Comic book cartoons have had an unusually strong run in the past couple of years, driven largely by one show: X-Men ’97, a direct continuation of a cartoon that first aired more than three decades ago and that an entire generation of viewers grew up on without ever expecting a true sequel. That revival is a good excuse to revisit the animated adaptations that shaped how a generation first encountered these characters, alongside the newer shows carrying that tradition forward. Here are six comic book cartoons worth knowing, old and new, and what makes each one worth the time.
Why Comic Book Cartoons Are Having a Moment Again
X-Men ’97 is the clearest evidence that comic book cartoons still have real pull with audiences well beyond nostalgia. The series, a direct sequel to the original 1990s X-Men cartoon, premiered on Disney+ on March 20, 2024, and reportedly drew around 4 million views in its first five days on the platform — a genuinely strong number for an animated revival built on a decades-old source show. A second season has since followed, continuing the story rather than rebooting it, which is part of why the show resonated with longtime fans as much as new viewers: it treated the original cartoon’s continuity and characters as worth building on, not replacing.<!– INFOGRAPHIC: Six Comic Book Cartoons at a Glance goes here –>
What Separates a Good Comic Book Cartoon From a Forgettable One
Before getting into the specific shows, it’s worth naming what actually distinguishes the adaptations that endure from the ones that fade quickly, since it’s a consistent pattern across every entry on this list. The strongest comic book cartoons tend to treat the source material’s characters and relationships with genuine respect — getting personalities, core relationships, and the tone of a character’s world right — while still using animation as its own medium rather than simply illustrating the comics panel by panel.
A show that changes a costume design or compresses a decade of comic continuity into a season isn’t automatically a weaker adaptation; a show that gets a character’s voice and motivations wrong, regardless of how faithful the visuals are, usually is. That distinction is part of why several of the shows below have held up for decades while plenty of other adaptations from the same eras have been largely forgotten.
The other recurring factor is willingness to commit to real stakes and continuity rather than resetting to a blank slate every episode, which was the default approach for a lot of animated television for much of the medium’s history. Shows that let consequences carry forward — a defeated villain staying defeated, a relationship actually developing, a team roster that changes over time — tend to reward long-term viewers in a way episodic, consequence-free storytelling doesn’t, which is a meaningful part of why rewatching (and, in X-Men ’97’s case, directly continuing) these specific shows still works decades later.
X-Men ’97 — The Direct Sequel Bringing the Original Back
X-Men ’97 picks up the story of Marvel’s mutant team shortly after where the original 1990s series left off, with an animation style and voice cast built to feel continuous with that earlier show rather than a clean reboot. It’s the most significant recent entry in the comic book cartoon space specifically because of that continuity decision — it rewards longtime fans directly while still functioning as a complete, well-constructed show for newcomers. It’s currently available on Disney+.
X-Men: The Animated Series (1992) — Where the Revival Started
The original 1992 X-Men cartoon is the show X-Men ’97 directly continues, and it’s worth watching both for its own merits and as direct context for the newer series. It ran for five seasons in the 1990s and is often credited with introducing a wide American television audience to the X-Men’s core cast and storylines in a form close to their comic-book source material, at a level of faithfulness that was relatively unusual for adapted cartoons at the time. It’s available to stream on Disney+ alongside X-Men ’97.
Young Justice
Young Justice follows a team of young DC superheroes operating somewhat independently of the adult Justice League, built around characters like Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Artemis as they take on missions of their own. The show ran across four seasons and is generally well-regarded for treating its young cast with real narrative weight rather than playing them purely for comic relief, alongside character designs and fight choreography that draw visibly from their comic-book source material. Streaming availability for the series has shifted between platforms over the years, so it’s worth checking current listings before settling in.
Justice League Unlimited
A follow-up to the earlier Justice League animated series, Justice League Unlimited expanded its roster dramatically — cycling through a cast reported to include more than 100 DC superheroes across its run rather than keeping the focus on a small core team. That scale let the show pull in lesser-known characters from DC’s comics alongside its marquee heroes, assembling different combinations for different missions in a way that mirrored how comic-book team books often work. It has appeared on multiple streaming services over time; checking current listings is the most reliable way to find where it’s available now.
The Tick
The Tick takes a different approach than the other shows on this list — it’s a comedic, self-aware riff on the superhero genre rather than a straight adaptation of an ongoing comics universe. It follows a nearly indestructible, relentlessly earnest hero called The Tick and his more grounded sidekick, Arthur, playing superhero tropes for laughs while still delivering genuine action. For anyone who finds the genre’s more self-serious entries a little much, it’s a useful palate cleanser that still clearly loves the source material it’s spoofing.
Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994)
The 1994 Spider-Man animated series covers Peter Parker’s early years balancing college, his job as a photographer, and his double life as Spider-Man, working through a run of the character’s classic villains and occasional guest appearances from other Marvel heroes. It ran for five seasons and is frequently cited, alongside the 1992 X-Men series, as one of the two defining Marvel animated adaptations of the 1990s — a period often treated as a high point for American superhero cartoons generally, before the medium shifted toward different stylistic approaches in the 2000s.
How to Choose What to Watch First
With six shows spanning three decades, a quick way to narrow it down by what you’re actually looking for:
- Want the current cultural conversation? Start with X-Men ’97 — it’s the most recently released and the one most actively being discussed right now.
- Want the full picture before jumping into the sequel? Watch the original 1992 X-Men series first; X-Men ’97 rewards familiarity with that show’s characters and ongoing plotlines.
- Want a younger-skewing but still substantial team dynamic? Young Justice balances lighter moments with real stakes and is a strong entry point for newer viewers to the genre.
- Want scale and variety? Justice League Unlimited’s huge rotating cast means there’s a real chance to discover a lesser-known DC character worth following further.
- Want comedy over drama? The Tick is the clear pick — it’s the only entry here built primarily as a genre parody rather than a straight adaptation.
- Want the other defining ’90s Marvel adaptation? Spider-Man: The Animated Series pairs naturally with the original X-Men series as a snapshot of that era’s approach to the genre.
- New to comic book cartoons generally and not sure where to start at all? Young Justice or X-Men ’97 are both reasonable entry points — modern enough in pacing and animation to feel immediately accessible, while still carrying the storytelling weight that defines the stronger entries in the genre.
Why These Particular Shows Still Hold Up
It’s worth being specific about why these six, out of the much larger pool of comic book cartoons produced over the past three decades, are the ones worth prioritizing. Each represents either a genuine high point for its specific approach — faithful team-based adaptation for X-Men and Young Justice, ensemble scale for Justice League Unlimited, genre comedy for The Tick, character-focused coming-of-age storytelling for Spider-Man — or, in X-Men ’97’s case, proof that a decades-old approach can still work when executed with real care rather than simply traded on nostalgia.
That range matters for anyone newer to the genre: these aren’t six versions of the same show, they’re six different answers to the same basic question of how to adapt serialized comic-book storytelling into episodic animation, and seeing how differently each one answers it is part of what makes watching more than one worthwhile.
It’s also worth noting that streaming availability for animated series shifts more often than for live-action catalog titles, since licensing arrangements for older animated libraries change periodically between platforms. Checking current listings before committing to a watch-through is generally more reliable than assuming a show’s availability from even a few months earlier still holds.
The Bottom Line
Comic book cartoons have proven durable enough to span more than thirty years and still draw a genuinely large audience, as X-Men ’97’s reception demonstrates — and that longevity says something real about how well these shows translate their source material rather than just riding nostalgia. Whether the appeal is the current X-Men revival, the foundational ’90s Marvel adaptations, DC’s larger ensemble shows, or a straight comedic take on the genre, there’s a meaningfully different entry point here depending on what you’re actually looking for.
A Note on Finding Where to Watch
Streaming rights for older animated series move between platforms more frequently than many viewers expect, and a show available on one service today isn’t guaranteed to stay there. Rather than relying on a single fixed list, it’s generally more reliable to check a current aggregator or the platform’s own search directly before starting a watch-through, especially for the older titles on this list that have changed homes more than once since their original broadcast runs. For the two most recent entries — X-Men ’97 and the original X-Men series it continues — Disney+ is currently the most consistent home, since Disney holds the Marvel animation library directly rather than licensing it out piecemeal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I watch X-Men ’97?
X-Men ’97 is currently available on Disney+, alongside the original 1992 X-Men: The Animated Series it directly continues.
Do I need to watch the original X-Men cartoon before X-Men ’97?
It’s not strictly required, but X-Men ’97 is built as a direct continuation of the original series’ story and characters, so watching the 1992 show first will make references and character relationships land more clearly.
How many seasons does Young Justice have?
Young Justice ran for four seasons, following a team of young DC superheroes operating with more independence than the adult Justice League.
Is The Tick a serious superhero show or a comedy?
It’s primarily a comedy — The Tick plays superhero genre conventions for laughs through its nearly indestructible, relentlessly earnest title character, while still delivering real action, making it a notably different entry on this list than the more straightforward adaptations.
What made the 1990s a notable period for comic book cartoons specifically?
The 1992 X-Men series and the 1994 Spider-Man series are both frequently cited as defining that era, largely for staying relatively close to their comic-book source material at a level of fidelity that was less common in earlier adapted cartoons.
How many superheroes appeared in Justice League Unlimited?
The show is reported to have featured more than 100 DC superheroes across its run, cycling through a much larger roster than the core team featured in the earlier Justice League series it followed.
