Although we’re not sure when the actual episodes of X-Men ’97 season two will drop on Disney+, we do already know the premiere is on June 13 at the Tribeca Festival. So we imagine the date for everyone else is just around the corner. And we’re starting to get a clearer picture of what season two will include, but not from any trailers, from posters and other merchandise that have begun to pop up online. And this latest batch of posters, revealed by Nexus Point News, teases some beloved mutant teams that will appear in season two, as well as new configurations of the X-Men teams lost in time.
X-Force
First off, we have an image of X-Force, using their original ’90s comics logo. Cable leads this paramilitary mutant team, just as in the comics. The X-Men ’97 version is a combination of the ’90s roster, with the Uncanny X-Force team from the 2010s. From the ’90s era, we’ve got Cable himself (obviously), along with Sunspot, in his ’90s comics costume. Joining him are Archangel and Psylocke, who were both members of the 2010s X-Force. The only team member not from any X-Force roster from Marvel Comics is Jubilee. Back in the ’90s, she was on the Generation X team.
X-Factor
The other spin-off team, who appeared before in X-Men: The Animated Series, is X-Factor. This is the government-sponsored mutant team, with the exact lineup from the early ’90s “Mutant Genesis” era. This is the relaunch that propelled the X-Men brand into the stratosphere of popularity. On this roster are Havok, the brother of Cyclops, Polaris, Magneto’s daughter, Strong Guy, the lupine Wolfsbane, and Multiple Man. It looks like Val Cooper, whom we met in season one, will be their liaison to the U.S. Government, just as she was in the comics. If they’re getting their own poster, that means they’re likely going to play a big role in season two.
The X-Men
Finally, we have the main X-Men teams. At the end of season one, one group of X-Men was sent thousands of years into the future. A second was sent thousands of years into the past, to 3000 B.C. In the future timeline, we have Cyclops and Jean Grey in their ’80s X-Factor costumes, more or less. Wolverine sports his late-’90s feral mode look, without his adamantium skeleton, and Storm wears her training uniform from the Jim Lee ’90s era. In both time periods, the X-Men will face off against the first mutant, Apocalypse.
The ancient Egypt team showcases Magneto (in his 2000s era New X-Men costume), Beast, Rogue (in her ’80s orange suit), Nightcrawler, and Bishop. It seems Bishop is the only one who is still wearing his classic costume. The rest of the team seems to be wearing clothing native to the past. We have a feeling that two distinct X-Men teams are a callback to the ’90s “X-Men Blue” and “X-Men Gold,” when Charles Xavier had two units of X-Men, one led by Cyclops, and the other by Storm.
X-Corp
The time-lost teams will eventually return to the present in season two, because we see them together in poster art as X-Corp. This is a Grant Morrison New X-Men era concept from the 2000s, when Xavier founded a corporation supporting mutant rights. And their costumes match the comics of that time. So while the X-Men might still be technically in the ’90s, they are moving past ’90s era comics into the 21st century. And who knows who else might show up. We’re personally hoping to see the junior team, the New Mutants, and the British ex-pat (X-pat?) team Excalibur. When it comes to X-Men teams, it’s a very deep bench.
X-Men ’97 season one is currently streaming on Disney+.