2 Years Later, The Greatest X-Men Quote Of The Decade Is One Of The Best In Marvel History

Published Oct 25, 2026, 4:45 PM EDT Ben is a Senior Writer on the New TV team at Screen Rant. He graduated from the University of Central Lancashire with a First Class B.A. Degree in English Literature and History. Born and raised in Ireland, Ben has always had a love for storytelling in all forms of media and operates multiple projects under the name Benjamin Blogs. Ben is a comic book writer and podcast host, in addition to his work as an entertainment journalist. He has worked as both a writer and editor for Screen Rant, Collider, and other media outlets across various departments, including features, news, reviews, and interviews. The X-Men have always been one of the most influential and iconic parts of Marvel's history, but two years ago, everything changed with one iconic sequence. Comics in general have always leaned into innovating, non-conforming, and inspiring the people who pick them up and parse through their pages. And in recent years, the incredible characters and storylines from comics like Marvel have gotten more attention than ever thanks to the major trend of adapting these stories to the big and small screens, with extraordinary sprawling universes of narratives like the MCU, the DCEU, the DCU, and a handful more all bringing these stories to the mainstream. But among them, one show that is not getting nearly as much attention as it deserves is the incredible X-Men '97 series on Disney+, which revived the classic 1990s animated series and elevated the material for a more mature audience. A series that, right out of the gate, managed to create a declaration that would resonate forever in the annals of Marvel history thanks to a defining moment in season 1. X-Men '97 Delivered One Of The Best Marvel Quotes Of All Time Image via Disney+ While the story of the X-Men has always held up a mirror to society, injustice, and predjudice, the story has often drawn clear lines between the heroes of the story and its villains. Professor Xavier and his X-Men have been advocates for improving human-mutant relationships, and they have worked tirelessly towards that goal, establishing themselves as friendly heroes. Meanwhile, Magneto has held a much darker view of their relationship to unevolved humans, which is echoed by the members of his Brotherhood. This division between mutants led to confronting moments, and at times widespread chaos and disaster, but in X-Men '97 season 1, Val Cooper shares a harrowing speech in episode 8 that shifts the dynamics in a major way. "But the scariest thing about Genosha wasn't the death or the chaos. It was a thought, the only sane thought you can have when being chased by giant robots that were built to crush you: Magneto was right.” Up to this point, Val Cooper had operated as the leader of the X-Factor, and a liason to the United Nations acting on behalf of human-mutant relations. For the longest time, Val's beliefs aligned with Xavier's, and she held on to a hope of a brighter future where people would coexist peacefully, but this speech illustrates her confronting a difficult truth. Despite years of dedicated service to a cause she believed in, and advocating for humans and mutants, when the tides turned against the mutants, and her people were massacred in their own homes, the humans turned their backs and acted with indifference. Thus, the emphatic shift to siding with Magneto, and recognizing that some hurdles are simply impossible to overcome nudged the story in a whole new direction. X-Men '97 Continues To Be An Underrated Gem of The Marvel Universe Since then, X-Men '97 season 2 has further drilled into this tense and emotional narrative in a way that few other superhero or comic book adapted stories have ever even attempted. This goes to show that the animated series continues to bravely and boldly tackle topics that may be difficult, but are worth exploring. In this way, X-Men '97 manages to create stories that are not only entertaining and gripping, but emotionally resonant, mature, and impactful. This resembles the foundations of X-Men comics, which often challenged societal norms and led to deeper thought and introspection among the audience in a way that leads to important and necessary change. Unfortunately, despite the incredible power of these stories and this show in particular, the fact that it's animated, and that it exists outside the primary MCU timeline has led to it being a massively underappreciated project. Despite this, X-Men '97 stands out as a series that is so much more deserving of attention, and so capable of delivering the heart and soul that Marvel has always tried to capture in their comics. Release Date March 20, 2024 Network Disney+ Directors Jake Castorena, Emi Yonemura, Chase Conley Writers Charlie Feldman, Anthony Sellitti, Beau DeMayo, JB Ballard Franchise(s) X-Men Creator(s) Beau DeMayo