Marvel’s animated show is back and better than I even thought possible

Two years later, X-Men ’97 is back for more, and the stakes couldn’t be higher (especially after the messy public firing of original showrunner Beau DeMayo, who receives an executive producer credit this time around). I’ll cut right to the chase: X-Men ’97 season 2 is just as good, if not better, than anything I’ve seen before. Based on the first four episodes provided to critics, the show’s second season more than meets the challenges teased in season 1’s cliffhanger ending, while setting up an even more complex and rewarding narrative with plenty of momentum to carry the show through its season 2 finale and beyond.

In other words, X-Men ’97 is back, and life is finally worth living again.

Previously on X-Men… Magneto almost destroyed the entire planet when his city-sized space station fell back down to Earth. The X-Men manage to save the day, but only by sacrificing their own lives. However, right before they die, a mysterious force zaps our heroes (and also Magneto) across space and time. Half of the crew winds up in Ancient Egypt circa 3000 BC, while the rest arrive in the distant war-torn future of 3960 AD. In both timelines, the X-Men face off against a familiar threat: Apocalypse.

In the past, Professor X, Magneto, Rogue, Beast, and Nightcrawler encounter En Sabah Nur, the first-ever mutant, born into slavery in Ancient Egypt. He may be destined to become the genocidal supervillain Apocalypse, but he’s currently leading a slave revolt against an evil pharaoh who wields futuristic technology, making En Sabah Nur and the X-Men unlikely allies for the time being. Meanwhile, in the future, Cyclops and Jean Grey team up with a rebel alliance that includes their teenage son Nathan (aka, Cable) as they mount an attack against Apocalypse at the height of his diabolical powers. Oh, and in the present, an adult Cable assembles the X-Force to fill in for the absent X-Men.

That may sound like a lot to follow — and it is — but X-Men ’97 cleverly segments its timelines into separate episodes, rather than jumping back and forth between all three in the span of 30 minutes. In just four episodes, we get satisfying stories across all three timelines (two are devoted to ancient Egypt) before a soft-reset for the entire show leading into episode 5.

Of the batch, the story of En Sabah Nur is easily the most captivating. He’s a tragic character voiced by Adetokumboh M’Cormack (Isaac in Netflix’s Castlevania series) who brings tremendous gravitas and complexity to the role. En Sabah Nur quickly becomes ensnared in the unending philosophical battle between Magneto and Professor X, who argue over how best to handle this tenuous alliance. Can they change Apocalypse for the better, or is history destined to repeat itself? These are questions X-Men: The Animated Series often examined in its time-travel stories, and X-Men ’97 quickly rises to that same level of quality.

By comparison, the future timeline feels like a one-note dystopia, though it’s clearly setting up important characters and plotlines that will return later on. The most interesting aspect is watching Cyclops and Jean wrestle with what to tell their son, who doesn’t know he’s related to them and is seemingly destined to become Cable and ultimately defeat Apocalypse. The present timeline in episode 2 is arguably the least entertaining of this first batch of four, but will be a treat for Jubilee fans. (Those exist, right?)

As for the animation, the action, and the voice acting — aka the things that made X-Men ’97 so great in the first place — they’re all equally colorful and dynamic in season 2. There’s no dip in quality. If anything, the choice to send the X-Men into the distant past and future forces the show’s writers and artists to take even bigger and bolder swings. Watching a classic Professor X astral plane sequence play out against a trippy Egyptian-themed backdrop is a pure delight, while an unstoppable, high-tech “Slave Train” in the apocalyptic 40th Century makes for a thrilling set piece.

After watching the first four episodes of X-Men ’97 season 2, the biggest question I have is simply: When can I watch the rest of it? And while it’s unclear how all these newly loosened threads will ultimately tie together in what’s already looking like a very complicated narrative, I have no reason not to put my full faith in the X-Men. After all, they always seem to get the job done.

X-Men ’97 season 2 premieres July 1 on Disney Plus.