20 votes

X-Men '97 - Season 1 Discussion

14 comments

  1. [4]
    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link
    ooh, i'm at episode 7 and I keep going WHAT :D

    ooh, i'm at episode 7 and I keep going WHAT :D

    4 votes
    1. [3]
      moocow1452
      Link Parent
      Yeah, I noticed that you started the show from the weekly thread and were really into it from episode three, and wanted so badly to say "Just you wait."

      Yeah, I noticed that you started the show from the weekly thread and were really into it from episode three, and wanted so badly to say "Just you wait."

      3 votes
      1. DefinitelyNotAFae
        Link Parent
        haha it's been slow on my part but OK WHAT WHY WOULD YOU DO ALL THIS TO ME

        haha it's been slow on my part but OK WHAT WHY WOULD YOU DO ALL THIS TO ME

        4 votes
      2. Marmat89on
        Link Parent
        I’m on episode 2 of the original series, pretty neat so far. It was always nice to fake being sick to get to watch it on TV as a kid. Apparently my TikTok thinks I’m X-Men’s biggest fan, as I’ve...

        episode

        I’m on episode 2 of the original series, pretty neat so far. It was always nice to fake being sick to get to watch it on TV as a kid.

        Apparently my TikTok thinks I’m X-Men’s biggest fan, as I’ve been bombarded with badass clips from Wolverine and Cyclops lately. Looking forward to the journey.

        2 votes
  2. [5]
    canekicker
    Link
    I have yet to see the final episode (I'll check it out tonight) but when the series first started, I felt it was too on the nose in terms of tone and throwing fans references from the old show....

    I have yet to see the final episode (I'll check it out tonight) but when the series first started, I felt it was too on the nose in terms of tone and throwing fans references from the old show. Think "say the line, Bart" vibes. I kept going and now really enjoy the show as they've done a great updating the tone while capturing the spirit of X-Men. Plus, I stopped reading superhero comics in the late 90s so the easter eggs are still accessible to me, which is always fun.

    3 votes
    1. moocow1452
      Link Parent
      I think the first half of the season plays into the Nostalgia farming a bit, and contextualizes it in the trip to Mojoworld, but then the next episode is Genosha, and you realize this show has...

      I think the first half of the season plays into the Nostalgia farming a bit, and contextualizes it in the trip to Mojoworld, but then the next episode is Genosha, and you realize this show has something to say about contemporary times.

      5 votes
    2. [2]
      terr
      Link Parent
      That's funny, I had a different experience with the first episode. It felt familiar in that it's a genuinely well done recreation (though I still lament that they don't have the same sound effect...

      That's funny, I had a different experience with the first episode. It felt familiar in that it's a genuinely well done recreation (though I still lament that they don't have the same sound effect at the very end of the theme song when the electricity travels across the word X-Men, that was always the clincher for me), but I could just feel the modern updates. The way they had Cyclops push himself across the battlefield using his blasts, and his general tactical and martial prowess was so much more apparent to me, and I'm sure there were other moments that struck me with the same newness, though they don't occur to me just now since it's been weeks since I watched the episode.

      I agree that there was certainly an introductory sense of reminding the audience what the old cartoon was like, but like you said, they update and upgrade the tone pretty quickly and I really appreciate the way they've done it!

      All in all, this has gotten me back into the X-Men enough that I started reading the comics from their very introduction back in the 60s, and well... they've come a very long way since then. In reading the old comics, it's interesting seeing how the characters have developed and how quickly they settled into the character traits that I learned and recognize from the 90s cartoon, plus it's fun to see how early some of the characters were introduced in the X-Men canon.

      The worst part of the early comics though, is how incredibly badly Magneto was written early on. At the beginning he's nothing more than a mutant supremacist and believes himself to be the most powerful mutant and therefore the most supreme being on earth and that's his whole schtick. I'm very glad they developed him so much over the years.

      Also, the fact that someone always has a machine that can handle just about any problem handy at the flick of a switch so that they can introduce a hurdle and vault over it no more than 3 panels later. Comics have come a long way in general, thankfully.

      2 votes
      1. Dr_Amazing
        Link Parent
        The thing that always gets me is how classic comics love to spread the story over entirely different comics. I get that the shared universe is part of the fun, but it's so annoying when you're...

        The thing that always gets me is how classic comics love to spread the story over entirely different comics. I get that the shared universe is part of the fun, but it's so annoying when you're reading a bunch of spider man and he's suddenly acting like new character is his best friend because they already met and had an adventure in that guy's book.

        I tried reading classic Suicide Squad back when when the movies came out and it was impossible. Just a never ending parade of histories and relationships that were impossible to decipher even with a decent knowledge of comics.

        4 votes
    3. Dr_Amazing
      Link Parent
      Oh shit! I thought the 2nd last episode was the final one and they ended on a major cliffhanger. Just realized there's one more and watched it last night. Absolutely loved it. I know a lot of the...

      Oh shit! I thought the 2nd last episode was the final one and they ended on a major cliffhanger. Just realized there's one more and watched it last night.

      Absolutely loved it. I know a lot of the cameos are just quick nostalgia hits, but the quick shot of 90s cartoon Peter Parker and MJ totally got me.

      1 vote
  3. tomf
    Link
    This last episode was insane. Bastion is bad ass. Also, I hope and pray that Marvel goes further and gives us a Daredevil animated series in this style --- or at least something else in this...

    This last episode was insane. Bastion is bad ass. Also, I hope and pray that Marvel goes further and gives us a Daredevil animated series in this style --- or at least something else in this style. The tone is perfect.

    3 votes
  4. supported
    Link
    I personally do not think the X-Men universe is compatible with the Avengers universe. So I hate that they are forcing that. past that it was a pretty good 10 episodes. Really took me back to...

    I personally do not think the X-Men universe is compatible with the Avengers universe. So I hate that they are forcing that.

    past that it was a pretty good 10 episodes. Really took me back to childhood

    2 votes
  5. [3]
    dpkonofa
    Link
    This is the first time I feel like I’m truly in the minority about something being brought back for a newer generation. I did not like X-Men ‘97 and it’s not even a close call. The absolute...

    This is the first time I feel like I’m truly in the minority about something being brought back for a newer generation. I did not like X-Men ‘97 and it’s not even a close call. The absolute beating over the head with the Easter eggs and character cameos, the speed at which plot threads are dropped in, resolved, and discarded to move on to the next thing, and the total lack of character development (save for some exceptions, notably Cyclops) makes me sad that this what we got after all these years. It feels like whoever ran this thing just wanted to cram in as many things as possible and couldn’t decide if they wanted it to be for kids who are new to X-Men or the kids who used to watch it that are now grown.

    I’m glad people enjoy it but it just doesn’t hit for me. Maybe that’s because I just rewatched the originals and went right into the new episodes or maybe I’m just expecting too much. In the old show, we’d get a full episode just on the Morlocks or a season-long arc about Magneto and Charles with every one setting up the situation, digging into the implications, and then wrapping up with a resolution that felt satisfying but open for gray areas. In these new episodes, we get introduced to clone Jean, we learn she’s actually real Jean, Sinister reveals that it was him, Nathan gets the techno virus, she turns into the Goblin Queen, and then gets defeated and turned good and then pulls Madelyn Prior out of nowhere all within the same episode. None of it felt earned or particularly developed to me.

    Lastly, there’s some thoughtlessness here that really bothers me. Storm makes a new costume out of thin air? Rogue just kills a man in cold blood (who luckily turns out not to be a man)? Jean kills thousands of people by just dropping them out of the sky? Jubilee’s attacks do nothing this entire time and then suddenly she’s the one that blows up Bastion?

    I know I’m “wrong” since everyone else seems to love it but it’s so confusing to me and just seems like people are giving it a pass because it tickles the right nostalgia bones.

    1 vote
    1. [2]
      moocow1452
      Link Parent
      The show definitely doesn't give a lick about pacing or trying to build a mystery arc, and Inferno was kind of ridiculous because of it, but the show is intended to be an adaptation of a bunch of...

      The show definitely doesn't give a lick about pacing or trying to build a mystery arc, and Inferno was kind of ridiculous because of it, but the show is intended to be an adaptation of a bunch of story lines that are well documented online, plus a continuation of a 25 year old show, plus a new jumping on point for people. I think it splits the difference on this pretty well, and it brings in the context of what racism and bigotry looks like now that we're out of the "end of history" and it turns out that maybe Magneto was right about a lot of stuff. It's more of a vibe show than a flawless depiction of events, and if it's not doing it for you, then it's not doing it for you.

      1 vote
      1. dpkonofa
        Link Parent
        Yeah. I get that. It just feels odd that everyone else seems to be saying that it “feels” like the old episodes and yet I don’t see that at all. Skipping over character development and internal...

        Yeah. I get that. It just feels odd that everyone else seems to be saying that it “feels” like the old episodes and yet I don’t see that at all. Skipping over character development and internal consistency just because people can look it up online feels lazy. But hey… Captain America, Daredevil, and Hulk showed up so “yay!”, right?

        1 vote