Marvel Has Already Redeemed 2 X-Men Characters Who Were Sidelined In Fox"s Franchise

Warning! This article contains minor spoilers for X-Men '97.
Summary

• X-Men '97 gives Cyclops and Storm the credit they deserve, shining a light on their importance and showcasing their powers.
• Marvel's treatment of Cyclops and Storm in X-Men '97 already surpasses Fox's live-action franchise, redeeming the iconic characters.
• The MCU's future X-Men movie must show respect to Cyclops and Storm, as X-Men '97 sets a high standard for their portrayal.

X-Men ‘97 does plenty of things right with the iconic Marvel team, and the show’s treatment of two specific characters already beats out the Fox franchise. When Disney acquired 21st Century Fox in 2017, it meant that Marvel would have the rights to the X-Men once again. Although X-Men ‘97 is not considered canon to the MCU, it is still fans’ first taste of Marvel’s take on the beloved characters after years. The response so far has been overwhelmingly positive, and that’s due in part to how Marvel is treating the characters compared to Fox’s live-action X-Men timeline.
Marvel’s X-Men ‘97 is a sequel to the original animated series that aired from 1992 to 1997. Since the series aired, Fox’s live-action X-Men franchise is arguably the most popular iteration of the team. Fox’s X-Men focused majorly on Professor X, Magneto, and Wolverine, but the rest of the X-Men made plenty of appearances too. X-Men ‘97 shines a light on some other members of the team that didn’t exactly get the credit they deserved in the Fox franchise. With how interesting these sidelined characters could’ve been, Marvel has already redeemed these X-Men by making them pillars of the X-Men ‘97 cast.
Related All 15 Marvel Easter Eggs & References In X-Men '97 Episode 1 & 2 X-Men '97's premiere is here with the first two episodes, featuring a collection of exciting Easter eggs to the comics and original animated series. Cyclops And Storm Already Shine More In X-Men ‘97 Than Fox's Franchise As two characters who were previously sidelined, X-Men ‘97 has already made Cyclops and Storm shine much more than they did in the Fox franchise in just two episodes. While Storm was a pretty popular character thanks to Halle Berry’s live-action portrayal, the full scale of her nature-controlling powers was never really emphasized. On the other hand, the live-action Cyclops never really got the hype that other X-Men characters did such as Mystique or Quicksilver. However, fan reception for Cyclops has been very positive considering that he fell flat in the Fox films.
X-Men ‘97 portrays Cyclops as a worthy leader, caring for both his X-Men family and his family with Jean Grey. As the team’s leader, fans are finally seeing Cyclops stepping up in a way that his live-action counterparts did not. Storm has also gotten a major upgrade as her threat level is finally being emphasized. When the X-Men go to the Sahara in X-Men ‘97 episode 1, the enemy describes Storm as an “omega-level threat” with this nod to her immense strength finally giving the iconic character her deserved credit.
The MCU's X-Men Movie Needs To Show Cyclops And Storm As Much Respect X-Men ‘97 season 1 will likely focus on Storm regaining her powers and Cyclops stepping up as a leader. The two characters are going to be key to the series as they deserve to be, and the MCU’s eventual X-Men film will need to show Cyclops and Storm just as much respect as X-Men ‘97 has so far. The show isn’t MCU canon, but it’s a good sign that Marvel has already given the characters their due credit so far. With their popularity, it would be smart for the MCU’s live-action adaptation to give the characters the same spotlight.
Related X-Men '97 Season 2: Characters, Story & Everything We Know X-Men '97 Season 1 is now available on Disney Plus, and here is everything we know about Season 2's characters, story details, and more. With how many things X-Men ‘97 gets right, the show’s treatment of Cyclops and Storm is one of its brightest points. These two characters have previously played a fairly significant role in Fox’s past live-action X-Men iterations, but they have always been sidelined compared to some other X-Men members. This makes it all the better that Cyclops and Storm have much bigger and more crucial roles in X-Men ‘97, finally getting the credit they deserve and showcasing how Marvel could ideally treat them in future projects.
X-Men '97 X-Men '97 is the direct continuation of the popular 1990s animated series X-Men: The Animated Series. Taking up where the third season left off, Marvel's revival brings back famous mutants such as Wolverine, Storm, Rogue, Gambit, Cyclops, Beast, Magneto, and Nightcrawler, who fight villains like Mr. Sinister, the Sentinels, and the Hellfire Club.
Cast Jennifer Hale , Chris Potter , Alison Sealy-Smith , Lenore Zann , Cal Dodd , Catherine Disher , Adrian Hough , Ray Chase , Chris Britton , George Buza Release Date March 20, 2024 Directors Jake Castorena