The first official trailer has just dropped for the upcoming second season of X-Men ’97. The popular animated show – a continuation of 1992’s X-Men: The Animated Series – is set to arrive on Disney+ on July 1st, and I speak for many X-fans when I say “bring it on”.
Have you checked out the trailer yet? Well, if not, take a look below and give it two minutes of your time. It sure does feature a lot of neat teases for the new season.
And then once you’ve taken a look at the trailer you will want to keep reading. Below I am breaking down the teaser to highlight some key details and what these could mean for Season Two.
Oh, and before we jump to all that, as a quick reminder, the previous season of X-Men ’97 ended with many of the X-Men divided into groups and lost through time. This new season will pick up the story and will reunite the X-Men, presumably returning them all to the 1990s in the process, while squaring off against the villainous Apocalypse.
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Generation X
At the beginning of the new trailer there is a shot of what appears to be Jubilee handing Rogue one of Gambit’s playing cards. There’s two things to note here: 1.) Jubilee and Rogue are in the same time period, suggesting this scene either takes place after Rogue returns to the ’90s or when Jubilee visits the past, and 2.) Jubilee is wearing a Generation X uniform.
In the comics, during the mid ’90s, Jubilee leaves the X-Men to become one of the founding members of Generation X – a mutant team led by Emma Frost and Banshee. It stands to reason that with the X-Men lost in time, Jubilee may have moved on from her old team to become part of Generation X in X-Men ’97.
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Team divided
Next up is a reminder the X-Men are split up from each other. Some of the team are together, with Rogue, Nightcrawler, Beast, Professor X, and Magneto in the same time period.
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Come the Apocalypse
A little shot here of En Sabah Nur, aka Apocalypse. Here is the big villain of the season in all his youthful glory.
The X-Men have fought Apocalypse many times in the past with various adventures in X-Men: The Animated Series. Most notably they fought him through time in the brilliant Season Four four-part story, Beyond Good and Evil.
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A family joined together
Scott and Jean are together in time and in this shot they are joined by their son, Nathan Summers aka Cable.
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Cold Comfort
As the trailer continues, a voice-over from Apocalypse talks of returning to the ’90s to face the X-Men and “strike them at their most vulnerable”. This sequence is then followed by scenes featuring Polaris.
As a memory jog, Polaris appeared in X-Men: The Animated Series in the episode, Cold Comfort. Here it was established that she was a member of the X-Men and a girlfriend to Iceman aka Bobby Drake. The photos in this shot are a reminder to this period in her life.
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New X-Men
More shots of Scott and Jean, and you’ll note both are wearing alternative X-Men uniforms, not previously seen in X-Men ’97 or X-Men: The Animated Series. The costumes are from the New X-Men period of the comics, during the Grant Morrison-era.
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Time warriors
A shot here of Forge and Bishop, seemingly teaming up to rescue the X-Men. Fans of X-Men: The Animated Series will recall that Forge and Bishop regularly worked together in the show, with Forge being the mutant responsible for sending Bishop back in time from a dystopian future.
However, this is a more youthful version of Forge, which suggests this is the ’90s version of Forge who appeared in Season One of X-Men ’97. It has previously been established in X-Men: The Animated Series that Forge has links to the mutant team, X-Factor, who are also set to reappear in Season Two.
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A death in the family
A sombre shot here of the mutant, Colossus, who is cradling his sister Illyana Rasputin Magik. Sentinels are lying scattered around the siblings.
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An Exodus
A quick glimpse of a new addition to the show in the shape of the mutant, Exodus. Exodus was introduced in the comics in 1993, via the pages of X-Factor. His mutant abilities include telepathy, telekinesis, teleportation, and immortality.
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Danger, Danger
Another new face for the show in the shape of Danger. This character was introduced during the 2004 run of Astonishing X-Men and is in essence the X-Men’s Danger Room come to life as an artificially intelligent being.
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The fallen
A shrine to fallen mutants, which includes Gambit and Illyana.
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Dinosaurs are closer than they appear
Onto this curious shot which shows Bishop and Polaris working together and coming face-to-face with a T-Rex. Now, this scene could revolve around the mutants travelling back to the past, or it could take place in the Savage Land – an area of Earth which is hidden and includes dinosaurs.
Fans of X-Men: The Animated Series will recall the Savage Land featured heavily in Season Two of the show. So, this could be connected.
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Brooding
Onto this next shot and many will instantly see this sequence involving Morph transforming into Deadpool and go “yay, Morph has transformed into Deadpool”. However, if you’re paying attention to Deadpool then you are missing out on the key antagonist in the foreground.
In this shot, Morph (as Deadpool) is squaring up to the Brood, an alien creature which is effectively Marvel’s answer to the Xenomorph from the Alien films.
The Brood haven’t properly appeared in X-Men ’97 or X-Men: The Animated Series, however, Alien creatures similar to the Brood appeared in Season Four of X-Men: The Animated Series, via the episode Love in Vain, effectively filling in for the Brood.
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Reunited and it feels so good
A little reunion here, as Archangel and Psylocke share some screen time. The pair previously appeared together in the X-Men: The Animated Series storyline, Beyond Good and Evil.
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X-Men United
Next up the trailer whizzes through a bunch of X-Men, including Professor X, Magneto, Polaris, Emma Frost, Cyclops etc. The trailer’s focus on all these characters suggests this season is going to be bigger than Season One and incorporate many mutants and X-teams.
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Generation X confirmed
I mentioned Jubilee’s Generation X costume earlier, and this shot here pretty much confirms that Season Two is introducing a version of that mutant team. Chamber, Synch, and Penance (all members of Generation X) can be seen here.
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The best there is…
And finally, as the trailer draws to a close, this shot of Wolverine appears. This shot is a nod to issue #1 of Wolverine from 1982 and is here as an in-joke.
You’ll also notice the green goo/blood on Wolverine’s claws. This may (or may not) have come from a tussle with the Brood – I guess we will find out.
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So, that’s your lot. What do you think of the trailer and the potential teases for Season Two of X-Men ’97? Are you excited for what’s to come and will you be following along weekly with the show?
Not long to go now. The new season begins streaming on Disney+ from Wednesday July 1st.
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