Marvel Studios Officially Makes The X-Men Timeline Even More Confusing

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While fans eagerly await the return of the classic X-Men team in future Marvel movies like Avengers: Doomsday and a reboot within the MCU after Avengers: Secret Wars, X-Men ’97 is continuing their story in animated form. The highly praised continuation of X-Men: The Animated Series will release its second season on Disney+ on July 1st, just over two years after the first season ended.

The initial trailer for X-Men ’97 season 2 is out, offering a preview of the upcoming battle against Apocalypse. The conflict will span across different time periods – Ancient Egypt in 3000 B.C., the year 3960, and 1997. Several beloved characters from the original X-Men: The Animated Series, like Psylocke, Havok, Angel, and Polaris, will also return and have important roles in the new season.

Despite the buzz around the return of X-Men ’97, Marvel Studios has actually complicated the show’s timeline. Both this new series and the original X-Men: The Animated Series have had continuity problems before, but the latest trailer makes a major issue with Polaris’s backstory and connection to the team particularly noticeable.

Polaris’ X-Men ’97 History Is Confusing

The image shows Polaris (Lorna Dane) with the X-Men: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Beast, Angel, and Professor X. Their outfits are based on their classic comic book appearances from the late 1960s, when Havok (Cyclops’ brother) was also a member. Previously, in X-Men: The Animated Series, this version of Lorna left the X-Men with Iceman and later joined X-Factor, where she began a relationship with Havok.

This image raises a question about Polaris’s history with the X-Men. It depicts her as one of the original members, but traditionally, Professor X first recruited Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Beast, and Angel. It’s unclear if the picture was taken during her relatively short time with the team, or if it shows a version of Polaris from another timeline who was actually the sixth founding member. This is especially interesting considering the upcoming Marvel TV show will focus on time travel.

X-Men ’97’s Continuity Issue With Angel Keeps Getting Bigger

While the image featuring Polaris is unusual, it’s nothing compared to the confusing storyline surrounding Angel (Warren Worthington III) in both X-Men ’97 and X-Men: The Animated Series. Originally, the older series showed Angel joining the X-Men only after being brainwashed by Mystique and briefly serving as Apocalypse’s Horseman of Death. Although he later learns he’s destined to join the team, this future event is never actually depicted on screen.

Interestingly, X-Men: The Animated Series later changed its story, portraying him as one of the very first X-Men. X-Men ’97 has taken this revised history even further.

Not only was he seen in the season 2 trailer, but there’s also a moment in the first episode where Cyclops and Jean Grey look at a painting featuring themselves with Angel, Beast, Iceman, and Professor X. The characters in the painting appear exactly as they did in the very first issue of The X-Men comic book from 1963. While changing established backstory (‘retconning’) happens often in comics and their adaptations, this instance is particularly confusing.

The show’s timelines for Angel are already confusing, and Polaris adds another layer of complexity. Fans of X-Men ’97 will have to wait for season 2 to see how these characters fit into the story. This includes an explanation of how Angel, now fully transformed into Archangel, survived the Sentinel attack on Genosha – he briefly appeared at the United Nations gala. It’s possible he’ll be brought back in the same way Gambit is rumored to be resurrected, though that hasn’t been confirmed.

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2026-05-30 00:38