Marvel’s X-Men ’97 Trailer Breakdown

“To me, my X-Men!” Spoken by Professor Charles Xavier on X-Men: The Animated Series, those words are the rallying cry for the mutants who use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Storm, Morph, Beast, Rogue, Gambit, Jubilee, and Bishop. Before the live-action X-Men make their debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Animation’s nostalgic X-Men ’97 revives the MAU — the Marvel Animated Universe — when the all-new episodes drop March 20 on Disney+.

Below, we break down the X-Men ’97 trailer and all the reveals from the first look at the X-Men: The Animated Series revival.

Previously on X-Men…

Flashback: Saturday morning, September 20, 1997. The “Graduation Day” series finale of X-Men: The Animated Series ends with a dying Professor X bidding farewell to his X-Men and old friend Magneto. “I am proud of you all… my X-Men,” Xavier says, leaving them to carry on his dream for homo superior and humankind to co-exist. Empress Lilandra of the Shi’ar Empire then takes Professor X to space, where he’ll survive only under Shi’ar care. Asked if he’ll ever return, Xavier tells the X-Men: “Perhaps not in body, my children… but my spirit shall remain among you, where it was always meant to be.”

Inside Scoop

A Daily Bugle headline questions if the wall-crawling superhero Spider-Man is a mutant. When Peter Parker (voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes) began suffering from a mutation in the “Neogenic Nightmare” arc of Spider-Man: The Animated Series, he turned to an expert on genetic mutations: Professor Xavier. Spider-Man season 2 crossed over with X-Men: The Animated Series in the episodes “Chapter IV: The Mutant Agenda” and “Chapter V: Mutants’ Revenge,” and again in the “Secret Wars” arc of season 5.

The newspaper also offers a scoop on the Hellfire Gala, signaling the arrival of Emma Frost and Sebastian Shaw. Its cover story of a “mutant fashion show” features visual references to Sean Cassidy/Banshee and lesser-known mutants Guido Carosella/Strong Guy and the green drop-shaped Doop of X-Statix.

Friends of Humanity

“We have to stay vigilant,” intones laser-focused team leader Cyclops (Ray Chase, replacing the late Norm Spencer) over footage of anti-mutant protestors. “The professor entrusted us with his dream.” But dream is endangered by the Friends of Humanity, a hate group formed by the human son of mutants Sabretooth and Mystique on X-Men: The Animated Series. Look closely, and you’ll spot a sign with the “FoH” insignia in the mob.

The Trial of Magneto

Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, the mutant master of magnetism Magneto (Matthew Waterson, taking over from the late David Hemblen), is put before the United Nations and charged with crimes against humanity. All eyes are on the televised trial, which is attended by the X-Men. Inspired by “The Trial of Magneto” in the classic Uncanny X-Men #200, that story ended with a dying Professor X entrusting a reformed Magneto as headmaster of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. 

SNIKT!

’90s kids have waited decades to hear the “snikt!” of Wolverine (Cal Dodd) unsheathing his adamantium metal claws with that iconic blue slice. He’s the best there is at what he does, bub — but what he does best isn’t very nice.

The Blackbird Back in Flight

The X-Men’s ship sends the team — field leader Cyclops, Storm (Alison Sealy-Smith), Beast (George Buza), Wolverine, shape-shifter Morph (JP Karliak), time-traveler Bishop (Isaac Robinson-Smith), the power-absorbing Rogue (Lenore Zann), and the kinetically-charged Gambit (AJ LoCascio) — to face an existential threat: Sentinels.

Night of the Sentinels: Part Three

Created by Bolivar Trask and Henry Peter Gyrich of the Mutant Control Agency to hunt down and exterminate all mutants, the killer robots once achieved their mission in the dystopic future that was Bishop’s original timeline. The Sentinels targeted young mutant Jubilation “Jubilee” Lee (Holly Chou, replacing Alyson Court) in the two-part X-Men: The Animated Series pilot episode, titled Night of the Sentinels.

Days of Future Past… and Present

Hailing from an alternate future — the year 2055 — mutant bounty hunter Bishop time-traveled back to the 20th century to join the present-day X-Men after preventing a timeline where mutants are all but extinct. This timeline meddling brought him into conflict with fellow time traveler Cable (Chris Potter, replacing Lawrence Bayne), who was on a mission to stop the devastating Techno-Virus plague unleashed by the ancient mutant Apocalypse.

Baby Summers

Cyclops is expecting a child with a pregnant Jean Grey (Jennifer Hale, taking over from Catherine Disher). However, in the comics — spoiler alert! — baby Nathan Summers, a.k.a. the future Cable, was born in 1985’s Uncanny X-Men #201 to Scott Summers and Madelyne Pryor… Jean’s clone created by the mutant-obsessive mad scientist Mister Sinister. 

X-Men United

The card-slinging Gambit uses his mutant ability to channel and then charge objects with explosive purple kinetic energy. In a twist on Wolverine and Colossus’ tag-team Fastball Special — in which the organic steel-skinned Colossus throws Wolverine at an enemy — Gambit charges Wolverine’s indestructible adamantium claws with kinetic energy in battle against the Sentinels. X-Treme! 

“To Me, My X-Men”

The phrase famously uttered by Professor X to telepathically summon his X-Men dates back to the end of the team’s first mission in 1963’s X-Men #1. Here, Cyclops commands the X-Men into battle with the rallying cry that leads into the Newton Brothers’ remixed riff on the classic X-Men: The Animated Series theme song.

Headmaster Magneto

In true Marvel fashion, the trailer ends with a stinger: Magneto in possession of the last will and testament of the late Charles Xavier. “Everything he built now belongs to me,” arch-villain Magneto tells the X-Men. To be continued!

Marvel Animation’s X-Men ’97 premieres March 20 on Disney+.