X-Men '97 Season 1 Finale Answers A Decades-Long Spider-Man Mystery
Contains spoilers for the "X-Men '97" Season 1 finale, "Tolerance is Extinction – Part 3"
After a remarkable run on Disney+, the first season of "X-Men '97" has come to a close. The evil Bastion (Theo James) seems to have been defeated, though the X-Men themselves haven't been able to enjoy their narrow victory. The team has been mysteriously scattered across time, leaving the likes of Forge (Gil Birmingham) and Bishop (Isaac Robinson-Smith) to figure out what went wrong. Though the finale doesn't deliver on a rumored twist (that theoretically could still happen), the season overall proved a worthy continuation of the program that paved the way for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, "X-Men: The Animated Series," in addition to another beloved animated Marvel series from the 1990s.
In the "X-Men '97" Season 1 finale, "Tolerance is Extinction – Part 3," Marvel animation fans are given some closure on the cliffhanger ending of "Spider-Man: The Animated Series." That program, which ran from 1994 to 1998, concludes with Peter "Spider-Man" Parker (Christopher Daniel Barnes) traversing alternate realities alongside the star of a recent self-titled box office bomb, Madame Web (Joan Lee), to find his missing love, Mary Jane Watson (Saratoga Ballantine). In the "X-Men '97" finale, these specific versions of Peter and MJ are seen together on a street, indicating that Spidey's mission was a success and that he and MJ reunited after the events of the show.
With the inclusion of Peter and MJ, and the success of "X-Men '97," one has to wonder, is Marvel Studios planting the seeds of a "Spider-Man: The Animated Series" revival?
Could Spider-Man '98 be on the horizon?
"Spider-Man: The Animated Series" remains widely adored by Marvel animation fans. Much like "X-Men: The Animated Series" and "X-Men '97" are considered the quintessential X-Men adaptations, many feel the Spidey adaptations get no better than his '90s cartoon. Thus, one has to imagine that if a revival similar to "X-Men '97" were to come around for "Spider-Man: The Animated Series," fans would be all over it. In reality, though, can folks expect such a project to appear on Disney+ in the coming years?
Unfortunately, a "Spider-Man: The Animated Series" revival has yet to be announced or hinted at beyond Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson's appearances in "X-Men '97." However, due to their inclusion in the aforementioned program, fans online have made it clear that they want such a show to exist. Even the web-slinger himself, Christopher Daniel Barnes, has expressed his desire for a so-called "Spider-Man '98" to become a reality. "Hey everyone! I just wanted to say thanks for all of the positivity and support surrounding the idea of a "Spider-Man 98" revival! I'd obviously love to participate in such an awesome venture," he wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, expressing hope that Marvel Studios will respond to the enthusiasm and give him a call sooner rather than later.
Until a "Spider-Man: The Animated Series" revival comes to fruition, though, fans can enjoy the entire first season of "X-Men '97" exclusively on Disney+ and look forward to Season 2 in the future.