This week will see the long-awaited return of the popular “X-Men” animated series, with a new revival and continuation of the established storylines in “X-Men ’97.” Some of the teases in the marketing campaign have already hinted at a crossover with “Spider-Man: The Animated Series,” another Fox Kids series adaptation with an equally killer theme song (performed by Aerosmith) that aired around the same era. While speaking with Marvel Animation’s Brad Winderbaum, Agents of Fandom brought up the potential of the popular 1990s Spidey show getting a revival, too (it also ended on a cliffhanger that was never resolved) and potentially returning to “Agents of SH.I.E.L.D.” too.
Winderbaum responded with, “You never know, is the answer. I will say that just like the original series had some really fun cameos that you didn’t expect to happen; you can expect the same thing in ‘X-Men ‘97.’” One of the trailers for “X-Men ’97” (see below) has already teased that both journalists Eddie Brock (Venom) and Peter Parker would be covering a Hellfire Gala fashion show (run by powerful and influential mutant villains) for the Daily Bugle in one of the episodes; an obvious tease of the cameos that Winderbaum is hinting to.
READ MORE: Shocker: ‘X-Men’ 97’ Creator Fired Before Season Debut
This isn’t coming out of left field, as previous crossovers between the two shows took place in the 1990s. “Spider-Man: The Animated Series” established that both series took place in the same universe and planted seeds for a more significant connection between Marvel characters. One string of episodes saw Peter Parker asking the X-Men’s Professor X to help him face a technology-based mutation that was turning him into a monstrous spider creature that he sought. The series also helped to introduce the concept of the Multiverse and its variants. These Fox Kids animated shows also featured other various Marvel Comics characters such as S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Nick Fury, Doctor Strange, Iron Man, Captain America, The Punisher, and even a pre-feature film take on Blade.
These tie-ins could also give Marvel Animation a perfect excuse to flesh out an animated cinematic universe that isn’t directly tied to the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe, freeing them up to tell unrelated stories. Marvel’s upcoming animated show “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” (formerly known as “Spider-Man: Freshman Year”) was originally going to explore Peter Parker’s first year in high school in the MCU timeline until that connective tissue was severed.
“X-Men ’97” debuts this Wednesday, March 20, on Disney+ and continues the adventures of the beloved animated mutant team. You can watch that interview between Winderbaum and Agents of Fandom below.