Most people here know how big of an X-Men fan I am. They’ve been a part of my life for over 40 years, and yet I’ve not really said much about X-Men ’97, the Disney+ series that is probably the hottest show on the channel right now. The season is coming down to the wire with a huge three-part finale, “Tolerance Is Extinction”, which kicks off on Wednesday and adapts elements of the “Operation Zero Tolerance” comic book storyline, with Bastion as the villain leading a war between humans and mutants.
Today, a new trailer teasing the finale was released and it’s jam-packed with action, but also potential spoilers so watch at your own risk. We see the X-Men, still reeling from the events at Genosha, the loss of some beloved members, the return of some others, and now forced to face Bastion and his army of Prime Sentinels, human/sentinel hybrids more powerful than anything they’ve ever faced.
There’s also a funny jab at Fox’s live-action X-Men movies and their choice of black leather costumes, which a lot of fans hated but made sense at the time. It was the early 2000s, everyone was trying to be slick and cool.
As for my thoughts on the series? I think they’ve done an incredible job of aging up the show, recognizing that people like me who loved the original are now much older and demand a more mature story. The way so many storylines are threaded together has been effective for the most part, especially on an emotional level, and it’s genuinely impossible to know where things are headed. I’ve been left devastated by more than one episode already. But it’s also led to some crappy standalone episodes (“Lifedeath 2” was terrible) that can’t carry the same weight, even though they should. I’m so excited to see how this season wraps up.
For more of my thoughts on X-Men ’97, you can check out my appearance on the Black Girl Nerds podcast!
Happy National Villains Day 😈
Dive right into Marvel Animation's #XMen97, the series that everyone is talking about, now streaming on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/5CrhoBWEAz
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) April 29, 2024
