Image Credits: Instagram, @beau_demayo (left) | ‘X-men ’97,’ Disney+ (right)

’90s kids, rejoice! X-Men ’97—the nostalgia-fueled, decades-later sequel to the classic animated Marvel series—is a banger, delightfully recapturing the soapy superhero drama that made the original such a favorite.

But it’s not just millennials who are eating it up: Since its debut this past March, X-Men ’97 has been a hit with critics and audiences, and streamer Disney+ has touted it as one of its most-watched original series.

(Considering Marvel movies have been disappointing at the box office lately, ushering in an era of so-called “superhero fatigue,” the series’ smash success is no small feat.)

And we’re especially excited because, while the superhero team has a strong, oft-analyzed appeal to LGBTQ+ audiences—with mutants being a clear stand-in for anyone who’s been “othered”—’97 leans in to that subtext, giving the gays everything they want. And, no, we’re not just talking about Gambit’s crop-top.

It would seem a large amount of that credit should be due to series creator Beau DeMayo, a TV writer with credits on Netflix‘s The Witcher, The CW’s The Originals, and Marvel’s own Moon Knight. A Black, queer man, DeMayo has spoken at length about the X-Men’s significance to him, and it’s clear that connection has shaped his approach to the show.

However, it was just a few days prior to X-Men ’97‘s debut that it was announced DeMayo had been let go. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Marvel’s head of animation Brad Winderbaum was careful to not call the exit a “firing,” simply sharing they “parted ways” without providing further details.

DeMayo himself declined to comment at the time and even momentarily deleted his social media.

But after this week’s momentous episode of the series, “Remember It,” DeMayo finally broke his silence with a note on X. And while he acknowledged there were a “lotta questions,” he didn’t exactly clear things up about his departure.

Instead, he offered some powerful insights into the themes of the series, sharing how the latest storyline was inspired by the Pulse Nightclub shooting, and the loss of safe spaces.

*X-Men ’97 spoilers ahead.*

In the world of the X-Men, Genosha was a previously secret island nation where mutants could live freely without persecution. Thanks to the work of reformed villain Magneto, its presence became known to the wider world, and Genosha was even incorporated into the U.N. But, in the latest episode, while the team was visiting the country celebrating Magneto’s inauguration as its new leader, it was violently attacked, leading to a number of heartbreaking casualties.

In his note, DeMayo called this episode the “centerpiece” of his pitch to Marvel: “The idea being to have the X-Men mirror the journey that any of us who grew up on the original show have experienced since being kids in the ’90s.”

The showrunner remarked that, especially for those of us who were kids then, the decade felt like a simpler, safer time where “questions about identity and social justice had relatively clear cut answers.” But then 9/11 happened and turned our worlds upside down, a collective trauma we’re still reeling from today.

Not coincidentally, around 9/11 is also when DeMayo says he came out to his parents, and came to realize that not everyone who accept him. “Reality got very real and very scary.”

He cites the original series as an ongoing comfort, as something that still had the power to transport us back to better days. “[But] there’s a danger of living in the past and clinging to nostalgia. There’s a danger to not letting go of who we think we are… it leaves us stagnant, and dangerously unaware of a future we didn’t anticipate.”

DeMayo then recalls Pulse in Orlando. Having grown up in Florida, he shares that he frequently partied there, that it was his club. But the tragic 2016 shooting changed so much for him, for our community.

‘[Pulse] was, like Genosha, a safe space for me and everyone like me to dance and laugh and be free. I thought about this a lot when crafting this season and this episode, and how the gay community of Orlando rose to heal from that event.”

“The X-Men have now been hit hard by the realities of an adult and unsafe world,” he continues. “Life’s happened to them. And they, like we did, will have to decide which parts of themselves they will cling to and which parts they’ll let go of in order to do what they’ve been telling humanity to do: face an uncertain future they never saw coming… Like each of us, they’ll have to weigh whether this is a time for social justice [or] a time for social healing.”

Pretty powerful stuff for a “cartoon,” no?

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There are still five episodes to go, and while we may not ever have full clarity on DeMayo’s departure (it’s said he had already completed work on a second season, and had discussed ideas for a potential third season prior to his exit), it’s clear his work has had a huge impact on the series’ positive reception.

It’s no accident that we might see ourselves in the X-Men—they’re bringing queer stories to the screen in ways both big and small.

And we couldn’t leave you without acknowledging the fact that DeMayo himself is rocking the bod of a superhero. Scroll down below for a few more shots form his Instagram, now that it’s back and operational:

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