If you want better season finale quality
Choose A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Season 1. It scores 5.0 vs 2.0 for season finale quality, with a 4.5 overall score.
X-Men ’97 Season 2 Review
Bottom Line
Choose it for dazzling animation, inventive action, strong voice work, and emotionally rich X-Men character drama. Skip it if rushed plotting, a crowded nine-episode structure, or an underbuilt finale will outweigh those strengths.
Best for
Best for viewers who enjoy dense X-Men lore, emotional ensemble drama, stylized animation, and comic-book action, especially fans already familiar with Season 1 or the older series.
Not for
Less suited to viewers who want a slow, tightly focused season with ample follow-through for every character, or newcomers who prefer a simple entry point.
Verdict
Season 2 keeps the revival’s biggest strengths intact: vibrant animation, inventive action, committed voice work, and character drama built around family, grief, destiny, prejudice, and redemption. The opening multi-timeline arc and the humanizing treatment of Apocalypse draw especially strong praise, and many reviewers consider the early episodes equal to or better than Season 1. The tradeoff is structure. Once the season reaches its back half, a recurring complaint is that nine episodes are not enough for the number of teams, lore threads, reversals, and emotional consequences in play. That compression leaves some characters sidelined and makes the finale feel rushed or underbuilt for several reviewers, even though its animation, action, and emotional beats still land. Overall, the craft stays high while the storytelling becomes noticeably less consistent.
Feature Scorecards
Summary
64 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.041 (64%)
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Positive 3.5-4.415 (23%)
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Neutral 2.5-3.43 (5%)
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Negative 1.5-2.45 (8%)
Pros highlights
View all 56 pros-
Voice work is one of the clearest strengths, with repeated praise for the ensemble’s emotional weight and several standout performances.
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The returning voice ensemble is repeatedly praised as confident, emotionally committed, and completely at home in the roles.
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Several reviewers say episodes fly by or leave them wanting the next installment immediately, giving the season strong watch-more momentum.
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The season’s melodrama is treated as a feature, with reviewers praising its heightened family conflict, emotion, and classic X-Men soap-opera energy.
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The season leans deeply into Apocalypse, X-Force, X-Factor, time travel, and wider mutant mythology, a major draw for reviewers who enjoy dense comic lore.
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Emotional beats are a major strength, with grief, family, sacrifice, and loss repeatedly described as heartbreaking, moving, or devastating.
Cons highlights
View all 8 cons-
A repeated complaint is that nine episodes are not enough for the number of teams, arcs, and emotional beats the season tries to cover.
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The finale is one of the most criticized parts of the season, with multiple reviewers calling it messy, rushed, or unable to match the buildup despite strong action and emotion.
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Several full-season reviews describe a noticeable shift after the strong opening, with later episodes feeling uneven or like a different show.
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This is the clearest recurring weakness: many full-season reviews say the back half moves too quickly, skips needed character fallout, or feels overstuffed.
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Continuity is a recurring weak spot in the more critical coverage, especially around time-travel logic, past relationships, and convenient character decisions.
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Finale reactions are sharply split: some find the ending emotional and moving, while others say the resolution is rushed, underbuilt, or too easy.
Cast & Creators
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Professor Xavier and ApocalypseMarquand earns strong praise for both Xavier and Apocalypse, with reviewers highlighting his menace, range, and uncanny take on the villain.
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RogueZann receives repeated praise for Rogue’s emotional range, moving from sorrow to hope and anger while bringing warmth and depth to the character.
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CyclopsChase is repeatedly praised for giving Cyclops emotional weight and renewed stature, especially in the season’s family-focused opening.
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En Sabah NurM’Cormack is repeatedly praised for giving En Sabah Nur humanity, gravitas, and menace, making the future Apocalypse feel tragic as well as threatening.
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StormSealy-Smith’s Storm is praised for effortless gravitas and a commanding vocal presence that makes the character feel regal and powerful.
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WolverineDodd is treated as a definitive Wolverine voice, with reviewers praising how naturally he still inhabits the role.
View all 64 feature scores and cast & creators
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other TV Shows, this product is above average in marketing accuracy, power scaling, family friendliness, near average in episode structure, release schedule, below average in season finale quality, tone consistency, season length.
Comparison summary
64 compared features-
Above average 0.4+ pts higher52 (81%)
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Same as average within 0.3 pts4 (6%)
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Below average 0.4+ pts lower8 (13%)
Largest category differences
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| marketing accuracy | 4.5 | 2.0 | +2.5 |
| power scaling | 5.0 | 2.9 | +2.1 |
| family friendliness | 4.3 | 2.2 | +2.0 |
| adaptation necessity | 4.9 | 2.9 | +1.9 |
| character consistency | 5.0 | 3.0 | +2.0 |
| sexual content level | 5.0 | 3.1 | +1.9 |
| season finale quality | 2.0 | 3.8 | -1.8 |
| episode length | 5.0 | 3.2 | +1.8 |
Consider This Instead
If you want better finale satisfaction
Choose The Gentlemen, Season 2. It scores 5.0 vs 3.1 for finale satisfaction, with a 4.2 overall score.
If you want better release schedule
Choose Sterling Point. It scores 5.0 vs 3.1 for release schedule, with a 4.5 overall score.
If you want better continuity
Choose Interview With the Vampire, Season 3. It scores 5.0 vs 2.6 for continuity, with a 4.3 overall score.
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
Invincible
- Worse: animation consistency The reviewer notes some stilted dialogue animation but says it is far less severe than Invincible.
- Worse: overall season preference The reviewer says they prefer these opening episodes to Invincible.
- Worse: animation quality The reviewer says this season’s animation makes Invincible look poor by comparison.
Avengers: Endgame
- Compared: overall Marvel quality The reviewer places the season among Marvel’s strongest work since Avengers: Endgame.
X-Men: Apocalypse
- Worse: Apocalypse portrayal and story The season gives Apocalypse a stronger story than the live-action film.
FAQ
Is Season 2 as good as Season 1?
The opening episodes are frequently described as equal to or better than Season 1, but several full-season reviews call the overall season a step down because the back half and finale feel rushed.
How good is the animation?
Animation is one of the strongest points of agreement. Reviewers repeatedly praise the fluid action, vibrant colors, and comic-book energy, with only occasional complaints about inconsistent or stilted shots.
Does the season feel rushed?
Often, especially later. Multiple reviewers say nine episodes are not enough for the number of teams, storylines, and emotional consequences the season tries to cover.
Is Apocalypse handled well?
Mostly yes. His origin and humanization receive major praise, though several finale-focused reviews feel the final payoff makes him less threatening than the early buildup promised.
Do all the X-Men get enough screen time?
Not evenly. Jubilee, Polaris, Cyclops, Rogue, and others get strong material, but several reviewers say characters such as Wolverine, Storm, Morph, or Nightcrawler are sidelined at different points.
Is the finale satisfying?
Reaction is mixed. Some reviewers find it emotional and moving, while others call the resolution too quick, messy, or insufficiently built up.
Is it friendly to newcomers?
The timeline structure is often praised for staying readable, but the dense lore and continuity make it a better fit for viewers already familiar with Season 1 or the wider X-Men mythology.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
Video Reviews
YouTube - Mr. Know-It-All
- Review score
- 2.8
Article Reviews
thegeekiary.com
Geek News, Reviews, and Op/Eds
- Review score
- 2.9
joshuaedelglass.com
Back in 2024, X-Men ’97 was one of my favorite surprises of the year! I’d watched the original X-Men animated series from the nineties, but I...
- Review score
- 3.6
xgeeks.co.uk
REVIEW: X-Men '97 remains one of the best animated series on television right now. The animation is stunning, the characters continue to be...
- Review score
- 4.0
thecollegiatelive.com
By Jamie Miller The X-Men are one of the single most iconic superhero teams in the history of comic books. The superhero group has been in...
- Review score
- 3.8
filmspeak.net
With ‘ X-Men 97 ’s second season wrapped, most superhero fans can’t help but be utterly disappointed with the end result.
- Review score
- 2.6
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