We got a first look at the early episodes of X-Men ’97 Season 2 on Disney+. Here’s our take.
In 2024, the premiere season of X-Men ’97 was a jolt, a tour de force that resurrected the beloved 1990s animated series with an unexpected maturity and intensity, embodied by the Genosha trauma. After a blistering finale that left the team bloodied and scattered like a jigsaw, this second season lands on Disney+ with the status of a potential masterpiece to be confirmed and the heavy task of sustaining the same level of excellence.
After the first four episodes, the verdict is unequivocal: the series doesn’t let up and actually revs the mutant engine with even more ambition. Spoiler alerts possible.
The Time-Xplorer Engine
The plot kicks off immediately after the chaotic finale of the first season, plunging the audience into a messy chronal chaos. The X-Men find themselves utterly scattered across three different eras in history: 4000 years ago in Egypt, 40 centuries into the future, and in the 1990s (i.e., the present for the series). And it falls to Forge, the mutant, to shoulder the heavy task of rebuilding the team in the present.
The narrative gambles on a triple threat orchestrated by the legendary Apocalypse (widely regarded as the first mutant and professional supervillain) across three distinct time periods. If the premise might seem a touch chaotic on paper, the writing moves forward with a deft, clever, and thoroughly comprehensible touch. The arcs weave together with remarkable fluidity, and manage to never let the audience drift.
This fresh narrative ambition comes with a clearly noticeable increase in resources allotted by Marvel and Disney for this new batch of episodes. The animation feels markedly smoother, while the direction gains in dynamism, nearly shedding the stiffness of the old days. The fights now carry a heavier physical impact, perfectly conveying the raw power of the various protagonists.
In this regard, the third episode stands out as one of the series’ best moments, anchored by an epic boss battle that is as colossal as it gets. The visual mastery peaks during a memorable sequence focused on Storm, who unleashes all her elemental abilities with a jaw-dropping fury. In under two minutes, the mutant goddess proves she’s no longer the doubtful warrior from season one, but a force to be reckoned with.
12 Angry X-Men
Of course, X-Men ’97 continues to indulge its audience with fan service as clever as ever and woven into the fabric of the show in a wonderfully organic way. On one hand, Morph’s shapeshifting allows for the subtle integration of other Marvel heroes without ever bogging the pace down. On the other hand, the introduction of the government team X-Factor brilliantly enriches the mutant mythology.
Still, we should temper our enthusiasm by noting a small caveat for the season’s opening: the sacrifice of the political stakes and the explicit message that defined season 1. The social metaphor recedes here in favor of a persistent, end-of-the-world SF urgency.
This storytelling choice also marks a major shift in tone from the pacing of season one. The previous season allowed for well-timed pauses to lay out dramatic stakes and to drill into the intimate dynamics of its core characters. In contrast, this early run of season 2 sinks into an oppressive rush, with all its characters charging headlong toward total catastrophe.
X-Men 97 thus fully embraces the hallmarks of a pure sci-fi blockbuster, even at the expense of its original philosophical backbone. Even with that caveat, the entertainment remains extraordinarily effective, keeping it on the podium of Marvel’s best productions in recent years. Eagerly awaiting what comes next.
Season 2 of X-Men 97, comprising nine episodes, will debut on July 1, 2026 on Disney+. The series will follow a weekly release schedule.
