A new addition to Hasbro’s Marvel Legends action figure line revealed the inclusion of a well-known Mutant in the X-Men ‘97 animated series.
Marvel Studios’ upcoming, eagerly awaited revival of the 1990s X-Men: The Animated Series will arrive on Disney+ in 2024. Indeed, X-Men ‘97 will carry on the story that the original program left off over 25 years ago.
Several big-name X-Men such as Storm and Wolverine are on the team’s roster in X-Men ‘97, but as with any Marvel project, it appears that the studio is holding back details to preserve spoilers.
Nightcrawler Bamfs Into X-Men ‘97
The official Marvel website unveiled the next wave of Marvel Legends figures based on Disney+’s animated X-Men reboot, X-Men ‘97. And among this assortment of six-inch scale playthings was everyone’s favorite teleporting, swashbuckling Mutant: Kurt Wagner aka, Nightcrawler.
The figure in question features an alternate, swappable head with a different, slightly more intense expression. He also comes packed with a pair of alternate hands.
The packaging clearly shows Nightcrawler’s updated character model as it will be seen in X-Men ‘97. It hits all the right cues for the character while also giving him a bit of a different hairstyle than what has been seen previously in Kurt’s animated history.
It’s significant to note that while Nightcrawler was not a main cast member of the original X-Men: The Animated Series, he did guest star in a handful of episodes. An image from one of those episodes can be seen below.
It remains to be seen what type of role the character will play in X-Men ‘97, but considering that he’s not featured in any other marketing materials, it could be that Kurt has only a small role.
Could X-Men ‘97 Be Hiding Any More Special Appearances?
With Nightcrawler being revealed for X-Men ‘97, is it possible that the show could have even more surprises in store for fans?
At this point, no additional X-Men team members have been confirmed for the series beyond what’s already been revealed. But even casual fans can pick out a few key players who could be considered MIA.
Colossus hasn’t been confirmed for X-Men ‘97 despite being one of the team’s most stalwart components over the years. Now, he was, in fact, in the original cartoon from the ‘90s, but much like Nightcrawler, Piotr only showed up in a couple of episodes. So his absence does make a degree of sense.
There was a decent amount of famous X-Men who had only tiny roles in X-Men: The Animated Series, such as Iceman. So the chance is there for X-Men ‘97 to bring these heroes into the spotlight and give them more of a chance to shine in the eyes of the general audience.
Whether or not the new series will accomplish this is not yet known. But viewers won’t need to wait too much longer to find out.
X-Men ‘97 has not yet announced a release date, but Disney+ has confirmed that the series will arrive next year in 2024.
