‘X-Men ’97’ Synopsis Reveals Sinister Threatening the Team of Mutants

The 1992 superhero television show, X-Men: The Animated Series, has introduced the team of heroic mutants—as well as the bad ones—to a wider audience beyond the comics. It ran for five long years after ending with five seasons, bidding goodbye to the iconic X-Men characters, including Rogue, Storm, Jean Grey, Gambit, and Cyclops, with the powerful telepathic Professor X (also known as Charles Xavier) as the team’s headman. Since the series’ conclusion, the franchise based on a Marvel comic book has received several live-action iterations, starting with the 2000 film starring Hugh Jackman as the brawny and quick-tempered mutant Wolverine. And now, the X-Men will be reintroduced to a new generation of fans as X-Men ’97, which will serve as the continuation of the beloved 1992 series, is already in the works for Disney+. During Marvel Unlimited‘s X-Men: 60 Uncanny Years Live Event, the synopsis for the upcoming television series was unveiled, teasing that the X-Men will once again be battling against a formidable force.

The revival of the 1992 animated series will pick up where the mutants left off in 1997. Several voice cast members—who will also be attending the inaugural fan event on September 16 and 17—will be reprising their parts, including Cal Dodd as Wolverine, George Buza as Beast, Catherine Disher as Jean Grey, Lenore Zann as Rogue, Alyson Court as Jubilee, and more. Moreover, new members will join the courageous team, with Jennifer Hale, Ray Chase, Anniwaa Buachie, JP Karliak, AJ LoCascio, Matthew Waterson, Jeff Bennett, and Holly Chou joining the stellar voice cast. The official synopsis for the upcoming Disney+ animated series reads:

“Storm and Wolverine try to continue the X-Men. Magneto comes in and wants to step up for Charles Xavier. Sinister comes in to try to end the X-Men once and for all.”

RELATED: The 13 Best Animated TV Shows of the 1990s, According to Reddit

Alongside Rogue, Storm, Jean Grey, Gambit, Cyclops, and Wolverine, other original X-Men members include Beast, Jubilee, and Morph—all of whom possess extraordinary superpowers, including psionic ability, regenerative healing power, telekinesis, and kinetic energy manipulation, among many others. After the conclusion of X-Men: The Animated Series, the team of mutants was re-introduced in the early 2000s, with the three live-action installments—X-Men, X2, and X-Men: The Last Stand—receiving mostly positive critical reception and a favorable box office income. In the 21st century, new faces graced the big screen as the younger versions of the iconic X-Men characters in the films X-Men: First Class in 2011, X-Men: Days of Future Past in 2014, and X-Men: Apocalypse in 2016. Apart from several X-Men films, a few Wolverine-centered features were also released, including X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Wolverine, and the 2017 critical darling, Logan.

The last two installments, however, caused the franchise to undergo a rough patch, with widely panned Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants receiving mostly negative reviews. But the 2022 MCU outing, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, featured Professor Charles Xavier (played by Patrick Stewart) in a different multiverse, teasing the possibility of the MCU exploring the world of mutants in the coming years. And with X-Men ’97 coming our way this year, fans can expect more X-Men content to approach soon enough; a fan can hope.

All X-Men: The Animated Series episodes are available to stream on Disney+, so you’ll have enough time to catch up on the superhero tale before the new series debuts later this year. You can watch the X-Men: The Animated Series trailer below.