X-Men ’97 returns for its second season on July 1, and one exciting thing about it is that it improves on the show’s first season in one crucial way. The animated revival drew wide acclaim when it premiered in 2024, bringing the heroes of X-Men: The Animated Series back for stories that pushed well past simple nostalgia. Season 2 takes on more than its predecessor, scattering the team across different eras of history after the first season’s cliffhanger flung them through time. For all the praise that met the debut, one steady criticism followed it around, and the new season looks to have an answer.
The one major gripe fans had with the first season was pacing, but Season 2 handles that much better. The new season gives each timeline its own episode instead of cramming several stories into a single half hour. The opening three episodes, which arrive all at once on Disney+ on July 1, give the spotlight to one era at a time before the storylines come together.
The first season was 10 episodes long, and they were very fast-paced, squeezing multiple comic book storylines into single episodes. The season's big developments often arrived so fast that some barely had time to register. The fourth episode, for example, bundled two unrelated stories into a single half-hour. The first half of the episode followed Jubilee and Roberto Da Costa (Sunspot) as they got zapped into a deadly video game.
The other half of the episode followed Storm as she searched for a way to restore her lost powers and also explored her relationship with Forge. Later episodes, like Episode 5, also followed a similar pacing. That episode juggled the destruction of Genosha and Madelyne Pryor's arc, two major storylines that deserved individual exploration rather than being bundled together
Season 2 really needed to move away from this sort of rhythm, and Marvel Studios has made this much-needed change in a great way. Season 2's first episode follows Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, Morph, and a declawed Wolverine in a grim, far future. Episode 2, which is titled A Force to Be Reckoned With, checks in on the present-day 1990s, where the government-backed X-Factor hunts mutants and Cable’s black-ops X-Force fills in the gap the X-Men left behind.
The third winds back to ancient Egypt, where Professor X, Magneto, Rogue, Beast, and Nightcrawler cross paths with En Sabah Nur, the first mutant who eventually becomes Apocalypse. That episode is rightly titled Rise of the Apocalypse - Part 1, and the story isn’t even told in a single episode; it continues through to Episode 4, Rise of the Apocalypse - Part 2. Taking time to properly tell the season's most important stories in dedicated episodes is a superior pacing style to what we got in the first season, and it's a very welcome change.
X-Men ’97 Season 2’s Focused Approach Works In Its Favor
Giving each era its own episode lets the season develop its three major stories before they intersect. The far future, the present, and ancient Egypt each establish their stakes and their tone without elbowing one another for screen time. One good thing about the season's pacing is that although the important stories get dedicated episodes, it still moves at a fast pace, but this time, viewers can properly digest the storylines.
The pacing of X-Men '97 is similar to the original show. That series also burned through multiple storylines very fast, and it was part of what made the show fun to watch. However, with the reboot's story growing more complex over time, it pays to slow down a little, and Season 2 does that in the best way possible.
This also keeps the story easy to follow. A plot about three different timelines could turn confusing fast, so taking them one at a time lets you keep track of who is where and why. This new direction is highly beneficial for a show that plans to release yearly seasons. Burning through the best comic book stories too quickly could leave future seasons lacking in good material to adapt.
Season 1 was one of the best-reviewed projects Marvel has ever made, and its rushed storytelling was the one complaint that kept coming up. Fixing it, while keeping the energy fans loved, is a big sign that the team listened. Thanks to this improved pacing, Season 2 could easily top Season 1 as the superior season. This direction is also great news for Seasons 3 and 4, which are now likely to receive the same flawless execution.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
