We’re a mere month away from X-Men ’97 dropping on Disney+. But before Xavier’s students return to protect a world that fears and hates them, Marvel Comics is releasing a new X-Men ’97 comic that will cover the gap between the end of X-Men: The Animated Series and the new show. This new four-issue limited series, also titled X-Men ’97, will hit within days of X-Men ’97’s Disney+ premiere. It’s written by Dark X-Men writer Steve Foxe, with art by Salva Espín, and a cover by Todd Nauck. Marvel.com has released several pages of the first issue, which you can check out in our gallery below:
Although the pages are textless, we can see a lot of the classic X-Men tropes we all love at play. We’ve got Magneto attacking a city, throwing cars around like pillows. (Is this the Danger Room?) Also, Cyclops and Wolverine yelling at each other, and getting in each other’s faces. Not to mention the team beating up a bunch of bigoted thugs. We also see Bishop with the team. Hopefully, we’ll get an explanation in the comic about how the time-traveling future mutant permanently found a home with the X-Men in the past. On, and last but not least, we see Storm debuting her mohawk look. It seems Jubilee is far more excited about Ororo’s new ‘do than Kitty Pryde was in the comics (she ran and cried).
Salva Espín’s art style recalls the cartoony style of the old series, but with a modern twist. Marvel Studios hasn’t been clear just how much time will pass between the end of X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men ’97, but in the trailer, Jean Grey looks pretty far along in her pregnancy. So we’d say at least several months. We’ll find out for sure when X-Men ’97 #1 arrives on March 27.
