10 Shows Like 'X-Men '97' You Should Watch Next
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The many (many, many) revivals and reboots released over the past decade is a trend that suggests we've run out of new ideas, but a small handful of these projects truly do make the case that a trip to the past doesn't need to feel like retreading old ground.
Over on Disney+, X-Men '97 has succeeded by grabbing hold of everything kids loved about the '90s cartoon and dragging it into the present, carrying on as though no time had passed but not ignoring the ways the world has changed for oppressed minorities living in the 2020s. It's also (and this is no small thing) completely unashamed of its roots, making the most of its outsized villains and colorful world. If you're looking for more comic book shows that deliver the same depth and fidelity to their source material, here are 10 to watch next.
Masters of the Universe (2021 – 2024)
There've been a lot of He-man riffs over the last couple of years, to greater and lesser degrees of success (the memory-holing of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power by Netflix is a crime for which someone should go to jail). Kevin Smith's trip to the world of Eternia plays in the X-Men '97 sandbox by offering up a strict continuation of the original animated series, broadening and deepening the older show's themes while staying true to Masters mythology—of which there's plenty. The first season, Revelation, follows up on the seemingly final battle between He-Man (Chris Wood) and Skeletor (Mark Hamill) by sending Teela (Sarah Michelle Gellar) on a quest to restore magic and discover her own origins, following up on some hints dropped back in the 1980s. You'll find the series on Netflix split into Revelation and Revolution, but it's all the same show. Stream Masters of the Universe on Netflix.
Castlevania (2017 – 2021)
The gorgeously animated series largely adapts the third Castlevania game from way back in 1989—a prequel, and so not an unreasonable starting place for the sprawling franchise (material from other games does come into play later in the series). Here, the vampire Dracula (aka Vlad Țepeș) sees his wife burned at the stake and vows vengeance on all of Wallachia, with monster hunter Trevor Belmont, magician Sypha, and Dracula’s own son Alucard opposing him. It’s a surprisingly serious and thoughtful take on a video game property about vampires, and only gets better as it progresses—even into its own sequel series, Nocturne. Stream Castlevania on Netflix.
Young Justice (2010 – 2022)
Not a revival of anything in particular, but still a show that captures some of the depth of its comic book source material, this was the little cartoon that could—it was canceled after two seasons way back in 2013, picked up by the long-defunct DC Universe streamer for season 3, and then got a final season as an HBO Max original. There’s a reason it hung in there, even without the name recognition of some of DC’s other stuff: It’s an impressively animated series that draws from any number of comic sources while scrupulously developing its characters, blending action and soap-opera drama in the best tradition. Stream Young Justice on HBO Max.
Cobra Kai (2018 – 2025)
The vibes here are wildly different, but kids of the 1980s and '90s aren't likely to care: Prior to X-Men '97, this was the show that best pulled off the impressive trick of reinvigorating a long-buried franchise without totally rebooting it (well, this and Twin Peaks: The Return). Shifting the focus from Ralph Macchio's Daniel to William Zabka's peaked-in-high-school former villain was a stroke of genius, as was introducing a new generation of karate kids, all of them way, way too obsessed with dojo drama. Technically not a superhero show, it definitely feels like a martial-arts Avengers by the end. Stream Cobra Kai on Netflix.
The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008 – 2009)
There's a lot of Spider-content out there, so let's get situated: The original X-Men animated series had a cousin in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, a show done in a similar style and with a shared continuity. This isn't that, but rather an even better adaptation that remains a cult classic after a short, two-season run—so beloved that this particular version of the character (voiced by Josh Keaton) shows up in Across the Spider-Verse. In a sense, this is a back-to-basics Spidey, with Peter Parker attending high school and maturing as a teenager and student while facing the added complication of his great powers/great responsibility. Buy The Spectacular Spider-Man from Prime Video.
Creature Commandos (2024 – )
This animated show sees Amanda Waller (Viola Davis, reprising the role from the live-action DC movies) assembling a black-ops team to protect a foreign nation from the Amazonian sorceress Circe. Waller can't be trusted with actual humans, so her team is made up entirely of literal monsters: The Bride (Indira Varma), Doctor Phosphorus (Alan Tudyk), Eric Frankenstein (David Harbour), and aquatic mutant Nina Mazursky (Zoë Chao), alongside Nazi-obsessed G.I. Robot and the rodent-like Weasel (both Sean Gunn). So, ya know, a team of societal misfits headed by a leader with shifting motives. The cartoon is extremely violent with a dark sense of humor (more so than X-Men), but Gunn and company also bring an impressive amount of heart to the mix. Stream Creature Commandos on HBO Max.
Doom Patrol (2019 – 2023)
Within a couple of months of each other in 1963, "The World's Strangest Heroes" went up against "The Strangest Super-Heroes of All," one team battling the Brotherhood of Evil, the other facing off against the Brotherhood of Evil...Mutants. Both the X-Men and the Doom Patrol were led by a wheelchair-using genius, and both involved teams of outcasts who saw their abilities as curses as much as gifts. And both books fizzled out after a few years, only to return with renewed purpose later on. Coincidence? Probably! But the similarities remain striking, even if X-Men persisted by establishing itself as a soap opera on a galactic scale, while Doom Patrol doubled down on being weird. So here we get characters like the non-binary Danny the Street (a literal street), paranormal investigators the Sex Men, Imaginary Jesus, and orgasm-generating bodybuilder Flex Mentallo. But all the weirdness is grounded in excellent, frequently emotional character work from the entire cast, including Brendan Fraser, Matt Bomer, April Bowlby, Diane Guerrero, Joivan Wade, Michelle Gomez, and Timothy Dalton, all playing characters processing copious amounts of trauma and guilt while becoming something like superheroes despite themselves. Stream Doom Patrol on HBO Max.
Gargoyles (1994 – 1997)
OK, back to the cartoons, and one of the other triumphs of '90s TV animation, with an appropriately weird premise: The title gargoyles, once living beings, were trapped in stone for over a thousand years before being brought to New York City from Scotland, reawakening, and becoming protectors of the city by night. Like X-Men, the show went hard on its complex mythology, deep plotting, and character work, doing X-Men a bit better on the latter by virtue of having a slightly smaller main cast. It's a show that's frequently mooted for a continuation along the lines of X-Men '97, but recent rumors suggest a live-action reboot is more likely. Stream Gargoyles on Disney+.
My Hero Academia (2016 – 2026)
The premise of this acclaimed anime (based on a similarly popular manga) turns that of X-Men on its head: Here, people without special powers and abilities ("quirks") are in the minority, as is the case of Izuku Midoriya—he's even bullied over something akin to disability in the world of the show, getting the nickname Deku (meaning, more or less, "useless"). He aspires all the same to become a hero, and gets his shot when he impresses All Might, the greatest hero of all, who knows a way to pass along some of his power. So it's off to super-school for Izuku, a big-hearted underdog among his classmates. Coming-of-age revelations amid outsized battles with supervillains ensue. Stream My Hero Academia on Hulu, Netflix, and Crunchyroll.
Steven Universe (2013 – 2019)
Several of these shows skew a little older than X-Men '97, so we'll end with one that aims a bit younger while developing into something no less epic. Steven Universe begins as a series of seemingly standalone adventures before developing into an impressively rich and complex narrative over the course of five seasons and a movie. The title's Steven (Zach Callison) lives in Beach City with magical, mineral-based alien "Gems" named Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. Steven is half-Gem himself, and the series follows him as he grows into his powers and into himself, along the way discovering that his diverse group of companions are fugitives from an interstellar empire, and that perceived enemies might actually be allies in the making. Early producer Chuck Austen was a writer on the X-Men comics, and the show occasionally riffs on classic-era comics. Stream Steven Universe on Disney+ and Hulu.
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