X-Men ’97 Is Making One Major Change to the Classic Animated Series Team

This post contains spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Ms. Marvel.

At first glance, X-Men ’97 seems like something that only ’90s kids will understand. The upcoming Disney+ show continues the classic cartoon series X-Men, which originally aired on Fox from 1992-1997. But despite featuring costumes and a lineup that debuted in the pages of early ’90s X-Men comics, the series owes its greatest debt to the comics Chris Claremont and Louise Simonson wrote in the ’70s and ’80s. Over five seasons, the X-Men animated series adapted some of the most beloved stories of those decades, including “Days of Future Past” and “The Dark Phoenix Saga.“

Yet, as much as the animators covered great tales from those eras, they left out some great stories involving team founder Professor Charles Xavier’s departure from the team, after which he appoints former arch-enemy Magneto as team leader and headmaster of the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. But a first look at the return of X-Men ’97 suggests that the cartoon is finally ready to adapt some of those classic tales, too.

During the Marvel animation panel at SDCC, series writer Beau DeMayo revealed the main team for X-Men ’97. On board were seven of the expected team members, including Gambit, Wolverine, Jubillee (chili fries conspicuously absent), Cyclops, Storm (hair shorter, but not mohawk short), Jean Grey, and Beast. Missing from these images was Professor X, but present is Magneto, now the leader of the team. Even better, Magneto is shown not in the helmeted costume he wore in the original series, but instead in magenta duds, complete with a sleeveless tunic and long purple gloves.