X-Men ’97 Season 2 Trailer Goes Full 90s Chaos

I had an absolute blast with season one of X-Men ’97, and after watching the new trailer for season two, I am fully locked in all over again. This thing looks completely insane in the best possible way. The time-travel chaos, the giant emotional stakes, the gorgeous animation, and all the deep-cut comic book references are exactly why this revival works so well. It feels like the creators understand the soul of the original 90s cartoon instead of trying to awkwardly bend it into another setup piece for the Marvel movie machine. They are embracing the weirdness, the melodrama, the soap opera energy, and the over-the-top comic book madness that made the animated series legendary in the first place.

The line everybody is already quoting is Apocalypse growling, “I must strike the X-Men at their most vulnerable… the 1990s!” and honestly, I burst out laughing the first time I heard it. It is so gloriously campy and self-aware while still sounding completely serious inside the world of the show. That balancing act is incredibly hard to pull off, but this series somehow nails it. The internet immediately turned it into a meme because it sounds exactly like something the original animated Apocalypse would say while standing in front of exploding lightning and giant floating pyramids.

Visually, the trailer looks stunning. I was thrilled to see bigger roles for Polaris, Psylocke, Archangel, and Exodus. Those are the kinds of characters longtime comic readers have wanted to see spotlighted forever, and they look incredible here. I also caught the Grant Morrison-era leather jackets almost immediately, which is such a fun little bridge between the classic 90s cartoon aesthetic and the early 2000s evolution of the comics. That tiny detail alone tells me the creators are pulling from all eras of X-Men history without losing the identity of the original show.

And then there is that final Wolverine shot. Comic fans instantly recognized it as a direct homage to Wolverine #1. That cover is burned into comic book history, and seeing it recreated in animation gave me genuine chills. It is exactly the kind of nerdy visual callback this series thrives on.

Story-wise, it looks like season two is going to hit hard emotionally. Gambit’s death is clearly still haunting the team, especially Rogue, and you can already feel that pain hanging over every scene she appears in. Season one ended with some genuinely heavy material, and it looks like the writers are not backing away from those consequences. At the same time, the Apocalypse storyline opens the door for all kinds of wild theories. Fans are already wondering whether Magik could end up becoming one of Apocalypse’s Horsemen after those shots of Colossus seemingly mourning her. If they go down that road, things could get very dark very fast.

One thing sparking debate online is Apocalypse’s voice. Some longtime fans noticed it sounds a little different compared to the original animated series. Personally, I do not think it is a huge deal, especially with all the timeline and multiverse weirdness already happening, but it has definitely become one of the big discussion topics among hardcore fans.

The biggest compliment I can give this trailer is that it feels unapologetically like X-Men. Big emotions. Big speeches. Ridiculous comic book concepts treated with absolute sincerity. Time travel. Apocalypse. Leather jackets. Tragic romance. Giant mutant drama. This is exactly the kind of glorious Saturday morning chaos I wanted from season two, and July 1 cannot get here fast enough.