Disclaimer: I never really read the comics. My first encounter with the X-Men was through the animated series in the nineties.

Then the live action movies happened. Most of them were really not that great, and I’ve read a lot about the horrible things that happened on those sets, with Bryan Singer. Despite not having read many comics, I know the movies butchered the characters and their stories quite significantly, and a lot of the casting was iffy.

Still, it was a thrill to see these amazing characters come to life. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen as Magneto were spot-on, and I really loved Famke Janssen as Jean Grey. I wish there had been more Jubilee, and I can’t say I was happy with Halle Berry as Storm, but those movies were a fun ride.

I was so happy with X-Men: First Class. I remember saying, “Finally, an X-Men movie I really love!” Days of Future Past was pretty awesome too. I mean, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender! Nicholas Hoult and Jennifer Lawrence!

I’m not sure Lucas is ready for these movies, but I suppose there’s not much there that he hasn’t already seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the meantime, there’s the classic X-Men cartoon that I saw when I was a kid! It’s available on Disney Plus, and I think all seasons and episodes are there.

Lucas started watching it in 2022, and of course Oneal had to sit down and watch with him. I sat down for a few episodes, and as with Avatar: The Last Airbender, I was shocked at how much story and depth could be found in individual episodes.

I’m not sure how many of these episodes I saw when I was a kid, but I’m very sure I saw less than half of the show’s entire run. So now I’m tempted to watch it all.

Except now we have X-Men ’97, and goddamn this show is amazing. I do not even have the words for all the feelings I had for the first episode alone. I was crying so much. It was amazing how this was so much like the classic cartoon, and yet so much better. It was amazing how well-written it was, how subtle, how powerful. And Storm! Oh Storm! I’m nearly in tears again.

I cry when we watch these episodes, and my son comes over to give me a hug. But what does he see, beyond mutant abilities and colorful costumes? Does he see Xavier’s struggle, and Magneto’s rage? Beyond code names and zaps of power, does he hear pleas for tolerance and demands for rights and respect? Maybe not today, but maybe in the years to come, when he can grasp these ideals and understand these metaphors.

I saw memes, when X-men ’97 was announced, that some people were complaining that “Disney made X-men woke,” and I was reminded of another post that went around some years back, about how X-men was about civil rights (though more like a flawed allegory). I remember explaining to my son why the X-men were fighting so hard, and how Magneto’s fight was different from theirs. “It’s because people are afraid of those who are different from them,” I said.

He’s too young to understand the nuances of such arguments, but we’re doing what we can to develop his awareness and sense of tolerance, of empathy, of acceptance, and such. However imperfect an allegory X-men may be, I think it helps him understand these things a little better.