When X-Men ’97 returned with its second season, one of the coolest surprises was seeing Cable put together his own version of X-Force. But longtime comic fans immediately noticed that the team looked very different from the one introduced by Rob Liefeld back in the early 1990s.
That led plenty of fans to ask the Deadpool co-creator what he thought about Marvel’s new lineup, and his response pointed to one possible reason for the changes.
In the new season of X-Men ’97, Cable recruits Archangel, Psylocke, Sunspot, and Jubilee to join his black ops mutant squad. It’s an interesting mix of characters, but it doesn’t resemble the original X-Force roster that Liefeld helped create.
His classic team featured Boom-Boom, Cannonball, Shatterstar, Feral, and Warpath fighting alongside Cable, becoming one of Marvel’s defining mutant teams of the ’90s.
After a fan on X commented that the original lineup was better, Liefeld offered his own explanation for why so many of his creations didn’t make the cut.
“Yes, of course everyone has said that. But it’s their pick,” he wrote. “I think it’s because they would be on the hook to me for even more money if they use more of my creations. My deals are expensive.”
Whether that’s actually the reason or simply Liefeld’s personal theory, it does highlight one of the less talked about aspects of adapting comic books for television and film. Character rights and creator compensation can become part of the conversation whenever original creations make the jump to the screen.
Of course, this isn’t the first time Liefeld’s X-Force characters have appeared outside the comics. Fans will remember their memorable, if incredibly short-lived, appearance in Deadpool 2, where nearly the entire team was wiped out in spectacular fashion just minutes after being introduced.
The animated series also skipped over several other mutants who have been members of X-Force over the years, including Domino, X-23, and even Deadpool himself. Instead, Marvel Studios opted for a very different lineup that better fits the story the series is telling.
X-Men ’97 Season 2 raises the stakes in a big way, with Apocalypse pursuing the X-Men across three different time periods. As the core team becomes scattered, other mutant groups like X-Force and the government-backed X-Factor have the opportunity to step into larger roles.
Meanwhile, Marvel’s mutant revival continues to pick up steam beyond the animated series. Wolverine from Insomniac Games is currently targeting a 2026 release, and Avengers: Doomsday is bringing back several familiar faces from Fox’s X-Men films, including Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen.
With mutants finally becoming a major focus across Marvel’s entertainment slate again, fans will undoubtedly keep watching to see which classic characters make the leap into future projects. If Liefeld is right, though, don’t expect every member of his original X-Force roster to show up anytime soon.
