X-Men Monday #340 – Steve Foxe Talks ‘X-Men ’97: Season Two’

Welcome, X-Fans, to another uncanny edition of X-Men Monday at AIPT!

So, when will the second season of X-Men ’97 start streaming on Disney+? Sadly, I don’t have the answer to that question. What I do know is we’ll get a better sense of where the new season’s heading when X-Men ’97: Season Two #1 goes on sale June 3, 2026! Brought to you by the same creative team as the original X-Men ’97 prequel comic (writer Steve Foxe, artist Salva Espin, cover artist Todd Nauck, colorist Matt Milla, and letterer VC’s Joe Sabino), the five-issue limited series promises to bridge the gap between season one’s cliffhanger and what comes next.

And, fortunately for you, Steve has returned to X-Men Monday to shine a bit more light on what you can expect! Let’s see what he has to say.

AIPT: Welcome back to X-Men Monday, Steve! Before we dig into the X-Men ‘97: Season Two prequel series, I’d like to go back to March 2024, when we discussed you and artist Salva Espin’s first X-Men ‘97 prequel comic series. At the time, you hadn’t seen any of the finished X-Men ‘97 episodes. I’m curious for your take as a lifelong X-Fan—what’d you think of the first season? Any standout moments?

Steve Foxe: Whoa, it’s good to be back—thanks for having me! And it’s true, when Salva and I did the prequel comic series for the first season of X-Men ‘97, I was given access to scripts for the first few episodes and was walked through the broad arc of the season, but didn’t actually get to see any of it. Which worked out fine for the comic, as I was specifically meant to help bridge the ‘92 animated show and X-Men ‘97. 

Once I got a chance to watch the season alongside the seemingly bajillion other viewers, I was—and I’m not just saying this—really impressed at how well it captured the vibe of the original show while updating the action and tone for modern audiences. (I’m aware that sounds like marketing copy, but how else can I put it!?) All the characters felt authentic to their original portrayals, the pacing felt familiar, but the scope was amped up, and the action felt MAJOR. 

I had already been tipped off that Genosha was coming, so I knew to be braced for that. But I was a little surprised (and sad!) to see how many characters the show was willing to kill off there (Dazzler, my beloved…). The biggest surprise for me, by far, though, was how ‘97 pulled from storylines and characters introduced well after 1997 to mix and match and craft these plots. It helped keep the whole back half of the season unpredictable and exciting to me, and that’s something that I’m happy to report continues in Season Two.

AIPT: For X-Fans who are learning about the X-Men ‘97: Season Two prelude comic for the first time, what’s the purpose of this limited series, and why should fans of the Disney+ show pick it up?

Steve: Salva and I were given a much different task this time around. Like I said up top, the first comic tie-in helps bring readers up to speed on where everyone in the core cast is before X-Men ‘97 kicks off, and the team was generous enough to carve off some fun nuggets for us to reveal, like (insert air quotes) Jean’s pregnancy, Morph’s return, or even Storm’s radical new haircut. But it was, for the most part, a very open slate to tell a standalone story set between iterations of the show. 

For this comic series, we are squeezing into a MUCH more specific time frame for the cast. Spoilers for anyone who didn’t watch or finish Season One, but most of the X-Men have been scattered to the past or the future, with only Jubilee, Sunspot, Forge, and Bishop left in the present day. And three of those characters weren’t even regular cast members of the original show! When I watched Season One, I had the simultaneous thoughts of, Man, I really hope they invite me back for another miniseries and, Man, how the heck would we even DO another miniseries?

But we don’t take any cheats or workarounds here. Our series takes place between seasons and into the opening of Season Two’s second episode. That involved a LOT of cooperation with the Marvel Studios team, who were incredibly generous with their time and insight, as well as with all sorts of scenes and character background that didn’t make it into the show. So the series Salva and I have worked up for you not only helps to bridge the gap between seasons, but will actually end up providing additional context on characters and plot developments you’ll experience all season long.

AIPT: What was the creative process like this time around? Have you seen any of the finished season two episodes, or are you once again working off scripts or notes?

Steve: I had the huge privilege of getting to watch the entire season in advance this time around, actually, so big thanks to everyone on the Marvel Animation team for the screeners! The funny thing, too, is that the first versions I was given access to were the early animatics, where episodes are still in progress and have portions that are just line drawings or have voiceovers from staff or notes on the screen, etc.—very useful, but also a bit funny to watch at times. And later on, when the book changed editorial hands, I mentioned something about that to my new editor, who was like, uhh… what are you talking about? And that’s how I found out he had been given updated links with all the finished episodes! But no one play me the world’s tiniest violin—Marvel Animation then hooked me up with the finished episodes, too. 

In addition to the episodes, we get repositories of character turnarounds, I’ve been given some key script moments when needed, etc., and the Marvel Animation team is very accessible, so I really can’t say enough good things about that side. I’ve worked on dozens of licensed projects over in the kids’ world, and it is definitely not always this easy to access the resources you need.

AIPT: A related question from X-Fan Joshie the 20th—is there a list of plot points or characters you must or must not include in the prequel series?

Steve: It wasn’t so much a list of plot points I must include as it was a few initial Zoom meetings to figure out the best way this prequel comic could end up feeling both additive and as close to essential as possible. Since we have limiting circumstances based on the Season One cliffhanger, we knew roughly where we were starting, and Marvel Animation also had some stuff that got left on the cutting room floor that they really hoped to see find a second life here, which was incredibly helpful in shaping the story. A few of the ideas that got struck down were only really no-goes because they might end up appearing in future seasons. So it wasn’t so much a must/must-not list as a pretty organic brainstorming session.

AIPT: X-Fan Will is wondering how much of the prequel series will focus on previously introduced characters (like the X-Men) vs new ones we’ve seen teased, such as Havok and the rest of X-Factor. DO we get to check in on Cyclops, Jean, Rogue, Beast, and the rest of the time-displaced gang?

Steve: It would be a shame not to check in on everyone at least a little bit, given the great status quo they were all left in at the end of Season One, but what I can say is that I pitched calling this something OTHER than X-Men ‘97, so I wouldn’t expect this to focus on the core cast for the majority of the page count. And! If there are characters you don’t get enough of in the pages of this series, you may be in luck elsewhere before too long…

AIPT: X-Fan Ciara is curious to learn which character’s story arc you’re most excited about in the second season of X-Men ‘97—let’s say from a prequel-writing POV and as a viewer.

Steve: Jubilee, hands down. There’s so much discussion about whether Jubilee is “stuck” in the ‘90s because of her association with the show, but ‘97 has really shown the ability for her to mature within the original framework of her character. And as she faces down a world without the X-Men, she’s going to have to step up like never before. A close runner-up is Cable, who is a character I’ve ALWAYS wanted to write more of. He’s got the weight of a time-spanning destiny on his broad shoulders, and that can make a man very dangerous. 

AIPT: X-Fan Olly devine asks if your views on any of the characters you’re writing have changed since you last wrote them.

Steve: If we’re talking about this specific continuity, then definitely Rogue and Gambit, the latter of whom I (spoiler alert) sadly will not be writing here! I knew going into Season One that they’d be exploring Rogue and Magneto, but I didn’t know Remy was going to end up sacrificing himself. I admittedly have always considered Rogue and Gambit one of my favorite fictional couples, so watching the tragic turn they took in the first season was a tearjerker for me, and writing Rogue in the fallout of that definitely impacts my approach.

AIPT: X-Fan Shan is so excited to see you back writing another X-Men ‘97 tie-in! That moment back in the first miniseries for Season One, where Rogue is almost overwhelmed by the powers she’s just absorbed, and Gambit helps to comfort her, is one of Shan’s favorites, as is that rooftop scene you wrote for them in Dark X-Men during Fall of X. Shan knows Gambit won’t be involved in the Season Two prequel comic, but wonders if we’ll get any reference to him at all, either from Rogue herself or maybe the other X-Men that are still in the present. Thanks so much!

Steve: Thanks, Shan! I guess I should have read this before I answered Olly’s question. Uhh, I guess my views have changed on Hank. He’s just too well-read. Who does he think he is, anyway!?

Seriously, though, Gambit’s absence is felt hard among the X-Men. While they are mostly dealing with being time-displaced, among other, unrevealed issues, it would be weird not to touch upon them losing one of their own, too. His shadow is going to be a long one.

AIPT: X-Men ‘97: Season Two is one in a series of collaborations with Salva. As a writer, how does getting to work with the same artist over multiple series and story arcs improve the collaborative process?

Steve: My first question when I got approached to write this was, “Is Salva back?!” I started my proper Marvel Comics career with X-Men ‘92: House of XCII, illustrated by Salva, and we got to reunite for the first ‘97 series, so I really can’t imagine doing an animated take on the Merry Mutants without him somehow involved. What I learned on House of XCII is that Salva can draw anything and anyone, and is game for all of it–seriously, I probably threw too much at him, as a rookie writer, but he was up for the challenge of fitting in every cameo and nod and Easter egg.

So now that I’ve got a few more years under my belt and have seen his strengths in action, it’s a huge creative relief to go into a script trusting your collaborator will have it in the bag. While he absolutely finds ways to surprise me all the time, I can anticipate how he’ll approach certain pages, etc., and lean into what he does best. And in ‘97, we’re lucky enough to have Matt Milla on colors, who really completes the picture for the Animated Series touch. 

AIPT: Finally, we know that the upcoming season of X-Men ‘97 is pulling inspiration from the Adventures of Cyclops & Phoenix, X-Men: The Rise of Apocalypse, New X-Men, and other stories from the ‘90s and beyond. This question is purely for Steve Foxe, the X-Men fan—are there any X-Men comic stories you hope to see adapted in some way in the seasons to come?

Steve: I’m revealing my participation bias here, but I’m holding out hope for Krakoa in some shape or form! It’s the era that brought me into Marvel Comics as a writer, so I’d be pretty stoked to see it come to life in the cartoon that made me a comic fan in the first place. Outside of that, I want to see some WEIRD stuff. Like, give me the Neo. Gene-Nation! X-Babies! Bring Dracula in and spend half a season with the vampires (and note that I wrote that BEFORE they announced Midnight X-Men, so I was ahead of the trend). Send them all to Australia—I hear that’s back in fashion.

Do the Draco. Wait, no, let ME adapt all of those for the next tie-in comic instead…

AIPT: It’s going to happen… we know it’s going to happen… and you’re going to have a blast writing it! But on that note—Steve, thanks for stopping by X-Men Monday!

Now, return to the world of X-Men ’97 in this eXclusive preview of X-Men ’97: Season Two #1, on sale June 3, 2026, featuring Forge, Bishop, and the other mutants left behind at the end of “Tolerance Is Extinction Part 3.”

Next X-Men Monday – June 3, 2026

Yes, that’s right—the next edition of X-Men Monday will drop on an X-Men Wednesday to coincide with the release of Cyclops #5, as writer Alex Paknadel joins us for a Cyclops eXit interview!

Until next time, X-Fans, stay eXceptional!