'X-Men '97' Creator Speaks Publicly For First time Since 'Parting Ways' With Marvel

By Andrew Sanford | TV | April 11, 2024 |

By Andrew Sanford | TV | April 11, 2024 |

X-Men ‘97 has been a huge hit. The continuation of the hit 90s animated series has been popular with fans and critics. Some idiots have tried to claim the show is too woke because Gambit is wearing a crop top. Luckily, they are in the minority. The show is bringing in record numbers and delivering thoughtful, action-packed melodrama that isn’t afraid to rip inspiration right from the headlines.

The show has not been without its bumps in the road. Weeks before the show premiered, creator Beau DeMayo was removed from his position as producer. It was said that he would no longer promote the show nor take part in creating future seasons (which seem all but assured at this point). It was shocking. Details about why he lost his position have not been revealed, but reps from Marvel would say that DeMayo and the company “parted ways.” Now, weeks later, DeMayo has taken to social media to address the newest episode of the show.

SPOILERS FOR THE EPISODE 5 OF X-MEN 97 AHEAD
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The latest episode of the hit show was a tragic one. It brings us to the peaceful island of Genosha, home to many mutants seeking refuge. It is a safe space for these hunted people. A land they can call home and feel free from persecution. Here, it is taken away from them in a brutal terrorist attack, taking the lives of thousands, including several main cast members. It is devastating.

DeMayo took to social media to address the episode, something he said was part of his initial pitch to Disney for the show. “Lotta questions and so I’ll momentarily break silence to answer,” he wrote. “Episode 5 was the centerpiece of my pitch to Marvel in November 2020. The idea being to have the X-Men mirror the journey that any of us who grew up on the original show have experienced since being kids in the 90s. The world was a seemingly safer place for us, where a character like Storm would comment on how skin-based racism was ‘quaint’ in One Man’s Worth [the season 4 opener for the original X-Men animated series] . For the most part, to our young minds, the world was a simple place of right and wrong, where questions about identity and social justice had relatively clear cut answers.”

In his lengthy statement, DeMayo does not get into the details of his firing from the show. He does address the dangers of embracing nostalgia, how 9/11 impacted his life, and how events like the Tulsa Massacre and the Pulse Night Club shooting influenced the new show. “Yes, it looked like Gambit’s story was going a specific direction,” Demayo said. “The crop top was chosen to make you love him. Him pulling off his shirt was intentional. There’s a reason he told Rogue any fool would suffer her hand in a dance, even if it ended up not being him suffering. But if events like 9/11, Tulsa, Charlottesville, or Pulse Nightclub teach us anything, it’s that too many stories are often cut far too short. I partied at Pulse. It was my club. I have so many great memories of its awesome white lounge. It was, like Genosha, a safe space for me and everyone like me to dance and laugh and be free. I thought about this a lot when crafting this season and this episode, and how the gay community in Orlando rose to heal from that event.”

You can read the whole post below.

#XMen97 Spoilers ahead: pic.twitter.com/9mZ4uPTfpk

— Beau DeMayo (@BeauDemayo) April 10, 2024