In 1992,  X-Men: The Animated Series was one of the most impactful animated shows of all time. It captivated a generation of young fans and introduced them to Charles Xavier and his team of X-Men. The animated children's series followed the X-Men through its adaption of some of the group's most iconic comic stories as they struggled for mutant equality, fighting against villains like Magneto and Apocalypse and the regular humans who discriminate against them.

The series holds a very nostalgic place in the comic book space and preceded adaptions like the live-action X-Men films. While limited by its budget and being a children's show, it was still the best representation of the true essence of the X-Men.

Marvel and Disney+’s latest gambit, X-Men ‘97, continues the series, following Xavier’s students as they face new challenges in a world without their telepathic mentor. The anti-mutant government programs have been axed, and the robot Sentinels designed to hunt down mutants have been defunded, but threats tend to evolve.

The series takes its time initially introducing and reintroducing its classic cast of characters like Cyclops (Ray Chase), Jean Grey (Jennifer Hale), Wolverine (Cal Dodd), and Storm (Alison Sealy-Smith), The young mutant Roberto da Costa (Gui Agustini), a new character, is introduced as a way to guide fans new and old into the world as he is captured by an anti-mutant hate group and saved by the team. Roberto is a Brazillian teen runaway with solar powers who serves a similar purpose Jubilee (Holly Chou) did in the original, which shows us a young person coming to terms with the fact that they are different.

The first two episodes ease us back into this world and establish the new status quo. Xavier is dead, Scott, aka Cyclops, is the new acting leader of the X-Men but still doesn’t have that aura of a true leader yet, and Jean is pregnant, which has her considering being a hero in the wake of Charles's death and the possibility of her coming child's safety in such a dangerous world. Scott and Jean are still Xavier's first students and hold a special place among their peers, so pondering their future with a baby on the way while still caring for Wolverine and the rest of their family is difficult.

The series continues the X-Men’s themes that parallel the plight of Mutants and their persecution with real-world discrimination. ‘97 reintroduces Villains like Henry Gyrich (Tom Haberkorn), an extremist who sets out to destroy mutantkind and uses phrases like “Tolerance is extinction,” mirroring real-world reactionary racism. With the death of his long-time friend and nemesis Charles Xavier, Magneto (Matthew Waterson) accepts Xavier’s last will to take over his school and lead the X-Men, making a major antagonist of the original show a new hero shaking up the team's core.

Despite the first two episodes' throat clearing and setup, X-Men ‘97 feels like the best representation of what the X-Men are. The team dynamics and overall vibe of the show are perfect. Every character has a distinct personality that fans are familiar with, and the show goes out of its way to show off in organic ways. Seeing them playing basketball in their '90s athletic gear or Gambit (A. J. LoCascio) making Beignets is the type of character flavoring that the X-Men thrive on.

Through two episodes, there were flashes of the soap opera elements that really amplified why people like the X-Men. They are a messy team with a lot of drama. The beef, romance, lies, secrets, and cheating make the X-Men endlessly entertaining. The first two episodes give slices of interpersonal dramas like the love triangle of Jean, Cyclops, and Wolverine, and it also introduces the similar drama between Rouge (Lenore Zann), Gambit, and Magneto that will be a storyline going forward. It’s the type of drama the live-action movies needed more of.

The X-Men are also very weird, and the weirdness combined with the soapy drama is where it’s at its best, like the Jean clone reveals at the end of episode 2, which lead to some bizarre and ridiculous places but adds to their already complicated character relationships.

The themes of the original series were pretty basic, but the much-discussed allegory to real-world discrimination works in its simplicity, and the show updates and even matures its messaging in a way that was surprising given the fact that this type of blatant commentary on racism is not something that has been a priority for the MCU and Disney.

When thousands of people can watch a racist character like the X-Cutioner in Episode 1 spew racist and far-right talking points that echoes language used online every day and think, “he has a point,” it doesn't matter how simple or complex your anti-hate messaging can be because it reflects hateful people's actual thoughts on equality. The basic black-and-white anti-discrimination messaging of ‘97 probably works more today than it did in the '90s because of how extreme these hateful movements have gotten.

The animation looks fantastic at times and stiff at others, but I'm generally positive about the look of the show. It retains that nostalgic look of the original series style and elevates itself when the moment calls for it, like the incredible sequence of Storm using a tornado of glass to destroy sentinels. It has a distinct vision, and it's going for that '90s vibe of the original, and it works.

This show is a no-brainer success for X-Men fans and fans of the original series, but can it gain new fans from a new generation of kids? Maybe. In the best case, X-Men ‘97 will serve as an entry point for new fans and for these characters' eventual introduction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Will it have the same type of impact that the original show had? Probably not, but it accomplishes its goal of reviving something that was beloved, keeping what made it special intact while fine-tuning it for a modern audience, and its universal positive reaction hopefully denotes bigger and better things for the franchise in its upcoming live-action adaption.

X-Men ‘97 is available to stream on Disney+