Review
Well Super Friends, just when you thought X-Men ’97 couldn’t get any more melodramatic, along comes “Fire Made Flesh”. An incredible episode which pushes the already versatile series closer than it ever has to creating a full on horror episode. But what lingers most when the credits roll is just how impactful writer Beau DeMayo is able to make the character arcs in what is ostensibly thought of as a “kids cartoon”.
Of course we know much better than that True Believers. Over the course of three episodes the Marvel Animation team has not only taken us right back to sitting on our sofas on a Saturday morning as kids. They’ve shown us that comic book animation can grow up with us and still provide the kind of emotional content which resonates in adulthood.
“Fire Made Flesh” opens with yet another updated version of the opening credit sequence with new clips added. Are we going to see the opening updated every week to fall in line with the theme of the episode? This time around there’s a focus on both Jean Grey and Mr. Sinister which tells you all you need to know about what is coming. From here the episode picks up right where episode two left off last week. A second Jean Grey has arrived at the mansion and it’s Cyclops who is immediately swept up in a wave of confusion.
Eagle-eyed fans will know the direction of travel for this storyline has been spoiled by several toy-related announcements. The great news is that the journey to the reveal is intoxicating whether you know it’s coming or not. DeMay imbues the episode with a sense of real tension which leads in to yet another of X-Men ’97s big twists. Whilst it isn’t hard to guess what has been going on, the eventual revelation and the fallout from it have far-reaching consequences for Jean, Scott and their newborn son Nathan.
The voice work in X-Men ’97 is truly exquisite. DeMayo has somehow found a balance in the dialogue between the 90’s sensibility of extreme exposition and melodrama and something more contemporary which gives the audience a little more room for interpretation. The cast is handling the delivery of those lines with a similar delicacy. This episode belongs to Ray Chase and Jennifer Hale. It’s difficult to believe these two have only inhabited these roles for just three episodes at this stage. Both deliver performances which capture the spirit of Norm Spencer and Catherine Disher’s versions of the characters. Hale in particular gets to show the different shades of her Jean, bordering on Phoenix-like.
Once again the animation of X-Men ’97 is top notch. Visually “Fire Made Flesh” is the most dynamic episode so far. We’ve seen a straight up action-adventure in episode one, the more political twist in episode two. This episode mostly takes place within the mansion before moving on to Mr. Sinister’s incredibly gothic base of operations. But even with only two major locations the animation team is able to unearth some beautiful and mesmeric colouring. The fight scene between Magneto and one of the Jean’s in the church is potentially going to be my favourite sequence in the entire season. It’s fast-paced, bloody and fabulously rendered on screen.
As it wraps up “Fire Made Flesh” become a heartbreaking story for so many of our characters. It’s edge-of-your-seat stuff in a whole different way to the fight scenes. Marvel isn’t straying away from breaking these characters before building them back up again. Doubling-down on its mission statement to bring blockbuster storytelling to animation, the final shot of Jean and Scott at the mansion is breathtaking and not something anyone would expect from a cartoon series originally envisioned for kids in the 90s.
Verdict
“Fire Made Flesh” is the best episode of X-Men ’97 yet. Dynamic, fast-paced and heart-wrenching. In just three episodes the series has proven itself a worthy successor to one of the 90’s greatest cartoon series.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
