In the opening of X-Men ’97, “Lifedeath – Part 2,” Nightcrawler becomes a member of the X-Men. Nightcrawler had already made a reappearance in the previous week’s episode, “Remember It.” The Marvel Animation logo—which sounds nearly like a heartbeat—is accompanied by a gloomy noise at the start of the YouTube video. The actual entrance then starts, with appearances by Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Morph, Rogue, Beast, and Jubilee. Nightcrawler appears at the end of the character introductions, initially as a reflection on the blade of one of the swords he is holding, then teleporting onto his logo and jumping up to stab at the screen with those same swords. When the X-Men race by the Xavier home later, he makes a reappearance.
News articles on X-Men ’97’s opening sequence have been around for a while; before, it was reported that the sequence corrected an error from the opening of X-Men: The Animated Series. The X-Men ’97 corrected this error by bringing in Lady Deathstrike and Emma Frost in place of Thunderbird and a pink-headed figure who had been on the enemies’ side. Regarding the theme tune itself, series consultant Eric Lewald said in 2022 that “the theme song for X-Men: The Animated Series wasn’t necessarily decided upon when they were producing the new show.” The rights were dispersed throughout. It was a negotiation for them, I believe, as they were the secondary party with the music rights. It goes without saying that you need that tune to perform the new show. However, I’m convinced the price was high since the person selling it knew the same thing.”
In relation to Nightcrawler’s comeback, former showrunner Beau DeMayo discussed how the plot of X-Men: The Animated Series will be carried over into X-Men ’97. “Every design choice is actually a clue to the storylines we’re doing,” said DeMayo. “There is no arbitrariness. Throwing the X-Men back to a period when they are deliberating about what aspects of this they want to retain was the second motivation. Was life back then really easier, or were we simply more innocent?” DeMayo went on to say that he considered “what the world of the ’90s was like, even issues of social acceptance and what does it mean to be different” when he first arrived at X-Men ’97. “The X-Men spent years telling humanity to embrace the future and walk into the future together,” he said in his conclusion. What occurs when they are confronted with an unexpected future? When you believe that the future is moving away from you, how does it feel to be on the other side?”
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