X-Men '97 just dropped on Disney+ and one particular scene had conservative comic book fans clutching their pearls over one of the characters' flamboyant attire.
The animated show is a continuation series picking up after the events of, X-Men: The Animated Series, which ran from 1992 to 1997.
According to a synopsis for the sequel series, the X-Men "are challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future" following the loss of their leader, Professor Charles Xavier.
In the first two episodes of X-Men '97 that dropped on the streaming service, Gambit appears in a kitchen scene sporting a crop top that reveals the superhero's midriff.
Conservative viewers lashed out at the mutant character's fashion choice and found yet another reason to go after Disney for "being woke," a phrase co-opted by the far-right to complain about progressive policies they disagree with.
The biggest gripe about Gambit's crop top was that it was too "gay."
For the ignorant and homophobic contingent, "gay" equals "canceled" as it applied here to the representation-positive depiction of a gay stereotype, whether it was intended or not.
Cue the gripes.
Some even called for a ban.
But TikToker @pearlmania500 had the internet in stitches after he brutally shaded the "men in their mid-forties with bad beards complaining that X-Men '97 made Gambit kind of gay because he wore a crop top in one episode."
He said in a viral video:
"Do I need to remind you guys who the f'k Gambit was in 1996?
The TikToker pulled a Gambit action figure from the bookshelf behind him to prove the character was always fabulously fashion-forward.
"He is dressed as bisexual lightning," he said, adding:
"He has flare on his f'king leggings. This is a man wearing fingerless gloves."
"You think fingerless gloves are straight?"
"You need to go to therapy right now," he said of the tightly-wound critics.
He further explained that Gambit was a "Cajun thief who lives in a swamp" and had a girlfriend, Rogue, whom he couldn't touch due to her life absorption powers and would die if he did make skin-to-skin contact with her unless she was able to harness her powers.
"His powers are turning things hot pink and then they explode," he continued.
"He was designed to make you wanna kiss a man, okay?"
"He's always been gay. It's not the shirt," exclaimed the TikToker.
Even A. J. LoCascio, who voiced Gambit in X-Men '97 expressed approval for his character's crop top and even said he would need one for himself but under one condition.
More fans responded by slamming the anti-gay backlash and reminding critics of the era-appropriate attire.
United Artists
Approving fans were here for the look.
With animation provided by Studio Mir, the series is Marvel Studio's first X-Men project since regaining the TV and film rights to the characters following Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox in March 2019.
So far, Disney+ released the first two episodes of X-Men 97 with the remaining seven episodes dropping every Wednesday through May 15.
The third episode titled, "Fire Made Flesh," will drop on March 27.
A second and third season of the critically-acclaimed series is already in development
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