What did I tell you? WHAT DID I TELL YOU? Not too long ago, I wrote about how hyped I was for X-Men ‘97, and how it would finally get me to open up my Disney+ app again. And, now that we finally got the first two episodes, I’m absolutely floored by how amazing this show is.
And apparently, I’m not alone, as critics are raving about the new series. Hell, the hype is so real that even King James himself wants to stream it. It’s just that damn good!
So, here are 10 of the most shocking scenes from the first two episodes. Man, episode 3 can’t get here soon enough!
The New, But Similar Intro!
There are three theme songs from my childhood that I think have truly stood the test of time, with those songs being DuckTales, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (We still miss you, JDF), and X-Men: The Animated Series.
And, of those three theme songs, I’d say that X-Men has held up the best. So much so, that I think a lot of us tend to forget that the original series was kind of mid (I’m sorry, but it’s true!), since that theme song did a lot of the legwork.
However, when I saw that the new intro (Which still slaps, of course) was almost a shot-for-shot reproduction of the original intro, my jaw nearly hit the floor. I knew this new series was going to do its best to recreate the feeling of the ‘90s cartoon, but I didn’t think it would go this far.
It’s so faithful, in fact, that when I saw that Morph and Bishop were added to the roster, I had to pause the intro because I thought, “Wait, now that’s different.” And, besides a few new animations, and of course, the slightly altered art style, I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between the two intros. Talk about fan appreciation!
Cyclops Has Some Brand New Moves!
Holy optic blast! You want to know something? I’ve never really liked Cyclops. Sure, I’d definitely throw him in the mix when I’d play some Marvel vs. Capcom 2, but when it came to the original cartoon, the comics or the movies, I just wasn’t vibing with him. In fact, I thought his powers were pretty lame. Like, that’s it? Seriously?
But, no. According to X-Men ‘97, that’s not it at all. For one thing, Cyclops can now zip around the room by blasting the floor. Not only that, but he also now seems to have no care at all if his visor’s ripped off. Like, okay, you can all die if you want to. It’s your choice.
But, the absolute COOLEST part was when the X-Jet (AKA The Blackbird) was torn apart by a sentinel, and Cyclops straight up dive bombed from the air and used his optic blast to slow himself down. I mean, dude. Has he ALWAYS been able to do that? So cool!
The Sentinel Tearing The X-Men From The Sky
Speaking of that sentinel scene, who the hell saw that moment coming when the sentinel tore apart the X-Jet? I mean, I sure didn’t! A sentinel literally just ripped the ship in half, and all the X-Men who can fly–Storm, Rogue, and apparently Morph (I’ll get to that in a second), caught the ones who couldn’t (Besides Cyclops).
But, what was so awesome was that the X-Men didn’t even seem phased. Like, yeah. Just another day at the office. Freaking badass.
Morph's Many Transformations
Now look, if I didn’t like Cyclops before, I REALLY didn’t like Morph. With that stupid laugh of his, and the fact that Wolverine was so upset over his “death” even though I couldn’t care less, it just made his character seem super annoying to me.
However, Morph is SO cool in X-Men ‘97. It might be because they keep turning into other characters who I never would have expected before. Like, in that scene with the Blackbird explosion, Morph turned into Angel. They also turned into Lady Deathstrike, the Blob, Sabertooth, and even Professor Xavier.
Morph is just such a better character now, and we’re all the better for it.
Beast Taking Over A Sentinel
One thing that always made the X-Men cartoon better than the movies was the sentinels. Yes, we’d gotten them briefly in the movies, but they were an integral part in the original cartoon, and they are again here in X-Men ‘97.
One of my favorite moments though is the big fight against them in the first episode, with Beast actually commandeering a sentinel for a short time until he’s knocked back out of one. When did the X-Men learn all of these new tricks, that’s what I want to know.
Jean Grey Having "The Talk" With Storm
Oh, man. Not all of the moments in these first two episodes were action-packed. In fact, what I love so much about this show so far is all of the emotional moments.
There’s no greater example of this than when Jean Grey has a heart-to-heart with Storm about her baby, and how she secretly hopes that their child isn’t born a mutant.
As a man in an interracial marriage with interracial children, this scene was particularly potent for me because my wife had a very similar conversation with me before our son was born. Obviously, our talk wasn’t about having a mutant child, but the concern was similar, as my wife was worried that our half-Black son might face racism when he grows up.
She was in tears, mind you, and I had to reassure her that everything would be okay. If anything were to happen, we would cross that bridge if it ever came. But, to see Jean Grey having similar concerns with Storm just goes to show how deep X-Men’s themes go.
The Rogue And Magneto Relationship!
Now, I’ve read the X-Men comics throughout the years, but I’ve never been a hardcore reader. So, color me surprised when I saw that Magneto and Rogue actually have a history together. And, not only that, but Magneto can somehow bypass her ability and they can actually touch!
Given that Gambit is my favorite character from the original series, I legitimately got choked up to see him get so upset that his main gal actually had feelings for Magneto. That one hit hard.
The Insurrection With The Storming The Capitol Undertones
Here’s why this series rules. It feels a lot like the old cartoon, but it’s also covering modern day events. How else should one take the storming of Magneto’s trial by some rowdy lunatics, including one bigoted moron who zaps Storm, but more on that in a few.
I got serious January 6 vibes when the people rushed in and started assaulting the X-Men. So much so that I seriously got goosebumps. This show’s getting a little too real for me.
Rogue Delivers A Baby
Rogue’s power is that she can absorb other people’s powers. Pretty basic, right? Well, one thing that I never imagined that Rogue could do was absorb somebody else’s work experience. But, that’s just what she did when some idiot doctor refused to deliver Jean and Cyclops’ baby.
The best part though was when Cyclops asked her if she could take the doctor’s experience right in front of the doctor, and the doctor was all like, wait, what? Serves him right for being such a moron.
Storm Losing Her Powers
The part that actually made me scream “No!” at my TV though was when Storm was blasted by X-Cutioner. What really made me squeamish was when she was crawling on the floor, totally terrified when she couldn’t make the clouds move.
This plot point made me desperate to see the next episode, which surprises me since I'm not usually a fan of binge-watching. But, I was so upset when I realized that I had to wait a number of days to see what happens next with Storm. I just wish I could watch the entire season in one night!
And, those are just ten shocking moments from the first two episodes. But, what did you think? Are you as hooked as I am? For more news on all things X-Men-related, be sure to swing by here often!
