The trailer for the three-part finale of X-Men ’97 is here, and there’s a lot to unpack. An army of Prime Sentinels. Cable teaming up with his mom and dad (that would be Cyclops and Jean Grey). Magneto getting his classic villain costume back. But the buzziest bit is the joke at the end, where the show makes a dig directly at the X-Men film franchise’s allergy to comic book-faithful costumes.
In the second to last scene of the trailer, Cyclops (Ray Chase) tosses his son Cable (Chris Potter) a yellow and blue spandex X-Men uniform. “Am I going to war? Or a circus?” quips Cable. Answers Cyclops, “What’d you expect? Black leather?”
Pretty famously, the X-Men films eschewed any classic comic book costumes (other than a brief glimpse at the end of X-Men: Apocalypse), with the first film launching the whole “black leather” look that ultimately influenced Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s New X-Men… Which itself influenced the recent Genosha plot of X-Men ’97, so the cycle is complete.
But it actually gets even more specific than that. In the original 2000 X-Men movie, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) puts on the X-Men costume for the first time. While waiting for the Blackbird to boot up, Logan shifts uncomfortably, ultimately saying, “You actually go outside in these things?” To which Cyclops (James Marsden) replies, “What would you prefer? Yellow spandex?”
And then the action pauses for laughter while Wolverine and Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) look at each other knowingly.
This is a perfect joke not just because it’s a wink to the audience, but — not to get too granular here — it’s Cyclops coming in with the punchline both times, with the exact same rhythm and delivery. It also doubles down on why X-Men ’97 has been so successful: it’s not reinventing the wheel, like the movie did… It’s instead digging into why fans have loved the X-Men for decades and just bringing that on.
And for the record: yes, I prefer yellow spandex.
You can watch the finale trailer below:
X-Men ’97 Season 1 Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
X-Men ’97 doesn’t have a one-a-day schedule like What If…? Season 2, or all-at-once like Echo. Instead, the series is getting a more traditional release schedule of two on premiere day, then one a week thereafter.
The release time is also typical. Versus what has now become a run-of-the-mill primetime “early” release for big movies and TV shows, new episodes of X-Men ’97 will be released on Wednesdays at 3 am ET / Midnight PT.
Here’s the full list of episodes in Marvel’s X-Men ’97 Season 1, and when they premiere:
- Wednesday, March 20, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 1 – “To Me, My X-Men”
- Wednesday, March 20, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 2 – “Mutant Liberation Begins”
- Wednesday, March 27, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 3 – “Fire Made Flesh”
- Wednesday, April 3, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 4 – “Motendo / Lifedeath – Part 1”
- Wednesday, April 10, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 5 – “Remember It”
- Wednesday, April 17, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 6 – “Lifedeath – Part 2″
- Wednesday, April 24, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 7 – “Bright Eyes”
- Wednesday, May 1, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 8 – “Tolerance Is Extinction, Part 1”
- Wednesday, May 8, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 9 – “Tolerance Is Extinction, Part 2”
- Wednesday, May 15, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 10 – “Tolerance Is Extinction, Part 3” *Season Finale*
