For good or for ill, the screen provides characters with most of their best-known forms. A superhero can exist for forty years in the comics, but one two-hour feature film will override every panel of their initial source material. This deal worked out for many characters, but heroes like theFantastic Foursuffered on screens big and small. Luckily, withX-Men ‘97, Marvel has a new way to provide long-suffering icons with a path forward.
While the Marvel Cinematic Universeexceeded the popularity ofany other offering, Marvel characters have been consistently represented in animated series since the early days. Millions of fans trace their first fond memories of Spider-Man, Iron Man, or The Incredible Hulk back to a network cartoon. While most examples struggle under modern scrutiny, nostalgia keeps these shows pristine in many memories.
Ray Chase, Jennifer Hale, Alison Sealy-Smith, Cal Dodd, and more
Studio Mir and Tiger Animation
Number of Episodes
10
As the Marvel Cinematic Universe struggles against accusations of being over the hill,X-Men ‘97stands out as a long-awaited savior. The idea of a revival of Marvel and Saban’sX-Men: The Animated Seriessparked confusion and concern among many fans. The finished product quickly silenced dissent, demonstrating a combination of stellar animation and excellent storytelling. This is the MCU’s first project with the X-Men license since it bought 20th Century Fox in 2019. In combination withDeadpool & Wolverine, it heralds the franchise’s adoption of characters and narrative beats that fans have waited years to see. WhileHugh Jackman’s second sendoffseems like a fond farewell to the Fox era,X-Men ‘97resurrects a series with the talent and work necessary to make it as good as it felt in the 90s. This project accomplishes a ton of things from a gross franchise-building perspective, but the most critical element of its production is that it’s also a fantastic animated series.
The 1994Fantastic Fourcartoon could be next
X-Men: The Animated Seriesis not as good asX-Men ‘97. These 90s cartoons have their moments, but they show their age in a thousand unpleasant ways.Fantastic Fouris probably even worse. The first season adapted many classic comic book storylines, but its additions evoked outrage from fans. The show added comic relief characters and simplified many of their narratives. The first season prompted a joke in aFantastic Fourcomic in which Scott Lang points and laughs at the animated series, though he quickly turns his satirical eye to the comics and toys. The second season worked to fix the issues, turning writing duties over to new talent and switching animation studios. These thirteen episodes introduced more complex storylines and broadly better visuals, softening the blow. It’s a considerable improvement, but both seasons have their moments. The show never received a third season.WhereSpider-ManandX-Menenjoyed semi-permanent homes on Fox or Fox Kids,Fantastic Fourlived in theMarvel Action Hour. It shared the block withIron Man, which also crashed in 1996.
The Fantastic Four needs a win
Short of appearances in other characters’ projects, the last goodon-screenFantastic FouradaptationisFantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes. The fourth and most recent animated series about Marvel’s first family ran for 26 episodes in the late 2000s. Almost every other attempt to bring these characters to the screen has crashed and burned. The same year as the animated series, Roger Corman made and hid his take on the comic. It’s a hilarious romp that was never meant to see daylight. The 2005 adaptation and its 2007 sequel made money, but critics and fans tore them both to shreds. They live on now as a solid argument against the era immediately preceding the Marvel empire consuming the genre. Josh Trank’sFant4sticremains one of the worst superhero movies ever made. There is no goodFantastic Fourmovie, and there is only barely a good season of TV.Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Benstand in a new position. The MCU doesn’t need to make them popular. They need to prove that it is possible to do them right. AnX-Men ‘97-style revival will solve that problem.
Adapting the 1994Fantastic Fourseries into a new animated classic would leave fans eagerly awaiting the live-action return of the characters. It’s a chance to capture new fans and delight returning devotees. It represents an opportunity to show everything filmmakers could have been doing with this cast.X-Men ‘97accomplished those lofty goals and more.X-Men ‘97did notbring a classic back. It fixed the problems of an outdated series to create something as good as the nostalgic memories of the source material.Fantastic Fourdoesn’t have those memories to build from, but one excellent animated project might change that.
