X-Men '97 has received an abundant amount of praise since the moment episode one went live on Disney+. While the storytelling is phenomenal and the animation looks great, the best parts of the show are the compelling and entertaining cast of characters. With the large number of characters that make up this astounding cast, there seems to be a character for everyone, and has audiences all across the world falling in love with X-Men all over again.
Whether they have insanely powerful powers or have an extremely cunning mind, the characters of X-Men '97 are unforgettably powerful. What makes ranking these hard for audiences everywhere is the fact that the characters are all at least above average and some have not reached their full potential yet at this point in the canon. Each character is well-executed and is most likely someone's favorite.
10 Jubilee
Played by Holly Chou
The youngest member of the X-Men is an absolute fireworks show of a character (literally.) She's full of spunk and charisma. Sporting her iconic bright yellow jacket and neon pink glasses, she's impossible to miss on screen, making her not only memorable for her popping personality but also for her colorful outfit. Not to mention her episode is a ton of fun. Her powers may not seem like much to the average viewer, but rest assured, Jubilee is more powerful than one may think.
Being a young and humorous character makes Jubilee an audience surrogate of sorts. She's relatable and that relatability makes her a character that's easy to get invested in. One can't help but smile when Jubilee enters the fray and brings her spirit to lighten the mood, even when things are getting tough. But she's also written to have the flexibility to sidestep away from her typical humourous demeanor and get serious and genuine when the situation calls for it, keeping her from being a one-note character. Her ability to create blasts of energy that resemble fireworks can be used both offensively and defensively, making her a versatile hero on the battlefield. She can also provide an incredible distraction to give her fellow X-Men the chance to take home a win. Jubilee is insanely underrated.
9 Gambit
Played by A.J. LoCascio
There's no question that Gambit is a fan-favorite X-Men character that fans have been waiting to have his time in the sun for quite some time. With his solo live-action movie being canceled in 2019, Gambit fans have gone through a lot of waiting to see their favorite character in the spotlight again and X-Men '97 gave that to them.
The universe of X-Men: The Animated Series & X-Men '97 features one of the best adaptions of the characters there is. Filled to the brim with personality, Gambit's smug and rough around the edges charm matched with his inner turmoil surrounding his love for Rogue makes him a character that, while not typically a centerpiece, has a ton of layers. His powers are also very entertaining, being visually stunning and insanely powerful. Having the ability to take the potential energy in an item and turn it into light kinetic energy to explode makes him a super useful member of the team when it comes to bringing a blast of power to the battlefield.
8 Morph
Played by J.P. Karliak
Although they had been killed in the first episode of X-Men: The Animated Series, when Morph made their comeback after being revived by Mister Sinister and being exploited by him only to return to the light and rejoin the X-Men, the character was considered to have one of the best story and character arcs in the entire original series. They made their big return in X-Men '97 and have continued their trend of being a fan favorite.
Morph's humor and endearing friendship with the seemingly friendless Wolverine make them a character that is incredibly entertaining to watch. To make them even more engaging, their mutant ability to shape-shift into anyone, any animal and object makes them a huge upgrade to any action sequence, giving the writers the ability to bring in powers they need whenever they want (and include some fun cameos while they're at it.) When Morph transforms into a fellow hero, they gain their abilities as well, making them someone who can insert themselves anywhere in a fight and save their team from seemingly any issue or danger they may find themselves in.