The sophomore season of Marvel Television’s "X-MEN ‘97" is finally upon us, coming in hot after season one’s cliffhanger back in 2024. The continuation of the generation-defining original show picks up immediately from where it left off, telling stories of our favorite mutants across three different time periods.

After the events of season one we find Cyclops, Jean, Storm and Wolverine in the far future where they link up with a young Nate Summers, the boy who would eventually become the man called Cable, and Mother Askani, a mysterious prophet that insists Nathan is destined for wondrous things, such as defeating Apocalypse once and for all.

The other X-Men, among them Rogue, Nightcrawler, Magneto, Beast and Professor X, find themselves stranded in the distant past, in the sands of ancient Egypt, where the outcast slave, En Sabah Nur is about to rise up against his oppressors, and take his first steps to becoming the despot known as well, Apocalypse.

In the present time of the series, the late 1990’s Cable’s X-Force comes face to face with the government sanctioned mutant team of X-Factor. And who knows, sometime in the season they may also face, you guessed it, Apocalypse.

There is a trend here, obviously. You can see right away where this season is going, and that makes the writing of the second season tight and focused. While I was only able to see the first four episodes, they were enough to tell me the season-wide plotting was done lovingly and thoughtfully, with a clear vision and sure direction. They creators knew what they wanted to happen and went all in on it.

The 90’s was a unique time, particularly for those who came of age in that pre-streaming era of dial-up internet and floppy disks, with cellphones that fit in one’s pocket and laptops that weighed as much as a butterball turkey. Say what you will about the decade, but there’s no denying that many a great story came out of those highly creative years.

The most disappointing thing probably is that the season is only nine episodes long, and just like a high school reunion with the best buds you grew up with, it will be over all too soon.

Old time readers will pick out which comic book classic storylines served as inspiration for the events of the show, and will no doubt notice the liberties taken with them. The Askani’s arc alone can fill half the season, the story of Apocalypse even more so.

The show takes some big swings, creatively, with most of them, finding their mark. What does land correctly is the vibe. The 90’s X-Men was the best iteration of Marvel's Merry Mutants. While some might disagree, that’s a hill I’m willing to kick the bucket on. This was a time when the X-Men were heroes, but perhaps more so a family. This was a time when Xavier’s dream was at its peak. This was a time when hope, sacrifice, loyalty, patience, and understanding were core principles that were to be admired and emulated. This was the time when you could be assured of both great character moments, and high-stakes action that will make you go, “Oh, yeah!”

And that is what this second season promises to deliver.

"X-Men ‘97" Season 2 is coming to Disney+ on July 1st.

‘Nuff Said!