We’re diving into the fascinating journey of the Newton Brothers as they brought a modern twist to the music of the recently rebooted X-Men ‘97, a continuation of the 1992 series, X-Men: The Animated Series.
John Andrew Grush and Taylor Newton Stewart, professionally known as the Newton Brothers, were announced as the composers for X-Men ‘97 in July of 2022. As they revisited the original series, they realized the music didn’t match their childhood memories and found that many of the original synthesizer sounds felt dated to modern audiences.
To give the score a fresh feel, they chose to modernize it with an orchestra, choir and contemporary synthesizers. However, they felt the theme song should stay true to its original style to preserve the nostalgic vibes and embrace the sincerity of the original series.
With a slightly modern touch and more refined synth, the revamped “X-Men ‘97 Theme” was created after Marvel finally managed to secure the rights to the song, which was originally composed by Ron Wasserman. Following legal battles over its use, Marvel Studios obtained the rights in 2022, with the condition that it be re-recorded for future projects and credited to the original series’ music executives, Haim Saban and Shuki Levy.
In discussing the score’s tone with head writer Beau DeMayo, the Newton Brothers decided to start closer to the original series and progressively modernize the music with each episode. They began by working on ideas separately and then came together to write musical suites for each main character, defining specific sounds and instruments as their “calling cards.”
For instance, Storm’s music features woodwind instruments, choir and chanting to reflect the wind aspect of her powers, while Magneto’s theme uses a waterphone and metallic sounds. To keep the music from becoming too modern, the composers drew inspiration from 1990s musicians such as Michael Jackson, The Prodigy, Radiohead and Depeche Mode.
A full official soundtrack album for the first season was released on May 24, 2024, with all music composed by the Newton Brothers. The album features forty tracks, each bringing back emotional and significant moments from the series. Some standout tracks include:
“Magnus the Savior,” heard in the episode “Mutant Liberation Begins” (spoilers ahead), where Magneto is trying to earn the X-Men’s trust. In his testament, Professor Charles Xavier entrusted his dream and his X-Men to Magneto. During his trial at the UN, Magneto and the X-Men are attacked. The song plays when Magneto sees Storm being attacked and uses his powers to lift both her attacker and the judges near the atmosphere.
He faces a dilemma between retaliating and maintaining Xavier’s dream of peaceful coexistence. The song’s darker, grittier tones perfectly reflect Magneto’s emotional conflict. The track begins strong and then mellows out, with winds taking the forefront and ending with a soft piano melody.
“Remember Who You Are,” featured in the episode “Fire Made Flesh,” (spoilers ahead) reveals that the Jean Grey we saw in the previous episode is actually a clone, Madelyne Pryor (the Goblin Queen), created by Mister Sinister to obtain a child (Nathan) from the DNA of Jean Grey and Scott Summers (Cyclops). As the X-Men battle the Goblin Queen, the real Jean Grey telepathically confronts her, trying to help her remember who she is and escape Mister Sinister’s influence.
This track perfectly showcases the mystique of telepathic connection, with darker and harsher melodies representing Sinister’s influence. As the song progresses, it becomes softer and more melodic as Jean Grey helps the Goblin Queen realize they share the same memories. The influence and darker melodies intensify near the end but dissipate as Jean Grey reminds the Goblin Queen of her most important memory, the birth of her son Nathan.
Overall, the X-Men ’97 soundtrack enhances the series’ already deeply influential and critically acclaimed first season. With a second and third season already greenlit, we can look forward to more amazing compositions from the Newton Brothers in the future. If you haven’t seen X-Men ’97 yet, be sure to check it out and listen to the soundtrack album afterward!
I am a writer and photographer based in Houston, Texas. I am currently attending the University of Houston as a Marketing major, and a PR and MIS minor. I am passionate about my work through the various creative avenues I use such as writing, designing, and photography. In my free time I enjoy delving into rabbit holes and discovering new things!
