Every Original X-Men Animated Series Voice Actor That Returned For X-Men '97

"X-Men '97" brings back the marvelous mutants as if they never left TV screens after the original series finale, "Graduation Day." The trailer promised a tone and style befitting the original (down to reusing that rocking, impossible-not-to-hum theme song), plus plenty of Marvel comic book Easter eggs.

Now, the X-Men are larger than life — and ultimately, any one actor. In the 27-year hiatus between the 1992 series and this revival, the X-Men finally made it to live-action (we ranked their cinematic adventures here) and starred in other animated series. Since "X-Men '97" is a revival of a specific version of the X-Men, though, the show has brought back cast members and creatives from the original show. If they hadn't, then why revive this series instead of just making a new "X-Men" cartoon?

In its opening titles, "X-Men" would introduce each member of the team one-by-one with hero shots demonstrating their powers and/or quirks alongside huge text displaying their names. Of those heroes, these are the ones who have the same voice actors that they did about thirty years prior. 

Were you expecting anyone else, bub? Logan/Wolverine may not be the leader of the X-Men (he's too much of a lone wolf), but he's definitely the face of the team for most fans — seriously, for preteen boys, no superpower will ever be cooler than Adamantium claws. The 1992 animated "X-Men" series was no exception there, featuring Wolverine in a starring role.

In that show, and now in "X-Men '97," Wolverine was voiced by the Irish-Canadian actor Cal Dodd. A singer by trade, Dodd first auditioned without any familiarity with "X-Men." Once he saw a drawing of Wolverine, he instantly picked up on the character's abrasive edge and won the part. Dodd (pulling from Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood, Ward Bond, and the DJ Wolfman Jack) voiced Logan with a raspy, hoarse, tough guy edge, always savoring the lines when Wolverine got to cut loose and threaten some bad guys.

Other actors have played Wolverine since, most famously Hugh Jackman in live-action and then Scott McNeil and Steve Blum in other cartoons, but Dodd left his mark on the character and will now do so again. In 2017, Dodd told The Hollywood Reporter that saying goodbye to Logan when the original series wrapped up was "like losing [his] right arm." It's no surprise then that he put the claws back on for this revival. Based on his lines in the trailer, Dodd's voice for Logan has evolved since we last heard him (he sounds deeper yet clearer, lacking the edgy rasp of before), but don't doubt that it's still Cal Dodd's voice saying Wolverine's lines.

The muscle of the X-Men, Rogue is a gregarious southern belle with a dark past and a mutant gift that's more like a curse: if she touches someone, she absorbs their vitality and memories. But hey, these powers got her super strength and flight (stolen from fellow Marvel Comics hero Ms. Marvel). 

"X-Men" was recorded in Toronto, Canada with local actors. Rogue was voiced by Lenore Zann, who modulated her own voice to give Rogue the Mississippi accent she was meant to have. Her performance was one of the more layered on the show, capturing both Rogue's fun-loving side and tortured soul. 

After "X-Men," Zann at first kept voice-acting. She had a second pair-up with Marvel Animation, voicing the feline heroine Tigra in the 1999 cartoon "Avengers: United They Stand" (that one was less successful than "X-Men"). She voiced another catgirl in the anime "Outlaw Star," dubbing alien warrior Aisha Clan-Clan when the show aired in America. 

Zann has had the most illustrious post "X-Men" career of her castmates — and it has nothing to do with cartoons. No, Zann went into politics. Running as a member of the Canadian New Democratic Party, she served as a member of the Nova Scotia Assembly from 2009 to 2019 (for us Americans, the equivalent is a State Legislature). In 2019, she switched to the Liberal Party and served in the national Canadian Parliament for the district Cumberland—Colchester until 2021. 

"X-Men '97" arrived at just the right time for her to pivot back to acting and reunite with Rogue.

Ah, Storm, the one Marvel hero who can give Thor a run for his money as the God of Thunder. With the mutant ability to control the weather, Storm (real name Ororo Munroe) is the most powerful member of the X-Men (at least when Jean Grey isn't burning at full Phoenix). She has the bombastic personality to go with her power; when she takes the reins of the weather, she does so with dramatic speeches, as if she must speak aloud to wield her powers. That performance all rests with voice actor Alison Sealy-Smith, who is back in "X-Men '97."

As documented in the behind-the-scenes book "Previously on X-Men" by series writer Eric Lewald, Storm was actually recast during the original series — twice. Initially, the role was cast with a white actress (whose identity is undisclosed). Then, the producers realized that having the only Black main character be played by a white actor would be in bad taste. So, Storm was recast with Iona Morris, an African-American actress.

Then, to avoid paying out rerun residuals to Morris, producer Haim Saban recast Storm in season 2 with Sealy-Smith, who is Canadian like her co-stars (and thus ineligible for the juicy residual payments that actors get in the States). Despite the dirty penny-pinching that got her the role, Sealy-Smith more than earned it. Years away from the part haven't dampened her ability either — just take a look at her voicing Storm on "X-Men '97," going all out as "Mistress of the Elements" even though she has only her voice, not lightning, to command. 

Like his fellow blue-skinned X-Man Nightcrawler (a man of God with the face of a demon), Beast/Henry McCoy is a character of contradictions. He's muscular and acrobatic, with dexterous feet, plus the fur and fangs of, well, a beast. However, his real weapon is his mind. He's the X-Men's resident scientist (when he does wear a shirt, it's usually a white labcoat) and a learned reader, even if his appearance doesn't imply "loquacious intellectual." There's a reason that when Beast debuted in live-action he was played by Frasier Crane himself, Kelsey Grammer, an actor who excels at playing smug and educated men. 

In the animated "X-Men," though, Beast was played by George Buza, who gave him an upper-crust Transatlantic accent. Buza's soft-spoken voice coming out of Beast's ape-man-like design perfectly captured the dissonance of the character. Now, Buza is back in "X-Men '97." If the show's creators are going to take full advantage of his performance, they better give Beast some Shakespeare or Tennyson quotes to rattle off — preferably while he's in the middle of tearing up some Sentinels.

Two of the recastings in "X-Men '97" were by necessity. Tragically, both Norm Spencer (Cyclops) and David Hemblen (Magneto) passed away in 2020. Ray Chase (as Scott) and Matthew Waterson (as Magnus) are doing their best impressions in tribute to their late predecessors' performances in these roles.

In "'97," Jennifer Hale replaces Catherine Disher as Jean Grey. However, Hale has played Jean before in other productions (such as the 2008 cartoon "Wolverine and the X-Men," which was set in a separate continuity), while in "X-Men '97," Disher is playing Dr. Valerie Cooper. 

Disher is one of many "X-Men" alums who are playing different roles in this revival. (Speaking to the Radio Times, "X-Men '97" director/producer Jake Castorena said they wanted to invite back the "legacy cast" even if their voices no longer fit their old characters). Alyson Court (the original Jubilee) ceded her part to Holly Chou, feeling an Asian actress should play the Asian-American heroine. Court will instead voice Abscissa, an alternate version of Jubilee enslaved by the alien Mojo.

Chris Potter (Gambit in the 1992 series) has swapped roles. He is playing Cable in "X-Men '97," while A. J. LoCascio is playing Gambit. The original Cable, Lawrence Bayne, is back as the villainous X-Cutioner. Ron Rubin (who voiced the shapeshifting Morph) now plays President Robert Kelly (Len Carlson, Kelly's original voice actor, passed in 2006), while J.P. Karliak is the new voice of Morph in "X-Men '97." Ross Marquand (Marvel's go-to understudy, having filled in for Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull and James Spader as Ultron) plays Professor X, with no word on Xavier's original actor Cedric Smith being involved.

Outside of the main cast, Christopher Britton reprises his original "X-Men" role as the evil geneticist Mister Sinister. I can't wait to hear more of his slimy take on the villain.

"X-Men '97" streams on Disney+ from March 20, 2024.