It was just a wordless cameo in a stacked episode, but fans of ‘90s Marvel animation jumped for joy at episode eight of X-Men ’97, “Tolerance is Extinction Part I.” During a crucial moment, when Magneto uses his vast powers to power down all electrical devices across the globe, we cut to several cameos of Marvel characters. One of them is our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. It’s not just any Spidey spinning his webs, though. As fans of ‘ 90s Marvel cartoons know, the Spider-Man in the X-Men cartoon is the same one from the Spider-Man: The Animated Series, that ran concurrently on Fox Kids at the time.
The ’90s X-Men and Spider-Man Animated Series Were Connected
Spider-Man appeared only as a hand shooting web fluid in X-Men: The Animated Series. The X-Men: TAS producers snuck the cameo in, as technically they didn’t have the rights to use Spidey. However, the full X-Men team from the ‘90s cartoon appeared in the two-part Spider-Man episodes “The Mutant Agenda” and “The Mutant’s Revenge” in 1995. All the X-Men: TAS voice actors returned, and their designs were identical to those on their own show. This was the first connection between two Marvel ‘90s animated shows, showing that at least the X-Men and Spider-Man existed within the same continuity. As for the other Marvel cartoons from the ’90s, that’s up for debate.
Spider-Man: The Animated Series Left Lingering Questions X-Men ’97 Could Resolve
So what does this mean for ‘90s Spidey in X-Men ’97? Former showrunner Beau Demayo confirmed on social media that this version of Spider-Man is the same version originally voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes in the classic show. As fans may recall, Spider-Man: TAS ended on a bit of a cliffhanger. After a long and convoluted adventure through the Spider-Verse, Madame Web appears to Peter Parker. She takes him to find Mary Jane Watson, who found herself lost in the multiverse earlier in the season. Viewers never found out if Peter and MJ actually reunited, much less if their planned nuptials ever occurred. It’s a bit of a giant question mark.
Could X-Men ’97 Lead to a Spider-Man ’98 Spin-Off?
If Spider-Man appears on X-Men ’97 in a larger role (hopefully voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes again), they could use this appearance to resolve some of those lingering questions. Not only that, but a bigger Spider-Man appearance could be a “backdoor pilot” to set up a spin-off show. Spider-Man: The Animated Series aired its final episode on January 31, 1998. So could Marvel Animation be planning something bigger for the ‘90s version of Peter Parker? There’s certainly cause to think it’s at least possible.
While Sony fully owns the rights to Spider-Man in film, Marvel Studios retains the rights to TV animation. That’s why the upcoming Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man animated series is coming to Disney+ soon. This is the series formerly known as Spider-Man: Freshman Year. If anything, the upcoming new Spidey cartoon is probably the biggest obstacle in getting a full Spider-Man ’98 series. Would Marvel Animation have two competing Spider-Man cartoons concurrently? However, the massive success of X-Men ’97 may cause them to rethink those plans. Spider-Man was just as beloved a cartoon hero for ‘90s kids as the X-Men.
Could Peter Parker Teach at Xavier’s School in Future X-Men ’97 Seasons?
Even if we don’t get a Spider-Man ’98 series, there is room for a continuation of that version of Peter Parker in future X-Men ’97 seasons. After all, in the comics, Peter Parker became a teacher at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters for a time (then renamed the Jean Grey School), in the series Spider-Man and the X-Men. Why not make the Christopher Daniel Barnes version of Spidey part of the supporting cast of X-Men ’97? Peter could teach several new mutants, teens discovering their powers during puberty as he once did.
Spider-Man is technically not a mutant of course. He got his powers as a teenager during a lab accident, as everyone knows. None of that stopped the comic book creators from giving him a teaching position at the school though. Of course, we’d love for him to have a revival series like X-Men ’97. But if the other Spidey series on Disney+ makes that unlikely, we’ll take option B. Whatever happens, Spidey is officially part of the X-Men ’97 world now. We highly doubt it’s the last time he swings through the New York skyline in this series.