X-Men 97 Impressions

 So not too long ago, Disney released an announcement for X-Men 07. It isn't a reboot, it isn't a remake, it isn't a standalone movie, it's not even gonna be some Love and Thunder-ian nightmare. It's intended to act as a continuation of the 1990s animated series.

To be perfectly honest, X-Men was never a part of my childhood. I have heard of X-Men in general, but I never heard of the show or saw much of it, at least until Nostalgia Critic covered it way back when. On one hand, I'd have no say in the quality of X-Men, on the other, at least this means I can approach this new show without any bias. How does an outsider feel about X-Men? Especially a Disney property?

General Stuff

When going into a Marvel property, it's important to highlight the connection it has to its parent company. While Disney was able to make Marvel content profitable, it's clear Disney had run Marvel into the ground, and things could be better. A company would do anything to restore good faith, and something tells me that's the mentality Disney had when they decided to do Deadpool 3, and this show, bringing back a popular character, and use nostalgia to some advantage.

A company would often turn to a safe-haven when they know a majority of their projects barely meet or fall below expectations. Why else are we getting another Planet of the Apes movie? And why are we getting more X-Men, let alone a continuation of the 90s series now?

Though honestly it seems like X-Men is the perfect IP to turn to in this era, given its themes, and the only reason it took so long for Disney to get their hands on it was legal ownership, or something like that, I don't know the score.

I'm not one of those "anti-woke" types who would assume X-Men has been pigeonholed, because that would be a stretch. The old cartoon, even the general philosophy, has always been progressive, though I would argue it and other shows like it handled certain themes better than most shows today; either with more subtlety or better writing, whereas a lot of stuff these days are a bit too on the nose. I'm all for covering issues, but there're right and wrong ways to go about it.

Recognizable Changes

As far as noticeable changes go, it is said that Morph will become non-binary. I get what they're going for, given that Morph's ability is to become anyone he/she/they so chooses, with so many identities, it's fair to assume they have little sense of their own identity anymore. I guess if anyone had to go through an overhaul Morph seemed like the ideal choice.

A Rant about Asses

But there is of course one aspect that's driving people nuts. Rogue's ass. People are mad that Rogue isn't as, ahem, built as she was back then, and given people's attitudes toward more progressive stuff these days you can imagine what that's like.

Back in the 90s, before any real standards were set, before any major disasters influenced the future of cartoons as we knew them, things were a bit looser, and cheap, and that was outweighed by the ambition writers had back then, animation errors and off-modeling would be very common back then.

And what am I trying to say here? The calling card people go to, the one shot people use when making their complaints... it was off-model. Rouge does not have that big of an ass in any scene other than the one people go to. It's all one big misunderstanding that people refuse to pick up on.

But why would they? Well, referring back to the lack of standards and how 90s cartoons got away with a lot back then? Among many things, one of them was women with sex appeal. Such examples include the 1996 Incredible Hulk cartoon, with the infamous She-Hulk transformation that got a lot of people interested in the character, I can attest. That booty shot of Rogue had a similar effect on a lot of people.

Now, it's one thing to get an interest, everyone has their kinks, they're not my business, but this has gone beyond a simple interest to an actual criticism toward X-Men 97, especially since it's over something that was never really considered in-model for Rogue to start with.

To sum this up, I've developed a psychological complex where if people shit on a new iteration of an old show because of very minor things, especially if there's a good explanation to why things have changed, I will not take them seriously. I'm saying this as someone who had no background with X-Men, as someone who can see the faults in established properties trying to approach modern issues, and something's smelling rotten.

Final Thoughts

I have no intention of watching X-Men 97, along with the lack of attachment to X-Men, I don't have, nor do I intend to get Disney+. Honestly, X-Men 97 seems like a desperate attempt by Disney to restore good faith to the Marvel brand by relying on nostalgic properties, and a lot of people are clearly taking the bait. Who knows what the actual show will be like, but I'm not gonna find out.

And to think, the one thing people lost their shit over was an off-model scene not being represented. It's bound to lead to a snowball effect that would turn the tides on media discussion, probably, I dunno.

Top 5 Classic DCAU Shows I still Love

Superhero fatigue, it's the beginning of the end for an ongoing series of superhero films, and it has already claimed the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I'm in a similar boat when it comes to the DC Animated Universe. It really feels like they have stuck to one or two tonal directions for longer than they should have, yes I'm sure it's meant to establish continuity or stuff like that, but it's starting to get old. When I see a new DC cartoon coming out, I'd have a feeling it'd be the most generic thing I'd ever seen, I mean in my personal opinion.

But, it doesn't mean I have to rule out every single DC cartoon. I've been revisiting certain ones to see if they still hold up for me, and I've been able to narrow it down to five... and four of which are from the Timmverse. I'm gonna share five DC cartoons I had revisited, and came out still loving them.

#5: Batman Beyond

Anyone remember The Hub? Back when it was on they used to air reruns of some of the old Timmverse cartoons, Superman and Batman TAS and this. It was through The Hub I got to see these shows, and I liked what I saw... well, Batman TAS is a good show, but honestly kinda overrated, more on that later.

I like this show kinda for the same reasons everyone else does. It has a darker tone compared to Batman TAS, in a way I can't make an example of because I haven't seen much of the show in so long, sorry. But hey, Batman: TAS fans rejoice for an extension of that series, with some teenage drama and a serialized redemption arc that sees the future's Batman earn that title.

Although I wouldn't blame you if you had a better time with Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. Compared to Batman: TAS, Batman Beyond had the better movie adaptation, closing the book on Bruce Wayne's story and bringing Joker back in style. Of course I can't do these shows justice in explaining them, just know that I have great respect for them, and if you really wanna know, you're better off watching them for yourself.

#4: Superman TAS

Superman can be considered a lighter inverse of Batman, no wonder people openly rejected Man of Steel. While this has a similar tone to Batman: TAS, Superman does a great job at standing on its own, while going dark whenever it needs to. Superman also has a more nostalgic look and feel to it. Timmverse shows made use of art deco themes and backgrounds, which are generally considered timeless, and since Superman had been a component of popular culture for so long, it's good to keep up tradition, of course that shouldn't deter people from switching things up, in general, sometimes DC fans are a bit too picky when it comes to representing heroes.

Back to the tone, it has a better balance than say, Teen Titans, what with that show's near constant tonal whiplash. You don't have to err to one extreme or the other if you want to do both.

#3: The Batman

Which means, yes, I prefer the 2004 The Batman cartoon to Batman: TAS. Not saying one is better than the other, but I just found The Batman more interesting, then again it was the first Batman cartoon I saw, perhaps with the exception of a tiny portion of Mask of the Phantasm I saw as a kid.

But why do I like it more? It's all in how it handles its tone. Batman: TAS had a more theatric tone, most of the time characters would get into monologues and it had a more straightly-played serious tone. Whereas The Batman had a bit more grit to it, often going hard when it comes to more insane and tragic characters. Ethan Bennett's Clayface, intended to act as a substitute to Two-Face, had some stronger build-up and more horrifying culmination, and they even redeemed him in his last appearance.

That aside, the show's use of more saturated colors and grit lends to a fairly unique show, providing an underlying sense of just how much Gotham is slowly starting to sink, this was Year Three Batman mind you.

They also do a good job portraying the grief Bruce feels for his family, as well as his dynamic with Alfred, which I feel is the strongest in any Batman cartoon I've seen. Though if you want the best experience for the show, stick with the first season and determine if you want to continue.

#2: Static Shock

Even as I started to stray from DC and action cartoons in general back then, I always had a soft spot for Static Shock. It came out closer to the end of the Timmverse, and it really stands well on its own. It is as compelling as it is funny, and it gets right down to the bigger IRL issues, trying to avoid spoilers here, basically summed it up already.

#1: Justice League Unlimited

This surpasses Static Shock because I just got back into the series recently. This is another nostalgic show for me, and that's not all it has going for it. As one of the last Timmverse shows, I get a lot of what made Timm's shows great, from the stories to the general tone. What makes this show great is that you don't necessarily have to read comic books beforehand to understand what's happening.

Not to mention the intro is an utter earworm.