Summary
Marvel Studios’X-Men ‘97was a massive hit for Marvel Studios and Disney+. The series, which is acontinuation of the beloved ‘90sX-Menseries, featured cameos by some of Marvel Comics’ most notable heroes during its first season, including Captain America and Daredevil. However, they were merely secondary characters in the story being told.
While cameos are not necessarily a bad thing,X-Men ‘97could surprise fans byforegoing cameos in favor of team-ups in Season 2.After all, team-ups between Marvel’s biggest heroes and the X-Men could only benefit the series, so long as they’re not overdone. Including other Marvel heroes in prominent roles could allow for more opportunities going into the next season.
Why Team-Ups Would be Exciting for X-Men ‘97
X-Men ‘97is one of Marvel Studios’ highest-rated projects in recent years. The animated series has a stunning 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, and looks to be confirmed for at least three seasons. Going into Season 2,which is already deep in development,X-Men ‘97has the difficult task of trying to outdo itself.
Over the course of ten episodes in its first season, the series managed to do something most shows could only hope to do: deliver tight storytelling, excellent dialogue, and an exciting cast of characters. There were some fan-service moments, butthe show was willing to take risks, not pulling any punches when it came to the safety of the heroes. The cameos by the likes of Iron Man, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, and even Cloak & Dagger, were exciting, but were nothing more than small glimpses of what could be in future episodes. The cameos worked in season one because the series was able to focus on its storytelling rather than fan service, allowing for a clear-cut and solid season of writing and acting. In fact, some have even called it the strongest project the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had to offer throughout Phase 5 thus far.
Now thatX-Men 97has established itself as a strong, story-driven series, a few team-ups peppered throughout the show’s second season wouldn’t be a bad thing. It’s fair to say that Marvel Studios has relied on team-ups and cameos a bit too much recently, seeming to prioritize fan service rather than how they impact the story being told. However,X-Men ‘97has done a great job of avoiding those same mistakes. With the same team on hand for season two, it’s hard to imagine they wouldn’t know how to balance team-ups with the same characters they brought in for cameos during season one.
X-Men ‘97 Season 2 Has Turmoil to Overcome
Unfortunately, as great as the first season of X-Men ‘97 was, the show is going to be dealing with plenty of drama going into Season 2. While Season 1 was airing,Marvel Studios fired showrunner Beau DeMayo. At the time of his firing, Marvel Studios and DeMayo both opted not to address the reports. DeMayo even went on withlive-tweeting the rest of the seasonwithout issue. However, things turned sour soon after the season finished airing on Disney+. The two arenow entangled in a messy legal battle, with DeMayo insisting Disney and Marvel showed “egregious prejudicial misconduct” in a video that he posted on the site OnlyFans. With the battle between the two overshadowing the series, Marvel Studios would be smart to give fans something more going into the new season.
Audiences already know that DeMayo completed his work on Season 2 ofX-Men ‘97prior to being let go from the series. However, the series isn’t expected to debut until sometime next year. Fans also know that the first season ofX-Men ‘97had a fair share of cameos from some of Marvel’s biggest heroes within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Having the X-Men team up with some Avengers, or even street-level heroes like Daredevil, would be an exciting option for the series going into its next season.
Audiences have seen in the past that behind-the-scenes drama can ultimately hurt a project before it even gets a chance to debut. With DeMayo having gone public about Disney and Marvel pulling his credits from Season 2 ofX-Men ‘97, and what is likely to be a legal battle between the parties, it’s safe to assumeX-Men ‘97is going to have a difficult time when Season 2 finally does debut. For a series that is willing to take risks, killing off characters without hesitation, there’s so much potential for the show as it moves into Seasons 2 and 3. The show doesn’t need to rely on team-ups, of course, as theX-Men are a worthy teamin their own right. However, team-ups with the likes of the Avengers or even smaller-scale Marvel heroes would be an exciting move, and the groundwork has already been laid thanks to the cameos from the first season.
