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When “X-Men ’97” Season 1 debuted back in 2024, it was at first easy to brush the show off as a mere nostalgia play. (Our review of “X-Men ’97” at the time said as much.) But it quickly revealed itself as so much more, particularly when the shockingly violent fifth episode “Remember It” depicted a mutant genocide by giant Sentinel. “X-Men ’97” was a series that actively rejected playing only the hits and instead pushed heroes of yesterday into the conflicts of today.
That said, the show is all about transporting us back to the 1990s. How fitting that Season 2 is a literal time travel story, carrying on from last season’s cliffhanger when the X-Men were tossed forward and backwards in time. I promise that Marvel fans who’ve waited for this follow-up over the last two years will find their patience well-rewarded.
(Full disclosure: I saw “X-Men ’97” Season 2’s first two episodes at a screening held at the Tribeca Film Festival, and Disney also shared Episodes 3-4 with /Film.)
The 10-episode first season had lightning-fast pacing, which was sometimes a double-edged sword for viewers who wished the story’s impact could sit. “X-Men ’97” Season 2 does not let up, but with the team scattered in these opening episodes, the narrower focus complements how quick the story moves.
On one end of history, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, Morph, and a declawed Wolverine are in a dystopic far future. On the other end of history, Professor X, Magneto, Rogue, Beast, and Nightcrawler are stranded in ancient Egypt. Their allies Forge and Bishop are on a mission to “get the X-Men back to the ’90s,” but not all of the time travelers are ready to return to the present so soon.
The season’s opening chapters give each of these eras an episode (a two-parter for the ancient Egypt story) to unfold. Sandwiched in between, the second episode “A Force to Be Reckoned With” keeps us apprised of the present. Without the X-Men, mutants are once more being hunted — this time by their own kind, the government-sponsored mutant team X-Factor. In the X-Men’s place stands X-Force, a black-ops team assembled by Cable (Chris Potter). These different X-factions seem destined to collide later this season, and the first four episodes lay the groundwork masterfully.
Despite the aforementioned two-year gap between “X-Men ’97” Seasons 1 and 2, the show wastes no time getting right back to business. Returning to this world will instantly remind you of Season 1’s highs and reassure you that no sophomore slump is coming. I admittedly went into this season with even grander expectations. As an agnostic on the original ’90s “X-Men” cartoon, the thought of reviving it left me cold, and my initial interest in “X-Men ’97” Season 1 was more curiosity. Then Season 1 won me over, so I went into Season 2 not only hoping for but expecting excellence. I was not disappointed.
One of the biggest differences between the original “X-Men” and “X-Men ’97” is the cleaned up animation, which is much brighter and fluid (thanks to a higher budget). That was especially true in the action scenes, and the stand-out set-piece is in Episode 2. Jubilee (Holly Chou) whips out her cassette player and roller skates, then gets to work beating down a helicarrier full of X-Factor goons set to Veruca Salt’s “Volcano Girls.” It’s a perfect song choice for the youngest, spunkiest X-Men, and to remind us that, yes, this is 1997.
But like Season 1, “X-Men ’97” Season 2 remembers to put character before action. The dialogue might be corny if not for the writing and actor’s utter sincerity: Take Storm (Alison Sealy-Smith) shouting with the force of all heavens that the X-Men are “the dawn that breaks [Apocalypse’s] night!”
As for character, “X-Men ’97” builds out the ensemble even more. With only nine episodes this season, some playing of favorites is inevitable. So far, Wolverine (Cal Dodd) is still in a supporting role — but considering how many other “X-Men” stories frontload Logan, it still feels refreshing to let him take a backseat.
The character focus is another way this season builds on the first. Cyclops (Ray Chase) and Jean (Jennifer Hale) had to send their young son Nathan into the future back in Season 1. In Season 2, they’ve followed his path and have a chance at parenthood once denied them. Rogue (Lenore Zann) still reels from the loss of her beloved Gambit, and in ancient Egypt, she mentions it to an unlikely confidant: En Sabah Nur (Adetokumboh M’Cormack), the first mutant. An outcast from birth and liberated slave, he has never known love, and it’s his destiny to snuff it out.
“X-Men ’97” Season 1 introduced a new villain, Bastion (Theo James), though he led established enemies like the robotic Sentinels and mad scientist Mister Sinister (Christopher Britton). The big bad of Season 2 is another familiar face: Apocalypse (Ross Marquand, doing an absolutely uncanny impression of Apocalypse’s original actor, the late John Colicos).
Apocalypse, an immortal mutant enhanced even further by the technologies of the ancient Celestials, appeared in every season of the original “X-Men” cartoon. Yet his continuous returns — including here — don’t diminish his threat, they build it up. Evidence suggests the X-Men can never truly defeat him; he has enslaved the entire planet by 3960 AD, remember.
At first glance, Apocalypse can feel like a more classical (and lesser) villain compared to the oh-so-layered Magneto (Matthew Waterson). But far from merely an all-powerful brute, he ties well into a persistent “X-Men” theme: evolution and the hypothesis it springs from conflict over survival. Apocalypse believes only the fittest deserve to survive, and that the fittest of all — himself — should rule. That makes him the perfect villain to strike in the 1990s, when conflict between man and mutant is slowly boiling into outright war.
“X-Men ’97” Season 2 shows not only the culmination of Apocalypse’s reign but also his beginnings. For the first time in either the original series or this one, the character invites true sympathy. We see how he once fought against oppression, just like the X-Men do. Magneto and Professor X (Marquand) both try to guide the young En Sabah Nur, believing his apocalyptic destiny is not yet written and he can instead represent the dawn of a better future. It provides perfect narrative symmetry to how, in the far future, Cyclops and Jean are training the boy prophesied to kill Apocalypse.
“The Rise of Apocalypse” is the definite stand-out of the season thus far. Season 1 already showed that “X-Men ’97” soars highest when Magneto is leading the story. Without spoiling anything, this two-parter will certainly live in the same revered infamy as last season’s “Remember It.”
“X-Men ’97” Season 1 was hailed as one of the greatest Marvel Studios projects ever. Season 2 will not upset that reputation, but only reaffirm it with the same mix of flashy fun and true dramatic gravitas. The animated X-Men continue to be a beacon of light, shining the way for how to best tell superhero stories onscreen.
“X-Men ’97” Season 2 premieres on Disney+ on Wednesday, July 1, 2026.
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