Today, fans were treated to a sizzle reel of upcoming Marvel Animation studio projects at D23 in Anaheim, and I was in the room! Of the slate of series, the highlight for the room had to be X-Men ’97 and its first look at what’s to come in the highly anticipated second season of the Emmy-nominated series.
Edited between glimpses of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Eyes of Wakanda, and What If…? Season 3, we saw a smattering of mutants we can expect to see in X-Men ’97.
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Here are the Top 5 Moments from D23:
X-Men ’97 season 2 reveal: Wolverine Will Get His Adamantium Back
It should come as little surprise to comic book readers to know that while Wolverine had metal ripped from his bones by Magneto, he eventually got it back and wielded his metal claws once more. In a fairly solid tease, we see a scene with Wolverine saying, “I’m back,” and then popping his newly minted Adamantium claws.
X-Men ’97 season 2 reveal: New Villains Emerge
In a flash of images, we see actual Lady Deathstrike (we assume it’s not Morph) and Sabretooth – battle-ready and looking as if they’re taking the fight to the X-Men. In a companion clip, we see Nightcrawler in Japanese garb attacking ninjas, which leads me to believe the X-Men go to Japan and encounter Lady Deathstrike.
X-Men ’97 season 2 reveal: We See Polaris (Twice)
The popular green-haired metal-manipulating and fabled on again off again daughter of Magneto was seen twice in the teaser. Her first appearance is a solo shot of her reveal, with a second showing her fighting alongside fellow X-Factor team member Forge. Polaris did technically already appear in the 1992 X-Men: The Animated Series and was voiced by Terri Hawkes – so this would be her return.
X-Men ’97 season 2 reveal: Danger to appear
The Astonishing Era, written by Joss Whedon with art by John Cassaday, introduced the sentient physical manifestation of The Danger Room. After upgrading The Danger Room with Shi’ar technology, the room gained consciousness and later revealed itself in a female form and sought revenge on the X-Men. Calling herself Danger, we see a quick view of her X-Men ’97 design, and she looks vicious.
X-Men ’97 season 2 reveal: Grant Morrison era emerges
After the success of the X-Men film franchise, the comics started to reflect the black leather look, and new designs by Frank Quietly first appeared in New X-Men #114. In the teaser, we see Scott and Jean wearing the designs and conducting a combo move with Jean, causing Cyclops’ optic blast to prism out of his eyes in multiple directions.
X-Men ’97 Season 2 has not revealed a release date, so we eagerly anticipate future announcements from Marvel Studios.
All episodes of X-Men ’97 Season 1 are available on Disney+.
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