Tag Archives: gambit

August 12, 2026

X-Men ’97 – “Survival of the Fittest”

By Joe
Original premiere date August 12, 2026

We have reached the end of season two of X-Men ’97, albeit probably sooner than we would have liked given the nine episode order. Ten already seemed short compared with the 13 the original series used to get so nine is borderline cruel. All that said, before we dig into the review for the season finale I do just want to say how happy this show has made me. It still blows my mind that I’m watching a continuation of something I loved as a child. When that theme song starts up, I get goosebumps all up and down my arms and the feeling that comes over me is something akin to a high. It’s fantastic, and I hate that it’s all over so quickly.

“Survival of the Fittest” is the culmination of the season long arc involving Apocalypse (Ross Marquand). Even though the big guy was somewhat put on ice after the fourth episode, he’s back and ready to go for the finale and caught in the crossfire is Gambit. Last week, Gambit (A.J. LoCascio) made his long telegraphed re-debut as he rose from the grave with an all new look, but an all new mind set as well. Gambit quickly set out to putting together a crew and he turned to his roots for that as he returned to Louisiana to corrupt the assassins and the thieves. Gambit choosing to return home should have been a tell for all who love him because Gambit vowed to never return there and by episode’s end we found out he wasn’t the one calling the shots: Apocalypse was. X-Force had found the withered husk of the mighty Apocalypse in the previous episode and the conclusion everyone seemed to draw was that Gambit had been resurrected as his horseman of Death and he made his maker his first victim. Oh, how foolish for Apocalypse cannot be killed so easily, and especially not by one of his own making. He likely needed a new host body and Gambit was his chosen vessel, but before he could resume his crusade against all he deems weak he needed to visit someone from his past: Candra.

The X-Men have a whole bunch of foes to deal with, but the big one is still Apocalypse.

Candra (Debra Wilson) is who we were introduced to during the second season of the original series as the X-Ternal. She is the apparent deity the thieves and assassins aim to please in exchange for their supernatural powers. We saw Candra make an appearance in the past as part of Rama-Tut’s court, but at the time it wasn’t clear why? It turns out, she and Apocalypse would meet sometime after the events in Egypt and the big guy apparently took a liking to her so much so that he bestowed upon her some of his awesome power. She took it and ran and Apocalypse has been trying to reclaim it ever since. Now, it makes sense why he’d have interest in Gambit. If he knows about Gambit’s connection to her via the thieves (and why would he?) then posing as Gambit could bring her out of wherever it is she goes when she isn’t in that swamp and allow him to reclaim what he once gave up. And that’s exactly what happened and the only challenge Apocalypse faced came from a likely expected source in the X-Men. In particular, Xavier (Marquand) and Rogue (Lenore Zann). Xavier chose to battle Apocalypse in Gambit’s mind in what was nearly a 1:1 recreation of a similar battle for the soul of Jean during The Dark Phoenix Saga. Only this time, Xavier failed and it was Rogue who somehow was able to enter Gambit’s mind and make the save. I say “some how” because she and Gambit have never demonstrated a psychic rapport before, but he also handed over the power he took back from Candra to her. Perhaps that’s doing the heavy lifting here?

Val Cooper’s villain turn has been pretty gradual this season.

Speaking of, why did Apocalypse do that? Does this all go back to that conversation he and Rogue shared in the past regarding love? That’s one of the questions I had going into “Survival of the Fittest” where the X-Men need to free their friend from Apocalypse’s control, but also contend with recently allied X-Factor and the remnants of X-Force. Jubilee (Holly Chou) and Sunspot (Gui Agustini) defected from Cable’s (Chris Potter) team when it became obvious that Cable’s only objective is destroying Apocalypse even if that means killing Gambit in the process. X-Factor has it out for Charles and his X-Men and their choice to get involved on US soil has put them in the crosshairs. Will the supposed good mutants all figure out they have a problem bigger than each other or will everything just fall apart and play into the hands of Apocalypse?

If the X-Men are going to save Remy, then you know Rogue is going to have to play a big part.

For the finale, Storm (Alison Sealy-Smith) is given the honor of stating the “Previously,” line, though if you think that’s a tip for how the episode will go I will say it most certainly is not. Jubilee and Sunspot are back in the roll call this week, though Colossus still remains on the sidelines. Perhaps he’ll be a season three addition? The ending clash has also been changed to feature Xavier’s X-Men on one side and Val Cooper’s (Catherine Disher) X-Factor on the other. The X-Men remained in their Jim Lee era costumes for this clash all season and I wonder if that will be changed next year? Or maybe leaving them in those looks will always be a way to celebrate the original series? I wouldn’t mind a return to those looks, personally. I’ve never been a fan of the black and yellow which, like the original movie suits, seemed to be born out of the idea that the old, colorful, costumes were something to be embarrassed by.

X-Factor being accompanied by Sentinels is a perversion of what they should be standing for.

The episode wastes no time in getting to the conflict. X-Factor, along with Cable, Archangel (Christopher Barger), and Psylocke (Naoko Mori), are knocking on Xavier’s door while Gambit remains unconscious. He’s a ticking time bomb though and about the only answers anyone can come up with rests miles below the water’s surface. There, Beast (George Buza), Rogue, and Nightcrawler (Adrian Hough) have come upon the celestial ship of Apocalypse, last seen in the past as a temple, but last seen in this era back in the episode “Obsession” from the original series. Beast still has a small fragment of the ship’s A.I. and it’s enough to revive it and reactivate the portal to the celestial realm we saw En Sabah Nur enter and emerge from as Apocalypse in “Rise of Apocalypse.” The ship warns the group that entering such a place requires a price, but Rogue is determined to do whatever it takes to save Gambit while Beast and Nightcrawler can do little but watch.

On Genosha, we get to watch as Cooper’s forces storm the X-Corp building in a bid to get Cable close enough to take out Gambit. They are convinced that destroying Gambit is the only way to eliminate Apocalypse and it’s only a matter of time until he takes over Gambit’s mind and body, as he’s done to so many before. There is some good action spots including Jubilee and Havok (Teddy Sears) battling it out in airplanes, Wolverine (Cal Dodd) and Morph (JP Karliak) taking on the duo of Archangel and Psylocke, and a big showdown between parents and son. There’s a lot to pack into 30 minutes (it would have been nice to get an extended ninth episode given they axed the tenth), but the pace felt solid. The action was satisfying and the character moments were also present. I might have preferred to have more character moments to go out on, but I also can’t critique the ending. Without spoiling anything, it was beautiful.

There were some fun pairings in this one, like this confrontation between Psylocke and Wolverine that doesn’t go how Betsy imagined it would.

I went into this episode unsure if X-Men ’97 could stick the landing. The whole season had been building towards this confrontation, but along the way it reminded me that the big spectacles aren’t really the draw with X-Men. It’s the team dynamics, the inter-character conflicts, the soap opera elements that make the show unique among a litany of other options these days. It’s similar to how the draw with Spider-Man is less about Spider-Man and more about Peter Parker which was really on display in Brand New Day which appears on its way to be the most successful film at the box office ever in terms of number of dollars spent. Hopefully there is a lesson in there for Marvel. X-Men ’97 found a way to stick that landing and found it in an unexpected source. Should I have seen it coming? Perhaps, but I was content to just sit back and let the show take me on a ride this week and I never really found myself trying to forecast the end. I was concerned at the onset it would feel too much like the Dark Phoenix Saga because it certainly did the prior week. In a way, it did borrow elements from that this week, but with a different resolution. There was also the elephant in the room that is Apocalypse. I like Apocalypse as a villain, but my problem with him going back to the original series is that they never found satisfying ways to stop him. He would just sort of leave and the one time they really stopped him was at the end of “Beyond Good and Evil” when it was kind of a goofy, unsatisfying ending. One thing they absolutely get right with this finale is that it’s only sort of about Apocalypse, but it never loses sight of the fact that it’s primarily about Rogue and Gambit and the family they’ve acquired who will risk it all to help them. Even when it means, in the case of Cyclops (Ray Chase) and Jean (Jennifer Hale), taking on their actual family.

Cable arrived on Genosha amid literal fireworks and now he returns amid a hail of gun fire.

Like the end of season one, there is a post credits scene setting up season three so do make sure you stick around for that (or use the skip credits option). I’ll likely make a season two wrap-up post to get more into spoilers, but suffice to say I like what they’re setting up for season three. I just hope we don’t have to wait longer than a year this time (they showed a clip at San Diego Comic Con and could conceivably show another this weekend at D23 so that’s a positive sign) as that can really derail momentum. X-Men ’97 is one of the best things Disney and Marvel have going right now so I hope they don’t do anything to stifle that. This finale was terrific. If you felt the season was losing some of its momentum coming into the last episode then rest assured, this one is the payoff you likely hoped for. I do think it will be controversial and it will have some major lasting impacts on the show, but in the moment I found it satisfying even if a bit painful. Sometimes, that’s a mark of good art.

Previously…on X-Men ’97:

X-Men ’97 – “The Dead Man’s Hand”

This was the episode of X-Men ’97 we all knew was coming eventually. I don’t think I need to provide a spoilers warning given the episode title before I say this is the return of Gambit. This was all setup in the closing moments of the first season when Apocalypse (Ross Marquand) found the queen…

by Joe

X-Men ’97 – “Strange Land, Savage Heart”

If you were hoping for a quick follow-up on the closing moments of last week’s episode featuring Apocalypse and a certain resurrected cajun, I’m afraid I have some bad news. The show is going to slow walk that plot as this week we’re dealing with more Genosha fallout. Considering the magnitude of the event, I’m…

by Joe

X-Men ’97 – “Danger.exe”

After last week’s side trip up north to get Wolverine his skeleton back, this week’s episode of X-Men ’97 brings us back to the mansion which we really haven’t seen much of so far this season. The season’s sixth episode is centered on survivor’s guilt and the sins of a parent. For the guilt portion,…

by Joe

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August 6, 2026

X-Men ’97 – “The Dead Man’s Hand”

By Joe
Original premiere date August 5, 2026.

This was the episode of X-Men ’97 we all knew was coming eventually. I don’t think I need to provide a spoilers warning given the episode title before I say this is the return of Gambit. This was all setup in the closing moments of the first season when Apocalypse (Ross Marquand) found the queen of hearts in the ruins of Genosha. To make it even more obvious, the script even called for him to say “…death” just to drive it home further. Gambit taking a turn as Death, the most prominent member of Apocalypse’s horsemen, is also a plotline ripped straight from the comic only for that the circumstances were quite different. As is always the case with television and movies, being able to see where the story is going is not a hindrance in and of itself, it’s how you present it.

Everyone can relax, Gambit has returned.

When last we saw the members of X-Force, they were stumbling upon the apparent corpse of Apocalypse as well as that same playing card so we really didn’t have to waste time getting into things. The episode begins with X-Corp enjoying a friendly game of poker, because of course they are, which also allows Beast (George Buza) to explain what The Dead Man’s Hand refers to (aces over eights, if you’re curious). X-Force comes storming in to share their find and Jubilee (Holly Chou) has the responsibility of handing over the playing card to Rogue (Lenore Zann). They all know what this means and the episode quickly pivots to a search and rescue as they need to locate Gambit (A.J. LoCascio) and free him from the darkness Apocalypse likely imbued within him. Remember that little comment Archangel (Christopher Barger) dropped back in the second episode about Rogue saving him from Apocalypse’s control? Yeah, that was to setup this moment as everyone instantly assumes Rogue can do the same for Gambit, provided they can get her close enough to do so. The only thing they don’t know is what state Gambit is in and how on Earth did he manage to kill Apocalypse? Did he?

They even have their own X-branded poker chips.

There is a bit of impetus to the rescue mission because it’s going to take X-Corp back to the States since that’s where Gambit has gone. And if X-Corp is operating in the U.S. then they are bound to attract the attention of Val Cooper’s (Catherine Disher) X-Factor. Worse, if X-Factor were to get involved or locate Gambit first there’s no telling which way that confrontation could go. As a result, this episode moves at a pretty brisk pace which is mostly fine where the main plot is concerned, but it’s a bit of a bummer because we have some pretty big reunions that don’t get much time to breath. Cable (Chris Potter) is reunited with his parents for the first time since their emotional parting at the end of last season. Cyclops (Ray Chase) is quite eager to become a happy, healthy, family, but Cable seems pretty cool to the idea. Or he’s just a man too devoted to his mission of eradicating Apocalypse to spend time being happy. This is also Jubilee’s first time seeing her mutant family since the events of the first season and that little detail gets absolutely no time. We couldn’t even spend thirty seconds on it? Another character from earlier in the season is also brought back into the fold. I expected it, because it was so weird to see them appear earlier, but I don’t know that I care for the direction it took. I’m content to see if it goes anywhere next week before rendering a final verdict.

I love Cable’s eye roll.

What isn’t short-changed is the impact Gambit’s death and return has on Rogue. Not only is she likely wracked with survivor’s guilt stemming from the events on Genosha, but she’s also burdened with the guilt of not telling Gambit she chose him over Magneto before he died. This is her chance to set things right, but she’s hesitant. Gambit died. She held his lifeless corpse in her arms and now he’s suddenly alive? What does that do to a man? I guess she could always ask Morph (and if we don’t get to hear Morph’s opinion at some point that will be a real miss). That dynamic understandably takes center stage for much of the episode and it’s handled pretty well.

You know, most people just bring a bottle of wine or something when they show up at a friend’s new house for the first time.

There is some great action to be found in this one. In particular, one character really gets to shine in a way that might make some wonder if they’re the most dangerous member of the team. It’s awesome and I will say no more as I don’t want to spoil it. Visually, the episode is pretty interesting for its mix of costumes. Some characters are wearing threads from the 70s while others are sporting their looks from the 2000s. Every decade except for the 60s might be on display here. I do have to say though, I was a little disappointed in Gambit’s new look. He’s basically just gray scale Gambit. They added a strap across his abdomen, but I think that’s it. He does have a unique looking power set now which seems to focus on Tarot cards as well as a sick, new, ride he may have stolen from Lobo. I suppose a cynic might roll their eyes at such, but it’s fine. These are comic book stories, they’re allowed to be cool for the sake of being cool.

I don’t mind the mish-mash of costumes on display, but I do kind of hate that we’re bringing in the movie looks for things like Cerebro (or Cerebra).

The episode moves fast and ends somewhat abruptly. It has what I’d call a soft resolution, but the bigger battle is still to come. In that, it feels more like the first part of this season finale that’s on the way. The episode moves some pieces around so that everyone can get involved. The only X-Men left out of this episode entirely are Forge, Polaris, Bishop, and the newly added Colossus (who did not get added to the opening title – what gives?). I was a little surprised to see Polaris and Bishop left out since it seems like the show is building something there, but I would be even more surprised if we don’t see them next week. Maybe some team members needed to be left out so they can swoop in at just the right time next week? I will say, for a penultimate episode it didn’t leave me as excited as I would have expected it to. It’s certainly not on par with last season’s where Wolverine got his skeleton ripped apart by Magneto. I’m also still wondering if some of my predictions come true before the season ends. It seems like we have a pretty straight-forward finale coming up, but there’s also certainly some curves ahead. I both look forward to it and dread it because nine episodes is just too short for a season and then we return to our X-Men ’97-less existence.

Previously…on X-Men ’97:

X-Men ’97 – “Strange Land, Savage Heart”

If you were hoping for a quick follow-up on the closing moments of last week’s episode featuring Apocalypse and a certain resurrected cajun, I’m afraid I have some bad news. The show is going to slow walk that plot as this week we’re dealing with more Genosha fallout. Considering the magnitude of the event, I’m…

Keep reading
by Joe

X-Men ’97 – “Danger.exe”

After last week’s side trip up north to get Wolverine his skeleton back, this week’s episode of X-Men ’97 brings us back to the mansion which we really haven’t seen much of so far this season. The season’s sixth episode is centered on survivor’s guilt and the sins of a parent. For the guilt portion,…

Keep reading
by Joe

X-Men ’97 – “Weapon X, Lies, and DVDs”

When X-Men went into development for the Fox Kids Network, it didn’t take the writing staff (who was unfamiliar with the property going in) long to figure out that Wolverine was their ticket to television royalty. The character really took off in the 1980s and helped the X-Men storm into the 1990s as the most…

Keep reading
by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Comics, Television

July 29, 2026

X-Men ’97 – “Strange Land, Savage Heart”

By Joe
Premiere date July 29, 2026.

If you were hoping for a quick follow-up on the closing moments of last week’s episode featuring Apocalypse and a certain resurrected cajun, I’m afraid I have some bad news. The show is going to slow walk that plot as this week we’re dealing with more Genosha fallout. Considering the magnitude of the event, I’m not sure we’ve really had enough of it. The episode is going to open with a flashback to that attack to help setup a plot during the present. The human and mutant conflict is center stage once again, and some old friends and foes from the original series get to make their X-Men ’97 debut. Oh, and we’re going to the Savage Land!

The opening title adds Polaris (Carolina Ravassa) to the mix this week so she’s onboard for real. She’s also been assigned to X-Corp along with Bishop (Isaac Robinson-Smith), though no one is sporting the black and yellow in the opening just yet as they’re all still rocking the blue. As for that flashback I mentioned, that is being done to introduce Colossus (Robert Cait) and Magik (Courtenay Taylor), his younger sister whom cartoon viewers only know as Illyana. She was featured in the original series as the kid sister whom Colossus was always looking out for. As we saw with a Morph transformation during the first season, she’s grown up some to a teenager which seems to track if we were introduced to her in 1992 and it’s now 1997. As the trailers for the season let on, Magik is not going to make it through the attack in Genosha. The scene is brief showing her alongside her brother as they try to help fellow mutants and stand against the massive tri-Sentinel, but Colossus can only stare on helplessly as his little sister is annihilated leaving him grieving over her corpse.

Colossus is back, but sporting Acolyte purple.

This, like in the comics, is the catalyst for Colossus joining Magneto’s Acolytes. We too saw them in the original series with the two-parter “Sanctuary” where they weren’t really positioned as villains, just followers of Magneto. In that story, Acolyte Fabian Cortez attempts to murder Magneto and the X-Men have to expose his crimes. As far as we know, his body has been absconded by Apocalypse following the events in the episode “Fifth Horsemen” so he should not be turning up anytime soon. And we are introduced to the Acolytes via them dropping in on a campaign rally by everyone’s favorite mutant hater Graydon Creed (Ben Pronsky). Apparently, Sabretooth did not murder him at the end of the episode “Bloodlines” which Sabretooth alluded to during his appearance this season. Creed has been left with a scar on his face, but otherwise seems fine. At least, fine for now as the Acolytes, now lead by Exodus (Bo Poraj), have plans for the would-be president. Feeling that he has not been held accountable for his crimes against mutant kind, the Acolytes intend to take him and dispense justice as they see fit.

Poor Illyana, we hardly knew her.

Xavier (Ross Marquand) is able to take point here and sends X-Corp, minus Cyclops and Jean, to the Savage Land where the Acolytes have made their home. It makes sense since that was where Magneto originally intended to launch his mutant utopia, but things obviously changed. Mr. Sinister also called this place home back in the original show’s second season, and via the great citadel in the middle he was able to operate a device that nullified mutant powers and that is apparently still operational. The X-Corp members are separated quickly with Polaris and Bishop left out in the jungle while Rogue (Lenore Zann), Nightcrawler (Adrian Hough), and Beast (George Buza) get to tour the new mutant haven under the watchful eye of their former ally, Colossus. Their goal is to bring Creed home fearing his murder at the hands of mutants would be disastrous for human-mutant relations. The Acolytes seek only to punish him with the punishment being death. Toss in the fact that Creed is Nightcrawler’s biological brother and you have yourself quite the little soap opera. Nightcrawler, being a man of faith, does not wish to see his brother killed even if he personally has no real love for him. And since they can’t exactly fight their way out without their powers his solution is to propose a trial with him defending his brother and Exodus standing as the prosecutor. In the judge’s chair sits Colossus whom Nightcrawler has faith in that he’ll see some worth in Creed and spare his life.

I’ve always found Exodus to be a bad ass design.

The idea of a trial is pretty hokey on its surface, but I have to concede it does play an important role in adding some color to the Graydon Creed character. It’s easy to just hate him for being a bigot and think no deeper than that, but the episode finds a rather compelling angle all while not making him out to be someone we should have any amount of respect for. The Polaris and Bishop pairing is pretty underserved though. There’s an interesting angle here in that once Bishop loses his mutant powers all of the energy he had stored within him (he’s basically a battery) is trying to escape, but letting it out would likely kill him and perhaps anyone nearby. He can only withstand it for so long putting a running clock on this mission that is basically never acknowledged again apart from the initial explanation. There’s also clearly a chemistry forming between Bishop and Polaris which is played well, but again, not enough time is devoted to it.

From the trailer with maybe Iceman in a frame on the ground over Rogue’s left shoulder.
From the episode. Now it could just be me, but that image I thought was Iceman appears to be desaturated here. Also, they removed Gambit.

I did not like the Magik death reveal when it was shown in the trailers and I still don’t like it very much now. Mostly because she’s just a plot device to motivate her brother. Yes, she served that role in the preceding series, but not at the expense of her life. If you’re going to kill her off, at least let her get to be a character first. Instead, we get nothing which feels like a waste. This being a show based on comic books, it would hardly be a surprise to see her come back and maybe she’ll even be one of the horsemen of Apocalypse, but that’s not a get out of jail free card for bad character writing. Colossus is still quite likable and I was delighted to see Robert Cait return to reprise the role. We do get an action sequence to cap things off and it too features another character death that felt both implausible and like a waste. Sometimes this show comes across as too cavalier when it comes to killing characters off, mostly because they just don’t get enough runway beforehand. At least the appearance of the shrine first spotted in the trailer brings about no more deaths. Even the image that appeared to be Iceman seems to no longer exist. Has that character been spared a gruesome fate? It would seem so since no one has even spoken his name despite his connection to Polaris.

I hope we get to see more this pairing.

I did really enjoy the Nightcrawler/Creed dynamics in this one. Even if you are not a religious person (and I am not), it’s easy to empathize with Nightcrawler in this one. He’s just trying to find a peaceful solution. He does not defend his brother’s crimes or feel that he should not answer for them, but he firmly believes it would not be right to murder him. He gets tested and pushed, but I really liked his solution. I also just plain like bringing Creed back into the fold because he’s such a detestable human being and a great foil for the X-Men. An element of the show was lost when he basically faded away after season two and keeping the mutant/human conflict in focus is really crucial, in my opinion. The episode does end in a similar fashion to last week’s as the show essentially slow walks the return of Gambit as Death. It does feature a swerve that I didn’t see coming, though it’s one that could also be functionally meaningless as far as the plot is concerned. I guess we’ll find out next week as that episode is titled “The Dead Man’s Hand” and if that isn’t the big Gambit episode then I don’t know what would be.

Previously…on X-Men ’97:

X-Men ’97 – “Danger.exe”

After last week’s side trip up north to get Wolverine his skeleton back, this week’s episode of X-Men ’97 brings us back to the mansion which we really haven’t seen much of so far this season. The season’s sixth episode is centered on survivor’s guilt and the sins of a parent. For the guilt portion,…

Keep reading
by Joe

X-Men ’97 – “Weapon X, Lies, and DVDs”

When X-Men went into development for the Fox Kids Network, it didn’t take the writing staff (who was unfamiliar with the property going in) long to figure out that Wolverine was their ticket to television royalty. The character really took off in the 1980s and helped the X-Men storm into the 1990s as the most…

Keep reading
by Joe

X-Men ’97 – “Rise of Apocalypse: Part 2”

Unlike the first three episodes of season two of X-Men ’97, this fourth one is going to spend all of its time in one era. And as you could probably guess, that era is 3,000 BCE since that is where we left off last week. I consider these reviews that I do spoiler free, but…

Keep reading
by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Comics, Television

July 21, 2026

What Can We Expect from the Second Half of X-Men ’97 Season Two?

By Joe
X-Men ’97 appears to be building towards one hell of a finish.

With the airing of last week’s episode “Weapon X, Lies, and DVDs” the second season of X-Men ’97 passed the halfway point. And after tomorrow when this goes live, we’ll be 2/3rds of the way through the season since it’s only nine episodes. Since I am away (again) for the sixth episode, I figured I’d do a little recap post and offer up some of my thoughts on where we’re heading from here. There’s a lot of stuff we know is likely to happen, but a lot we don’t, and it sounds like the plans for season three have been changed since they were originally mapped out. It should probably go without saying, but just in case, there are spoilers ahead for the first half of X-Men ’97’s season two and I’ll also be talking about the potentially scuttled plans for season three so you have been warned.

Season two of X-Men ’97 has been a lot of fun so far. The actual episodes have been pretty tight focusing on just select squads of the heroes involved while also laying the groundwork for a big finale against Apocalypse. With the most recent episode, we got a deviation where Wolverine and a select group of mutants ran off to Canada to shut down the latest Weapon X lab. Or at least that’s what the squad signed up for, but in reality Wolverine was just looking to get his adamantium skeleton back which Magneto had stripped from him in season one.

Wolverine is left to wonder, “Was it all worth it?”

We might as well start there. That episode was a pretty interesting look at Wolverine and it also really put a spotlight on his relationship with Morph. It’s been a little divisive in some circles from what I’ve seen and that goes back to how the story was presented in the comics. Any X-Men show or movie is going to run into issues where fans compare what they’re seeing on their screen to what already happened in the comics while writers and showrunners aren’t always looking for a direct adaptation. In the comics, Wolverine went years without his adamantium skeleton and even had a botched attempt at it during that time period which brought about the feral Wolverine era. We got a slight taste of that in episode one as Wolverine’s look was evocative of that one, but that was it. The comic book story put Wolverine before Apocalypse with a choice: battle Sabretooth for the right to become Death, or let Sabretooth assume that mantle. Whoever became Death would have an adamantium skeleton courtesy of Apocalypse which was kind of like a little bonus. For Wolverine, it meant letting someone else turn him into a weapon as the Weapon X program had done years before against his will. On the other hand, letting Sabretooth get basically a power-up and a new job that was all about killing didn’t exactly sound appealing either. Wolverine’s choice was presented as a sacrifice and he had faith in himself that he’d eventually beat Apocalypse’s programming and ultimately cause the world far less harm than a powered-up Sabretooth and that’s just what he did.

In X-Men ’97, Wolverine lead a group of allies and enemies into a hornet’s nest under false pretenses. During the first episode and in this one, we saw how Wolverine’s effectiveness had been reduced thanks to his new, fragile, bone claws. He had a tough time taking down the robotic foes in the distant future and was unable to takedown a Brood-infested polar bear in this one. And in that moment, Sabretooth had to bail him out and he was all too happy to let him know. Wolverine ended up getting infected by the Brood which caused him to murder his ally Maverick who wanted to bail on the mission as soon as they realized what they were up against. He very nearly killed Morph, but Morph was able to distract him by morphing into Jean (that always works). Sabretooth and Deathstrike saw through what Wolverine was doing, but Morph was the last one to cross the finish line. Morph refused to see Wolverine as a monster, but in the end, they found out that even Wolverine thinks he has no worth unless he’s a monster. It must have been a pretty devastating episode for Morph who we know has feelings beyond just friendship for Wolverine. Morph presenting as themself to Wolverine to try and get him to stop failed, but Jean? Apparently she has enough of Wolverine’s heart to pull that off and Morph likely never will. There could be a rift forming here and it will be interesting to see how this plays out. For fans, I get it that some were upset that Wolverine’s sacrifice in the books was turned into a selfish act, but I think this aspect of his personality that X-Men ’97 is shining a light on is also a worthwhile avenue. We’ll just have to see how it goes.

As for the rest of the season, we know the episode titles for what’s to come starting with the episode that airs the day after this post goes live “Danger.exe.” I am expecting this one will feature the enemy Danger (duh), and based on the newer trailers, it could also feature an X-Men and X-Force team-up. Or a fight, either sounds enjoyable. It should be a good opportunity to bring in the Grant Morrison era costumes we’ve seen featured in the trailers (they thankfully have not featured Wolverine’s look from that run which I have never liked) and I think it will also be a chance to get most everyone in the same place. We have not had an episode where the whole team is together. It would also be a chance to see the first bit of fallout from the time jumping adventure the X-Men went on as well as the loss of Magneto. I wonder if it will stick with the Danger plot, or maybe jump around? We haven’t really had an episode like that this season apart from briefly jumping to the future in episode two and starting episode 3 in the present.

Could this episode be where the show brings back the Genosha fallout?

The next episode is titled “Strange Land, Savage Heart” which is a play on the episode title from the original series “Savage Land, Strange Heart.” It would seem to suggest the presence of the Savage Land and perhaps that is where the shrine for victims of Genosha has been erected? We also saw shots of Nightcrawler battling with Exodus and perhaps that takes place in the Savage Land? Or we’re just going to split up with Nightcrawler and Rogue heading to Genosha and the rest heading to the Savage Land. Beyond that, I’m not sure, but I think this is the episode that brings everything back to focus on those lost at Genosha. And based on the trailer, it looks like the body count has gone up since season one ended as Magik and possibly Iceman were added to the death toll despite appearing on Forge’s board as being alive and accounted for. Colossus was also in his Acolytes costume and if the Acolytes have a new leader it’s almost certainly Exodus. Colossus is likely to be in a bad headspace following the loss of his beloved sister. We know of some similar scenes with Polaris returning to the mansion and taking sight of how everything has been destroyed and one shot in the trailer shows a picture of her and Bobby which seems to further hint that he may have been among the casualties. This all leads me to speculate on some big things in the next episode.

Or maybe they are just going on a Savage Land adventure?

“Dead Man’s Hand” sounds pretty self-explanatory. When Gambit died in season one, few expected it to be permanent. That’s just not how comics work. When Apocalypse was shown at the end of season one finding a playing card in the rubble of Genosha that basically cemented it. Gambit is coming back as Apocalypse’s horseman of death, but what of the other three? Horsemen always come in fours and we have not seen any shots in any trailer suggesting who could be among the horsemen. In the comics, Polaris became one at one point and could her anger towards humanity over the loss of Bobby and others drive her to Apocalypse? She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s also lost a father in Magneto though that one is complicated by the fact that it was Apocalypse who killed him. Then again, that could be what the X-Men use to pull her out of his clutches. Rogue is another possibility. She was devastated by the loss of Gambit, could this be a way to be with him? I don’t know if she would go willingly, but there’s a darkness in her brought about by Genosha. Archangel also reminded us in episode two that it was Rogue who took away the evil within him and allowed him to break free of Apocalypse’s control. That evil has been dwelling inside her ever since perhaps ready to come out. She could also attempt to do the same for Gambit, and maybe that backfires? In the scene where it looks like the X-Men and X-Force are bracing for a fight from the trailer, I don’t think Rogue is seen, though that might not be them getting ready to tangle with Apocalypse too. Colossus is another candidate. Devastated by the loss of his sister, he could certainly turn towards Apocalypse if he thinks the Acolytes aren’t doing enough.

Rogue is definitely going to feature heavily in the climax of this season.

The other possibility for the horsemen that I envision is the show using it as a way to undo some deaths. We know Gambit is likely one such character, but then there’s others who perished in Genosha like Magik, Iceman, Marrow, and Banshee. Many others fell as well and if they indeed decided to add Magik and Iceman to the death toll between seasons then virtually anyone is on the table if we have yet to see them alive. And it could also be a way to bring back Magneto. Perhaps when Apocalypse nuked Magneto’s body he preserved his essence to put into a new body and control? I personally think it would be a mistake to bring Magneto back yet again, but I can’t rule it out. After all, these are comic book characters and they seem to never die. There’s also opportunities to introduce new or forgotten characters to fill out Apocalypse’s ranks. Characters like Nemesis, Mikhail Rasputin, Deathbird, or Tyler – Cable’s son he essentially abandoned in the future. We’ve also never really had Stryfe in the animated universe as he’s only ever made cameos. We have not heard from Sinister at all this season and it’s been even longer since we’ve seen Mystique, the Brotherhood, or anyone from The Nasty Boys. And can we fully write-off Wolverine as a horseman? Maybe his opinion of himself as only a weapon and his actions up north create a bigger divide with the team than expected and it allows Apocalypse to corrupt him somehow? Maybe a character like X-23 or Daken gets introduced as a horseman and Wolverine has to find his worth as a human being in order to convince one of them to suppress what Apocalypse has done to them?

Either way, I see the finale “Survival of the Fittest” as being the battle for Gambit’s soul and anyone else corrupted by Apocalypse. They’ll also have to actually defeat Apocalypse and I don’t know how they’ll do that. I do hope it’s something satisfying as the ways in which those confrontations were settled in the original series were never satisfying for me. That’s the Apocalypse problem – he’s made to be so strong and so powerful that there’s almost no believable way to stop him. He kind of just runs for no reason or you get something a bit more abstract like the ending to “Beyond Good and Evil.” One possibility for taking him down is Onslaught. In the comics, when Charles Xavier wiped the mind of Magneto during the Fatal Attractions arc it meant Magneto’s consciousness remained with Xavier’s mind. It basically tormented him and eventually it caused Onslaught to emerge. Now, few fans seem to actually like that arc. The setup is fine, the character certainly has a 90s cool factor, but it basically lead to the temporary deaths of a lot of Marvel’s non-mutant heroes and brought about the controversial Heroes Reborn era. I, like many, am not a fan of the Onslaught saga, but I’m also not afraid of it. The way I see it, X-Men ’97 could be a way to redeem the character, but that may not happen.

If this represents X-Men and X-Force getting ready to duke it out with Apocalypse, it could be more telling to focus on who isn’t there rather than who is.

According to former showrunner Beau DeMayo, Marvel axed his plans to introduce Onslaught in episode ten of this season and that’s why we ended up with nine episodes instead of ten. I would guess he knows this to be true because he probably lost a credit over it. Onslaught was going to be a season three enemy and somehow that was going to lead to an Age of Apocalypse in the animated universe. That might also explain why Hasbro decided to reissue their own Onslaught figure (review coming soon) since this was all stuff being worked on years before this season premiered. Does that mean Onslaught is completely off the table? No, as there’s been plenty of time to reconsider if they wanted to. They could have decided to kick the can further down the road as opposed to bring it into season two. There’s certainly plenty of foreshadowing with how Xavier ended episode four. Perhaps he even “saved” Magneto from death by psychically downloading his mind into his own? Such a thing sounds like absolute nonsense, but for X-Men? Nah, that could be sold. And from there it could be that which brings about Onslaught. How this would have created an Age of Apocalypse when the previous show already went down the rabbit hole of “What if Xavier were killed before forming the X-Men?” with the two-parter “One Man’s Worth,” is also something I can’t wrap my head around. Maybe the show was just going to forget about that? I’m pretty sure it was referenced in the opening title during season one so DeMayo likely wanted us to remember it for a reason. Either way, I could see Marvel not wanting to set an entire season of the show in an alternate present thereby throwing a wrench into the whole thing. Comic fans seem titillated by it, but would the casuals want to see another season where Magneto leads the team and characters like Beast and Cyclops are villains?

Onslaught not being the ultimate end game for season two has one obvious benefit in that it makes it really hard to predict what could follow instead. It could simply be a cleaner ending, but I can’t imagine them not teasing another villain or plot to come. Perhaps Krakoa? That seems to be something a lot of fans would take in place of Age of Apocalypse. It wouldn’t surprise me if we see Generation X being formed and maybe a reshuffling of some cards where X-Force and X-Factor are concerned. The mere fact that I’ve written over 2,000 words on the subject should be enough of a tell that I’m pretty excited and eager to see where things are heading. There’s so much for the show to cover or not and it feels like we’ve barely spent time with most of the characters. I hope the show is doing really well with whatever metrics Disney uses to evaluate these streaming shows so that it ensure we get even more beyond a third season because this is just too much damn fun each week.

Some prior X-Men ’97 musings and reviews if this wasn’t enough for you:

X-Men ’97 – “Weapon X, Lies, and DVDs”

When X-Men went into development for the Fox Kids Network, it didn’t take the writing staff (who was unfamiliar with the property going in) long to figure out that Wolverine was their ticket to television royalty. The character really took off in the 1980s and helped the X-Men storm into the 1990s as the most…

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by Joe

The Return of X-Men ’97

The return of the ’92 era X-Men featured in the classic animated series could not have gone any better. I was extremely excited for that show’s continuation via X-Men ’97, but at the same time a bit fearful. Could it really live up to my own expectations even as I tried to tamp them down?…

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by Joe

X-Men ’97 – “Tolerance is Extinction – Part 3”

Today, X-Men ’97 dropped the curtain on its first season and what a way to bring it to an end. Last week’s episode was a roller coaster of emotions for me. I couldn’t go into much detail of my review of “Tolerance is Extinction – Part 2” without wading into spoiler territory, so allow me…

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by Joe

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May 4, 2026

Medicom MAFEX 287 Gambit (Comic Variant Ver.)

By Joe
Everyone can relax…

When I think of 90s comic book characters, there are quite a few who come to mind, but first and foremost is Gambit. I attribute that largely to the X-Men animated series as that was my first real introduction to the character. Prior to that show’s premiere, I had seen images of the character and had a vague understanding of what made him a superhero, but he wasn’t someone I paid much attention to. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee, he is quite a bit different from the classic superhero when it comes to his appearance. He’s been around so long and is so popular now that it’s easy to lose sight of how a guy in a trench coat and hot pink shirt might not read as a superhero right away. His role as a bit of a scoundrel and unique power set have certainly helped make Gambit a memorable member of the X-Men, but I do think that very popular cartoon in ’92 really helped cement the character as one of the most popular X-Men of all time.

This figure is a costly, but obvious, upgrade over the Legends figure. It does make me want to talk myself into the MAFEX Rogue though.

If you have followed any of my previous X-Men figure reviews, then you know that a big part of my goal as an action figure collector is to assemble that animated team on my shelf. The only issue with that goal is the only game in town when it comes to something in a 1:12 scale the only game in town in a lot of respects has been Hasbro. They did their own take on some of the animated team and have since moved on to X-Men ’97 based figures, but a lot of them have been not great. In particular, the dedicated ’92 series of figures was pretty bad. The line was only 8 figures and yet I’ve already replaced 3 of them in some form or another. And all of them have been replaced with other Marvel Legends offerings or a kit-bash approach, but this new Gambit figure marks my first time attempting to replace one with another company’s offering.

For some, this might be the ideal Capcom Gambit.

Gambit was released in the first wave of X-Men ’97 figures by Hasbro. It was basically just a straight re-release of a prior Gambit, but with an updated portrait that’s more evocative of the new show’s style. It’s an okay release. The articulation is dated and the card-throwing accessory is worthless, but visually it’s passable. Certainly not good enough to not be at risk of replacement. Enter Medicom and their new MAFEX-branded release of Gambit. This is an update on an older figure that has proven to be one of the more popular releases in the line. Just perusing the toy community online it sure seems like Gambit, Magneto, and the brown-costumed Wolverine are often cited as being among Medicom’s best efforts. And one look at Gambit and it’s easy to see why. The proportions and sculpt look nice, the soft goods coat turned out well, and there’s a bunch of stuff included in the box – so why did I never pick it up? Well, it’s expensive. MAFEX figures for those sitting outside Asia will routinely cost around $100 when all is said and done. That figure looked good, but it wasn’t $100 good for me. Medicom went with a metallic paint job, something they seem quite fond of with their X-Men figures, which just isn’t my thing. I want my figures to resemble their source material as close as possible and nothing about a metallic paint job on Gambit really screams that for me. Then last summer, Medicom unveiled a new variant Gambit which they referred to as their comic variant. Basically, it’s a more straight-forward paint job with a different color applied to the coat and effect parts and suddenly I was in. Well, almost. I still waited for the figure to actually release before I finally gave in (and a nice bonus at work helped give me a nudge) and once I was satisfied with how it turned out I laid my money down.

If so, he’s not going to make the SHF Cyclops look tall.

Gambit comes in the standard Medicom MAFEX box which is designed to mimic a comic book with a snippet of art from the books and a bunch of product shots. I will say, it immediately made me chuckle that the comic book art doesn’t match the look of this supposed comic book variant of the figure (and we’ll get more into that shortly), but that’s not something that truly bothers me. Out of the box, Gambit stands a little over 6″ with his poofy hair taking him up to around the 6.5″ mark making him true 1:12 scale. He possesses the typical, MAFEX, proportioning as his legs are fairly long and the build is more on the slender side than the bulked-up type. It works for Gambit and the coat helps to add more of a presence to the figure’s form. The pink of the shirt is a nice, bright, shade with some light purple shading added which helps create texture. The blue…whatever this thing is…around the base of his neck is sculpted as I remember it from the comics and is shaded with dark blue which really helps to make it pop. The paints and the cowl are a nice, matte, black and the pink rectangles on the thighs are present and painted well. The blue of the belt and boots matches to each other and there’s some nice black linework in both areas. The face is really well done and the hair has some black or very dark brown wash applied. There’s also a hint of stubble on his chin and the trademark red eyes glow brightly. Most of the paint is clean. There is a white spot on the right thigh of my figure and some of the black lines on the boots could have been applied in a neater fashion. The hands, which feature Gambit’s traditional fingerless portions, could have been painted cleaner as well. If it sounds like I’m nitpicking know that I am, but we’re also talking about a $100 action figure and standards should be exceptionally high.

The sculpt is pretty freakin’ nice.

The presentation of the sculpt and paint works very well for me. This is a sharp figure. What’s been a bit more divisive is the coat. In pictures, the coat has a real touch of red to the brown. It’s a far more saturated shade compared with the original release which is much closer to the comic image on the box in terms of color. In hand, it’s still noticeably red, but not to the same degree. It’s indeed a brown coat and I think it plays off of the hot pink shirt very well, but if you’re looking for pure comic book accuracy this shade probably isn’t it. Now, we are talking about a character who debuted in 1990 and in the ensuing decades he’s had a lot of looks and variations and if you scour the pages of Marvel Comics I don’t doubt that someone could turn up an image of Gambit where he looks like this, but is it what people think of first? Probably not. For me, I personally think the figure looks great. I get a lot of Toy Biz vibes out of the figure as far as the colors go stretching back to the first Gambit released in that line (with the karate kick action!). I’ve seen people online doing a coat swap with the first release and being quite happy with the result, but that’s a lot of money to shell out for the ideal Gambit.

He has two arc effects, one with more of a fire texture and another that’s smoother.

Another area where this color discrepancy rears its head is with the accessories. Gambit gets the usual vast assortment of hand options including fists, gripping, relaxed, open, open with an effect peg, and a set of card holding hands that are not mirrored. The right hand is the classic two-finger Gambit pose while the left is designed to hold two cards. The alternate head features a gritted teeth expression while utilizing the same sculpt for the hair. Gambit has his staff which is a light brown with some black linework painted onto it. The “controversial” part are the effects. Gambit has a solo card with a trailing effect on it, a two-card piece that’s more stationary and flaming, and then there are two flame effects for the ends of his staff. For all, Medicom went with a yellow and orange coloration like actual fire. On the previous figure, they went with the pink/magenta the character is more known for when he activates his powers in the comic. Like the coat, you can find images of Gambit’s powers taking on this color, but they’re definitely the minority (and originally his powers were green which is just weird to think about). His power effects were similar to this color in the original cartoon series, but in that show they also used an animation effect that gave it a different texture. In X-Men ’97, his powers were altered to resemble the comic. I think we got this set because Medicom just wanted to differentiate the figure further from the first release, but in doing so it does lessen the whole notion of this being the true comic variant. For me personally, while I would have preferred the pink, it doesn’t really move the needle at all. I think the effects look good, they’re just not in the color that first comes to mind for when I think of Gambit.

He also has his staff and even some flame effects for the ends.

And those aren’t even the only effects. Gambit also has two, large, throwing effects. Each one features three cards and an arc of flame behind them. They’re designed to peg onto the effect hands and the peg hole is at the end so we don’t end up with a Hasbro situation where the arc makes no sense. All of the cards, including the other two effects, are just yellow like they’re glowing and there’s no visible suit or number. One of the arc effects is thinner and sharper looking while the other has textured flames. It’s heavier as a result, not that the slimmer profiled one isn’t heavy, and to counter that Medicom included a stand for the effects. It’s just a clear, plastic, base and post with two options for a “Y” shaped top to help prop it up. Without it, the wrist joint won’t be able to support the weight and it will turn towards the ground. Certain poses, like a vertical toss, can work, but if you want a horizontal sweep type of throw you’ll need the post. Also included is the usual MAFEX stand that works just as well as it always does.

It can be tricky to pose, but these effects are pretty damn fun to mess around with, though they do add heft.

The articulation for Gambit is pretty typical for MAFEX which is to say it’s quite good. There’s a double-ball peg head, ball-jointed neck, butterfly shoulders, shoulder hinges, bicep swivel, double elbows, ball-hinge wrists, diaphragm, ball-jointed waist, drop-down hips, thigh swivel at the hips joint, double-jointed knees, ball-hinged ankles, toe hinge. Range at pretty much all spots is a plus. The torso gets nice arch back and crunch forward, the head can be posed with a great deal of freedom, and the hips allow for high kicks and the like. The ankles are the only area I’m not in love with. The ball hinge can be tough to get a good ankle rocker out of it. It works, it’s just a bit more fickle than I’d like. The coat is wired all along the hem including the collar so it can pose very well. It will bunch up on the arms and that’s just the nature of soft goods – you’re always sacrificing something when they cover limbs. The coat can come off, if you so desire, which will free up the range of the arms, but your Gambit will look far less cool. To probably get the most out of the arms, you will have to remove the coat to pose him, then try to carefully get it back as manipulating the bicep swivel and even the elbow joint can get really cumbersome with the coat on.

The big effects are flashy, but sometimes the simpler ones work just as well.

This Gambit from Medicom is expensive, but it is a terrific action figure. There’s not a whole lot to complain about. I think the paint could have been a little sharper in places and I really think we should have got a third portrait with a smirk on it. Two heads where one is stoic and the other angry just isn’t ideal for a character like Gambit. People are going to want to pose him with Rogue and he’s never not smiling when he’s around Rogue. This reissue would have been a great opportunity to add an extra head, but Medicom opted not to. Still, what is here is pretty substantial when it comes to hands and effects and the end result is something special. This is only my fourth MAFEX figure, but it quickly became my favorite. If all of their X-Men figures turned out this well I’d have a whole lot less money to my name, but one Hell of a collection. This is the rare $100 figure at this scale that I have no regrets whatsoever about picking up. If you dig it and want one of your own, the import sites will probably be a better deal than some of the US-based retailers which are charging upwards of $130 for this one. That’s pretty rich, but if you shop around you should be able to get him for less so long as he’s in stock. And I would guess this one will sell out eventually so don’t put it off for too long.

For more premium action figure offerings check these out:

S.H.Figuarts Marvel Gamerverse Cyclops

A funny thing happened in 2025 where two companies revealed they were going to be making action figures based on the hit video game series Marvel vs Capcom only for neither company to actually mention the words Marvel vs Capcom. It would seem that neither Hasbro nor Bandai wanted to compensate the Capcom portion of…

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S.H.Figuarts Across the Spider-Verse Scarlet Spider

In the two reviews I did of Scarlet Spider action figures I shared the origins of my love for the character’s design. To make it short, I found the appearance of him on a cover of a Spider-Man comic intriguing, but more is as a young artist I much preferred to doodle him in my…

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MAFEX No. 117 – Superman (Batman: Hush Ver.)

They finally wore me down. It was nearly five years ago that I reviewed the Medicom MAFEX Batman (Hush Ver.) action figure and concluded that it would probably be the only figure I’d get. Then along came Superman. As a kid, I liked Superman well enough. I think the first pair of superhero themed pajamas…

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Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Comics, toys

April 24, 2024

X-Men ’97 – “Bright Eyes”

By Joe
Written by Charley Feldman and JB Ballard.

When we last saw our beloved X-Men, their world had just been destroyed. An idyllic place set to the soundtrack of the very on-the-nose choice of “Happy Nation” by Ace of Base in Genosha was laid to waste. Mutants of all backgrounds were slaughtered including our beloved Gambit and less beloved Magneto. In the aftermath of the episode’s airing, series creator Beau DeMayo took to social media to explain his reasoning for writing such a destructive story. In his view, the first four episodes were the nostalgia episodes. Things weren’t perfect, but a lot of what the X-Men had fought for in the original series had come to pass. Genosha was now their place where they belonged. It was a safe haven, but it was all so fragile.

DeMayo likened the attack on Genosha to both September 11th and the Pulse nightclub shooting. As a gay man himself, DeMayo designed much of the atmosphere of Genosha to mimic that of a gay club. Both are places where individuals who may normally feel pressured to hide who they really are can be themselves. And who they are is what also makes them a target. The world is not a safe place and we’re reminded of that constantly. In that, the world these characters inhabit is not unlike our own.

Rogue gets to do some ass kicking in this one.

This week’s episode doesn’t just have the events of “Remember It” to dwell on, but also those of last week’s episode, “Lifedeath – Part 2.” In that one, Storm regained her powers and also seemingly rediscovered some classic threads while Xavier had a vision of what transpired on Earth and was compelled to give up his life with the woman he loves. And in the closing moments, we saw who orchestrated the attack on Genosha. Mr. Sinister, with an assist from the DNA of Bolivar Trask, has seemingly assumed the role of catalyst for what could be a war between humans and mutants. It’s not surprising that a man who literally named himself Sinister is the one behind such a thing, but what does it mean for the character? Did he find another way to synthesize his perfect mutant from the DNA of Scott Summers and Jean Grey and is now ready to unleash his creation upon the world? Or is he acting on behalf of another? Perhaps someone who has always desired to bring about the apocalypse itself?

The opening “Previously…” for “Bright Eyes” is delivered by Rogue. In the scenes to follow, we mostly bare witness to what took place in episode 5 with the only piece from last week’s episode being Xavier’s voice over as he received his vision of what transpired. The opening title appears to be completely unchanged from last week. Storm has not been added back in and Nightcrawler gets to go two weeks in a row in a prominent spot. When the episode does begin, it gets right to the aftermath we have been waiting for. It’s Gambit’s funeral, and in attendance aren’t just X-Men, but Gambit’s former allies and would-be wife from the Thieves Guild. They’re just window dressing and it falls on Nightcrawler to lead the service since he’s a man of the cloth. It’s an understandably somber scene, but once absence garners much attention.

Perhaps Nightcrawler’s role will be like a team chaplain going forward?

Rogue, apparently not yet willing to deal with her grief, is on a one woman mission to find the man she believes is responsible for the loss of Gambit and so many others on Genosha: Bolivar Trask. Her mission will take her all over the globe and include in some interesting cameos from the greater Marvel Universe. She’ll eventually be forced to deal with her grief, but there’s a lot of anger in the woman and it’s fun to see Lenore Zann get to play Rogue in a different manner from what we’re used to. Elsewhere, the X-Men have decided their place is on Genosha helping out with the clean-up. Scott and Jean are still in a bad place, but this isn’t an episode with much room for the soapy drama we’re used to. Sunspot is also left to ponder if keeping the fact that he’s a mutant a secret the right way to go about things. After all, what if he was on Genosha that day and his parents found out he’s a mutant by IDing his corpse?

Eventually, anger gives way to sorrow when confronted by a great loss.

The last act of the episode is what pushes the narrative forward. We’ll learn more about how the attack on Genosha came about and the show is clearly setting the stage for the three-part finale that’s to follow. The X-Men will have a new enemy, and if there is a theme to this enemy it’s probably escalation which has been building since the start of the season. Whenever humanity scores a win over bigotry, be it in the real world or a fantasy like this one, the bigots always fine a new way to attach the marginalized. When the Emancipation Proclamation was put in place, the country went to war to actually free those from the bondages of slavery. When the war ended, Jim Crow surfaced followed by segregation, Tulsa, the Voting Rights Act, etc. Victory is often temporary, and the X-Men learned that the hard way. The end of the episode contains a pair of reveals as well. One we, the audience, were already in on and another we technically weren’t, but the show basically telegraphed. As such, I don’t think the final scene lands with the impact the show may have wanted, but people are sure to remember the song for the scene, at least. If you thought Ace of Base was an interesting pull, just wait until you hear this one.

“Bright Eyes” is another slow episode, one that is clearly building towards something. The show is clearly setting up for something spectacular, and now we get to see if it can stick the landing. I’m a bit sad there are only three episodes of X-Men ’97 left before the first season comes to a close, but I am very excited to see how it ends.

Previously…on X-Men ’97:

X-Men ’97 – “Lifedeath – Part 2”

Last week’s episode of X-Men ’97 ended in spectacular and heartbreaking fashion. If you were hoping to experience the fallout of that one, you’re going to be disappointed by this week’s episode. Like the week before which saw an episode end with Forge and Storm in a precarious situation, this week’s episode is willing to…

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by Joe

X-Men ’97 – “Remember It”

Last week’s episode of X-Men ’97 saw the show take a breather with a fairly low stakes plot involving Jubilee and Roberto getting sucked into a video game. The last 7 or 8 minutes of the episode concluded with a more serious tone as Storm and Forge found themselves at odds in the wildlands of…

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by Joe

X-Men ’97 – “Motendo/Lifedeath Part 1”

X-Men ’97 continues on into it’s fourth episode with a bit of a change-up. The first three episodes were rather weighty dealing with the fallout of Xavier’s death, Storm losing her powers, and the whole clone situation of the third episode. And that third episode did reveal a few cracks in the foundation of the…

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by Joe

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April 12, 2024

X-Men ’97 – “Remember It”

By Joe

Last week’s episode of X-Men ’97 saw the show take a breather with a fairly low stakes plot involving Jubilee and Roberto getting sucked into a video game. The last 7 or 8 minutes of the episode concluded with a more serious tone as Storm and Forge found themselves at odds in the wildlands of Texas. It ended with a shocking visual and if you wanted immediate closure on that thread you’re going to be left wanting by this week’s episode, “Remember It.” I don’t think that will bother many because “Remember It” is the most impactful episode of the season so far and has a lot of people already declaring it the best episode yet.

The phrase “Remember It” is a callback to a particularly bad ass line delivered by not one, but two, characters from the original series. Interestingly, those two characters now have a real world link as the former voice actor of Gambit, Chris Potter, is now the voice of Cable who makes his X-Men ’97 debut this week, albeit in a brief manner.

It’s a bit hard to tell, but I think this week’s “Previously,” is delivered by AJ LoCascio, otherwise known as the current voice of Gambit. The opening title features a lot of clips that we’ve seen before as someone really wants the Dark Phoenix plot to be at the forefront it would seem. Newly added is a recreation of Cable’s encounter with Apocalypse from the “Beyond Good and Evil” arc and it’s nice to see that Apocalypse still has his unique to the show color combo of blue and purple.

It seems Madelyn has found a new purpose.

“Remember It” features an A and a B plot in a more traditional manner as the episode isn’t split like last week’s. At the mansion, reporter Trish Tilby (Donna Jay Fulks) is on-hand to interview the X-Men for television to give them a chance to humanize themselves in front of the world. At least, she’s interviewing the few willing to go on camera which seems to be limited to Beast, Cyclops, and Jubilee. Elsewhere, Jean is still trying to sort out her memories while Wolverine is ducking the cameras and checking up on her. Magneto, Gambit, and Rogue are enroute to Genosha as they’ve been invited by the new council there for unknown reasons.

That trio will land to discover that Genosha is a pretty happening place. Mutants parade out in the open in a Mardi Gras like atmosphere of music and dance. Gambit takes notice of the incredibly high prices at street vendors and seems to be the only one who thinks maybe not everything is as it seems. Magneto is expected to meet with the council of Genosha while Rogue and Gambit get to do some sightseeing with an old friend. Returning from X-Men is voice actor Adrian Hough reprising his role as Nightcrawler. The fuzzy, blue, elf is a much happier and high spirited character now that he’s in a place that accepts him. He’s eager to reconnect with Rogue and Gambit and happy to be their escort on this day. Also in attendance on Genosha is Madelyn Pryor, aka the clone of Jean. She has accepted a position on the council and is Magneto’s introduction to the rest.

Everybody is happy about the return of Nightcrawler!

And that council is comprised of a lot of old faces, some more welcomed than others: Sebastian Shaw (Todd Haberkorn), Emma Frost (Martha Marion), Moira McTaggert (Marion), Callisto (Courtenay Taylor), and Banshee (David Errigo Jr.). Valerie Cooper is also present, but not a part of the council, and if she was she would object to what Magneto has been summoned here for. They wish to make him chancellor of Genosha by reason that since Xavier entrusted him with the X-Men, they can entrust him with Genosha. Magneto requires little convincing, but has one requirement for accepting the position: that Rogue be his queen.

There aren’t many people on this council I’d call trustworthy.

This puts the love triangle at the forefront that’s been percolating a bit since the second episode between Rogue, Gambit, and Magneto. If you have been waiting for some resolution there, as well as more info on just what happened between Rogue and Magneto before the events of the original series, your questions will at last be answered. At the mansion, we will similarly see Cyclops and Jean start to address their own issues as a couple, as well as the fact that Cyclops had to bid his newborn son farewell. It gets heavy at times and certainly adds to the soap opera nature of the show (Nightcrawler even has a quip about that), but it’s what we’re here for.

There’s a lot of good character detail in those moments, but what everyone is going to talk about where it concerns “Remember It” is really just the last seven minutes or so. I do not want to spoil anything, but there is an attack on Genosha and it leads to a spectacular action sequence. X-Men ’97 has firmly established that it knows how to stage flashy and creative action pieces with its cast. If you’re someone who has been waiting for Gambit to do something in this show, you’ll enjoy this section as he gets to go into full bad ass mode in a way that we’ve never seen. The original show had far more restraint when it came to the powers of basically everyone on the X-Men, but X-Men ’97 is breaking those chains. And it’s not just action on display as there are some very emotional moments captured in the chaos and you may need to keep some tissues handy for this one.

How does he do that? With style!

“Remember It” is a spectacle and an episode that is getting a lot of just praise. It’s a pivotal episode as well, and once you’ve watched it I would advise you to check out the Twitter handle of series creator Beau DeMayo as he has shared a lot of thoughts on this one. It’s an episode that will stay with you, especially those who grew up on the original series, and it’s one I needed to let gestate a little longer than the last few before sharing my thoughts. There is an undeniable heaviness to the episode, though there are some light elements and fun portions. Genosha is a setting designed for cameos and there’s plenty of that to be found. There’s even a really well choreographed dance scene too, but virtually all of that is overshadowed by the final act. This is one we’ll be talking about for a long time and is a prime example of why the weekly release schedule is so much more rewarding than the drop even if the wait for next week is going to be excruciating.

Previously…on X-Men ’97:

X-Men ’97 – “Motendo/Lifedeath Part 1”

X-Men ’97 continues on into it’s fourth episode with a bit of a change-up. The first three episodes were rather weighty dealing with the fallout of Xavier’s death, Storm losing her powers, and the whole clone situation of the third episode. And that third episode did reveal a few cracks in the foundation of the…

Keep reading
by Joe

X-Men ’97 – “Fire Made Flesh”

Well, that was a long wait! After the two episode premiere of X-Men ’97 on March 20th I was ready for that third episode. The week long wait felt both excruciating and exhilarating. It’s been a long time since we’ve had an X-Men show to get excited about, or really an X-Men anything, and it’s…

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by Joe

X-Men ’97 – “Mutant Liberation Begins”

The first episode of X-Men ’97 left me grinning from ear to ear and eager to see what would happen next. I’m happy to say, the show’s second episode left me feeling very much the same. “Mutant Liberation Begins” starts off right where the previous episode ended. Magneto, has revealed that it was the wishes…

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by Joe

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March 21, 2024

X-Men ’97 – “To Me, My X-Men”

By Joe

It used to be that when a show got cancelled that was it. It simply ceased to exist as a new product. If there were enough episodes it could last in syndication on both broadcast and cable for a good while, but rarely was it accessible to the point where a fan could have the entire series at their disposal. Some shows received VHS releases, but often they were sparse. Then home media became more affordable. DVDs were both cheaper to manufacture than VHS and could store more information. We started to see full season releases for shows, both active and cancelled. In some cases, the home media market was so great that previously dead programs were able to come back. Now we’ve entered the streaming age where massive entertainment companies are seeking to profit off of their libraries. Those profits have been a bit hard to come by though so these archives need to be supplemented with original programming. Some of that original programming is entirely original or at least only touched by an existing intellectual property (think The Mandalorian) and then some is either a reboot or continuation of an older show.

X-Men ’97 is a continuation of the now classic X-Men animated series that aired as part of the Fox Kids Network from 1992-1997. The original X-Men cartoon was a massive success and turned Wolverine and Gambit into household names. It attracted eyeballs in the millions, sold a bunch of toys, and made lifelong comic book fans out of a generation. For me personally it quickly became my favorite show on television and I was hooked for the show’s entire run. It put Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the rearview mirror as this was something mature, something that more respected my intelligence, and gave me more to chew on. I still adored playing with my X-Men toys and sporting X-Men t-shirts so it’s not like it turned me into an adult overnight or anything, but it was something I genuinely loved in the moment and I still have a ton of admiration for. Having that show continue from where it left off in 1997 was something that didn’t even seem worth dreaming about as that’s how unlikely I felt it would be. Perhaps Disney, who has yet to fully introduce Marvel’s mutants into its vast Marvel Cinematic Universe, wanted to give folks a little primer on what the X-Men were all about? Whatever the reasoning, I am positively giddy like a kid once again that my favorite superheroes are back in an all new television series.

The intro is basically a shot-for-shot remake of the original.

X-Men ’97 was announced in November of 2021. At the time, my assumption was the series was being ticketed to launch in the fall of 2022 to mark the original show’s 30th anniversary. That obviously didn’t happen and the show was slated for 2023, but then slipped to March 2024. For the revival, Marvel selected Beau DeMayo (Moon Knight, The Witcher) to be the head writer with Jake Castorena as the supervising director. From the old show, Eric and Julia Lewald were brought in as consultants along with Larry Houston. Much of the original cast was returned including Cal Dodd as Wolverine, Alison-Sealy Smith as Storm, George Buza as Beast, and Lenore Zann as Rogue. Father Time unfortunately necessitated recasts for both Cyclops (now Ray Chase) and Magneto (now Matthew Waterson). Other voice actors, like Chris Potter (original voice of Gambit) and Catherine Disher (original voice of Jean Grey) were brought back for other roles rather than their existing ones. Such a choice is puzzling, unless we’re talking about a unique case such as Alyson Court who no longer wished to voice Jubilee since she felt the role should go to an actual Asian-American.

The action sequences are where this show will really be able to separate itself from its predecessor.

The show did premiere under a bit of a dark cloud. It was announced that credited series creator Beau DeMayo was fired the week of the show’s sneak preview and a little more than a week out from the Disney+ premiere. As the days went by, the head of animation at Marvel Studios, Brad Winderbaum, revealed some snippets of what was going on. It doesn’t sound like anyone was upset with the quality of the work DeMayo was turning in, and we’ve only heard rumors that he was “difficult” to work with. The term difficult in such a situation can be a loaded one. How many women and people of color have heard that excuse because certain individuals don’t respond well to confrontation from minorities? DeMayo, a gay, black, adopted man was someone who really identified with what the X-Men stood for and removing that voice from the show is certainly a risky move if the show is deemed a success. Winderbaum doesn’t get into specifics on the situation, but does try to frame it as a parting of ways between the showrunner and Marvel.

The group is probably more reflective of the foes to come than the group from the original.

Based on my viewing of the show’s first episode, “To Me, My X-Men,” it would appear that DeMayo’s exit indeed has little to do with the quality of the show. This first episode is the show getting its feet wet. It’s a way to reintroduce these familiar faces in a fun way that does harken back to the original series. It opens with a new version of the classic intro. The song is remixed slightly and all of the character introductions have been recreated and new characters have been added. It still ends with Professor Xavier and Magneto clashing together, though the villains side has been updated with what are probably better, more reflective choices (so long, Gremlin) given who the X-Men typically clash with.

The mutant who will come to be known as Sunspot is basically the Jubilee of this series, only his official joining of the X-Men will have to wait for a later day.

Similar to the premiere episode of the original series, X-Men ’97 includes a plot in its episode about bringing a new mutant into the fold and makes the Sentinels the big threat. Even though the show is longer now (it’s listed at 34 minutes, the actual episode is closer to 28), the episode still moves at a snappy pace. We find the team dealing with the aftermath of the professor’s passing. Cyclops is now the leader and is perhaps a little too forceful with his approach which rubs some members of the team the wrong way (namely, Wolverine). The Friends of Humanity are up to no good and have even repurposed some Sentinel tech into weapons of their own that basically resemble Mega Man’s Mega Buster. Roberto Da Costa (Gui Augustini), a wealthy teen who has been abducted by the FOH, is the one in the Jubilee role this time around, though his trek through the mansion is quite brief. The show appears confident that its audience is going to be pretty familiar with these characters and a more robust introduction was not needed.

The Friends of Humanity are back and they’re packing heat.

Other elements of the premiere include the addition of Valerie Cooper (Catherine Disher, the original voice of Jean Grey) as a government liaison for Cyclops and his team. DeMayo, when he was doing press for the show, described Cooper as the thesis for the show so it will be interesting to see how she’s utilized going forward. There’s also the plotline of Jean being pregnant and what that means for her and Cyclops’ future. The first episode ends with a pretty seismic change to the status quo, though if you saw the trailer it won’t come as a surprise and it’s likely the end you expected. Even so, I’ll save talk of that for episode two.

Wolverine still isn’t allowed to smoke, but looks like he’s now allowed to drink.

The first episode is a great reintroduction for the X-Men and really seems to setup what we’re looking at. It also establishes the look of the series. I’ve been a little wary about that going in, but after one episode I will say my fears were unfounded. This show looks as good as it can in 2024. It’s digitally hand-drawn by Studio MIR which is the right approach given that celluloid animation just isn’t done anymore. Stylistically, there will be folks who prefer the look of the old show, but objectively speaking this one animates much better. That is on full display during the action sequences which are far more fun and inventive. This feels like a show directed by people who as kids wondered just how far the super powers on display here could be pushed. Storm, considered an Omega level mutant in the comics and now show, really gets to show off what she can do to such a scale that I worry if the writers can keep her consistent.

I should have expected this, but I didn’t.

The episode includes closing credits done in the same style as the original show’s first season with a character model spinning in place and a brief descriptor of their powers below. Before it can cycle through all of the characters though, it cuts to a static image of the mansion for the rest of the credits. Was this a nod to how the first season’s ending credits would never get to Jubilee? That always drove me nuts as a kid. If it is in reference to that it’s a bit of clever humor, though I’d rather just see all of the characters get spotlighted. And that’s the one failing, if you will, of this episode is that most of the characters don’t get to do a whole lot. That’s going to happen with such a large cast, one that has even been increased since we last saw this group in action. I would imagine we’ll get spotlight episodes to come while also maintaining a serialized approach. Yes, what network executives hated for their broadcast channels in 1992 is the preferred method of story-telling in 2024. The only other disappointment for me was no in memoriam for the people we’ve lost since the original show went dark. It would have been nice to at least see a tribute to original Cyclops voice actor Norm Spencer and the original voice of Magneto, David Hemblen.

Storm is allowed to cut loose in this one, but will she be allowed to do so in every episode?

X-Men ’97 in its debut episode manages to strike the right balance between new and nostalgic. The fan service hits right and its reserved for parts of the show where fan service is appropriate. It also establishes a tone for the show which is in-line with the serious, dramatic, original series though it’s also apparent that this one will be allowed to be a little more grown-up (Wolverine and Morph are shown enjoying a couple of cold ones). That makes sense since the target audience is the kids of 1992, but it also likely won’t want to alienate the kids of the kids of ’92. It also left me wanting more which was good since this was a two episode premiere. I’ll get to that episode in another post, but the main takeaway for me is our beloved X-Men have been placed in good hands and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Get on the X-Men ’97 hype train with these posts:

X-Men: The Art and Making of the Animated Series

A few years ago, I talked about my love of X-Men, the animated series, via a book review of Previously…on X-Men by Eric Lewald. That book chronicled the development of the 92 animated series that helped propel the Fox Kids Network to the top of the Saturday morning leaderboards through notes from the author and…

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by Joe

Mondo X-Men TAS 1/6 Scale SDCC Exclusive Logan

Mondo has been absolutely killing it with its sixth scale line of action figures based on the now classic animated series X-Men. The company also really ramped up production in 2023 on the line by soliciting five new figures during the year. At over 200 bucks a pop, it was quite the hit to the…

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Previously on X-Men: The Making of an Animated Series

A lot of cartoons made an impact on me as a child. My first love was The Real Ghostbusters. Its goofy cast of characters and excitement were plenty of fun and there were interesting toys to supplement the series with, which was pretty much the goal of all cartoons in the 80s. The Teenage Mutant…

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by Joe

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January 4, 2024

Mondo X-Men TAS 1/6 Scale Gambit

By Joe
“Everyone can relax, Gambit has returned!”

It is my belief that when it comes to X-Men, the animated series which debuted in 1992, the breakout star of the show was Gambit. Wolverine was the closest thing we had to a household name going into the show and was the de-facto pick for favorite character of many. And while the whole roster certainly benefited from a raised profile following the show’s success, it sure seemed like Gambit became the favorite for many in my circle. I was just a kid in the 3rd grade when the show premiered and it was something to see X-Men infiltrate the school yard. It felt like we went right from Batman to the mighty mutants and even the seemingly unstoppable Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles saw their star fade pretty quickly. The show also arrived around the same time the Toy Biz action figure line was expanding past the first wave of X-Men and in that second wave was Gambit. He wouldn’t linger on the pegs very long and getting that figure for your collection was more than a little challenging (as was the yellow and black Wolverine II figure).

Nice packaging, as usual, from Mondo.

Gambit has often had a tough time making the jump to plastic. His design is tough to do in a satisfactory manner because of the trench coat. That original Toy Biz figure went with a pliable plastic that was more like paper than modern, rubbery, overlays. It was awful and prone to splitting at the seams. More modern figures always look a little “off” to me because I associate Gambit with this show more than anything. If he’s got a different head shape or his hair is more flat then it doesn’t look right. His unusual eyes can be tricky too since the sclera is black instead of white and the iris red. It’s an odd design, but Gambit is a pretty odd design all by himself. It’s like Jim Lee set out to make a character that just oozed “cool.” Usually, such characters turn out terribly, but for some reason it worked with Gambit. I couldn’t tell you why since everything about his design seems ridiculous to me in a vacuum. The hood with exposed face and ears, poofy hair, gloves with only certain fingers missing, the hot pink shirt, and of course the coat. His costume doesn’t really look like a costume and instead like someone with bad fashion sense. And there’s the fact that he actually has long hair, but somehow it’s all kept under wraps with that hood he wears. The back of his head and neck must just constantly be drenched in sweat.

The ranks are starting to fill out a bit.

Mondo has selected Gambit as its fifth release in its line of X-Men action figures. I’ve been really high on this line because it better than any other captures the look of the source material. I don’t think there’s another toy line that’s even comparable. Hasbro’s attempts at the same were trash and their figures based on Spider-Man aren’t any better. DC Direct (and now McFarlane via reissues of the same) did okay with the Batman: The Animated Series line, but those figures have their own problems. NECA’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line is probably the present gold standard, but even that can’t match the accuracy of the sculpts and paint we’re getting from Mondo. Of course, all of those lines are roughly 1:12 scale and a great deal cheaper. Mondo’s line is sixth scale which makes it a lot easier to go with robust paint apps and it also comes at a much higher cost. That price tag of over 200 bucks a figure has been the only real bummer here, but the quality of the finished product has at least reflected its price.

These shuffling card hands are pretty damn cool.

Gambit comes in a window box with a front flap that connects via magnets. It features new artwork from former X-Men storyboard artist Dan Veesenmeyer of Gambit in a fairly casual pose. I don’t think it’s Veesenmeyer’s best cover as it’s an off-model Gambit and the presence of actual storyboard art behind him draws attention to that fact. The figure is sculpted by Alex Brewer with the paint master handled by Tom Rozejowski. This is the timed edition of the figure which was limited to 1,000 units and comes with a few extra tidbits. A slightly cheaper version is (or will be) available that omits those extras, but comes in the same packaging. The interior packaging has been altered slightly from the past releases. The figure and some of the accessories are still in a tray, but the second tray with more accessories is now glued into the back of the cardboard insert. I don’t know what the reason for this change is, but it’s a bit annoying as you have to peel it off to get at the accessories underneath the bubble making this one essentially impossible to completely reseal if you want to have access to everything.

Gambit is about the same heigh as Magneto, a little shorter than Sabretooth.

Gambit stands right at the 12″ mark. This essentially makes him perfect for the scale as the show’s official height chart puts him right at the 6′ mark. I would argue he, and other characters, were drawn a bit bigger than 6′ in the show, but the height charts are the best information available and what Mondo should be basing its figures off of. This makes him scale well with Jubilee and Magneto, though Wolverine and Sabretooth practically occupy their own scale. Wolverine being too tall and Sabretooth too short. Gambit looks the part as his costume is accurate to the show and the portrait looks terrific. The head is the right shape and the hair has the part in the right spot. I think what makes Gambit look like Gambit is getting the size of the hair and face right and Mondo found the right ratio here.

He’s a cocky bastard.

Gambit’s coat is done all in plastic, so no soft goods here. The main body of the coat is a rather form-fitting overlay with the sleeves part of the sculpt of the arms. This is the best approach for this character and it’s consistent with what they did with Jubilee. The proportioning of the sculpt looks great and the paint features the same cel-shaded approach as the rest. Here, I think the shade of both the trench coat and the pink of the shirt are a little on the dull side. Less so the coat, but I would have personally liked to see the shirt a bit brighter to get more of that “pop” we get from the other figures. I’ve definitely seen production art that has this more muted approach, but I’d argue the finished product on screen turned out brighter. Aside from that, the application of the shading looks great. We get some hits of blue on the black pants which looks good and the interior of the coat is a darker brown to create the illusion of shadowing. The quality of the application of the paint is perhaps a touch behind the other figures. It’s mostly an issue for the hands which look a tad sloppy in places. Gambit is also the only figure in the line which needed to have its fingers painted so it’s a more challenging paint job, but it could have been better and arguably should be at this price.

For those who prefer their Gambit with a ponytail.

Nit picks aside, Gambit is going to look damn good on your shelf and with the other characters. The likeness is terrific and the many accessories are going to add some spice to your display options. The default portrait is a stern one, but Mondo also included three other options. My personal favorite is the smirk as I think of Gambit as a playful sort. This smile looks great and will likely be my chosen display option. We also get the unhooded portrait which features his hair in a ponytail that’s draped over his right shoulder. I think this look is taken from the Dark Phoenix Saga when Gambit and Cyclops go clubbing and meet Dazzler. It looks fine, but Gambit wasn’t one to appear in costume with his head uncovered so it’s a look that’s not likely to be popular. The fourth portrait is a gimmick one and it’s unique to this edition. It features Gambit with his stoic expression, but half of his head is transformed into Mystique. This is a reference to the Days of Future Past plot where Mystique impersonates Gambit to frame him for the assassination of Senator Kelly. It’s really well done, but the gimmicky nature of it means it’s not likely to be used by many for their display. The heads all pop on and off pretty easily, but this Mystique head is definitely one to be careful with as you could easily have some paint transfer from the hair to the neck/collar area.

This head is really well done, I just don’t see myself using it.

Gambit also comes with an assortment of hands for his other accessories. He comes with a pair of gripping hands in the box and also has a set of fists, open hands, and a trigger finger right hand. The trigger finger hand is likely included to be used with the pistol which is again from the assassination scene the Mystique head is based on. It also looks like the same gun Morph is seen with so it could potentially have some uses down the raid. It’s very thin with just a little hit of paint on the rear of it. It’s a snug fit in the hand and you may want to just heat the hand up first to avoid paint rub. This trigger hand also can work with Gambit’s cards. He has a hand of four aces and the back of the card makes them Mondo brand, which is kind of fun. There’s also a glowing, charged, card that’s done on translucent yellow plastic with some pink paint on the energy portions and is sure to be a favorite accessory of many. What’s missing though is Gambit’s classic two-finger gesture he often holds cards with. I’m genuinely perplexed at its omission to the point where it has me wondering if that was a gesture reserved more for the comics over the show? I don’t think so, but maybe?

This effect is pretty damn cool, just a little tough to “sell.”

We’re not done though as Gambit also has his trusty staff. It’s done in a blue-gray with some light gray shading and a little black linework. I’m honestly not sure how often his staff was shown with this color in the series. The opening title had it as green and I can recall it being brown at one point. I’m guessing it made an appearance in this color at some point, or maybe this was the color it was in the reference art? It fits rather snug in his gripping hands, and again, a little hot water might help to get it in there easier without paint transfer, though his bottom fingers have a tough time getting around the staff. We also get a set of card hands where the right hand is shuffling the cards and the left is catching them. I love how Mondo did the shuffling cards as they’re on transparent plastic to create the illusion of motion. I just wish his articulation made it easier to sell this effect, but we’ll get to that. There’s also another right hand that is connected to an effect part depicting the tossing of three, charged, cards. It looks pretty cool and doesn’t feature any reality-breaking inaccuracies like the Hasbro version of the same. Just like the shuffling hands, the figure has a hard time selling the illusion due to the articulation.

I can’t decide if it looks better with more of an arc to the toss.

We’re still not done! Yes, Gambit has even more stuff to talk about and they’re episode specific. We get the tithe box from the episode “X-Ternally Yours.” I don’t like that episode, but it being the Gambit episode of Season Two I’m not surprised to see something from it included. The box looks okay, but the gold paint on it isn’t very well done. Also from that episode, but featured in multiple others, are the mutant power restricting collars. Gambit comes with two of them so I guess you can put one on Jubilee too. They’re done on a very soft, rubbery, yellow, plastic and the glowing portions are painted a magenta. I don’t know why they didn’t go with a bright red, but the collars just look so-so. There’s some nice details sculpted onto them, but they’re not accentuated with paint at all and I assume it’s because of the material. They definitely have a cheap look, which is uncharacteristic of this line. Gambit also has a charged chain to swing around. It’s a hard, translucent, yellow, plastic and it’s taken from the episode “Till Death Do Us Part.” It looks fine, though I kind of wish they went with a swinging, swooshing, sculpt since he swings it over his head in the episode. Lastly, we get the Mondo doll stand. It’s like the one that came with Sabretooth which has a slightly nicer and heftier base. It’s designed to go in-between the figure’s legs and it works, but it doesn’t allow for any dynamic posing or anything. It’s more for peace of mind if you’re worried about shelf dives.

I love the inclusion of episode specific accessories, even if I’m unlikely to ever really use them.

That’s a whole lot of stuff and collectors who pick Gambit up will have no shortage of display options. It’s partly what the line is known for. What it’s not known for is the articulation, and Gambit is no exception. Mondo prioritizes the look of its figures over function and this scale also limits what a figure can really do from a practical standpoint without having to worry about balancing issues. Gambit’s head is on a double-ball peg and it performs quite well. He gets plenty of rotation as well as enough range looking up and down and some tilt. The shoulders are ball-hinged and they’re quite tight. Some of that appears to be due to the fit of the coat, but regardless Gambit can’t raise his arms out to the side all the way. He can rotate fine, but going out is a problem. The elbows are single-hinged and they peg into the bicep. This gives them the ability to swivel there, but the range on the hinge is poor. Gambit can’t even achieve a 90 degree bend. The hands continue to be an issue as well for this line. The pegs are more of a straight peg with some ribbing at the end. Swapping is really easy as a result and the peg can rotate in the joint without fear of damage (unlike Magneto). There is a ball-hinge inside the hand, but the hands won’t spin on that joint so whatever the direction the hinge is positioned by default is where it will stay. The hinges are also quite clicky and lacking nuance. You basically just get 3 positions out of them and they’re quite tight. It’s definitely an area for improvement.

Gambit comes with two collars so you could use one with Jubilee, though it’s pretty roomy on her.

In the torso is a diaphragm joint. It’s likely a simple ball peg, possibly a double, and it mostly provides some rotation and tilt. You’re not really going to get an ab crunch out of it and the coat makes it a bit tough to mess around with. There is a waist twist while the legs are connected via ball and socket joints. Gambit won’t be able to kick all the way forward, but there’s enough posing there to at least put the figure in a wider stance. There is a thigh twist built into the joint and below that is the usual Mondo double-jointed knee. It can swivel above the knee and below it, if you want, though they’re pretty tight. The hinges will let the figure bend the knee past 90 degrees. The ankles are hinged and also feature an ankle rocker and they work fine. The hinge is either very tight or limited, but there’s enough nuance to keep the feet flat on a surface.

If you think cards are lame, Gambit has this handy, kinetically-charged, chain to wield as well.

Gambit’s articulation is mediocre at best. Most of the joints are there, they just don’t do much. My main gripe is with the elbows as they should be better. I also wish we had butterfly joints in the shoulders to help with the throwing accessories, but I couldn’t reasonably expect such. This means the figure is going to look best just standing on your shelf with the more static accessories. I think the shuffling cards are just barely usable with some finesse, but I’m having a hard time getting a good pose out of the throwing cards which really stinks as I want to use that effect part. I’ll probably end up sticking him with staff and charged single, but I do expect to change him up from time to time.

Gambit is largely as expected and could be considered more of the same from Mondo. That sounds like faint praise, but more of the same for this line is pretty damn good. He looks awesome and has a ton of accessories which create multiple display options. It’s just a figure held back by the subpar articulation, but it’s not so bad that it ruins the experience. If you like the rest, you’ll like Gambit. I don’t think he’s my favorite in the line, but he is right there with Magneto and Sabretooth when it comes to nailing the likeness. If you’re collecting this line, there’s definitely no reason to skip Gambit.

Check out some of these other figures from Mondo’s line of X-Men collectibles:

Mondo X-Men TAS 1/6 Scale Sabretooth

It’s Halloween 1992. You’re sitting in front of the television with a bowl of candy and your costume in pieces. Coming on is a prime time airing of Fox’s newest superhero cartoon: X-Men. You’ve seen the comics at the grocery store and in other places. You know Wolverine, you know there’s a guy who shoots…

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Mondo X-Men TAS 1/6 Scale Jubilee

When one hears the phrase “mall babe” it implies a certain visual. Probably a short, young, girl with intentionally messy, short hair. There’s a certain confidence the phrase exudes so she has to have style. Maybe hot pink, bright blues, and certainly a long yellow coat with gloves to match! There has to be an…

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Mondo X-Men TAS 1/6 Scale Magneto

If you showed a random individual this blog and asked them what my favorite cartoon was as a kid I’m guessing they would go with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And they wouldn’t be wrong as that was my favorite for a time, but come 1992 I was starting to drift away from that show. Batman:…

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October 23, 2023

Marvel Legends X-Men ’97 Gambit

By Joe
Gambit has arrived.

Everyone can relax – Gambit has returned. Or arrived, since I’ve never reviewed a Gambit action figure in this space, but that’s because I haven’t bought a Gambit figure in about 20 years until now. When X-Men arrived on airwaves in the fall of 1992, hardly anyone on that team could be considered a true household name. Wolverine was certainly the closest. He was featured in a lot of Marvel related ads and had his own solo comic series as well. Other characters showed up as guests on Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends or in the pilot for the never was series, “Pryde of the X-Men” and the arcade game essentially based on it. My own familiarity with the team was mostly from the first run of ToyBiz action figures featuring Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Nightcrawler, Archangel, and Colossus.

Gambit was not featured in any of those things. For me as a kid in ’92, the first episode of the cartoon series was my introduction to the character and I don’t think I was a unique case. Gambit was the break-out star of the series, as far as I’m concerned. He was essentially designed to be cool. He’s probably over-designed, but somehow Marvel pulled it off. He looks ridiculous, and yet come 1993 that’s who I wanted to be for Halloween. I think it’s the trench coat that brings a lot of that “it” factor upfront and the way his face is framed with that unusual hood he wears and red eyes which adds a mysterious component. I remember thinking his gloves were cool, and for some reason exploding playing cards just struck me as bad ass. All of that allowed him to pull off the hot pink undershirt and that weird, blue, thing he wears around his neck area.

This figure should be pretty familiar to more dedicated Legends collectors.

Following the debut of X-Men, most of my peers would cite either Wolverine or Gambit as their favorite character. That’s just how it was. ToyBiz hit stores with Series 2 of its X-Men line around the same time and Tiger Stripe Wolverine (or Wolverine II) and Gambit were the two hardest to find. Maybe the character’s popularity has faded over the years, but I was surprised that Gambit wasn’t featured in the VHS line of Marvel Legends based on the show. I think the real reason for his exclusion was due to the fact that Hasbro had somewhat recently released a Gambit figure in the same getup on a retro card exclusive to Target. I think it’s even still available. The same was true of Rogue and I think Hasbro made a business decision not to compete with itself for both figures, but if you’re going to have a line of X-Men figures based on the animated series you have to have Gambit.

The heigh isn’t quite right, but I’m not sure it is with any figure in this line. Look at how massive Sinister is, for crying out loud.

Enter X-Men ’97 and its first wave continues to right the wrongs of the VHS line by including, among others, Gambit. This figure is basically a re-release of that Target exclusive with minimal changes that come down to a new head and new overcoat. I don’t have that Target figure, but as far as I know, everything else is the same including the accessories. The paint application is a little different to better reflect the new source material, but that’s it. Chances are, if you have that figure and you’re happy with it, you probably won’t need this one. I, on the other hand, just want an animated Gambit to put on my shelf with the rest of the animated X-Men so I grabbed this one along with Rogue and Magneto so lets see if that was a good decision or not.

The portrait is very animation inspired.

Gambit comes on the same card as the rest of the line with artwork from the show on the front. Out of the box, Gambit stands at approximately 6.25″ to the top of his head and 6.75″ to the top of his hair. Like the rest of this wave, the scale is suspect. Gambit is a bit too tall, but not egregiously so. The head sculpt will get the most attention here as it has a very animated look to it. It’s a very clean approach with few lines to make it easy to animate. I don’t hate it, but it doesn’t look like Gambit from the original series. It looks more like him than the Target figure, but that’s it. He looks reasonably enough like the art from the new show, so that’s fine. The paint is iffy though. The eyes are good and he doesn’t have lipstick, but the edge of the cowl isn’t clean. There’s a spec of flesh color on the right eyebrow of my figure and they added some stubble to his chin via paint. It’s on the character model, so I can’t kill it, but I wish it wasn’t there. The hair is huge and probably divisive. I don’t mind it though. Again, not at all accurate to the ’92 show, but looks fine for X-Men ’97 based on what I’ve seen. There’s no shading on it, but it’s probably fine for the source material.

Gambit comes with his staff, though I’ve never understood why he would need one.

And speaking of shading, you won’t find any on this figure. The coat is an overlay and it’s fine. It’s pretty stiff though and won’t pose at all, but it looks okay in a default pose. The sleeves are part of the sculpt and we’ve seen these before. The hands are unique to Gambit, at least the left hand with two finger gesture, so it’s odd to see fingernails sculpted onto the digits covered by the glove. They’re black, so the flesh part is painted which ironically covers up the fingernails to make them barely noticeable. Maybe this hand is reused for another figure? I don’t know, it seems odd to me. The torso is molded in pink and the blue portion appears to be molded in blue as well and keyed in. The very bottom of the shirt is painted pink and doesn’t match as a result. It’s pink over black plastic, which is an odd choice. I guess it’s because they wanted to do the legs in black so they could paint the pink thigh stripes, but it’s a lot easier to paint black over pink than the opposite. The pink stripes are also sloppy and the black shows through. The boots are just blue plastic and it shows.

It’s a very mixed bag on the presentation. Excepting the boots, the parts in molded plastic look fine, but the paint is bad. Gambit also has the same issue as Rogue in that the overlay coat isn’t snug enough at the shoulder. There’s plenty of pink showing between the sleeve and overlay when it didn’t need to be that way. It’s basically just another figure that is only concerned with the bullet points when it comes to the presentation, but the finer details are most certainly lacking.

Holy crap! An actual effect part!

Gambit does get to have more accessories, at least, when compared with Rogue and Magneto who both just got a hand swap. That’s not to say Gambit is loaded, by any means. He has his staff which is molded in blue, and to my surprise, it appears to be a darker shade than the boots. It’s a staff, so it’s fine. What’s not is the gripping right hand which is too loose for it. Gambit can hold it if you’re patient and careful, but it’s not good enough. And if you wanted a two-handed pose you’ll have to search for a new left hand somewhere because Hasbro didn’t provide one. I mean, you can kind of use the default left hand, but it looks a bit silly. Instead, they provided an effect part hand. It’s molded in a transparent pink plastic or acrylic and has three cards extending from an open hand with a swoosh effect. It looks fine, there are fingernails on the hand again for some stupid reason, but the swoosh kills it for me. It makes no sense because it extends beyond the hand in both directions. The swoosh should end at the front of the hand and extend only one side, not past the hand on both. It makes it look like an energy wave is shooting out with cards too. At any rate, there’s also a single card effect to place between the two fingers of the default hand. I like this one much better and it’s good, but no second portrait? No second gripping hand? No gripping hand that actually works?!

Though it’s not exactly a good effect part. That swoosh makes no sense, but Hasbro keeps re-releasing this damn thing.

The articulation is basically as expected with Gambit. The head is on the hinged ball peg that provides range up, down, and rotation, but zero tilt for more nuanced poses. The shoulders are hinged ball pegs that raise out to the side just past a horizontal position. The biceps swivel is fine and the single-hinged elbows give the figure better than 90 degrees at the elbow plus some swivel. The hands swivel and the gripping hand has a vertical hinge and the other a horizontal one. The torso has an ab crunch that goes forward pretty far, but the coat prevents much use going backwards. There is waist twist, but it’s pretty ugly because it just sits on a peg flush with the hips. The hips kick out to side about 45 degrees and kick forward all the way. There’s some range going back that’s stopped by the coat. There is a thigh cut for a swivel there and they put it in between two of the leg stripes so that’s a plus. The knees bend past 90 pretty far and there is a boot cut in the middle of the shin if you want it, but it’s ugly. The ankles hinge forward and back a solid amount and the ankle rocker is fine. My left ankle is pretty stuck at the hinge and I haven’t tried heating it up to free it.

This is definitely not the most fun figure to pose. The torso joints have acceptable range, but they’re of little use on this figure.

Aside from the left ankle, the rest of the figure is fine as far as joint tolerances go. Like Rogue, the shoulders are a bit tight, but with Gambit I don’t feel any binding at the joint. This one seems less gummy than the other two figures so at least the feel is fine. This is just one of the few figures where I wish Hasbro had inserted a butterfly joint. It would serve him well with his staff and cards, plus the coat would hide it. Double ball joints at the head and waist would also have improved the figure. I don’t think the ab crunch offers much use and a ball joint there that gets some rotation would be better. It’s a very dated approach to articulation, but Gambit’s unique attire means unique tooling is needed and Hasbro doesn’t want to spend money it doesn’t think it has to.

If he’s just going on your shelf then I guess this animated Gambit is passable. When that Mondo one shows up though he’s going to really look like a piece of crap.

The X-Men ’97 version of Gambit is essentially another compromised take on an animated character that will be acceptable for some and unacceptable for others. At $26, it’s too expensive for what’s in the box, but if you want an animated version of Gambit this is what you’re stuck with. And, for me, it’s mediocre, but passable. On the shelf with the rest of the crew, he looks okay. In hand and on its own, the figure isn’t much fun to mess with and a bit frustrating to pose the way I want to. Add the mediocre accessory load-out and frustrating gripping hand and it results in a below average action figure by today’s standards. Here I am essentially talking myself out of what little affection I have for this figure, but to summarize, if you (like me) just want a Gambit for your animated shelf it will probably get the job done. If you want something that’s an improvement over what Hasbro has already released, then you’re going to be let down. As seems to always be the case with Marvel Legends, you’re better off waiting for a sale.

Need to catch up on other X-Men animated Marvel Legends releases?

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This week, the long wait for an in-person San Diego Comic Con comes to an end. For the first time since 2019, attendees, creators, and the like will be invited back into the city of San Diego for a celebration of all things comics, movies, and general “nerd” culture. One of the many panels this…

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Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Television, toys