Spoiler Alert
The rebranded version of X-Men the Animated Series off to a rocky start. Although I enjoyed the first two episodes of X-Men 97, the next pair were not as good. After seeing how the Inferno storyline got compressed and spat out, it seems nobody in the writers’ room really understands the key moments that define that story arc.
In the original tale, S’ym and N’astirh plan to invade Earth. These demons need Illyana Rasputin’s powers to make it happen, and along the way, Madelyne Pryor, becomes part of this entourage after she realises her relationship with Scott was a sham. In all her grief and loathing, Mr. Sinister appears to explain why he created her, and soon afterwards, she would become the Goblin Queen instead of what the cartoon has changed around.
This moment in the life of being an X-Men ranks as #2 of my most favourite storylines from the Chris Claremont years. And without that without the invasion plan in place, the Rasputin storyline and her becoming Darkchylde wouldn’t be as impactful. Morph’s transformation into her really makes no sense as there’s no acknowledgement concerning why the Goblin Queen is important to the grander scheme. As for why she could awaken Illyana’s evil side, I’d have to reread the Uncanny X-men and New Mutants comics (Amazon Kindle links) to know.
Even before this alt Jean can understand who she is, the flashbacks don’t say a lot since it’s her psyche that’s damaged instead of asking if she’s real like in Blade Runner. The changes lack the momentum that defined the comic book arc. Scott was attracted to Madelyne Pryor because she resembled Jean. Although she believed in their romance, he was picking up the pieces of his life after Jean’s funeral. And once he heard his first love was alive, in a coma, he ditched her and that led Maddy to resent him and ultimately turn bad.
Also, I’m wondering when the switch was made? Scott and Jean are back, and although this lady wasn’t around during the later missions, she was vital to the story at the end of season five. I suspect it was during this time that Mr. Sinister enacted this plan to “infiltrate” the X-Men.
Lots of questions are raised. The idea of making Jean become the Goblin Queen to Madelyne Grey is a huge disservice to everything I loved from the comic book. That narrative took a month to happen, and X-Men 97 made it all transpire in a single weekend! As for false Jean, it seems she will suffer from an identity crisis no psychiatrist can reconcile.
Also, Illyana’s past animated appearances never showed her getting kidnapped by demons, living in Hell and becoming Darkchylde; to see Morph change his forms to Easter egg that storyline really makes no sense. Unless he can predict the series future, like in transforming to Spiral, that’s a newfound ability not even the best X-Men lore specialists can answer.
And because this single incident is most likely it for Fake Jean before taking on the name Madelyne Pryor. There’s a sweet irony when she was first introduced. The first part of the name means, “one that evokes a memory,” and the last quietly simply refers to something prior. As she’s not expected to come back soon, I’m hoping the plans to bring her back include a solo X-Men 97 about her figuring out who she is, or will she revert to evil.
As for episode four, what’s presented are side-stories. One is about Jubilee and Roberto meeting Mojo. And I found him no different from The Grandmaster in the Guardians of the Galaxy Films. Despite having appeared in the past series, he was never really a favourite villain. The only credit he deserves to be recognised for is that Longshot came from his world! In this episode, he was nowhere to be found!
The only story I found myself invested in was Storm’s transition to becoming a future leader of the X-men, if I recall that story arc correctly. She meets Forge. Despite his claims that he may be able to restore her powers, I doubt it’ll happen. I remember her returning to Africa instead of Southern Texas steam (if I’m remembering correctly). Here, she meets Forge and he tries to restore her powers. The change in locale has me curious, and I have to wonder if she’ll visit Walter De Maria’s The Lightning Field. Should that be the plan, my faith in the series will be restored since I can imagine Forge building some contraption to focus all that energy to kick-start what’s locked away in Ororo Munroe’s genes.
It’s a foregone conclusion to say this return to a fond series has strayed. The producers were most likely unsure if every fan would support this restart. As a result, this season was short to simply test the waters. Unfortunately, that meant they chose the wrong story arcs to adapt for the renewal. While I’ll gladly watch the original to cleanse the palette, hopefully they’ll fix all that’s wrong with this run with better episodes than these two. Or they can plan properly since the second season is green-lit and hopefully has a larger episode count going forward. Evolution is the key to X-Men 97’s success, not de-evolution.
3 Stars out of 5
X-Men 97 Promo Reel
