Cover: Todd Nauck

X-Men '97 #1

May 2024 · Marvel · 4.99 USD

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About this Issue

X-Men '97 #1 holds a singular place in the long history of the Earth-92131 animated universe: it is the first comic book set canonically within that continuity to bridge the gap between the conclusion of X-Men: The Animated Series (1992–1997) and the Disney+ revival, making it the only print story that is officially part of the animated show's narrative fabric rather than a parallel retelling. The issue also delivers the first appearances, within the Earth-92131 multiverse designation, of the Marauders as an assembled team — Arclight, Harpoon, Riptide, and Prism — characters that the original cartoon famously replaced with the Nasty Boys, presumably because of content restrictions around their comic-book massacre of the Morlocks. Beyond that continuity milestone, the issue planted a story seed — Jean Grey's pregnancy revealed to Cyclops — that fed directly into the animated season's central emotional stakes, giving the comic genuine narrative consequence rather than mere promotional window dressing.

X-Men '97 #1 (2024) kicks off with a tense training session in the Danger Room, where Cyclops and Wolverine clash over tactics—setting the tone for a team navigating both internal friction and rising threats. When Dazzler is kidnapped by the Friends of Humanity just before a major benefit concert, the X-Men spring into action, leading to a chaotic rescue and a surprising shift in leadership as Val Cooper steps in as U.N. Liaison. With Beast working to repair Bishop’s time-travel device and the team reeling from Jean’s private revelation, the first issue balances personal stakes with high-stakes action, all drawn with precision by Salva Espín and colored vividly by Matt Milla. The cover by Todd Nauck captures the moment’s intensity, framing the team in motion against a dynamic backdrop.

writer Steve Fox · artist, inker Salva Espín · colorist Matt Milla · letterer VC's Joe Sabino · cover Todd Nauck

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (NM) $2

CGC 9.8 · 1355 in census $37

CGC 9.6 · 154 in census $20*

CGC 9.4 · 50 in census $20*

CGC 9.2 · 20 in census $20*

CGC 9.0 · 13 in census $20*

CGC 8.5 · 5 in census $20*

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CGC 8.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 7.5 · 3 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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History

Marvel announced the four-issue limited series in December 2023, entrusting it to writer Steve Foxe and artist Salva Espín, a team with prior animated-universe experience from X-Men '92: House of XCII. The project was developed in close collaboration with the X-Men '97 animated showrunners, with series creator Beau DeMayo giving Foxe and Espín what Foxe described as a 'fantastic runway' to craft an original story feeding into the new season. Issue #1 went on sale March 27, 2024 — one week after the animated series premiered on Disney+ on March 20 — under editor Jordan D. White and editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski, with a primary cover by Todd Nauck and multiple retailer variant covers including one by Russell Dauterman. The collected edition was later retroactively subtitled Great X-Pectations to distinguish it once a sequel comic series, X-Men '97: Season Two, was announced.

Trivia · 8 facts

Written by Steve Foxe with art by Salva Espín; cover by Todd Nauck; edited by Jordan D. White — part one of a four-issue limited series, on sale March 27, 2024.
Canonical Earth-92131 comic: the series is set within the same Marvel multiverse designation as X-Men: The Animated Series (1992–1997), functioning as an in-continuity bridge between the original show's finale and the 2024 Disney+ revival.
First appearance (Earth-92131) of the Marauders as a team — including Arclight (Philippa Sontag), Harpoon (Kodiak Noatak), Riptide, and Prism — villains who never appeared in the original animated series, where the Nasty Boys served as Sinister's chief enforcers instead.
First chronological appearance of Dr. Valerie Cooper in the Earth-92131 continuity; the issue depicts her initial meeting with the X-Men in her role as U.N. Liaison on Mutant Affairs.
Issue #1's pivotal character beat: Jean Grey (later revealed in the animated series' episode 'Fire Made Flesh' to actually be Madelyne Pryor) tells Cyclops she is pregnant — a revelation overheard by Wolverine that sets the emotional engine of the entire season in motion.
The Nasty Boys — Ruckus, Hairbag, Slab, Gorgeous George, and Vertigo — appear and attack Dazzler's benefit concert, only to be dismissed by Sinister at the issue's close as he pivots to recruiting the Marauders instead.
Issue #1 provides the in-story explanation for Storm's mohawk hairstyle change: she adopts it partly to honor the changing times as a new millennium approaches and to suit the concert Dazzler holds in Xavier's memory.
The collected edition of the full series was retroactively subtitled Great X-Pectations once the sequel comic X-Men '97: Season Two (June 2026) was announced, distinguishing it in the catalog.