Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for X-Men ‘97.
There’s no question thatX-Men ‘97has blown fans’ minds. Reviving the belovedX-Men: The Animated Seriesthat many of us ’90s kids grew up with is no small task, yet the team atMarvel Animationput a masterwork together that honors both the series and the original Marvel Comics it derived from. As the new show continues, theX-Menuniverse only gets more interesting as the original Marvel Animated Universe grows yet again. The show’s seventh episode, in particular, gave us our best look at the potential ofX-Men ‘97and how the larger universe might play into the show’s already confirmed second and third seasons. That’s right,Captain America’s appearance is exciting itself, butwhat it might mean for the future of theX-Menanimated franchise could take this series in a direction it may never recover from.
A band of mutants use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them; they’re challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future.
‘X-Men ‘97’ Brings Captain America Back to the Marvel Animated Universe
One thing that fans ought to note about Captain America’s appearance in “Bright Eyes” (where he’s voiced byJosh Keaton, who likewise played the character inWhat If…?) is thatit isn’t the Star-Spangled Hero’s first rodeo in the world ofX-Menanimation. BeforeX-Men: The Animated Seriescame to a close, the Marvel icon first appeared in theX-Men: The Animated Seriesepisode “Old Soldiers,” where some backstory between himself (then voiced byLawrence Bayne) and Wolverine is revealed. The future X-Man once helped Steve Rogers in the battle against the Red Skull, which ended with Cap being trapped in a time-traveling vortex with the supervillain. Fifty years later, the super-soldier was released alongside the Skull and resumed his superheroics in the present day (well, the ’90s, but close enough).
In addition to appearing in the originalX-Menseries, Captain America also showed up via cameo in the animatedFantastic Fourseries, the “Command Decision” episode ofThe Avengers: United They Stand, and throughout the “Secret Wars” arc ofSpider-Man: The Animated Series. In the latter, Cap worked alongside Spider-Man, Iron Man, and even the X-Men legend Storm as they dealt with an array of supervillains thrown at them from the Beyonder. There’s no doubt thatCaptain America sees the X-Men as heroes— we see this even in his conversation with Rogue inX-Men ‘97—but what we know of the MAU version of the character is that he also holds a strong allegiance to his country. A far cry from his Marvel Cinematic Universe counterpart, this animated Cap works alongside General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, a frequent enemy of the Incredible Hulk who first appeared in the underrated ’90s animated series of the same name.
For many, Captain America’s return here was shocking. It’s not that other Marvel characters don’t exist within the world of the animatedX-Menseries. But, considering how often X-Men plotlines feel self-contained and separate from the rest of the Marvel world, it might feel a little disruptive at first. Back in the day, Marvel stories, even of the animated variety, weren’t always as interconnected as they are nowin our post-MCU era. But it makes sense that someone would eventually step in Rogue’s way as she fights for vengeance after Genosha — and Captain America is as good a pick as any.Though “America’s top cop” has fought alongside the X-Men, he doesn’t usually get involved in mutant affairs. It’s this exact stance that gets him in some real trouble with our favorite flying X-Man.
“Bright Eyes” Opens the Door For an ‘Avengers vs. X-Men’ Adaptation
WhenRogue meets up with Captain America, the Avenger is actually tracking down Bolivar Trask himself. Following the Genosha tragedy, Cap hopes to avenge the fallen, butrevengeisn’t on his mind. Unlike Rogue, Captain America isn’t a mutant but a government-issued superhero. Because of that, his place in the mutant conflict is somewhat questionable. Steve Rogers may stand with mutants, but he’s always been a “by the book” kind of hero, and that could easily factor into future conflicts with mutant-kind going forward.Cap’s strong moral compass has often put him in conflict with his fellow heroes, such as Iron Manin the infamousCivil Warstory. At some points, he’s even gone up against the X-Men in another tale that future seasons ofX-Men ‘97might seek to adapt in animation:Avengers vs. X-Men.
This controversial crossover event hit comic store shelves in 2012 and pitted Marvel’s two biggest superhero teams against one another as the Phoenix Force returned to Earth. While the X-Men show up to handle it, the Avengers get in the way and fail to trust the mutant team to handle the entity themselves. As a result, there’s a massive war between the two factions of superheroes, with some characters like Wolverine somewhat caught in the middle.While fans have largely pushedAvengers vs. X-Menaside as nothing more than an interesting but poorly executed attempt at a crossover,X-Men ‘97has the potential to rework the original story into something far more exciting. So far, the animated revival has already taken controversial comic arcs and re-imagined them within the context of the Marvel Animated Universe.The Madelyne Pryor reveal in the third episode, “Fire Made Flesh,” is one of these, and it is the superior take on the tale. The same could be done here withAvengers vs. X-Menand many of the other modern stories set within the X-Men side of the Marvel universe.
The way that Cyclops isslowly becoming disillusioned with Xavier’s dreamand ultimately voicing his frustration with humans is pushing him another step closer to the character arc he was undergoing at the time ofAvengers vs. X-Menin the comics. Likewise, the appearance of Captain America here is telling, reminding us thatthere’s an animatedX-Menprecedent for the Avengers taking on our favorite mutants. InX-Men: The Animated Series’ “Age of Apocalypse” timeline, a version of Captain America is included among a team of mutant-hunting Avengers assigned by the U.S. government to take out Magneto’s team of X-Men. While this is still an alternate future, it certainly opens the animatedX-Menuniverse up for a potential war between the MAU’s traditional superheroes and mutant heroes.
‘Avengers vs. X-Men’ Would Be A Fantastic Way to Revisit the Rest of the Marvel Animated Universe
Of course, it’s not just Captain America’s appearance (or General Ross’ mention of the Hulk) that opens up the potential for anAvengers vs. X-Men-sized story. There’s alsothe brief cameo that Uatu the Watcher makes in the fifth episode, “Remember It.” We only see his outline in the stars, but it feels very reminiscent of many of hisWhat If…?appearances, which is a great connection that reminds us that every Marvel tale takes place in an endless multiverse. WhileX-Men ‘97does not need to get all multiversal (and it would be wiser if it didn’t),the Watcher’s appearance above Genosha reminds us that this character only shows up at paramount moments that impact the entire timeline. In this case, that means the greater Marvel Animated Universe.
At one point inAvengers vs. X-Men, the Watcher appears, and ifX-Men ‘97were to adapt that storyline, there’s no doubt he’d show up again. But not him only. While the Avengers weren’t as big a dealin the ’90s Marvel Animated Universeas they later became,they had a presence through characters like Iron Man, Spider-Man, War Machine, Thor, Ms. Marvel, the Hulk, and others. Later on, the animatedAvengers: United They Standseries (which supposedly takes place within the MAU) followed a team of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes inspired directly by the West Coast Avengers from the comics. More than likely, there’s already some official version of the Avengers inX-Men ‘97,who would be brought in to stop rogue mutants if they decided to take the law into their own hands. WithRogue living up to her name, we may see Cap and his team return as early as this season.
X-Men ‘97has already blown our mindsas we revisit the Marvel Animated Universe for the first time in decades. Butif the show revisited plotlines fromSpider-Man,Fantastic Four,Iron Man, andThe Incredible Hulkon top of that. Well, that would be a dream come true. At one point, there were rumors of a proposed Captain America-themed animated series set within the MAU, but it never came to fruition. Of course, we’re happy enough with the X-Men as the most iconic version of the team has returned to the big-time. Considering their stories don’t often leave room for too many other Marvel heroes, we can’t expect that any of the aforementioned characters will become regular staples of this revival series. Though, who knows, we may get aSpider-Man ‘98down the line ifX-Men ‘97continues to deliver.
X-Men ‘97is available for streaming on Disney+ in the U.S.
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