Riding on the Shoulders of Giants

Having watched the first 3 episodes of X-Men '97, I can say that it is a fairly true-to-form continuation of the original cartoon series, though it has introduced some irritating elements.

First, I want to assure everyone that Morph's "gender identity" isn't referenced in the run of the show (thus far) but the "they/them" is played out in the credits scenes with the 3D renders of the characters, a holdover from the original show.

What is included is a very clear, unsubtle same-sex attraction from Morph toward Wolverine. In a scene depicting hidden fears and desires, Morph's hidden desire for Wolverine is exposed, showing that he is attracted to the century-old mutant.

There are some good progressive things happening here. Woke isn't ALL progressivism, after all. Jubilee's character model better depicts an Asian face, as the original did not. I think this is a good thing, as her character is the child of two Hong Kong immigrants.

Now we need to talk about some of the subplots. Surprisingly, Magneto's origin story is glossed-over, effectively alluding only to his "people" being oppressed in the past. Very vague and seemingly an attempt to distance the character from his WWII origins. Still, it's an "if you know, you know" moment, and that's fine with me.

Rogue develops a bizarre and rather sudden attachment to Magneto, which is even more uncomfortable due to the character design giving her a more teenage appearance while Magneto's age is clearly pushing the century mark.

There is a brief scene of Gambit in a crop top and an atypical (for the time period) hairstyle, but I can excuse this easily by saying that the writers and artists are likely too young to have even experienced 1997. There's a conflation with the 1980s that is unmistakable.

The animation is quite fluid. It's almost jarring for a continuation of the 1990s series, but admittedly somewhat welcome. There is definitely simplification, but the cheap tricks used in the original series are thankfully not utilized here.

Back to Morph, though. His comfortability in a feminine form to jokingly influence fellow team-members, particularly Wolverine, is a little disconcerting. This is where the "woke" tends to come from.

Overall though, the storyline is consistent with the original, as they're both vaguely following 70s-90s era X-Men comic stories. Episode 3 is particularly interesting due to the introduction of a character whose origin is different in the comics, but still handled well for such a short-form medium. The inclusion of the "Friends of Humanity" made up of almost exclusively white characters leans heavily on the "white = bad, others = good" trope, but the mutant team itself is led by a white man, so I'm calling no-foul on this one.

There's surprisingly little ethnic diversity in the first three episodes. Storm and Bishop are the main "people of color" while Jubilee is more accurately rendered, but most of the characters are actually white, as is reflected in society and in the initial representations of the characters.

Overall, other than the aforementioned "non-binary" idiocy of the Morph character, the inclusion of a native character at the end of the third episode (I know who he is but I'm trying to not spoil), and extant characters from the original show, X-Men 97 so far has been both fairly entertaining and lacking in woke pandering, at least as far as it being pushed.

Overall, it succeeds despite its flaws and as is often the case, isn't nearly as woke as advertised. It still has some serious flaws, and I can understand not wanting to get into it due to them. Still, it scratches a nostalgic itch fairly well, redeems a character thought overly pushy (Cyclops) into a place of genuine sympathy, and realistically adapts some of the most dire and interesting storylines of the 80s and 90s comics, which was the purpose of the original.

There are absolutely some themes already explored in other media. The live-action X-Men already covered what happens to one character very well, and the core concept of the show remains largely unchanged. The power shift presented is ridiculous, but it's comics and not at all unheard-of.

In the end, it's worth a watch. I wouldn't suggest subscribing to absolutely woke Disney+ to see it but there are other options and it's still fairly in-line with with original cartoons so far.

Ultimately, I find myself wanting to see further episodes due to the structure of the storytelling, which is a good sign. You may as well. I do not fully recommend watching it, but it isn't so distant from the source that you won't enjoy it.

There are absolutely scenes of very abstract sexuality that might not be suitable for kids though. Just beware and watch this without the kids before you decide to let them see it.