Advent calendars are a pretty underrated choice when it comes to holiday gifts. Assuming the giftee has the self discipline to follow the schedule, they're guaranteed 24 days of surprises. It's a formula LEGO has really nailed in recent years. But if you're looking for something a little more premium and geared toward that special music lover in your life, Hero Collector's Beatles Advent Calendar is another worthwhile option.
This new Beatles boxset features 24 gifts inspired by the eclectic career of one of the greatest musical acts in human history. The items in this package run the gamut from socks to refrigerator magnets and even to recreations of memorabilia from the original Beatles Fan Club. There's certainly something for everyone in this hefty package. To get a better idea of what's inside, you check out this unboxing video hosted by Bill Morrison, an artist and avowed Beatles superfan who illustrated the Yellow Submarine graphic novel. See it in the video player above or embedded below, and then read on for some photos and hands-on impressions of the full set.
First things first – as far as advent calendars go, this set is fairly pricy. It's currently available on the Eaglemoss site for $139.95. Do the gifts inside justify that price tag, especially considering you could pretty much buy the band's entire back catalog for the same amount?
This is one of those cases where it really depends on your personal level of Beatles obsession. But considering that half the fun of advent calendars is in the unboxing experience, there's enough here to make the set worth consideration.
Hero Collector certainly nailed the packaging in this case. The items come packaged in a roughly one foot cube containing four trays. It's all just as colorful and psychedelic as one would expect from Beatles merch. Each individual item is packaged inside a box inspired by the cover art of the 2000 compilation album 1. And as if that weren't enough, each item is also wrapped in tissue paper adorned with Beatles-centric newspaper headlines.
Among the various gifts, there are a few standouts. The real winner is easily the coaster set inspired by the early Beatles singles released under the Parlophone label. The attention to detail there is appreciated, plus as coasters they're actually useful.
The set also gets a lot of mileage out of the Yellow Submarine movie/album, thanks to both a tea infuser shaped like the titular vessel and some pretty darned amusing window clings featuring all four animated Beatles. The archival photo prints and Christmas card recreations are also nice additions and make for a nice nit of office decoration.
Conversely, there are a few duds to be found in this box. The Sgt. Pepper drum pencil sharpener is small and cheap-feeling, to say nothing of the fact that most adults have little use for a handheld pencil sharpener in 2021. The Rubber Soul bottle opener, meanwhile, seems like a very arbitrary melding of tool and pop culture logo.
There's also the fact that the lineup does become a little repetitive. The album art magnets are decent inclusions, but surprisingly small at just 2" x 2", and including three different magnets seems a bit excessive. It would have been nice to see Hero Collector double down on the socks or Christmas ornament instead.
So back to the original question – is this package worth $140? There's certainly something for everyone in this set. It's more a question of whether there's enough for everyone. Some of the items are a little underwhelming, but there's also plenty for hardcore Beatlemaniacs to appreciate here. Not to mention the fact that a lot of this Fab Four merch seems to be exclusive to the calendar. It's not as if Hero Collector just grabbed a bunch of random merch off the shelves and shoved it in a box. The presentation value alone makes this a solid gift-giving choice.
And if The Beatles aren't really your jam, Hero Collector also sells similar advent calendars geared toward Doctor Who and Star Trek.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
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Halloween may be over, but horror movies have no limit on enjoyment. As one of the most prolific and profitable subgenres in cinema, audiences are always in the mood for some spooky scaries. Fortunately, thanks to the accessibility of streaming services, places like Netflix are home to a plethora of chilling choices. Between original offerings and licensed titles, there’s a horror movie for anyone and everyone. To get you started, we’ve tracked down some of the must-see horror titles currently available to stream on Netflix.
Please note: This list pertains to U.S. Netflix subscribers. Some titles may not currently be available on international platforms. This article is frequently amended to remove films no longer on Netflix and to include more horror movies that are now available on the service.
There’s Someone Inside Your House
Patrick Brice’s slasher adaptation accomplishes two massive feats for modern horror flicks: keeps us guessing and slaughters without restraint. It’s another film about teenagers getting sliced and diced by a masked killer, but it’s stylish and fierce enough to carve its own path. Situational misdirects keep audiences guessing who could be guilty of mass murder as characters point fingers while blood runneth everywhere from church confessional booths to aflame corn mazes. Don’t expect the next Scream or anything, just a solid contemporary slasher that succeeds when it matters most.
Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark
Who says PG-13 horror films can’t be terrifying (besides very wrong people online)? Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark adapts Alvin Schwartz’s children’s book series about spider babies in faces and pale pursers with horror at a premium. All those kiddos who were traumatized by Schwartz’s lack of coddling see their nightmares come to life through a collection of monsters, top-notch creature actors, and André Øvredal’s exceptionally mature take on gateway horror. There’s no hand-holding or easing into Stories to Tell in the Dark — a film that treats younger horror fans like genuine horror fans, not lesser appreciators who can’t handle even the softest scares.
Coming Home In The Dark
Are you in the mood for something insufferably bleak and sweater-gnawing tense (meant as a compliment)? That’s Ozploitation flick Coming Home in the Dark. It’s a vacation tragedy that sees a family on a road trip who encounters the evilest of humans. It’s the epitome of wrong place, wrong time, and captures the ultimate parental horror of mothers and fathers trying to protect their children. There are no further cat-and-mouse complications — people are the real monsters of horror, no demons or supernatural entities needed.
Cargo
One of Netflix's first original horror films is still one of my favorites. Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke's Cargo stars Martin Freeman as a father traversing the Australian outback with his daughter — also, there are zombies. Think The Walking Dead as an undead film that's more about its human characters facing survival drama than zombie action, except this one packs sturdy emotional stakes. Freeman's traveler encounters psychos, ferocious walkers, and weather elements that add thrills to Cargo, but what's unexpected is how a baby doesn't weigh the narrative down. Child subplots in horror are a tricky formula to crack that Cargo gets right, as the fears of protective parents translate into a hearty zombie experience.
Till Death
"A woman finds herself shackled to a corpse as part of a revenge plot." Megan Fox plays the previously mentioned woman handcuffed to her stone-cold dead ex in one of her recent indie horror ventures. It's not that Till Death is revolutionary; more how Fox carries a gimmick film through engaging thrills as she drags her co-star's lifeless body around a house and away from killers. Till Death knows it's only ever trying to be a chilly Friday night stream at barely ninety minutes, and that's the proper mindset. Fox's "comeback tour" raises eyebrows with Till Death, a movie worth a gamble based on the premise's better-than-expected execution.
The Babysitter
Does The Babysitter indulge McG’s tendencies as a director who loves popular needle drops and quotes pop culture like a middle schooler who discovered HBO? Yes. Is it also written by Brian Duffield of Spontaneous fame — a magnificent young adult dark comedy – and does it star modern scream queen in the making, Samara Weaving? Thankfully, these saving graces play into McG’s bounce-about take on horrific humor as a child realizes his babysitter is performing a cult ritual while mom and dad are out for the night. A supporting cast including Robbie Amell, Bella Thorne, Hana Mae Lee, and Andrew Bachelor all have their moments subverting specific “hunted home alone” tropes — still, The Babysitter is Samara Weaving’s showcase. Tune in, share some laughs, soak in a devilish Weaving performance, and check out Netflix’s funniest spooky original so far.
The Ritual
Netflix's original horror game rose to another level with The Ritual, David Bruckner's directorial debut outside segments in The Signal, V/H/S, and Southbound. Four friends take a northern Swedish hiking trip in memory of their deceased fifth, only to become victims of a woodland nightmare. Visions begin by layering psychological horror as the characters confront fears or guilt, then cultism adds communal dread, and lastly, Bruckner delivers on creature-feature goods. One source of terror feeds into the next and provokes future traumas, all interconnected as Bruckner weaves in and out of multiple horror subgenres with ease. There's so much to enjoy as Swedish forestation becomes an isolated outdoor prison, and then all hell breaks loose. Bruckner flaunts his filmmaking chops in a significant way.
Hell Fest
Add Gregory Plotkin’s Hell Fest to the list of underappreciated original slashers in recent years. Lovers of amusement park horror are treated to deaths in a Halloween Horror Nights or Six Flags Fright Night setting that’s lush with macabre carnival decor. Tony Todd welcomes patrons to another “Hell Fest” event as master of ceremonies — then it’s to the slicing and dicing throughout mazes where bodies pile under the guise of killer special effects. Bex Taylor-Klaus plays her character Taylor like a distant cousin of Hayden Panettiere’s Kirby from Scream 4, and I’ve never wanted a crossover more. Also, where’s my Hell Fest prequel or sequel already?
Blood Red Sky
Peter Thorwarth’s Blood Red Sky boils down to vampires on a plane — but not like the SYFY channel throwaway such a title suggests. Nadja (Peri Baumeister) is a bloodsucking mother whose only motivation is to keep her son alive from hijackers who want to crash a commercial flight. It’s far tenser and emotionally comprehensive than expected, staying far away from being another Snakes on a Plane knockoff. Performances are substantial, whether gruff terrorists or ferocious mothers, while intensity drives home an action-horror experience like airliner blockbuster Non-Stop but with more sucked blood.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
At the front of the 2000s remake trend is Marcus Nispel’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. For my money, the best Leatherface film in the entire franchise (also not to be confused with 2022’s wildly inferior Texas Chainsaw Massacre). The Platinum Dunes remake honors Tobe Hooper’s original by upping the primal fear, whether a gritter slasher vibe or Leatherface’s sharklike predator tendencies. Jessica Biel gives a solid final girl performance, rounding out an elevated Texas Chainsaw entry that lives its slaughterhouse inspirations with a viciousness unmatched.
Thir13en Ghosts (2001)
Thir13en Ghosts unleashes a roster of imprisoned ghouls inside a glass house that keeps shifting its walls into labyrinthian mazes. Tony Shalhoub and Matthew Lillard dash away from vengeful spirits like “The Hammer” with steel railroad spikes piercing his muscles to a straight-jacketed psychopath known as “The Jackal.” It’s a special brand of 2000s horror that overspends on gruesome ghost cosmetics, the translucent house etched with binding spells, paranormal finder glasses — every detail is so extravagantly and freakishly outrageous. They don’t make horror like they used to, especially considering the extraness of early aughts releases.
Crimson Peak (2015)
If you can't make it out to a theater to check out Nightmare Alley yet, or are just looking for the perfect follow up after seeing Guillermo del Toro's latest, the impeccable Crimson Peak is the perfect film for you. One of the most gorgeous films in a man whose entire filmography is known for how jaw droppingly stunning, it is features incredible performances from Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska and Jessica Chastain. This hauntingly human story will keep you guessing as supernatural forces seem to swirl around Edith Cushing and Sir Thomas Sharpe.
Apostle (2018)
Director Gareth Evans did not come to play with the gorgeous and gory Apostle. While the Netflix original is several years old at this point, it still feels like this one never got the attention it quite deserved. Before the era where Netflix original films were super prevalent, Apostle follows Thomas Richardson (played by none other than Dan Stephens) as he seeks out to rescue his sister from a strange, secluded cult.
#Alive (2020)
No one does a zombie movie quite like South Korea, and #Alive is one of the absolute best. A video game streamer decides to lock himself in his apartment while a zombie outbreak destroys the surrounding city of Seoul, but just as he’s losing all hope, he discovers that his neighbor in the apartment across from him is also still alive. The two create a zipline to share food, and share walkie-talkies to communicate with one another, while zombies terrorize the world outside of their walls. It’s a film as much about the human need for interaction as it is about survival, and the constant threat of zombies keeps keeps every moment filled with exhilarating tension.
Creep (2014)
Fans of POV/found footage horror films, rejoice, because Creep is one of the best in this style. In Patrick Brice’s directorial debut, Creep follows a filmmaker named Aaron who answers a strange man named Josef’s online ad to film him for the day, the final request of a man claiming to be dying of cancer hoping to make a video for his unborn child. Upon arrival, Aaron realizes that there’s something super weird about Josef and with the camera constantly rolling, we witness the absurdity and danger in store for Aaron. Come for the wild as hell Mark Duplass performance, stay for the Peachfuzz mask. If you love it, Netflix also has the sequel — Creep 2.
The Fear Street Trilogy
Leigh Janiak was the talk of the summer when Netflix dropped the cinematic trilogy based on the popular book series by “Goosebumps” author R.L. Stine, Fear Street. The Fear Street trilogy brought three separate movies to tell one cohesive story about the cursed town of Shadyside and the inhabitants impacted by generational horror. Each film is predominantly set in a different time period, delivering a little treat for fans of slashers, hauntings, teen horror, queer horror, and folk horror. The three films work best when watched all together, but each film can successfully stand on its own, making it a must-see trilogy.
Gerald’s Game (2017)
Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game was considered to be his “unfilmable” work, but if anyone is capable of proving King wrong, it’s Mike Flanagan. The man behind The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, Hush, Doctor Sleep, and others successfully tackled Gerald’s Game and provided one of Netflix’s best original horror releases. Gerald’s Game is a terrifying descent into madness and home to a dynamite leading performance by Carla Gugino.
Remi Weekes truly made something special with His House, arguably one of the scariest films on the Netflix roster. A haunted house story on the surface, His House centers on a refugee couple escaping war-torn Sudan only to find that the English town they’ve fled to may be just as harrowing as the land they left. The source of the film’s horror lies not just with the supernatural elements, but also with themes of grief, guilt, abandonment, xenophobia, and assimilation. It’s a powerful haunt that will linger with you long after the credits roll.
It Follows (2014)
If you’re looking for a film to make you feel even more paranoid and fearful of strangers around you than a pandemic has already made you, It Follows is the film for you. Based on the simple yet soul-stirring concept that no matter what, something is constantly coming toward you, It Follows is filled with creeping dread, effective jump scares, and a score guaranteed to raise your blood pressure.
May The Devil Take You (2018)
If there’s one area where Netflix thrives with their horror offerings, it’s with their international selection of scares. Genre fans have been praising the work of Timo Tjahjanto for years with his standout shorts in The ABCs of Death and V/H/S/2, but his feature film work in Indonesia is arguably his best, and Netflix’ acquisition has brought his work to mainstream Western audiences. In May The Devil Take You, a young woman visits her father’s former home trying to find the answer regarding his mysterious illness, only to discover the horrifying truth about his past.
Raw (2016)
French director Julia Ducournau has recently made waves with her Palme d'Or win for her film Titane, but Netflix is the home to her incredible debut feature, the coming-of-age cannibal film, Raw. A young vegetarian named Justine goes away to veterinary school and consumes meat for the first time in an attempt to fit in with her peers. Unfortunately, this taste of meat ignites the truth about Justine’s nature that had been hiding within her all along, and sends her on a path of destruction, violence, and flesh eating mayhem.
The Perfection (2018)
Go into The Perfection as clueless as possible (but be aware of some triggering rape stuff), because half the fun of this psychological horror film is trying (and failing) to guess just what happens next. Allison Wiliams plays a former cello prodigy who returns to her prestigious music school to find that she’s been replaced by the new star student, Lizzie played by Logan Browning. The Perfection plays with exploitation film conventions and completely subverts them on their head in absolutely unpredictable ways. It’s a wild thrill ride and truly, perfection.
Vampires Vs. The Bronx (2020)
Vampires have been used as metaphors for a variety of othering, but Vampires Vs. The Bronx highlights humanity’s true villain –gentrification. After a trio of young best friends discover a brood of vampires are preparing to destroy The Bronx, they take matters into their own hands and get the community together to fight back against the monsters invading their home. Calling it The Lost Boys for a new generation feels too easy, but the Frog Brothers would be proud do see how Miguel, Bobby, Luis, Gloria, Lil Mayor, and the rest of the gang tackle the aptly named Murnau real estate film. Leave the stake, take the adobo.
Xbox’s newest consoles, both the Series X and the Series S, not only deliver stunning visuals in high resolution (4K in the case of the Series X), they also round out your gaming experience with support for the best spatial audio and surround sound technologies like Dolby Atmos, DTS Headphone:X, and Windows Sonic. Getting the most immersive gaming experience with one of these consoles, therefore, doesn’t just require the right monitor or gaming TV; it also demands the right gaming headset.
If your headset has a 3.5mm audio jack, a USB connector or a USB wireless transmitter, you shouldn’t have a problem enjoying Series X/S gaming with it. However, taking full advantage of these consoles’ next-level audio experience requires proper hardware, which brings us to the best Xbox Series X/S headsets. These are our top picks.
TL;DR – These are our picks for the Best Xbox Series X/S Headsets:
The Xbox Wireless Headset is an accessible gaming headset designed specifically to enhance every gamer’s Xbox Series X/S gaming immersion. It connects wirelessly with your console (no USB wireless adapter needed), delivers incredible sound performance, and comes with the works – Windows Sonic, Dolby Atmos, and DTS Headphone:X.
Its intuitive controls, namely the rotating ear cup dials for volume and game/chat balance, make it easy to use during gaming sessions as well. The price isn’t too shabby at $100, which makes it affordable for most people, including budget gamers. The battery life could be better, but overall, this is the best headset for Xbox X/S.
Versatile and comfortable, the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 connects to your Series X/S wirelessly, without the need for a USB wireless transmitter, and to your other devices via Bluetooth. It also boasts Windows Sonic support for Xbox and Turtle Beach’s Superhuman Hearing for PC for immersive gaming audio no matter which platform you’re on.
For extreme comfort, it offers a great fit, even with glasses on, and comes with a pair of Aerofit cooling-gel infused ear cushions that will let you wear it for hours. Plus, its up to 20-hour battery life is a boon for those who hate charging their devices. It doesn’t come with Dolby Atmos for Headphones out of the box, but you’re welcome to activate it through an Xbox or Microsoft Store App (for a fee, of course).
As one of the best Xbox headsets, the SteelSeries Arctis 7X sets itself apart in comfort and longevity. This has the longest battery life we’ve seen on an Xbox headset that delivers great sound performance, lasting up to 24 hours, which makes it ideal for those who tend to game for long stretches.
Thanks to its adjustable ski goggle suspension headband and soft ear cups swaddled in breathable fabric, it makes those long gaming sessions comfortable and sweat-free. Of course, we can’t forget about its multi-device connectivity either – if you have both the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles, as well as a Nintendo Switch and a Google Stadia Controller, this is the headset you want.
If there’s one Xbox Series X/S headset that can also moonlight as your go-to travel gaming headset, it’s the Razer Kaira Pro. It features a sleek, compact and lightweight design. Not to mention, detaching the mic will let it pass for a pair of regular headphones if you want to game on the train, at a cafe, or at an airport. On the flipside, RGB fans will appreciate the Chroma RGB lighting on its ear cups.
It isn’t just for Xbox gaming either, as on top of the Xbox Wireless connectivity, it also comes with Bluetooth 5.0 so you can connect it to your mobile phone or console. You can even stretch its battery life up to 20 hours if you turn off that RGB lighting, which you’d probably want to do when you’re on the go.
5. Audeze Penrose X
Best Audiophile Xbox Headset
The Audeze Penrose X might not win when it comes to comfort out of the box – these headsets require a proper breaking-in – but it wins in versatility and audio performance. It comes with USB wireless connectivity, as well as Bluetooth and 3.5mm analog, so you can either connect it to your console or to your controller.
And, as this is a pair of Audeze headphones, you’re also getting that audiophile-level sound performance that’s incredibly balanced. The soundstage is so excellent you hardly need Dolby Atmos or DTS Headphones:X. The battery life and range could be better here, and again, the fit isn’t ideal, but if you have discerning sound sensibilities, you’ll want this one.
Not everyone’s willing to spend $500 on a gaming headset, but if you are, B&O’s Beoplay Portal is a great Xbox headset to check out. You’re getting a lot for that steep price tag, with multiple connectivity options (and thus, compatibility with multiple devices), Dolby Atmos support, a sleek and incredibly lightweight design, extreme comfort, and fantastic sound quality.
It’s also uniquely one of the very few gaming headsets with active noise-cancellation, if you don’t want to be disturbed or distracted while gaming. We only wish it had a longer battery life and a more robust wireless connection, but with everything else you’re getting, these are small compromises.
Michelle Rae Uy is a freelance tech and travel writer, part-time production editor, and a full-time traveler from Los Angeles, California. She currently splits her time between Los Angeles, London and the rest of the world. Follow her on Instagram @straywithRae.
Welcome back to IGN Game Scoop!, the ONLY video game podcast! This week your Omega Cops — Daemon Hatfield, Tina Amini, Sam Claiborn, and Justin Davis — are discussing Forza Horizon 5, Guardians of the Galaxy, Steam Deck, Ocarina of Time, and more. And, of course, they play Video Game 20 Questions.
Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service.
As if we needed more proof the '90s are alive and well, X-Men: The Animated Series is making a comeback. Disney has announced X-Men '97, a new Disney+ series picking up where the original left off three decades ago.
It's an exciting time for X-fans, but we also have a lot of questions. While we wait for more news about Marvel's animated X-Men revival, let's look back at how the original cartoon ended and the biggest questions surrounding the new show.
Will the Original Ending Remain Intact?
X-Men: The Animated Series lasted for five seasons and 76 episodes between 1992 and 1997. Unfortunately, the series was clearly showing its age by the final season, with Saban Entertainment cutting costs and switching production to a different animation studio. The final episodes of the series are much cruder in appearance than the rest and even feature some recast voice roles. That all raises the question – will X-Men '97 still build on that final stretch of episodes, or will the new series ignore Season 5 entirely and move in a different direction?
The answer to that question could heavily influence the course of the new series. The original series finale is loosely based on 1985's Uncanny X-Men #200. It shows Professor Xavier seriously wounded by anti-mutant firebrand Henry Peter Gyrich. Xavier winds up leaving Earth to heal and spend time with Lilandra and the Shi'ar, leaving the reformed Magneto to take charge of the Xavier Institute.
Will X-Men '97 build on that open-ended finale and show us what happens when the X-Men are partnered up with a former enemy? Or will the series revert to a more traditional, nostalgia-friendly status quo? Either approach has its advantages.
How Many Characters Will Be Recast?
For many X-Men fans, the Animated Series is still the gold standard when it comes to how these characters sound. Cal Dodd's Wolverine, Cedric Smith's Charles Xavier, Norm Spencer's Cyclops, Lenore Zann's Rogue, David Hemblen's Magneto, John Colicos' Apocalypse and many others remain burned into our brains even 25 years later. And don't even get us started on that theme music…
Marvel's announcement makes it clear many surviving cast members will return, including Dodd and Zann. Unfortunately, many series veterans have passed away since the original series ended. Presumably, Marvel will recast key characters like Cyclops, but they may face a difficult challenge in replacing such iconic voices. It may be wiser to downplay familiar villains like Magneto and Apocalypse and focus on new threats instead.
There's also the question of newcomers like Jennifer Hale and Ray Chase. Will they be taking over familiar roles or voicing new characters entirely? The series certainly has a wealth of untapped material to explore now. On that note…
What New X-Men Stories Will Be Adapted?
One of the reasons X-Men: The Animated Series proved so successful is that it borrowed liberally from the comic book source material. Over the course of those five seasons, the series lent its own take on iconic X-Men tales like The Dark Phoenix Saga, Age of Apocalypse, Weapon X and Days of Future Past. The series remains the most faithful adaptation we've seen in any medium.
We assume X-Men '97 will follow a similar approach. There's certainly no shortage of new material to mine. Since the animated series wrapped in 1997, the comics have given us major storylines like House of M, which ended with most of the world's mutants being depowered, the epic crossover battle Avengers vs. X-Men and the truly game-changing twists in House of X and Powers of X.
Whether or not the X-Men '92 comic is treated as part of the animated continuity, that series may give us an idea of what to expect from X-Men '97. Expect some familiar X-Men stories to be remixed, re-imagined and filtered through a nostalgic lens. And unlike the original series, X-Men '97 will probably have to worry much less about broadcast standards or selling toys.
How Violent Will X-Men '97 Be?
Much like fellow Fox Kids series Batman: The Animated Series, X-Men raised the bar when it came to maturity and storytelling depth in superhero cartoons. X-Men dove headlong into the source material, exploring the ongoing conflict between humanity and mutants and pushing characters like Jean Grey and Morph in some pretty dark places. The series was also notable for telling long-form, serialized storylines that played out over the course of several episodes.
That said, the series still faced plenty of limitations when it came to tone and content, something that's all the more obvious now looking back. Nowhere are those limitations more obvious than with Wolverine. Whether it's Logan's sanitized approach to cursing – "All right, you egg-suckin' piece of gutter trash!" – or the fact that he never seemed to stab anything that wasn't a robot, it's obvious the show was still being aimed at a relatively kid-friendly audience.
Is that still going to be the case with X-Men '97? Is Marvel still taking an all-ages approach to the X-Men, or is this series being aimed squarely at '90s kids who are now fully grown and perfectly happy to see Wolverine spill some blood?
What Costumes Will X-Men '97 Use?
The costumes in X-Men: The Animated Series defined the look of the X-Men as much as their voice during the '90s. The series hit at just the right time, drawing from the work of contemporary comic book artists like Jim Lee and Marc Silvestri. In many ways, the series was a perfect storm, combining classic '70s and '80s X-Men storylines with a more dynamic look and feel.
The X-Men comics have undergone several big visual shifts in the years since, including a phase where everyone was decked out in black leather. Will X-Men '97 stick to its roots or opt for a more modernized look and feel?
The show's title may give us the answer. This series is very much tied to a specific era of X-Men fandom, and we doubt the animators have any interest in changing those iconic costumes. Sorry, Wolverine, you'll have to keep wearing that yellow spandex for now.
Will X-Men: Evolution and Wolverine and the X-Men Also Return?
X-Men: The Animated Series isn't the only classic Marvel cartoon where fans have been clamoring for a revival. Its successors X-Men: Evolution and Wolverine and the X-Men both have devoted fanbases of their own. If anything, both series are in even greater need of sequels. Evolution ended after four seasons in 2003, at a time when many would argue the series was just hitting its stride. Wolverine and the X-Men ended after just one season in 2009, teasing an Age of Apocalypse-inspired Season 2 that never came to fruition.
We can't help but wonder if X-Men '97 might pave the way for future animated revivals. '90s kids may look to X-Men: The Animated Series as the gold standard, but there's an entire generation that grew up with Evolution instead.
At the very least, we have to wonder if X-Men '97 will draw inspiration from those shows with its portrayal of the X-Men. Could the new series take a more teen-oriented approach and focus on the Xavier Institute as a school? Will X-Men '97 explore some of the themes of Wolverine and the X-Men, as our heroes try to chart a path forward without Xavier to guide them? The best thing this new series can do is honor all the X-Men cartoons that have come before, not just X-Men: The Animated Series.
