X-Men ’97 fans are obsessed with one inside joke

X-Men ’97’s joke about costumes has fans loving the reference, and it even calls back to another similar dig made in the 2000 live-action movie.

Being the throwback it is, it would be surprising if X-Men ’97 didn’t include any references to previous mutant media. The animated series (alongside Hugh Jackman’s yellow-and-blue-clad return in the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine movie), has brought new life to the franchise, and is now closer than ever to its original comic book form.

The most recent fan obsession comes from a very tongue-in-cheek reference, and once again, it all ties back to costumes. In one scene in between Cable and Cyclops in the Disney+ series, the former asks Cyclops: “Am I going to war or a circus?” when being handed the iconic X-Men costume. In response, Cyclops replies: “What did you expect? Black leather?”

The joke appears at the end of the latest X-Men ’97 trailer, which you can see for yourself below:

This is clearly a dig at the 2000s X-Men movies, wherein the heroes ditched their brightly colored garb and opted for slick black leather suits instead. Obviously this was a creative decision at the time, but it would go on to define a new era for the X-Men: one that was decidedly “edgy.”

Fans have been quick to jump on the animated reference, loving the dig towards the live-action movies.

“Get them again for me,” said one X user. Another added, “Okay, that’s actually a phenomenal bit,” while another wrote: “Perfect reference here.”

“Not really a dig, though I do like anything that rejects how much Singer seemed disgusted at the thought of including anything in his X-Men films that visually resembles the comics or cartoon because ‘this need to be EDGY’,” said another user.

This reference actually has multiple layers, as the subject of the X-Men’s costumes has been joked about previously. In fact, in the 2000 X-Men live-action film, a similar joke is made — this time, poking fun at the retro look.

In it, Wolverine asks Cyclops: “You actually go outside in these things?” to which the other replies: “What would you prefer, Yellow spandex?” Oh, how the tables have turned.

As one user wrote: “That movie poking fun at the bright color spandex suits and this making fun of the black leather is one of my favorite things.”

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