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X-Men '97

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  • Alternative Character Interpretation:
    • Is the Adversary truly trying to kill Storm in "Lifedeath Part 2", or — given the ease with which it could have done so — is it actually trying to help her overcome her Psychosomatic Superpower Outage, just in an incredibly harsh and brutal Die or Fly fashion?
    • How much of Bolivar Trask's behavior in "To Me, My X-Men" was genuine and how much was performative, now that we know he was doing the bidding of Mister Sinister?
    • With the reveal that Trish Tilby is a Prime Sentinel, does that mean her apparent public sympathy for mutants was a facade? Or was she unwillingly turned into one specifically because she could get close to Beast?
    • During Jean's battle against Sinister in the penultimate episode, is Jean actually sincere in wanting to also vindicate/avenge Madelyne, or is that only what she's telling herself just to soothe her own guilt at how she treated Maddie just before her demise, along with desperately wanting to make things right with Pryor's son?
    • In the finale, when Logan is having difficulty healing, Morph shapeshifts into Jean Grey to say "I love you.", leaving it ambiguous whether Morph was just telling him what he needed to hear, Morph making an Anguished Declaration of Love, or both. The dialogue beforehand doesn't clear it up. However, Word of God seems to later confirm that Morph meant it.
      Morph: She can't say it, but I can.
    • In the finale, Cyclops comes to Logan's bedside after Magneto rips the adamantium out of him and tells him "Don't you dare break her heart.." Most people assume that "her" is referring to Jean. He could be referring to another woman very close to Logan... Jubilee.
  • Aluminum Christmas Trees: Believe it or not, Gambit's crop top shirt was actually a men's fashion choice in The '80s and The '90s. Further more, iconic Chick Magnets Peter Parker and Tony Stark have worn them before in the comics.
  • Angst Aversion:
    • Some fans have been wary of the increasing plights fallen on the X-Men, just in Season One alone. The series peppers in some recreational moments among the team, along with jovial personalities, only for them to be ripped away due to supernatural or human forces they're ironically powerless to completely stop for good. At least, not without a cost. The sacrificial death of Gambit in "Remember It", a fan-favorite example, only served to exacerbate this mindset.
    • "Lifedeath, Pt. 2" finally started counteracting this, to some extent, as Storm regains her powers and Xavier is revealed to be alive and decides to return to Earth in the wake of the attack on Genosha.
  • Awesome Art: The animation looks very crisp, keeping the art style of the original series but updated with the technology of the 2020s. There's even a subtle filter like you'd get from watching on VHS.
  • Awesome Music:
    • The new version of the classic theme song sounds as rocking as ever.
    • "Happy Nation" by Ace of Base is the song that plays during Rogue and Magneto's dance in "Remember It," perfectly setting the tone.
  • Best Known for the Fanservice: Madelyne Pryor's outfit and some of her sexually-charged lines are arguably the most memorable parts of "Fire Made Flesh" for fans.
  • Broken Base:
    • The series' treatment of Wolverine has split the fanbase; on one hand, you have some fans who are naturally peeved over the series sidelining one of the most (if not the most) popular and iconic team members; on the other hand, there are other fans who are sick of seeing Wolverine everywhere and were very happy to see a series where he doesn't hog the spotlight and gives other X-men (especially Cyclops and Storm) some much needed love.
    • Rogue and Magneto’s relationship has caused a heaps of this. One group of fans, especially those who prefer Rogue’s romance with Magneto over Gambit, were delighted that an adaptation had finally touched upon their romance from the comics. Particularly those who love the Age of Apocalypse run. Other groups of fans were far less delighted. Those who were unfamiliar with the comics were just squicked out over the age-difference and confused at the pairing. Those who were familiar with the comics, but hate the Magneto and Rogue’s romance and prefer Rogue being with Gambit, were horrified and wished the pairing had stayed in the comics. Further not helping matters is that Magneto and Rogue’s affair is a Retcon within the series, with Rogue and Gambit being very much in love by the end of the original show. Episode 5 however has Rogue claim she and Gambit were never in an official relationship, due to the fact they can’t touch (even though they had already kissed while trapped and powerless in the Savage Land). Some liked this for the soap opera drama and being more accurate to the comics, others felt like it was rewriting the show’s history purely to make Rogue/Magneto fit more smoothly.
    • Should this series be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? On one hand, Kevin Feige is heavily involved as much as the rest of the MCU shows, the setting of it taking place in another universe fits well with the Multiverse Saga with Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man also being in a separate universe, and an appearance of Uatu implies that something will happen to this universe being joined in the MCU. On the other hand, the original show was made before the MCU was a thing, it is already part of a franchise due to the cross over with Spider-Man in his own show, and the rumors of the next saga will involve mutants would make it redundant if it is part of the MCU.
  • Catharsis Factor:
    • Horrific as it was, Henry Peter Gyrich's death in "Bright Eyes", courtesy of Bastion, was satisfying after all the pain and misery he had caused since the original series.
    • While it was an arguably petty move, many people found Rogue yeeting Captain America's shield into the mountains after he refused to openly stand with mutants to be highly satisfying.
    • Three involving Mr. Sinister in parts 2 and 3 of "Tolerance Is Extinction":
      • In part 2, Jean faces off against Sinister. While he originally has her on the ropes, she recovers rather quickly and proceeds to viciously pummel him with her telekinesis. Not only do we get the satisfying image of the vile eugenicist getting a well-deserved thrashing, but it shows that this series is not making the same mistakes regarding Jean that the original series made.
      • In part 3, a Phoenix-empowered Jean removes the mutant DNA Sinister stole and grafted onto himself to preserve his youth, reducing him to an aged, withered and helpless old man.
      • In part 3, Sinister's forced aging leads to Morph getting some small but well-deserved revenge for Sinister mind controlling them in the original series. When Sinister asks to see what his new face looks like, Morph replicates it and mockingly says that Sinister looks the same. This causes the evil scientist to run away in horror.
      • A non-X-Men-related one can be found in Peter Parker with Mary Jane next to him since it means that she was finally rescued after her fate in Spider-Man: The Animated Series.
  • Character Rerailment:
    • Since most newer X-Fans tend to lean towards media outside the comics, especially the live-action movies, one would be forgiven for thinking that Cyclops and Storm just weren't that interesting. The first episode alone easily shows why fans of the comics love them, especially Storm tearing apart the Sentinels with ease. The show also gives Rogue, Gambit, and Jubilee so much needed limelight after years of being sidelined and in Rogue's case being given Chickification.
    • In the original animated series, Jean had a not entirely undeserved reputation for being a wimp, spending a lot of time fainting, screaming, passing out from using her powers too much, getting easily knocked out or being easily captured. Here, the show has her having taken several levels in badass, with many impressive demonstrations of her power. In "Bright Eyes", she goes toe to toe with the Prime Sentinel in a battle, and even though she loses at the end of the fight, she had a better showing against him than any of the other X-Men (including Rogue, who the Prime Sentinel knocked out in one hit). She only gets better from there, as the "Tolerance Is Extinction" three-parter shows her beating down Sinister and later removing the Mutant DNA he stole to keep himself young when the Phoenix lends her its power once again.
  • Complete Monster: See here.
  • Continuity Lock-Out: Given that it's a sequel series that kicks off some time after the finale of the original, many fans are going to get lost. Marvel uploaded a video to their YouTube with clips from some recommended episodes, perhaps to mitigate this.
  • Creepy Awesome:
    • Mr. Sinister is a disturbing Smug Snake and Mad Scientist as always, and is beloved for it and the sheer emotional turmoil he puts the heroes through.
    • Magneto becomes extremely creepy during the "Tolerance is Extinction" three-part finale, in which he declares war on humanity and finally declares he's done trying to make peace between humans and mutants and starts using his powers in horrifying ways, such as delivering an electromagnetic pulse that wipes out global infrastructure and kills thousands and, as is iconic, tearing out Wolverine's adamantium skeleton.
  • Estrogen Brigade: If TikTok is any indication, there's a strong female following for X-Men '97. Cyclops in particular gets a lot of love for being a total Hunk with a smooth voice and plenty of scenes to show off his badass capabilities, a complete far cry from his portrayal in the movies. Gambit isn't far behind Cyclops in that category. Also helping is that '97 has lots of strong, well-developed female leads that girls can look up to.
  • Fan Nickname: The Combination Attack with Wolverine getting his claws energized by Gambit has become affectionately known among the fandom as "Cutting the Deck," or if you prefer, "Pair of Threes."
  • Fanfic Fuel:
    • In "Tolerance Is Extinction - Part 2" , Professor Xavier reveals that a young Bastion and his mother met him in the past. Due to his mother's mutant prejudice, hating Xavier's implication that Bastion could be considered a mutant, Bastion was forbidden from getting Xavier's help. Storm muses that, timeline-wise, Bastion could've joined the original five X-Men. This has opened the idea for fics that not only expand upon this encounter, but explore an alternative universe where Bastion joined the X-Mansion (with the trials and tribulations of avoiding or submitting to his mutant-hunting destiny).
    • Due to the first season showing the Peter from Spider-Man: The Animated Series with Mary Jane, how'd he and Madame Web get her back? Is it the way John Semper wrote in his script treatment, or some other way? Are they also married? And what else has been happening in Peter's neck of the woods in the interim?
  • Friendly Fandoms: With Invincible, oddly enough, as both comic book-based animated series started airing in March (Invincible's Season 2 second half and X-Men '97's first season respectively). Some fans have even noted how uncannily similar Jean and Eve are. A more tragic comparison would be Gambit and Rex Splode, who both blew themselves up using their powers stopping a greater threat.
  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • In "Tolerance is Extinction Part 2", a brief Easter Egg referencing Series Creator Beau DeMayo is briefly seen on a sign for a restaurant called "DeMayo's Diner". The sign getting immediately blown up during a skirmish between the X-Men and the Sentinels. The Easter Egg now comes across as awkward, considering how Disney abruptly fired DeMayo just days before the show had even premiered.
    • In Invincible (2021), Rex Splode who is a Corrupted Character Copy undergoes Character Development to a more likable hero over the seasons. And just like who he based himself on, the Invincible War has him blowing himself up to kill an evil Invincible variant in the year after Gambit's own sacrifice. The similarities even drew the two fandoms together.
  • Heartwarming in Hindsight:
    • With the series showing Peter and Mary Jane from the '94 Spider-Man cartoon in New York City, this is no doubt how many fans of that series feel, since MJ had been trapped in an alternate dimension and that series ended on a cliffhanger where Peter and Madame Web were going off to find her with no resolution because the series ended right after that.
    • When What If…? (2021) introduced Storm into the MCU multiverse, she wasn't voiced by Halle Berry or Alexandra Shipp, either of her live action actresses... It was this version of Storm.
  • He's Just Hiding: Given Cable's brief appearance before the climax of "Remember It", more than a few have theorized that he'll be trying to Set Right What Once Went Wrong and undo the episode's events including the deaths of Gambit, Madelyne Pryor, and Magneto. ("Tolerance is Extinction pt 3" actually reveals that he's had over 200 attempts.) Even among those who don't think it'll get retconned, there's heavy speculation that Magneto and/or Madelyne survived due to Never Found the Body. Sure enough, "Bright Eyes" reveals that Magneto is alive ... and is being held prisoner by Bastion.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
    • Magneto letting loose an EMP that basically destroys Earth's magnetic field at the end of "Tolerance is Extinction, Pt. 1" (aired May 1st, 2024) preceded by scarcely more than a week a real-life geomagnetic storm impacting Earth (starting on May 10th), the strongest such event to do so since October 2003, which resulted in widespread and intense aurorae being visible over much of the planet.
    • During the original show's run, the comics X-Men had a Crossover with Star Trek: The Next Generation called Planet X, which famously predicted that Patrick Stewart would play Professor X after noting a similarity between him and Jean-Luc Picard. Now, Gates McFadden, who played Dr. Beverly Crusher, gets to participate in an X-Men project herself.
    • After Cable snarks at the X-Men suit Cyclops gives him, Cyclops responds by asking if he expected black leather. A few months later, it would be confirmed that the team would be wearing the New X-Men suits for season 2, which were inspired by the black leather costumes from the movies.
  • Ho Yay:
    • The gay subtext between Magneto and Xavier is through the roof.
      Magneto: Back when we were friends, I would always sense Charles in my mind. I was in his thoughts and he in mine. Not invading, more a presence. I told myself I needed [my helmet] to protect myself from his psychic powers ...
      Rogue: But you were worried if you still felt how much he loved you, you wouldn't be able to go through with your crusade.
    • Morph and Wolverine have some charged moments, despite the former currently using nongender pronouns. In "Fire Made Flesh", Morph is presented with an illusion that begins with Wolverine in the shower, and they react by making a joke about joining him. Episode 10 really pushes the boundaries between text and subtext when Morph encourages Wolverine to survive by turning into Jean and making an Anguished Declaration of Love.
      Wolverine: Jean...
      Morph: She can't say it... but I can.
      [Morph transforms into Jean Grey.]
      Morph as Jean: I love you Logan, stay with me.
    • One-sided, but Bastion shows a lot of interest in Magneto and he shaves him while talking about pliable flesh and telling him not to resist. He later keeps him chained up in his underwear.
  • I Knew It!:
    • Storm loses her powers by "Mutant Liberation Begins". Titles of future episodes are "Lifedeath", a reference to a solo Storm story that deals with her losing her powers. Episode 3 ends with her meeting up with Forge, who played a key role in the "Lifedeath" storyline, further confirming where her arc was headed.
    • The Jean that gives birth to Nathan actually being Madelyne Pryor is hardly a surprise to anyone with some knowledge about X-Men, as Nathan is the birth name of Scott and Madelyne's son Cable.
    • That Gambit's death wasn't going to stick as the first season finale shows Apocalypse in Genosha, digging up a playing card.
    • Beau DeMayo eventually confirmed that Jean was replaced with Madelyn during the events of "Beyond Good and Evil", which was the most commonly theorised point where the switch was made.
  • Inferred Holocaust: When Magneto sets off his planet-wide EMP and shuts down every electronic device on earth, the vehicles and medical equipment suddenly becoming inoperable had to have killed millions, but no mention is made of this.
  • Memetic Mutation:
    • "They turned the X-Men woke!"note 
    • "Oh, crap."note 
    • She fainted! It's the real Jean!note 
    • "Milky Way Ghetto"note .
  • Misaimed Fandom: When a clip of X-Cutioner's “The Reason You Suck” Speech began circulating on Twitter, many users began praising him for his ideology and claiming that Mutants do deserve to be hunted due to their dangerous powers. This is in spite of the fact the show makes it clear he's a massive Hypocrite, as the scene in question has him saying this while he's attempting to murder Cyclops, who isn't fighting back. It's also been established numerous times in the original series (and in this very episode) that Mutants are hunted down regardless of how harmless their powers are, and many don't even pose a threat to humans at all. Best example is when Sunspot, who doesn't even know how his powers work and thus can't even use them, is hunted down and even offers X-Cutioner's gang a massive reward for his release. They turn him down even though the reward from an affluent family could have funded more of their work, just because they want to see another mutant squirm. A big part of this is due to the obvious parallels being made between X-Cutioner's tirade against mutants and real-life bigotry as he actually invokes common real-life dog whistles, so a number of Alt-Right groups have jumped to the X-Cutioner's defence claiming he's right despite his actual argument to justify his attempted murder (mutants whine too much) being Insane Troll Logic.
  • Moral Event Horizon: Mr. Sinister was already a piece of work in the original series, but he reveals himself to have somehow become even worse in '97 by orchestrating the massacre of Genosha, killing an untold number of innocent mutants all for his own ends. Two episodes later would reveal Bastion was pulling the strings on this atrocity, making this moment a line-crossing for him as well.
  • Most Wonderful Sound:
    • The updated version of the classic theme had many fans dancing around in joy.
    • Ray Chase as Cyclops has been praised for sounding almost exactly like the late Norm Spencer. Hearing him cry "To me, my X-Men!" is glorious.
    • All of the voice actors returning to their original series characters have slipped back into their old characters like a glove.
      • Cal Dodd still embodies Wolverine's gruff but kind personality with his low, scratchy baritone.
      • Lenore Zann still carries Rogue's charm and passion through her trademark Southern accent.
      • Alison Sealy-Smith once again delivers Storm's trademark Large Ham descriptions of her powers with buttery-smooth gusto.
      • George Buza remains soft-spoken and friendly in his role as Beast.
      • Adrian Hough's accent for Nightcrawler displays his warm and compassionate personality, while also showing Kurt's astute observational qualities and penchant for good advice.
      • On a darker note, Christopher Britton continues as Mister Sinister, and is terrifying and maliciously over-the-top as ever.
    • The "SNIKT!" of Wolverine's claws.
    • The line "Previously, on X-Men" still effortlessly builds hype for the show to follow up on old plot points, with the new voice actors matching the original cadence and tone perfectly.
  • Narm: While the Adversary attacking Forge with enough force to make him bleed and cry out in pain is terrifying, the lack of a sound effect when it penetrates his skin during the recap of episode 6 makes it seem like the demon gummed him.
  • Narm Charm: Madelyne declaring herself the Goblin Queen after putting on her Evil Costume Switch comes out of nowhere and sounds goofy to those who aren't familiar with the source material, but the fact she demonstrates exactly why Jean Grey is one of the most powerful psychics on Earth more than makes up for it.
  • Older Than They Think:
    • Critics of Magneto and Rogue hooking up have decried it as a Crack Pairing, but it's actually taken from the Age of Apocalypse alternate universe, where they were married and had children together. They've also had brief relationships in the main comic universe.
    • Forge pulling out a spellbook and temporarily banishing the Adversary came out of left field for viewers who only know him as a Gadgeteer Genius, but the comics have long established that Forge is a trained shaman. He rarely uses sorcery unless facing a magical foe, but it's implied that even his mutation might have been induced by magic running in his bloodline.
    • Some fans online reacted negatively when it was leaked that Captain America would appear in the seventh episode, decrying it as being forced "MCU synergy" since no non-mutant heroes existed in the original show. In actuality, the original show did acknowledge the wider Marvel universe at points, including Captain America appearing in two episodes. And that's not even accounting that it shares a continuity with Spider-Man: The Animated Series which it crossed over with and had even more Captain America appearances.
    • Cap briefly mentioning "my team" led to speculation on whether or not the Avengers exist in the show's continuity yet. But their presence was confirmed back in Spider-Man's very first episode when he mentions them, suggesting that (as in the comics) the team actually formed before Captain America was revived in the modern day.
    • The Watcher's appearance in Episode 5 led to cries of "MCU synergy" since this series arrived a few months after the end of What If...? season 2. In actuality, the comics have shown that Uatu has existed in every universe, even if he doesn't show up in series. Furthermore, Uatu did show up in the original series, appearing as one of those noticing the Dark Phoenix's awakening.
    • Many fans (especially ones used to maverick MCU Steve Rogers) were affronted in Episode 7 over Cap being depicted as having a strained and antagonistic relationship with mutants, only willing to help Rogue with directions to Gyrich and nothing more. Comics readers however, were aware of Cap's relationship and encounters with the X-Men in the past often leaving much to be desired, such as Avengers vs. X-Men wherein Cap was even openly hostile towards them.
    • In Episode 8, Jean is shown using her psychic powers to dive into Bastion's past. While this is new for this Jean, this is something all Grey-Summers can do, though it's one of her lesser-used skills.
    • After this series, a lot of X-Men fans began associating "To me, my X-Men" as Cyclops' catchphrase, similar to Cap's "Avengers Assemble", which caused a bit of a Fandom Rivalry towards Marvel Rivals over its Krakoa event featuring Emma Frost as the leader of the X-Men using the same phrase in promos. The phrase actually originates as Xavier's catchphrase in the comics going back to the early days, and while used by Cyclops since the 2000s (with his first usage of it being a treated as a sign of his character development), its also been used by others leading the X-Men, including Kitty Pryde during her brief tenure as leader. This show however is the first time its been prominently used outside of comics and especially in the last few years, so for many who are getting their first real taste of the X-Men outside of Wolverine, they're unaware of its more widespread usage.
  • Overshadowed by Controversy: Despite the first season's high critical acclaim, its release was plagued with then-showrunner Beau DeMayo's sudden firing from Marvel by Disney, and the former's attempts to cast blame on the latter's biases against him for being let go. However, between Disney's firm rebuttal to the claims, combined with DeMayo's increasingly erratic behavior and abusive actions coming to light resulted in a lot of goodwill for the show to be shaken, with many questioning on if the show would be able to retain its quality after Season 1's finish.
  • Paranoia Fuel: Episode 8 reveals that Bastion has turned thousands if not millions of humans into Prime Sentinels, including the Da Costa family butler, reporter Trish Tilby, and his own mother. Not only do none of the Prime Sentinels' friends and loved ones know about this until they turn, they don't even know themselves.
  • Questionable Casting: Sunspot, a character who was explicitly Afro-Brazilian when first introduced, being voiced by Gui Agustini, a white Brazilian actor, has caused controversy, not helped by fandom's bitterness over the character being whitewashed in Days of Future Past and The New Mutants in the past. The backlash got so bad it led to the original showrunner Beau DeMayo temporarily deleting his Twitter account.
  • Shocking Moments:
    • In Episode 5, "Remember It," a massive Tri-Sentinel attacks the mutant nation and island of Genosha under the orders of Mister Sinister, injuring or killing a massive number of mutants including named characters like Banshee and Sebastian Shaw, apparently killing Magneto, and definitively killing Gambit.
    • The previous X-Men cartoon never allows Wolverine to slash any living thing, limiting him to stabbing robots. In Episode 9, "Tolerance is Extinction, Pt. 2", Wolverine impales Magneto. Who then retaliates by ripping out Wolverine's adamantium.
    • The season finale ends on a doozy of a Cliffhanger. The X-Men and Magneto save Earth from Asteroid M, but they're somehow scattered throughout time as a result, leaving Cyclops and Jean to meet a young Nathan in the far future while Xavier, Magneto, Beast, Rogue, and Nightcrawler encounter En Sabah Nur, better known as Apocalypse, in ancient Egypt, and Jubilee, Sunspot, Forge, and Cable remain in the present while Wolverine, Storm, and Morph are currently MIA. Meanwhile, The Stinger shows Apocalypse in the remains of Genosha with the implication that Gambit will come Back from the Dead as one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
  • Signature Scene:
    • The scene of the X-Men falling from the sky which ends with Cyclops using his optic blast to cushion his descent and shouting, "To me, my X-Men". Easily praised by fans to show the teamwork of the group and showing how much of a badass Cyclops is.
    • The ending scene of "Remember It", where Gambit gives his final words and kills himself while taking down the Tri-Sentinel, combined with Rogue declaring how she can't feel him while holding him in her arms, for how simultaneously badass and heartbreaking it is.
  • Squick: The romantic relationship between Magneto and Rogue received very mixed reactions from fans. Despite the pairing having existed in the comics, it still didn't sit too well with a lot of viewers who were grossed out by the age difference as well as the power imbalance, with Magneto essentially being Rogue's boss after inheriting the X-Men from Xavier. "Remember It" did nothing to change this mindset with the reveal that Erik had met Rogue at a time in her life when she was extremely vulnerable and still under her mother's thumb, with the premise of a lost-feeling young woman being taken with a charismatic much older man being uncomfortably reminiscent of grooming to some fans.
  • Strangled by the Red String: The show stepping into Rogue and Magneto's relationship has opened a can of worms amongst the larger fanbase who aren't very familiar with the long-lasting lore of the original X-Men comics; X-Men adaptations usually downplay the immense number of relationship drama the comics had, to outright removing it, only leaving some that writers deem too pivotal such as Logan, Jean Grey and Scott's whole situation. This show brought over Rogue and Magneto's relationship, something that a person who haven't been in touch with the classic Claremont years in the comics would have no idea about, since in adaptations Rogue and Gambit's relationship is usually free of blemishes. In the context of the classic show, a viewer then watching 97' would have little to no clue Rogue and Magneto could even be a thing.
  • They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: Black Panther's brief appearance in this series drew a lot of ire from fans once it was discovered that T'Chaka was the one donning the mantle rather than T'Challa. Ignoring the fact that T'Challa himself had previously appeared in the animated canon, many fans felt that Marvel continuing to avoid using the character after the death of his MCU counterpart is quite disrespectful. Of course, this is taking Word of God that all 90's Marvel cartoons existed in the same universe rather than Marvel's Official Handguide to the Marvel Universe take that Iron Man: The Animated Series, Fantastic Four: The Animated Series and The Incredible Hulk (1996) are in a universe separate from Spider-Man and X-Men.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
    • Storm. While it was lauded that they reestablished how strong she truly is, the fact that she's MIA through the middle of the first season did ruffle a few feathers.
    • Exodus briefly made a silent cameo as one of the Genoshan mutants having a street dance for the public. But he was nowhere to be found when the Tri-Sentinel attacked Genosha despite being an Omega level mutant it could have detected and targeted. Not only that, he doesn't seem to be an important member of the Interim Council or The Dragon to Magneto.
    • Bishop was featured heavily in the initial advertising for the series and has some cool fight scenes, but he doesn't get any real focus or subplots to himself. Then he vanishes early on to transport an infected Nathan Summers to the future so he can get cured of the disease Mister Sinister affected him with. Overall Bishop is more of a Guest-Star Party Member than anything else in season one. With that said, he appears to be shaping up to be a major player in season two. He time-travels to Forge to start a search for the time-displaced X-Men.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
    • Some fans felt it would've been more interesting to have Jean Grey be Nathan aka Cable's mother, rather than Madelyne. The series plants the idea of Jean and Scott having to raise a mutant infant in a mutant-fearing world, but chooses to speed-run the Inferno storyline to get Cable into the future. Despite the Summers family having loads of kids, Jean has technically never given birth herself in the comics, meaning it would've been a refreshing change at least.
    • Genosha, an entire island inhabited and run by mutants and for all intents and purposes a thriving civilization and safe haven from what we get to see of it. Though there are hints that something's bubbling under the surface with Gambit pointing out the exorbitant prices on everything and two of the mutants on the Genoshan ruling council being well-known antagonists Emma Frost and Sebastian Shaw. Too bad it gets razed to the ground in the very same episode it's introduced in to re-establish the Sentinels as threats, bulldozing any potential these intriguing plot points could have had.
    • Morph just recently had a near-death experience and had a clearly traumatic time with Mr. Sinister, one of the main villains of the season, but despite this potentially interesting plot point they were given very little to do in the season. Even in the finale that focused on Sinister, they don't play an instrumental role in Sinister's downfall beyond rubbing Sinister's new decrepit form in his face.
    • Getting to see more of Madelyne's life and journey after she decides to live as her own person after leaving the X-Men had the potential to be interesting. Instead, she's killed in her next appearance.
  • Unexpected Character:
    • Given the show is a sequel to a '90's show, is built around '80's-'90's X-Men storylines, and the marketing heavily focused on the nostalgia aspect, you wouldn't expect the show to have any characters introduced after 1997. But "Remember It" features Glob Herman (debuted in 2001), Squid-Boy (2002), Pixie (2004), Cipher (2008) and Nature Girl (2014) among the Genoshan populace. The same episode featured a brief cameo of the Watcher in the background.
    • Episode 6 surprisingly features Ronan the Accuser, who is wearing his comic accurate green armor, as well as another character who debuted after the 90s: Vulcan (2006).
    • Episode 7 not only guest-stars Captain America, but also General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, who name drops the Hulk!
    • Episode 8 goes really heavy on the unexpected, with Dr. Doom, Baron Zemo and even Spider-Man!
    • The heroes defending citizens from the Prime Sentinels in Episode 10 include Iron Man, Cloak and Dagger, Daredevil, and Black Panther (who for bonus points is revealed to be the King T'Chaka incarnation). Mary Jane Watson is also present with a plainclothes Peter Parker, revealing that they were able to free her from her fate on the original series. Even Flash Thompson makes a cameo by appearing behind Peter and MJ.
    • Considering Kitty Pryde a.k.a. Shadowcat was possibly the only major X-Men character who had never been featured in the original series, many fans were ecstatic to see her image on Forge's chart on the status of various mutant heroes.
  • Unintentionally Unsympathetic:
    • Magneto's attitude towards Rogue especially in "Remember It" where he wants to make her Genosha's queen. While it's supposed to be a well-intentioned move for the betterment of mutantkind, it instead makes Erik seem like a Dirty Old Man who wants an excuse to marry Rogue and her initial fury at his proposal is perfectly justified. Also not helping Magneto's case is how willingly he rubs it in Gambit's face despite knowing how close he and Rogue are, making him look quite petty as well.
    • Though episode 5 makes it clear that Rogue and Gambit were never officially in a relationship, the way Rogue hides her romantic past with Magneto from the team while sharing private moments with him made her come across to some fans as resembling a cheating girlfriend, and sharing a rather sexy dance and a kiss with him at the Genoshan gala raised complaints of her rubbing it in Remy's face (despite the fact that Remy is shown leaving almost immediately when the dance begins). It doesn't help that power suppression technology is common enough in this universe that by this point even Friends of Humanity mooks have it, so, as fans have been pointing out for decades, Rogue could obtain the means to get intimate long ago, provided she was willing to wear a slave collar designed for mutant oppression to do so. Or she could have it redesigned into a bracelet
    • Jean's fury at Scott and Madelyne for having a Mental Affair. While both sides are supposed to be sympathetic, Jean's sympathy points are strongly undermined by her kissing Logan earlier in the episode, making her come off as a Hypocrite.
    • Cap in Episode 7. While he does have a valid point that Rogue's Roaring Rampage of Revenge will do more harm than good, he still is incredibly dismissive and apathetic towards her clear grief, claiming "Genosha wasn't just a mutant tragedy" — even though it largely was and that was an asshole thing to say to someone who suffered it first hand. Cap's "by-the-book" approach to the Sentinel threat and refusal to actively help Rogue apprehend Gyrich in Mexico, because his Captain Patriotic costume "sends a message", just make him look obstinate, especially since he could just change into his Nomad persona or put on regular clothes. The fact that most other versions of Cap have bucked the rules for the greater good didn't help either.
    • Charles' speech to Magneto about how his planned war on humanity is wrong in Episode 9 can come across as very Holier Than Thou since, as Magneto points out, while the X-Men were fighting tooth and nail for mutant rights, Charles was off in space with the Shi'ar and not even aware of the Genosha massacre until the psychic backlash of Gambit's death hit him. He also arrived on Earth far too late to help out with the Prime Sentinels and was only told of the situation second-hand. To put it simply, Charles sat out on all of the hardships that the X-Men and Erik especially went through for the entire season but now presumes to know better than all of them how to handle the fall-out and preaches about peace after a peaceful approach has already failed and cost several mutants their lives. As extreme as Magneto's response is, Charles' platitudes are not going to convince a man who's witnessed another attempted genocide of his people to stand down after he did try to do things Charles' way.
  • What Do You Mean, It's Not for Kids?: Despite being a continuation of a kid-friendly superhero series that originally aired on Saturday mornings, the series includes a good deal of content that wouldn't be appropriate for the original show's target demographic—including light swearing, Body Horror imagery, references to sex, explicit blood and implied gore, and a genuinely disturbing depiction of an act of mass murder. It was pretty clearly made with adults who grew up on the original show mainly in mind.
  • WTH, Costuming Department?:
    • Magneto forgoes his customary red and purple outfit when taking over leadership of the X-Men to instead don...a sleeveless purple leotard with an enormous M on the front, and evening gloves that leave his shoulders exposed. Admittedly, it's accurate to the comics that the show is based upon, but it looks even stranger now than it did in the 1980s. Even worse, he wears this ensemble nearly all the time, including to breakfast.
    • When the X-Men's "new" outfits were revealed, a few fans were upset at a few choices, the biggest of which being Jean going back to her Minidress of Power Marvel Girl costume, since they feel that the outfit is way out of style, a complaint brought up during X-Men: The Krakoan Age when she was seen in it during its early days. Storm's outfit after getting her powers back is also accurate to her original 70's outfit but many fans wanted her to keep the mohawk she had for the first several episodes.

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