, so readers can either read along and see the evolution of the series, or dip in and out to see what was required to bring their favourite instalment to the screen. X-Men ‘97: The Art and Making of the Animated Series also includes a foreword by executive producer Brad Winderbaum, as well as a foreword from X-Men: The Animated Series producers Eric and Julia Lewald, who were brought on as consultants of X-Men ‘97.
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X-Men: The Art and Making of the Animated Series – Written by Eric and Julia Lewald (them again), X-Men: The Art and Making of the Animated Series is a coffee table book which takes a look back at the production of the original X-Men animated show. The informative tome includes a vast collection of artwork from the ‘90s series, and also highlights the inspiration for the episodes and storylines.
Previously on X-Men: The Making of an Animated Series – Written by Eric Lewald, X-Men: The Making of an Animated Series is a text book offering up a detailed account of how X-Men: The Animated Series made it onto air in the ‘90s. The book includes over 30 interviews with key creatives involved in the series (artists, writers, voice cast etc), and discusses many of the obstacles and challenges which had to be overcome to make the landmark series a reality.
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X-Men Epic Collection
One of the biggest sources of inspiration for X-Men ‘97, as well as parent show X-Men: The Animated Series, are the original comics. From the Phoenix Saga through to Lifedeath, the comics have provided the animated shows with a wealth of information and inspiration, and continue to be a thoroughly great read too!
And should you wish to delve into X-Men tales of yesteryear, Marvel have published a whole stack of stories in the X-Men Epic Collection. This multi-volume series groups together comics from past decades, making it easy to follow along with the biggest and best yarns from the early days and beyond.
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X-Factor: The Epic Collection – Marvel’s Epic Collection doesn’t just stop with the X-Men – most of the major Marvel superheroes and super teams are available in trade paperback form too! And one of them is X-Factor, an X-Men spin-off comic which dates all the way back to 1985.
X-Force: The Epic Collection – Want more Epic X-Men? Then take a look at the X-Force Epic Collection which features the likes of Cable, Cannonball, and Wolverine amongst its pages.
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Marvel MaXimum Collection
Long-term gamers will know that over the years Marvel has worked with a number of publishers to put out some top titles – from arcade adventures to console classics. In 2026, a whole set of these games are being gathered together by Limited Run Games for a compilation release titled Marvel MaXimum Collection.
The Marvel MaXimum Collection is available on PlayStation 5, Switch, X Box X and S, and Steam, and includes games such as Maximum Carnage, Captain America and the Avengers, and Silver Surfer. However, you’ll also find some X-related titles, including Spider-Man and the X-Men: Arcade’s Revenge, as well as the brilliant X-Men arcade game.
The arcade game is a particular nostalgic blast from the past and gives players the opportunity to control six different X-Men: Cyclops, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Dazzler, and Wolverine. The aim of the game is to defeat Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
Digital release: March 27th
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X-Men ‘97 Marvel Legends Action Figures – In 2024, when Season One of X-Men ‘97 launched, Hasbro released two waves of Marvel Legends action figures to tie-in with the new series. The collection included characters such as Logan, Magneto, Gambit, and Bishop amongst others and proved to be a huge success. In fact, Hasbro underestimated the popularity of the figures and they sold out – everywhere! The figures eventually went back into production, and Hasbro re-released the initial waves of the X-Men ‘97 Marvel Legends, and then added a new wave that included characters such as Morph and Jubilee. These figures are marvellous plastic representations of their animated counterparts and look great on the shelf or sprawled out on the kitchen table mid-battle!
X-Men Marvel Legends Action Figures – And if you want to expand the X-Men figure range beyond what is available in the animated tie-in collection, Hasbro also produces various Marvel Legends sets which include classic X-Men characters. From Iceman and Strong Guy, to Forge and Apocalypse, there are a wealth of top toys to dive into, you just need to find a toy shop or comic book store to pick them up.
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X-Men ‘97: Season One
Do you need more animated action in your life? Then why not hit up Disney+ and re-watch the entire first season of X-Men ‘97, while you wait for Season Two.
Sure, ten episodes won’t last you forever, but that first season was made to be watched and re-watched, and then re-watched some more! Not only because the writing stands up to repeat viewing, but also because the season includes so many hidden references and Easter eggs to the greater X-Men lore.
The more you delve into the comics, the games, and various other areas of the X-Men mythology, the more you will catch the references in the show which may have previously flown over your head. So, learn a bit more about X-Men lore, then throw yourself back in to the show.
Streaming: Disney+
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X-Men: The Animated Series – The OG X-Men Animated Series from 1992 is also prime for a revisit. The storylines in the first four seasons were killer (it’s best we overlook season five) and provide the foundations for X-Men ‘97 and beyond.
Marvel Anime: X-Men – If you still want more X-Men animation then maybe seek out the X-Men anime series from 2011. The core cast of this anime includes Cyclops, Beast, Storm, Armor, Wolverine, Emma Frost, and Professor X, and there are twelve episodes to consume.
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The best of the rest…
And if the above doesn’t provide enough entertainment or distraction while you wait for the next batch of X-Men ’97 episodes to arrive, then you could check out episodes of the short-lived but rather great Wolverine and the X-Men animated series from 2009; you could seek out the Pryde of the X-Men cartoon pilot from 1989 (it usually does the rounds on YouTube); or you could hunt down the Disney+ documentary, Assembled: The Making of X-Men ’97. And of course, there are plenty of new X-Men comics published by Marvel every month, which are available from all good comic book stores (and some bad comic books stores too).
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Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this newsletter post about X-Men ’97. For more posts be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
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