X-Men '97 Season 2 Hits 100% on Rotten Tomatoes — Apocalypse Finally Gets the Marvel Storyline He Deserves

Marvel Animation just dropped the second season of X-Men '97 on Disney+ on July 1, 2026 — and if the early reviews are any indication, this might be the best superhero animation on streaming right now. The revival that shocked everyone in 2024 is back, and this time, it's bringing one of Marvel's most legendary villains to the small screen: Apocalypse.

Apocalypse Rises — And It Actually Works This Time

Let's address the elephant in the room. The 2016 live-action X-Men: Apocalypse was... not great. Oscar Isaac buried under purple prosthetics, a bloated plot, and an underwhelming God-level threat that felt more like a Tuesday inconvenience. But X-Men '97 Season 2 nails what that film couldn't. En Sabah Nur is terrifying, ancient, and unapologetically evil — and the show doesn't try to make him sympathetic just for the sake of "complexity." He's a villain who believes mutants should dominate, and the writing lets that philosophy clash with the X-Men's idealism in genuinely compelling ways.

Ross Marquand voices two versions of Apocalypse — one in ancient Egypt circa 3000 BC, and another in a dystopian future timeline — and both iterations carry real weight. The three-episode premiere splits the X-Men across three time periods, with Bishop and Forge left in 1997 to coordinate a rescue mission while Cyclops, Jean Grey, and their son Nathan are stranded facing the future Apocalypse, and Storm, Wolverine, and Morph confront the ancient one.

The Same Heart, Higher Stakes

Season 2 picks up immediately from that jaw-dropping Season 1 finale cliffhanger. The displaced mutants are scattered across time, mutant bigotry is escalating in the wake of the Sentinel attacks, and there's an emotional gut punch in the early episodes that rivals Gambit's devastating death from last season. The voice cast remains stellar — Ray Chase as Cyclops, Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey, and Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm all deliver performances that could easily anchor a prestige drama.

Critics are already raving. X-Men '97 Season 2 debuted at a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes across its first 13 critic reviews, with several reviewers saying it improves on Season 1. ComicBook.com gave it 4 out of 5, praising the "great story and action sequences" and the commitment to lore. TVLine called the Apocalypse storyline "on par with Season 1," and The Pop Break declared it "a triple threat of excellent episodes."

What Makes It Different From Everything Else on Streaming

Here's what sets X-Men '97 apart in a crowded July 2026 streaming landscape that includes Enola Holmes 3 on Netflix, Elle (the Legally Blonde prequel) on Prime Video, Silo Season 3 on Apple TV+, and Descendants: Wicked Wonderland on Disney+: it's not afraid to be a cartoon that thinks like prestige television. Jubilee confronting what she's willing to sacrifice for the greater good. Cyclops and Jean wrestling with destiny versus love for their son. Xavier and Magneto's complicated bromance getting even deeper. This isn't Saturday morning filler — it's serialized storytelling with real consequences.

The animation style hasn't changed — still that retro cel-shaded look that matches the 1992 original's aesthetic while adding modern polish. Beau DeMayo is still credited as executive producer and writer on several episodes, and his influence is clearly present even though he's no longer the active showrunner. The transition feels seamless.

New Episodes Weekly — Here's the Schedule

X-Men '97 Season 2 premiered with three episodes on July 1 and releases new episodes weekly on Disney+ every Wednesday. The season runs for nine episodes total, with Seasons 3 and 4 already confirmed in development. If you've been waiting for a reason to fire up that Disney+ subscription again, this is it.

In a summer where every platform is fighting for your attention with big names — Ryan Gosling in Project Hail Mary, Rebecca Ferguson returning in Silo, Millie Bobby Brown cracking cases in Enola Holmes 3 — the mutants from the '90s are quietly proving that animated superhero television can stand toe-to-toe with any live-action blockbuster. Apocalypse has risen, and X-Men '97 is better than ever.