Where to watch X-Men '97
In the US, X-Men '97 streams on Disney Plus. Elsewhere the options vary by country, so check the watch box on this page for your region. Disney Plus also carries X-Men: The Animated Series, which means you can watch the original and its revival in the same app, one after the other.
Our listing has 2 seasons and 19 episodes, each running about 34 minutes. That puts the whole show at just under 11 hours. The story is serialized, so start with season 1, episode 1, and resist the urge to skip around.
What to watch before X-Men '97
Nothing from the MCU. X-Men '97 takes place in a separate universe, the one from the classic 90s cartoon, so none of the Avengers films or Disney Plus live-action shows feed into it.
The real prerequisite is X-Men: The Animated Series. X-Men '97 picks up right where that show ended, with the same characters, the same look and several of the same voices. You can start cold, and the opening episodes catch you up quickly. Still, the story lands harder if you know the original, and a few of its big arcs are worth seeing first:
| From the original series | Why it helps |
|---|
| The two-part pilot | Sets up the team and the anti-mutant world |
| Days of Future Past | Introduces the threat of a ruined future |
| The Phoenix Saga and The Dark Phoenix Saga | Builds Jean Grey's story |
| The final episode | Explains where Professor X has gone |
Short on time? A plot summary of the original's last stretch is a reasonable shortcut.
X-Men '97 watch order
For the animated X-Men, the order is simple: X-Men: The Animated Series first, then X-Men '97, season by season. Within the bigger Marvel list, we place it at the end of our order with the other animated series that take place outside the main timeline. There it comes after Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur and before Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and the stories never touch.
The live-action mutants are a different matter. Our X-Men and Deadpool in Marvel order guide covers how those films connect to the MCU, and it is the page to use if you mean the movies rather than the cartoon.
What it's about (spoiler-free)
Professor X is gone, and the X-Men have to carry on without him. Cyclops is reluctantly in charge, Jean Grey is expecting a baby, and the team soon faces a change in leadership nobody saw coming.
Meanwhile, the world still hates and fears mutants, and the threats grow bigger with almost every episode. The show keeps the bright, comic-book style and the famous theme of the original, but it tells longer, more serialized stories and does not shy away from heavy themes. Some episodes are far darker than anything the 90s version attempted, so younger kids may need a parent nearby.
Does X-Men '97 have post-credit scenes?
We do not break down extra scenes for this series, because we only list what we can confirm. The simple rule still works: let the credits play on each season finale before you switch off, so you do not miss a teaser.
Is it essential?
Within the MCU, no. We mark it optional because it is not part of the main timeline, and later films and shows do not depend on it. As a piece of X-Men storytelling, though, it is well worth your time, especially if you grew up with the original or have only ever seen the live-action mutants. The animation is sharper, the action is bigger, and the writing trusts its audience to keep up with a lot of characters at once.
Voice cast and characters
Ray Chase voices Cyclops and Jennifer Hale voices Jean Grey. George Buza returns as Beast, the role he played in the original series, and Ross Marquand voices Professor X. Terri Douglas and Matthew Wood are part of a long list of additional voices. Beau DeMayo created the series and led its first season.
Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Gambit and Jubilee are all back as well, and most of them get a real arc rather than a cameo.
Where it fits among Marvel's series
For every Marvel series by release and timeline, see our Marvel TV shows in order guide, or the Phase 5 lineup for the titles released around it. Planning a longer run? The marathon plan can work the animated shows in alongside the films.
