Finally after waiting since 2024 for new episode the new season of X-Men '97 has finally begun with the first three episodes having dropped at the same time. This is an odd way to release these first three episodes as the third one is quite literally part one of a two part story and well as I was a huge fan of this show when the first season was being released you all just knew that I had to check out these episodes the very first chance that I got and so then join me as I give you my SPOILER FILLED review of the episodes that see the X-Men scattered across time itself with the episodes in question being called simply just "Days Of Past Future" . "A Force To Be Reckoned With" and "Rise Of Apocalypse Part 1" enjoy.
The plot of these episodes in Days Of Past Future Scott , Jean , Storm and whole host of X-Men find themselves trapped in the future where they have to defeat Apocalypse in order to try and get home to there own time whilst in A Force To Be Reckoned With Cable , Sunspot , Jubilee Psylocke and more discover innocent mutants are bein taken prisoner and in Rise Of Apocalypse Part 1 in Egypt the rest of the X-Men and Magneto form an alliance with En Sabah Nur. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes was in all honesty really good. With A Force To Be Reckoned With perhaps having the best plot of these episodes just due to the fact that it does have a rather interesting idea that being what does the world look like with the X-Men in it and seeing how people to do react to that is something that does make that episode alot more interesting to watch. However on the flip side of that tho is the fact that the other two episodes do have some really good plots of there own and while Rise Of Apocalypse does get slightly easier as it is the first part of a two part episode there it isn't fair to fully judge that episode it does still tell a really good story and the approach to the storytelling across all three episodes is a rather fun way to link all three episodes together and heck it could even be argued that these first three maybe four episodes are telling one big story with the plot of these episodes also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Starring in these episodes is Ross Malinger as En Sabah Nur / Apocalypse and Charles Xavier / Professor X , Isaac Robinson-Smith as Lucas Bishop / Bishop and Chris Potter as Nathan Summers / Cable. Also starring in these episodes is Michael Johnston as y=Young Nathan Summers , Ray Chase as Scott Summers / Cyclops , Gil Birmingham as Daniel Lone Eagle / Forge , Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey , J.P. Karliak as Kevin Sydney / Morph , Alison Sealy-Smith as Ororo Munroe / Storm , Cal Dodd as James Howlett / Wolverine , Christopher Barger as Archangel and Wing , Gates McFadden as Rachel Summers / Askani , Tony Amendola as Ozymandias , Naoko Mori as Psylocke , Rachel Kimsey as The Ship and The Computer Cube , Donna Jay Fulks as Trish Tilby , Holly Chou as Jubilation Lee / Jubilee , Gui Agustini as Roberto Da Costa / Sunspot , Adrian Hough as Strong Guy , Catherine Disher as Val Cooper , Zehra Fazal as Emma Frost / White Queen , Teddy Sears as Havok , Miatta Ade Lebile as Monent , Carolina Ravassa as Lorna Dane / Polaris , Lawrence Baye as War , George Buza as Dr. Henry "Hank" McCoy / Beast , Matthew Waterson as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto and Eson , Adrian Hough as Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler , Lenore Zann as Anna-Marie Raven / Rogue , Michael Dorn as Baal , Debra Wilson as Candra , Adetokumboh M'Cormack as En Sabah Nur , Chris Britton as General Logos and John De Lancie as Rama-Tut.
Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes was in all honesty really good. Much like with the first season the acting in these three episodes is so good with this something that does make alot of sense as alot of this episodes actors are reprising their roles from the original show and even those that aren't are still coming back from the first season with all of the episodes returning actors having a good grip on there characters where the acting does somewhat faulter is with the acting coming from the actors that are just joining this show as alot of them do feel like that there trying to hard to hold there own with the series established actors with that being something that does oddly enough hold them back. With the best actor in these episodes being Holly Chou as Jubilation Lee / Jubilee as even tho she only appears in episode two she does leave a lasting impact with it being clear as day that she really has grown into the character and while no one will ever be able to top what Alyson Court did with the character in the original show Holly is doing a good enough job of being the voice of this character for this new generation with her putting enough of a spin on the character that it doesn't feel like that she's ripping of what Alyson Court did back in the nineties with her giving the character an infectious but almost real energy to the character with this being some thing that really does shine through in her performance. With the acting that's in these episodes really being helped by the fact that the scripts for these episodes are just so good that all these episodes actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in these very episodes.
Doing the animation for these episodes is Red Dog Culture House , Jam Filled Entertainment , Tiger Animation and Studio Mir. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes was in all honesty really good. This again much like with the episodes acting isn't all that new as the first season did have some really good and high quality animation in it that at times was feature film worthy and going off of these three episodes that is a trend that does seem to have continued. As while yes the animation in Rise Of Apocalypse Part 1 isn't as good the animation in the other two episodes compared to something on say for example Netflix or Nickelodeon it is still really good animation with the only thing that does let the animation down in that episode being the fact that the backgrounds aren't as good as they are in the other episodes as in episodes 1 and 2 you do get these really stunning backgrounds that help to make the world of the show feel all the more real where as in Rise Of Apocalypse due to the fact that that episode takes place in Egypt there's only so much that the makers of this episode can do to give to us stunning backgrounds and while they do do the best that they can do it just wasn't good enough. However tho all three episodes have animation that really does come alive during the episodes respective action scenes with the animation helping to make the action in all three episodes all the more exciting and fun to watch with this being especially true for the action in A Force To Be Reckoned With and heck it does feel like that the makers of this show had alot of fun with the action and the animation in that episode as it looks nothing like the animation in the rest of the episode.
SPOILERS START HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There is a reason why Days Of Past Future hasn't really been talked about all that much in this review and that's due to the fact that not alot really happens in that episode that is worth talking about in the first place. Just to be clear its not a bad episode by any means as it does do a serviceable enough job in setting up Forge and Bishops quest to get the X-Men back to the nineties as well as showing us what life if like for a large group of the X-Men in the future but outside of that and maybe one scene with Young Nathan and his parents there's not really alot to that episode it is still a fun action packed episode that does feel in line with this show it's just one that could have been done alot more better and been alot more better. With the true standout episode for me being episode 2 A Force To Be Reckoned With as we do see Cable form X-Force and take the government approved group X Factor with this version of X-Force being better then the one in Deadpool 2 due to the fact that they actually made it to the end of there mission in this episode and heck that episode even went the extra mile by having an X-Force exclusive show intro which was a lot of fun to see and is somethin that does feel like we are going to be getting in alot of the other episodes as well as both episode 1 and 3 had intros that just showed off who was going to be in the episode, this version of X-Force does seem to be a really violent group which is kind of the point as they have all lost someone important to them as Cable does believe his parents to have died at the end of season one and Sunspot and Jubilee have of course lost there found family with the X-Men there of course this group would be more violent and the fact that they have characters like Psylocke and Archangel along with a former slave of Apocalypse, it does make sense that they would be more violent and heck that does create a nice contrast with X Factor who are doing things the government approved way with Jubilee pointing out that she knows what Cable is fighting for despite his more violent nature but she can't tell what X Factor is fighting for as they are the ones rounding up innocent mutants.
It's weird that Disney chose to have the first part of a two part episode be released with the first three episodes of this new season. As while the episode does in a way that does make you want to see more as the episode ends with Bishop finding the other X-Men and and knowing who En Sabah Nur does become in the future takes him out as well which does go against the pact that the X-Men in that time had made with him in exchange for him helping them get back to there own time there was still no reason for them to release this episode along with the other two episodes as while its not a bad way to release the episode it also makes no sense as the other two are telling complete stories where as here it is literally a set up for next weeks episode. Surely then it would have made sense to either have released the first four episodes and and have Part 2 be released along with Part 1 rather then just releasing that opening part which isn't a bad episode but it not does make it fully hard to judge that episode as none of us have seen how the story ends for this two part episode, however tho this is something that could also be seen as being a genius move as now alot of us are going to be talking the episode all week with alot of counting the days until the episode does get released which in turn would drive up numbers for Disney+ something which wouldn't be possible if the episode was released with the other three episodes and to this end you do have to give Marvel credit for sticking to releasing one episode a week after this weeks drop ss that is a good way to get more and more people coming back to Disney+ to see how the rest of the season plays out and while you can make an argument that releasing one episode a week is old fashioned its also something that does work. The only real downside being the fact that it does mean Disney releasing this episode when they have no intention of releasing part 2 until next week when they could have just dropped episodes 1 and 2 and it would have worked just fine.
Whilst Days Of Past Future is pretty much a nothing episode there is still some good to be found in the episode itself. Like for example we get to see Forge and Storm reunite as well as Nathan pretty much discover that he himself has powers much like his mother does and we do get to see some pretty good scenes with Wolverine but again for alot of this episode nothing really happens with it only being when the episode nears it's end that they decide to go into the city to destroy the future version of Apocalypse with it being there where the episode does start to get good with Nathan and his parents having a pretty sweet heart t heart as both Scott and Jean know that once they are done in the future they have to go back to there present and thus never see there son again until he grows up and goes back in time to see them which is a pretty heartbreaking scene to see. Due to the fact that no parent wants to spend along time without getting to see their child and yet that's the very thing that these people are being forced to do and yet they do it not because of the fact that its the easy thing to do rather they do it because of the fact that it is the right thing to do as they know that leaving Nathan in the future is the right thing for him due to the fact that that is where he is most safe and while Nathan won't understand that when he is just a boy it is something that he will come to understand later on in life as Cable, this scene is really the only reason to watch this episode as while its not a bad episode as it does serve as a good way to reintroduce the characters it kind of feels like a James Bind pre-titles scene in that it's only there to get you excited for what's to come and nothing more then that and in this regard that episode does succeed in doing just that but at the same time tho given the fact that this season is only nine episodes long this episode could have been just as good if not better then what the other two episodes are as the others are the more interesting episodes and this one whilst it is still a good episode is just kind of there and that's really it.
Now then episode one of this show has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly thirty minuets and forty two second whilst episode two is twenty six minuets and fifty eight seconds and episode three is twenty six minuets and forty two seconds. These are all pretty much the bogstandard running times for this show as this show very rarely goes o for that long and to be fair given the fact that episode three is the first part of a two part episode it really does need to that amount of time in order to tell it's story in a way that doesn't do harm to it but is rather in service of it and heck this is something that is also true for the other three episodes as well with them all having the right amount of plot there to cover there respective running times. With all three episodes using there running times as wisely as they could have done as they all do take the time to add things to there plots that do make there plots feel alot more developed and while we will of curs have to wait until next week to see if Rise Of Apocalypse was a story that was worth telling in two parts just based off of this episode that does seem to be a yes as they do cram in alot of plot in this first part and yet none of it feels wasted and none of it feels like its there just for filler as alot of it does feel like it's inservice of the two part plot of getting the X-Men back home and alot of it does feel like it's service of the season long plot whatever that ends up being with being clear as day that the makers of this show did put alot of thought and effort into all three episodes plots. This also something that's true for the episodes characters development as while of course the characters don't really need to get any kind of character development in these episodes we do see Magneto act more like a hero using the things that he learnt at the end of the previous season and putting it to good use and that is something that he just would have not have dine even in the previous season and yet it is something that he does here with him being more of a confidant to En Sabah Nur with it being made clear as day that the makers of this show did put alot of thought into giving the characters that needed character development character development but I really will admit that all of these episodes have some really good pacing to them tho.
So now then as this is an action show that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes was in all honesty really good. With all three episodes having at the very least one action scene in them with the action feeling right at home with classic Saturday mornings kids cartoons as they do have that very campy and over the top feel to them and it's something that does oddly work for all of the action scenes across all three episodes. With the best action scene in all three episodes being the scene where Jubilee escapes the you could say prison that X Factor are holding her in as she does go about from cell to cell using her powers to break out all of the other mutants not only on rollerblades but also while beating up several guards this is something that does prove that when her done right her character can be a bada*s as we get to see her using her powers to blind the guards before then coming in with either a kick . flip or a punch to knock them out with her just causing havoc all other the place and its something that does look so good in the episode with the action in that episode really being helped by the fact that the animation makes it come alive as up until that point whilst the animation had still been really good you could tell that they were cutting corners a bit with the budget and when this action scene comes up you see why as this is where action gets to truly shine with all of the kicks and punches looking like that they hurt with the rest of the episodes action being just as good as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
SPOILERS END HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Overall if you haven't done already go and check out these episodes as while Days Of Future Past isn't the best episode of this show it is still a really good episode in it's own right with all three episodes being episodes that people who loved the first season of this show are going to love in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now the i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in these episodes in this very review and as such that really does mean that episode 1 earns itself a grand old score of exactly a 7.0 out 10 , episode 2 earns itself a 8 out of 10 and episode 3 earns itself a 7.5 out of 10 from me.
Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images hat I personally used in this very from IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from these very episodes that I used in this very post being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from these very episodes with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.