I didn't know how much I missed you

X-Men The Animated Series premiered when I was 7 years old. That show was foundational to my interest to comics books and is among the very best comics-to-animated series adaptations, second to Batman the Animated Series.

It had 78 episodes and covered a lot of the most famous stories from the Chris Claremont run in the 80s (The Dark Phoenix Saga, Days of Future Past, etc...) and didn't skimp on the cameos from mutants and other Marvel heroes. It even had a crossovers with Spider-man and his animated series.

My father and I watched it, as he was a big X-Men fan from their earliest days. It was appointment television for us as he was just as invested as I was.

So when I heard of X-Men 97, as a continuation of the series I loved as a kid I was interested. When I saw the first trailer I was excited. When I watched the first season...I was impressed.

X-Men 97 is exceptional, not just in story telling, animation and voice acting. But also in the way that they carefully maintained the feel of the show in its art design. They didn't modernize the character designs on the animation. The dramatic lighting, heavy shadows and dark line work from the 90s is replicated so perfectly that it feels like a seamless continuation.

The show was pretty mature for 90s children TV as it didn't shy away from dealing with divorce, religion, PTSD, discrimination, the media, grief, the Holocaust, AIDS hysteria, and loneliness. X-Men 97 does this and more. Through clever story telling they address all those topics with respect and maturity.

The X-Men are comic book is about as melodramatic as any comic book as the X-men, and their narrative ecosystem is about as horny and discerning as any college freshman They have complicated emotional and fraternal relationships that serve to deep the weight of conflicts. That part used to stress me out as a kid but now that I am older I can appreciate it. The show works hard to show the X-Men as an ensemble. Where the movies failed because they focused too much on Wolverine, X-Men 97 gives each character a moment (or two) to really shine.

Where the show really stands out are the fight scenes. Western animation sometimes gets a bad rap when it comes to fight scenes and combat. Some would argue it lacks the raw energy and chaos that anime seems to relish in. X-Men 97 sets a new bar for action in animation. Not only does it match the energy but it is easy to follow and uses the characters in fun an inventive ways. There is a fight scene in episode 8 that I would argue is as good as I have ever seen in any animated property.

X-Men '97 represents the very best kind of nostalgia because it accomplishes something incredibly difficult. It doesn't simply recreate what we loved; it asks that world to grow alongside the audience that grew up watching it. Rather than trying to make adults feel like children again, it meets us where we are now. The characters have matured. The storytelling has matured. In many ways, the show itself has matured.