X-Men '97 (2024) created by Beau DeMayo based on the 1990s series based on the Marvel Comics
This series, a continuation of a popular cartoon from the 1990s, starts with the X-Men in crisis. Professor Charles Xavier has died, leaving a leadership gap for the team. Cyclops/Scott Summers naturally thinks he has to step up as leader, though he is reluctant since his wife, Jean Grey, is pregnant and soon to give birth. He was hoping they could live a more normal family life. The problem gets worse when Magneto shows up at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters with Charles's will. Xavier has bequeathed the leadership of the school and the team to Magneto. None of the X-Men are happy about the situation (except maybe Rogue). Scott feels he has to stay to make sure Magneto behaves. The narrative plays out from there.
This ten-episode arc covers a lot of ground. Scott and Jean have their baby though the infant is kidnapped and infected with a cyber-disease and has to travel to the future with the time-traveling mutant Bishop to get cured. Storm loses her powers in a fight and winds up on a journey of self-discovery. Jean discovers that she is a clone of the actual Jean Grey created by Mister Sinister, leading to lots of complications. The island country Genosha, set up as a mutant refuge, is trying to join the United Nations but is under attack both politically and literally. The stories move at a breakneck pace. If I hadn't read some of these story arcs in the comics, I think I would have been a little lost (seeing the movies helps a bit too). The series leans on nostalgia and prior knowledge too much, with a lot of characters lacking any development or depth.
The animation does a good job looking like something from thirty years ago without looking cheap or rushed. The action sequences are creative, hewing to the X-Men's random set of abilities and applying them as best they can in given situations. Rogue is an exception--she never using her absorbing power, she just flies around and punches a lot of stuff.
Mildly recommended--this needs a bit of context to be appreciated. Of course, the series ends on a cliffhanger implying another season to come.
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