X-Men ’97 Resurrects Nostalgia with a Twist: Rectifying Past Mistakes

Marvel’s X-Men ’97 has corrected an annoying tease from X-Men: The Animated Series that went completely unfulfilled by the original series.

X-Men ’97 has corrected an annoying tease from X-Men: The Animated Series, 27 years after the original show failed to actualize it. Marvel’s X-Men ’97 continues the classic X-Men: The Animated Series, 27 years after it originally concluded in 1997. In doing so, X-Men ’97 has seemingly reconsidered a key part of its iconic opening credits sequence, fixing an annoying tease that never came to fruition.

X-Men ’97 revives the beloved X-Men: The Animated Series, which ran from 1992-1997. In doing so, X-Men ’97 has reunited many of the original cast, and maintained the deft attention to detail present in X-Men: TAS. Of the very few differences between X-Men ’97 and X-Men: The Animated Series, one change has fixed a frustrating tease that was never delivered upon.

X-Men ’97 Fixed X-Men: TAS Opening Credits Villain Tease

The opening credits sequence for X-Men: The Animated Series teased several villains, but two of them never actually appeared. However, X-Men ’97 has corrected this, by replacing them with two villains who did appear in X-Men: TAS: Emma Frost and Lady Deathstrike. The original X-Men: TAS opening credits teased the X-Men battling a line-up of infamous Marvel Comics villains. Among these were Warpath and Gargoyle.

Warpath was originally intended to appear, and would have sought revenge against the X-Men team after the death of his brother, Thunderbird. Thunderbird originally featured in the X-Men: TAS team, and it would have been him, rather than Morph, who died in the first episode (“Night of the Sentinels”). This would have mirrored Thunderbird’s death in Uncanny X-Men #95, just two issues after his introduction in Giant-Size X-Men #1. This was ultimately scrapped in favor of Morph seemingly dying, and Warpath never emerged as a villain.

Note: Thunderbird ended up making a cameo in X-Men: TAS season 1, episode 7 “Slave Island.”

Gargoyle’s inclusion in the X-Men: The Animated Series opening credits, on the other hand, is slightly more perplexing. Gargoyle is primarily an Incredible Hulk adversary with little to no contact with the X-Men. Consequently, he also never appeared in X-Men: The Animated Series. However, he would appear in another series in the Marvel Animated Universe – The Incredible Hulk. X-Men: The Animated Series presented Warpath and Gargoyle as part of Magneto’s mutant faction, teasing an almighty battle between the opposing teams.

This battle never truly emerged, with Mystique serving as the primary leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants. Magneto mostly worked alone and the closest he came to leading a troupe of evil mutants into battle occurred in the X-Men: TAS finale “Graduation Day,” but he ultimately called it off to bid farewell to Charles Xavier. The opening credits also teased a battle against the humans in X-Men: The Animated Series, particularly in the clips featuring Beast and Gambit. While narratives concerning this were prevalent, they mostly dealt with the consequences of this rather than a showdown itself.

When Each Villain Appeared In X-Men: TAS

This new line-up of villainous mutants in the X-Men ’97 opening credits have appeared throughout X-Men: The Animated Series, boasting some pretty significant appearances. Juggernaut appeared in a handful of episodes, including season 1, episode 8, “The Unstoppable Juggernaut.” Mystique was a prominent villain who appeared in several plots involving Apocalypse and her Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Two key members of Mystique’s Brotherhood are Pyro and Avalanche, who appear in several key narratives as a bizarre double act. Pyro and Avalanche have particularly central roles in X-Men: TAS season 1, episode 9 “The Cure” and episodes 11-12 “Days of Future Past.”

Sabretooth made some very iconic appearances, many depicting his rivalry and embittered relationship with Wolverine, and one particularly memorable episode (season 2, episode 10 “Beauty and the Beast”) when Sabretooth was revealed as the father of Graydon Creed – the original founder of X-Men ’97‘s Friends of Humanity. The new additions to the X-Men ’97 opening credits star in several classic episodes. Emma Frost as the White Queen featured heavily throughout “The Dark Phoenix Saga,” among others. Lady Deathstrike appeared in fewer episodes (“Out of the Past”), which were equally memorable and vital, which led directly into “The Phoenix Saga.”

Will These Villains Appear In X-Men ’97?

Marvel Studios have become known for their foresight and intricate planning, and considering that X-Men ’97 has already had a second season confirmed, its highly probable these villains will all appear. Not to mention the fact that each of these is highly consequential and important to X-Men narratives. Mystique and her Brotherhood are intimately connected with Rogue, while Sabretooth is essential to Wolverine’s history, as Juggernaut is to Professor Xavier’s. While Emma Frost plays an interesting role in more contemporary X-Men comics, often switching sides in a manner that parallels Magneto’s role in X-Men ’97.