“X-Men ’97” sees the return of many iconic characters from the original series. However, with the passage of time, several roles had to be recast. Nonetheless, some original voice actors made a comeback, much to the delight of longtime fans. This brings us to a curious question: what do the actors, both old and new, look like beyond their animated counterparts?

Cyclops, a character often misunderstood and even disliked in Marvel lore, has been a subject of debate. In “X-Men: The Animated Series,” he was frequently criticized for being overly rigid and a stickler for rules. Yet, someone needed to manage the chaos brought on by unpredictable teammates like Wolverine, Gambit, and Iceman. “X-Men ’97” appears to have taken strides to reframe Cyclops, presenting him as more relaxed and decidedly more formidable.

Speaking of characters with rich histories, Rogue is one such X-Man who also has ties to the Avengers, even debuting in their comic series. Despite this, her on-screen portrayals are predominantly tied to the X-Men franchise, particularly for those who were captivated by her in “X-Men: The Animated Series.” Lenore Zann, who gave Rogue her memorable Southern charm in the original series, has returned to voice her once more in “X-Men ’97.”

Beyond her voice acting career, Zann has been active in other realms. She has appeared in various films and television shows, showcasing her versatility as an actress. Additionally, she has been involved in Canadian politics, serving in different capacities from 2009 to 2021, adding another layer to her multifaceted career.

There are several X-Men who’ve also been Avengers, and not only does that apply to Rogue, but she even made her first appearance in an Avengers comic. That being said, in terms of on-screen adaptations, the character is much more associated with the X-Men brand. That is especially true for the generation that fell in love with her via “X-Men: The Animated Series.” Voice actor Lenore Zann brought Rogue’s irresistible Southern charm to life with her performance of the character in “X-Men TAS,” and Zann was among those that were willing and able to return for “X-Men ’97.”

Though Zann remained a prolific voice actor in the hiatus between “X-Men TAS” and “X-Men ’97,” that hasn’t comprised the entirety of her career as a public figure. She’s also been a prolific live action actor, appearing in many films and TV shows. Beyond that, Zann held several positions in politics in her native Canada between 2009 and 2021. 

Ororo Munroe, aka Storm, was often integral in controlling the flow of battle in “X-Men: The Animated Series.” A well-timed thunderstorm or tornado was sometimes the only thing that helped her teammates win the day, if not just allow them to escape what would’ve otherwise been a decisive loss. When she wasn’t flying around and creating weather, Storm was typically a voice of authority among the group, particularly in terms of the younger mutants being educated and trained at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.

Season 1 of “X-Men TAS” saw an actor named Iona Morris voice Storm, but from Season 2 all the way through “X-Men ’97” the role has belonged to Alison Sealy-Smith. She also voiced villain The Adversary in the epic “X-Men ’97” two-part event “Lifedeath.” Sealy-Smith also voiced Gamora in several episodes of the 1998 “Silver Surfer” animated series. 

Outside of voice acting, Sealy-Smith has appeared in the movies “How She Move,” “Honey,” and “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen.”  

The introduction of the brand new character, Morph, in “X-Men: The Animated Series” ended up feeling like a cheat, as it allowed the show to kill off a member of the team without having to get rid of an existing character. That said, Morph ended up being more than just a character that was created just to immediately be slain, as Morph was later revealed to not have actually died — and now held a violent grudge against the X-Men. Like Harley Quinn, Morph would eventually make the jump from the screen to the page, later becoming a character in the comics. 

Ron Rubin voiced Morph in both of his stints in “X-Men TAS,” and while the actor did join the cast of “X-Men ’97,” it was to play president Robert Kelly instead. As for Morph in “X-Men ’97,” J.P. Karliak currently plays the character, also voicing both William Stryker and the Hulk (a transformed Morph, but still) in the series. Some fans have wondered whether Morph is in love with Wolverine due to the pair’s close friendship in “X-Men ’97,” but that remains unsubstantiated in any official capacity. 

The founder and leader of the X-Men, Charles “Professor X” Xavier has dedicated his life to making sure mutants not only learn to properly control their powers but also only use them for the good of both mutants and humans. His ability to put his voice into the heads of not only his team but almost anyone allowed “X-Men: The Animated Series” to turn him into the de facto narrator and exposition deliverer, with actor Cedric Smith giving him a voice of thoughtful authority across all five seasons of the show.

For “X-Men ’97,” Ross Marquand took over Professor X vocal duties as well as playing Dr. Doom and Apocalypse in the series. Marquand already knew his way around playing Marvel characters, as the actor had taken over voicing Red Skull in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films after the departure of Hugo Weaving. On-screen, he played Aaron across seven seasons of “The Walking Dead,” finding himself needing to defend the character’s most controversial act. 

The youngest member of the X-Men, and the newest to join the team during the events of “X-Men: The Animated Series,” is Jubilation Lee, aka Jubilee. She’s able to conjure explosive fireworks from her fingertips, something she is initially unable to control and is most prone to accidentally firing off when she gets upset. She’s something of an avatar for the show’s young demographic, introduced to the rest of the team and the innerworkings of the mutant world alongside the audience. 

White actor Alyson Court nailed the spunky ’90s teenager energy in her performance of Jubilee in the original show, though in an effort to move away from whitewashed casting, Holly Chou was given the role of the Chinese superhero for “X-Men ’97.” Prior to “X-Men ’97,” Chou’s most prominent gig was a recurring role on the Paramount+ live action series “Players.” She also voiced the Yellow Ranger in the 2024 video game “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Retro Rewind.”

One of the most interesting juxtapositions between appearance and personality in the X-Men universe is Dr. Hank McCoy, also known as the Beast. Not unlike Bruce Banner, he’s a soft-spoken genius who also happens to be a large, brightly-colored and heavily muscular creature. The difference is that Hank doesn’t lose himself and become angry in that form. In fact, in the first few episodes of “X-Men: The Animated Series,” Beast is in jail peacefully awaiting trial, refusing to use his strength to break out and instead wanting to go through the legal system to get justice.

Actor George Buza has played Beast from the beginning of “X-Men: TAS” through “X-Men ’97,” as well as in 1995’s “Spider-Man: The Animated Series” and several video games. Speaking of video games, Buza has also voiced fellow X-Men characters Magneto, Colossus, Juggernaut, and Omega Red in various Capcom fighting titles. The 2000 live-action “X-Men” movie paid tribute to Buza’s contributions to the franchise by giving him a cameo as the truck driver that gives Rogue (Anna Paquin) a ride. 

Jean Grey is constantly being pulled in many different directions, but most crucially is the struggle to handle the Phoenix entity that lies within her, to keep it from manifesting as the very powerful — and very dangerous — Dark Phoenix. That struggle was told shockingly well during “X-Men: The Animated Series” with its ambitious three-part “Dark Phoenix Saga” event, still arguably the best way that the iconic comic story has ever been adapted to the screen. And much of that is due to the tour de force performance of Catherine Disher, who played Jean Grey.

In terms of actor replacements, however, nobody was complaining that voice acting legend Jennifer Hale was going to play Jean Grey in “X-Men ’97” — especially since she had already voiced Phoenix in multiple video games before that. To list the characters that Hale has played is to read off some of the most iconic characters of all time in animation and video games. The latter is where she’s done some of her most well-known work, including Commander Shepard, the female-option protagonist of “Mass Effect.” At one time, Hale even held a Guinness World Record for most prolific female voice actor. 

The teleporting mutant Nightcrawler didn’t have a major presence in “X-Men: The Animated Series,” only appearing in only three episodes across the entire five-season run. Even so, when Nightcrawler returned for “X-Men ’97,” original voice actor Adrian Hough was still brought back to play the character. Hough also voices Strong Guy in “X-Men ’97,” a character that didn’t appear in “X-Men: TAS.”

Though he’s done other voice work — including a BAFTA-nominated performance in the video game “Assassin’s Creed III” — on-screen characters comprise the vast majority of Hough’s screen credits. He played Jack Fife in the Apple TV+ mystery series “Home Before Dark,” as well as Theo’s father Joe in “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” on Netflix. He has also appeared in the movies “Jennifer’s Body,” “Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem,” “Underworld Evolution,” and — as seems to be a tradition for “X-Men: TAS” actors — in a cameo in “X-Men: The Last Stand,” where he briefly appears as Jean Grey’s father.

Lucas Bishop, known primarily as just Bishop in “X-Men: The Animated Series,” has traveled from the year 2055 on a mission to prevent the assassination of Professor X, an event which was believed to lead to the dystopian future he hailed from. Though initially viewing the X-Men as enemies, it was ultimately a misunderstanding, paving the way for Bishop to mostly stay in the present and officially join the team. The character would come and go at various points, staying gone for long stretches, but he was always played by Philip Akin in “X-Men: TAS.”

In “X-Men ’97,” Bishop is still around, this time voiced instead by Isaac Robinson-Smith. After sporadic acting work throughout the 2010s, Robinson-Smith’s career took off in the 2020s once he started to focus more on voice roles. In addition to “X-Men ’97” — where he also plays King T’Chaka — Robinson-Smith has done voice work for the shows “Eyes of Wakanda,” “Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “The Loud House,” “Phineas & Ferb,” and “Hamster & Gretel.” He has also voiced characters for the video games “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth,” “Avowed,” “Starfield,” and “The Outer Worlds 2.”

These days, people immediately think of Channing Tatum’s delightfully over the top portrayal of Gambit in “Deadpool & Wolverine” when considering screen adaptations of the X-Men’s Cajun charmer. But the first person to bring Gambit to life was Chris Potter, who voiced him for most of “X-Men: The Animated Series.” We say “most” because Tony Daniels took over the role for the character’s last three episodes of the show, as well several X-Men fighting games. 

The Gambit actor shuffling doesn’t end there. In “X-Men ’97,” the character is voiced by A.J. LoCascio. The talented LoCascio first gained notice when he pulled off a portrayal of Marty McFly in 2010’s “Back to the Future: The Game” that was nearly indistinguishable from Michael J. Fox’s original performance. He would subsequently do a similarly impressive approximation of Chris Pratt’s “Jurassic World” and “LEGO Movie” characters for video game adaptations of those film franchises. LoCascio doesn’t only take over existing characters, however, as he was the first to portray the “God of War” video game series’s version of Norse mythology figure Skjöldr. 

The dynamic between Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr — that is to say, Professor X and Magneto — is a fascinating one. They’re former best friends who are now somewhat reluctant enemies. It is certainly a more complex relationship that is typically seen in a cartoon aimed at kids, which “X-Men: The Animated Series” mostly was. Actor David Hemblen brought the perfect balance of menace and camp to his portrayal of Magneto in the series.

Unfortunately, like original Cyclops Norm Spencer, Hemblen died in 2020. So actor Matthew Waterson took the role in “X-Men ’97,” also voicing a security guard and a journalist. He’s had a very interesting career, making his screen debut at age 7 in a 1986 episode on the sitcom “Benson” but not doing any other acting until the 2000s. The bulk of his work since has been voice acting in video games, including “Red Dead Redemption II,” “The Last of Us: Part II,” “Fallout 4,” “Final Fantasy VX,” and “World of Warcraft.” That said, he did play the character Phil across all eight seasons of the TV series “The Croods: Family Tree.” 

It’s difficult to overstate just how iconic Cal Dodd’s performance of Wolverine was in “X-Men: The Animated Series.” Dodd continued playing the character in video games through the end of the decade but effectively retired from the role after that. Even then, most depictions of the character in animation and video games since have clearly imitated Dodd’s voice and portrayal of the character. While Hugh Jackman is the definitive on-screen Wolverine, Dodd is to Wolverine as Kevin Conroy is to Batman in terms of the character’s animated presence. 

Sure enough, “X-Men ’97” managed to pull Dodd back into the role, even though his acting output had been fairly sporadic since the mid-2000s. Jesse Schedeen of IGN spoke for all “X-Men: TAS” fans when he wrote, “Frankly, there would have been no point in bringing anyone back if Dodd weren’t available to voice Wolverine.” Dodd is clearly enjoying being Wolverine again, as he’s already voiced the character for another project — the 2025 video game “Marvel Cosmic Invasion.”