How Is X-Men ’97 Season 2 Connected to Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s New X-Men?

It’s official: X-Men ’97 Season 2 will incorporate at least one key aspect of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s acclaimed New X-Men comics. We’ve got the full lowdown on the second season’s New X-Men connection below!

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How Is X-Men ’97 Season 2 Connected to Morrison and Quitely’s New X-Men?

New X-Men was a soft relaunch of the X-Men comic book that ran from 2001 to 2004. Grant Morrison wrote every issue; Quitely pencilled the first and fourth arcs, and some of the second. New X-Men‘s other artists included Leinil Francis Yu, Igor Kordey, Ethan Van Sciver, Phil Jimenez, Chris Bachalo, and Marc Silvestri. The series is famous for reinvigorating the X-franchise via the introduction of several new characters and concepts (such as “secondary mutations”). It also broke up the long-running Scott Summers/Jean Grey pairing, partnering Scott with Emma Frost, instead. Many of these elements proved popular, although New X-Men‘s mass-murderer Magneto remains polarizing.

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X-Men ’97 has cribbed from New X-Men before. For example, Season 1’s most harrowing sequence, the Sentinal attack on Genosha, appeared (albeit in somewhat different form) in New X-Men‘s debut arc, “E is for Extinction.” And now footage screened at Disney’s recent D23 event confirms X-Men ’97‘s trend of borrowing from New X-Men will continue in Season 2. Specifically, Cyclops, Wolverine, and the rest of the team will sport leather outfits modelled on Quitely’s designs. It’s currently unclear when or why X-Men ’97‘s core ensemble will adopt their New X-Men threads in Season 2. We’ll just have to wait until the second season drops to find out!

Is X-Men ’97 Season 2 Inspired By Any Other Modern X-Men Comics?

Yes, X-Men ’97 Season 2 will also weave in characters and storylines culled from Joss Whedon and John Cassaday’s 2004-2008 series Astonishing X-Men. Specifically, it will feature Danger, a supervillain created by Whedon and Cassaday for their run. As her name suggests, Danger is a sentient manifestation of the X-Men’s Danger Room training ground. What’s more, she’s been conscious for some time – and Professor X kept it a secret! He needed the Danger Room to keep his students sharp, and acknowledging Danger’s evolution would’ve thrown a spanner in the works.

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So, when Danger finally breaks free and fashions a body for herself, she unsurprisingly goes on a rampage. Her goal: kill Charles Xavier, of course! Naturally, the X-Men stand in her way, however, Danger’s years spent sparring with them gives her the edge. Presumably, this same basic narrative will play out in X-Men ’97 Season 2.

X-Men ’97 Season 1 is currently streaming on Disney+. Season 2 does not yet have a release date.