X-Men ’97 Season 2 is about to expand Marvel’s animated universe. Marvel’s animated X-Men revival is going from strength to strength, with X-Men ’97 Season 2 debuting with Marvel’s highest Rotten Tomatoes score. The X-Men are scattered across time and space, all confronting the same terrible threat: Apocalypse, a ruthless mutant who believes in survival of the fittest.
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Most trailers have released online, but there’s an exception; a first look that released at Comic Con Revolution Ontario, which actually contained a reference to the Winter Soldier – the last Avenger I’d have expected. That said, Season 1 did subtly reveal that all the other ’90s animated shows are part of the same universe, meaning the Avengers, Spider-Man, and so many other heroes are confirmed to exist in the X-Men ’97 world. Here are all the heroes we know are part of this animated universe, courtesy of the classics.
13. Spider-Man & His Supporting Heroes
The first, of course, is Spider-Man – star of his own epic animated series in the ’90s. In fact, because that ended on a cliffhanger in which Spider-Man headed into the multiverse to find his beloved Mary Jane, X-Men ’97 Season 1 technically wrapped up that Spider-Man story. At one point, we saw Peter Parker and Mary Jane together, confirming they’d found one another. In addition, of course, Spider-Man: The Animated Series also introduced quite a few Spider-Man allies and enemies, as well as various Marvel heroes. We’ll cover the more tangential ones separately, but the following Spider-Man allies are confirmed to be part of this universe:
- Black Cat – aka Felicia Hardy, Spider-Man’s sneak-thief frenemy was a major part of Spider-Man: The Animated Series
- Morbius – long before “Morbin’ Time” became a thing, Spider-Man: The Animated Series featured its own version of the vampiric antihero
- Venom – naturally, Spider-Man: The Animated Series played Venom straight, given it released at the height of his popularity
- Madame Web – Spider-Man: The Animated Series‘ Madame Web transcended time and space, making her one of this universe’s most powerful characters
- Silver Sable – a mercenary super-spy
- Prowler – presented as a criminal who eventually became an ally to Spider-Man and a crime-fighter
- Spider-Man: The Animated Series also predicted the Spider-Verse, introducing alternate-universe Peter Parkers – such as its Scarlet Spider, who originally believed himself a clone
12. Iron Man & Force Works
The Iron Man animated series introduced its own version of Iron Man, and it’s notable that X-Men ’97 featured the same design. This version predates Robert Downey Jr,’s incarnation by over a decade, but the core concept is pretty much the same; here, Tony Stark is leader of an Avengers-analogue team, based on the “Force Works” group from the comics. They include:
- War Machine – aka James Rhodes, Tony’s best friend who wears similar Iron Man armor
- Hawkeye – a more comic book accurate version than the MCU (another related character, who gained super-powers and took up the alias Goliath, also appeared in Fantastic Four; it may or may not be Clint Barton later in his career)
- Spider-Woman – a super-spy who had a crush on Tony Stark and spent a lot of time bickering over him with Scarlet Witch
- Scarlet Witch – the daughter of Magneto (her brother Quicksilver also exists in this universe, as part of X-Men: The Animated Series)
- U.S. Agent – a hero trained according to the pattern of Captain America
- Century – a powerful mystic who has largely been forgotten by modern comics
11. Hulk, She-Hulk, & Doc Samson
The Incredible Hulk predates many of the most influential Hulk stories, so don’t expect versions of the Hulk who resonate with “World War Hulk” or “Planet Hulk.” Instead, The Incredible Hulk plays to the classic version, with Bruce Banner as a heroic scientist who’s seeking a cure for his Gamma-irradiated mutation. This naturally meant many of the Hulk’s core enemies make their way into this shared universe, including the likes of the Leader, Thunderbolt Ross, and the Abomination.
On the superhero side, The Incredible Hulk also featured Jennifer Walters as Hulk’s Gamma-powered cousn, She-Hulk, super-powered psychologist Doc Samson, and a member of the superhero team Alpha Flight known as Sasquatch. These were all presented as physical powerhouses, and it wouldn’t be hard to set up some of the traditional rivalries in X-Men ’97 Season 2. Trailers have teased adventures from throughout Wolverine’s timeline, and he has his own history with the Hulk; it would be thrilling to see their grudge match recreated.
10. Captain America and the Six American Warriors
The animated series’ Captain America is largely identical to the one we know and love from the comics, and X-Men ’97 showed him meeting with the US President alongside Iron Man. Crucially, though, in the animated series we have a subtly different history of Operation Rebirth – the government project that created Captain America. Here, scientists created another five super-soldiers who would go on to play a key role in World War II, and who were led by Captain America until he was lost in time. The rest of the Six American Warriors are:
- The Destroyer – a close friend of the Parker family with traditional super-soldier powers
- Miss America – who can manipulate her own density to grant herself superhuman strength and resistance to injury
- The Thunderer – who generates powerful shockwaves
- The Black Marvel – another super-soldier
- The Whizzer – Marvel’s first super-speedster
All these characters do originate from the comics, but have more complicated and disparate origins. Spider-Man: The Animated Series neatly draws them together as a cohesive unit.
9. The Fantastic Four
In 1994, Marvel launched a Fantastic Four animated series that ran for two seasons. These were fairly straightforward adaptations of some classic comic book stories, establishing Marvel’s First Family as premiere superheroes in what has now become a shared universe. This logically means several other major Fantastic Four-related characters made their presence felt, including:
- Namor the Sub-Mariner – presented as the antagonistic ruler of the undersea kingdom of Atlantis
- The Silver Surfer – who betrayed Galactus in the traditional manner and who would go on to star in his own animated series
- The Inhumans – introduced as a secret society ruled by a Royal Family
- Frankie Raye’s Nova – a human girl who agreed to become a herald of Galactus to save the Earth from his wrath
- Black Panther – ruler of the secretive nation of Wakanda (this predated T’Challa’s really becoming a major brand in his own right)
Modern comic book readers may well find these classic iterations rather different to the ones they’re familiar to. If they do turn up in X-Men ’97 Season 2, expect some surprises.
8. Nick Fury & Key S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents
Spider-Man: The Animated Series wasted no time introducing its version of Nick Fury, but this character is very different to the one MCU audiences know. That’s because the MCU’s Nick Fury is based on an alternate-universe version created in The Ultimates, based on Samuel L. Jackson himself. The animated universe predates all this, and thus features the original Nick Fury, leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. Even the comics have largely moved on, with a Jackson-esque Fury who’s the son of this version.
Spider-Man: The Animated Series‘ Nick Fury is director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and a close ally of Spider-Man. He has a long and storied history, working with Wolverine and Captain America during the Second World War, and he’s a respected ally of Iron Man too. The character was mentioned several times in The Incredible Hulk, but not seen. He’s a power player in this animated universe, and it would be appropriate for him to play a role in any Winter Soldier-inspired storyline.
Several other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are confirmed part of this universe. This includes Sharon Carter, Gabe Jones, and Dum Dum Dugan, and several could easily be woven into X-Men ’97 Season 2 as former allies of Wolverine. Fury’s Howlin’ Commandos – his task-force during World War II – have been established in flashbacks.
7. Doctor Strange, Wong, & Clea
Doctor Strange and his manservant / fellow adventurer Wong were some of the earliest connective tissue behind Spider-Man: The Animated Series, The Incredible Hulk, and the original X-Men animation. He made a cameo in X-Men, shown sensing the Phoenix Force, and was shown visiting a skiing resort with his beloved Clea – a Sorcerer Supreme in her own right in the comics – when the X-Men happened to be there. But Doctor Strange had a much bigger role as an ally of Spider-Man.
Mary Jane Watson fell under the influence of Baron Mordo, Strange’s nemesis, and Peter’s own attempts to rescue her went badly wrong; he wound up controlled by Mordo too. With Spider-Man’s help, Mordo’s forces successfully stole a powerful mystical artifact from Strange. Naturally, the Sorcerer Supreme soon forged an alliance with the wall-crawler, and they defeated Mordo. Later, in The Incredible Hulk, Doctor Strange helped Bruce Banner and the Hulk against a powerful mystical threat.
5. Thor
Thor Odinson may be one of the most powerful characters in Marvel Comics, and a literal god, but he actually has only a relatively minor role in the various ’90s animations. X-Men: The Animated Series used him in a notable scene where he’s shown reacting to the emergence of the Phoenix, and he crossed paths with the Fantastic Four on a mission to explore Ego, the Living Planet. Thor helped protect the Earth when Galactus returned, giving a sense of the cosmic scale of his adventures.
Asgardians were generally used sparingly, with Thor’s dialogue at least confirming Odin. That said, given these animations tended to lift straight out of the comics from their time, it’s reasonable to assume other Asgardians exist: Loki, Sif, Balder, Heimdall, the Enchantress, Hela, and the like. The X-Men do actually have real history with Asgard – the New Mutants team in particular traveled to Asgard to help protect it from Loki – so it’s quite possible future X-Men ’97 seasons will reveal more.
4. Ghost Rider
One more surprising addition – who appears across several animated shows – is Ghost Rider, treated as one of the most powerful heroes in the world. Ghost Rider is a demonic entity who seeks vengeance on behalf of the oppressed, and he incorrectly targeted the Hulk for a time. Ghost Rider quickly learned the truth – that Hulk is an innocent hunted by the military – when he used his Penance Stare on General Talbot, experiencing his evil actions. It didn’t take long for him to become one of the Hulk’s allies.
Ghost Rider appeared in Fantastic Four, helping protect the Earth from Galactus. Incredbly, the Penance Stare proved able to overwhelm even Galactus, who was forced to experience the billions of deaths he had caused while consuming worlds. Between these two appearances – battling the Hulk and confronting Galactus – it’s quite clear the Marvel Animation Ghost Rider is a real game-changer wherever he turns up.
3. Daredevil
Spider-Man: The Animated Series played Daredevil straight, as a blind lawyer by day and a skilled vigilante by night. He and Spider-Man became allies when Peter Parker was framed by the Kingpin’s son, Richard Fisk, for selling government secrets. This led to a delightful team-up story, with each character struggling to navigate the other’s secret identity while both faced off against Kingpin’s criminal empire. As with many of these stores, it’s amusing to note how this idea – that Murdock was Peter’s lawyer – eventually found its way into the MCU.
Daredevil made cameos in X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men ’97, but these were much smaller – not even featuring any dialogue. He did go on to appear in Fantastic Four, representing the team in a story where they’d lost their super-powers. This makes Matt Murdock smart connective tissue between the different shows. It remains to be seen whether the X-Men ’97 cameo will turn out to be foreshadowing, or just a cool Easter egg.
2. Blade, the Vampire Slayer
Modern takes on Blade tend to be influenced by Wesley Snipes’ phenomenal portrayal in the late ’90s; even the comics adapted the character, changing him forever. But Spider-Man: The Animated Series‘ version of Blade predates that, even if it is influenced by early scripts. The son of a vampire man and a human woman, Blade exhibits many of the vampire’s greatest strengths and none of their weaknesses. He first crossed paths with Spider-Man when he tried to kill him, thinking the wall-crawler was a vampire, and they became increasingly focused on dealing with the threat of Morbius.
Blade is assisted by fellow vampire hunter Abraham Whistler; the animated series’ creative team had managed to acquire scripts for the upcoming Blade film, and liked this character. This version of Blade wound up allying with Morbius and Black Cat, and his greatest enemy is his own mother, the Vampire Queen named Miriam. Like Spider-Man, Blade’s story was never quite finished by the time Spider-Man: The Animated Series wrapped up.
1. The Punisher
Jon Bernthal probably wouldn’t be a fan of Spider-Man: The Animated Series‘ Punisher. Frank Castle made his debut as a Spider-Man antagonist, and that’s pretty much the role he plays here; Punisher is a killer who targets Spider-Man because of Daily Bugle reports claiming the wall-crawler is a menace. This version of the Punisher is known for his brutal methods and unusual high-tech weapons, including a Battle Van that contains a pretty impressive arsenal.
Punisher has a habit of turning up at the worst possible time. He first crossed paths with Spider-Man when his powers were out of control due to genetic mutation (an idea that sounds suspiciously like Spider-Man: Brand New Day). Later, Punisher targeted Peter Parker because he believed he was secretly the Green Goblin, and had kidnapped Mary Jane. Suffice to say the Marvel Animation version of the Punisher isn’t always the most successful antihero on the planet.
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