X-Men ’97Season 2 deepened the story of Marvel’s mutant squad and all their messy family drama. This time, the threat the X-Men faced was the mutant warlord Apocalypse. The X-Men learned (at dire cost) that Apocalypse’s campaign for mutant domination stretched from the ancient past, all the way into a dystopian future, where man, mutant, and machine battle each other to extinction. Along the way, the X-Men’s world evolved: Xavier expanded his brand into a global corporation; the Danger Room became a killer AI robot; Gambit came back from the dead as the vessel of Apocalypse, and Rogue got a Celestial upgrade to battle him.
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In the end, it was Nightcrawler who made the ultimate sacrifice to give the X-Men (and all of mutantkind) the chance at a better future than Apocalypse. It was a pretty epic saga, that gave us numerous scenes and moments that are already iconic (read: going viral). That said, X-Men ’97Season has been criticized as not being quite on the same level as Season 1. As such, there were several moments of severe disappointment that will stick with Marvel fans until X-Men ’97Season 3 premieres.
5) “Battle of the Xs” – ICONIC
The Season 2 finale of X-Men ’97 didn’t get universal acclaim from viewers, but on the whole it was deemed a successful ending to the season. The finale episode, “Survival of the Fittest,” saw the X-Men trying to protect Gambit long enough to exorcise Apocalypse’s soul from the Cajun’s body. Their work was cut out for them, though, as the government-sponsored mutant team X-Factor and the rogue mercenary squad, X-Force, teamed up for a siege on the X-Corp base where Gambit was being held.
X-Men: The Animated Seriesgot its cult following by being a faithfully geeky recreation of the comics, and this “XXX” showdown was certainly that. Seeing things like Strong Guy and Bishop trading hits (and subsequent energy absorptions), or Cable taking on his parents, Cyclops and Jean Grey, was a geeky delight. The entire battle between the rosters of X-teams was a celebration of characters that every ’90s comic book reader remembers fondly, and was a moment most of us had waited decades to see onscreen. (Totally worth it.)
4) X-Force ’97 – ICONIC
Marvel Animation – Disney
The Season 2premiere of X-Men ’97Season 2 was all about Apocalypse in Ancient Egypt; fans were thrown a major curveball when Episode 2, “A Force to Be Reckoned With”, took things back to the 1990s, where Cable decided to gather a squad of X-Men (or former X-Men) who can help him with the task of hunting down and eliminating Apocalypse and his Horsemen before they become the malevolent force that ruins the future timeline Cable grew up in.
When the Episode 2 opening credits started, many fans jumped up from their seats and cheered in surprise. Seeing (and hearing) the classic X-Men: The Animated Series opening flipped to an X-Force version was sublime.
3) Kang OUT! – ICONIC
X-Men ’97carries on the original series’ proud tradition of tossing in deep-cut Marvel Universe Easter eggs and cameos into the most random of places. Apocalypse’s origin story arc in Ancient Egypt saw the mutant slave “En Sabah Nur” battling against the tyrannical oppression of Pharaoh Rama-Tut, who is really the time-traveling villain known as Kang the Conqueror! After En Sabah Nur fulfills his dark destiny and gets transformed into “Apocalypse” by the power of the Celestials, “Rama-Tut” knows his scheme in Ancient Egypt is blown, so he promptly dons his Kang helmet, hops in a time-traveling ship, and gets up out of there, leaving his servant Candra (the future “X-Ternal”) baffled.
Kang’s shady exit (and his parting line of “Only time will tell!”) has blown up into one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s best viral memes. It’s useful when letting friends know you’ve left the function with little-to-no announcement, or when trying to convey (beyond words) how fast you exited anything from a bad relationship to a bad job. It’s also become a banner for cutting losses when a situation looks like a lost cause. It’ll probably stay in circulation for years to come. (Time will tell!)
2) Nightcrawler Unleashed – ICONIC
X-Men ’97Season 1 wowed us with a sequence of Nightcrawler teleporting himself and Wolverine through an intense battle with Bastion’s Prime Sentinels. Season 2 put such a big spotlight on Kurt Wagner that it was obligated to up the ante on his action sequences. It did just that when Nightcrawler (being mind-controlled by Gambit-Apocalypse) gets unleashed against his own X-Men teammates (and Cable’s X-Force, as well).
The sequence has already been stamped with “ICONIC” status by Marvel fans all over social media. Shown from Kurt’s POV, viewers learn firsthand how much damage Nightcrawler can do to so many opponents, so quickly, using both his teleportation power and combat prowess from years as an X-Man. The rapid-fire shots of various X-team members catching those blue furry hands, feet, and even tail whips was a peak Nightcrawler moment, in any medium. Even X2didn’t do it like that.
1) The Death of Magneto – ICONIC
Marvel – Disney+
X-Men ‘97is always at its peak when leaning into the deeper, multi-layered drama that exists la between these characters. The core philosophical framework behind the X-Men’s story is the differing views of Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto; however, over the last few decades, a third pole has been added to that framework: the “Might is right” dogma of Apocalypse. X-Men ‘97’s“Rise of Apocalypse” arc brought the three prominent leaders of mutantkind together for a showdown that was as emotionally damaging as it was physical. In the end, Apocalypse stood triumphant, brutally executing Magneto and literally trampling over Xavier.
Magneto got one of the most epic death scenes in the entire MCU, and Apocalypse’s prominence in the franchise jumped up exponentially. The villain’s quotables have already created so many juicy viral memes, as few have ever been able to get that sassy with Xavier and Magnus and totally back it up.
2) The Life & Death of Magik – DISAPPOINTMENT
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There have been several characters from the X-Men universe who have grown substantially in prominence over the last decade, and Illyana Rasputin is definitely one of them. No longer just Colossus’s little sister, Marvel fans have embraced Illyana in her grown-up phase as “Magik,” the portal-hopping, sword-wielding member of the New Mutants (or a full-fledged X-Man, depending on the arc). X-Men: The Animated Series did an episode focused on Colossus fighting to save a young Ilyana, but modern fans were hoping X-Men ’97would do a proper ode to Magik.
Instead, Magik was relegated to being a cameo prop. In Season 2, Episode 7, “Strange Land, Savage Heart,” Colossus recounts through a flashback how his sister fought bravely during the Genosha Massacre and sacrificed her life for mutantkind. However, as viewers (if not longtime fans), we were cheated of the opportunity to see Magik get the full character treatment. The decision to kill her off so that Colossus had emotional motivation for a standalone episode (arguably the worst of the season) was an extra big heap of disappointment to swallow.
1) The Ruin of Wolverine – MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT
marvel – Disney+
X-Men ’97Season 2’s standalone episodes are already going down in infamy for how much drag they put on the momentum of the main storyline. “Weapon X, Lies, and DVDs” has been getting some particularly harsh blowback since it premiered, and not without good reason. While it was as stacked and action-packed as a single character-focused episode of X-Mencan be, it also told a story that left fans feeling like it did that character dirtier than any comic or movie ever had.
The episode saw Wolverine trick his buddy Morph, along with his former Team X teammates (Sabertooth, Lady Deathstrike, Maverick, and Garrison Kane), into infiltrating the Weapon X program. The cover was that Logan was trying to stop mad scientist Dr. Abraham Cornelius, but really, he was on a personal vanity mission to restore his Adamantium skeleton and claws, as he felt inadequate without them. Kane died, Logan inadvertently made a parasitic alien outbreak (the Brood) much worse, and set one of the most dangerous mutants on Earth loose (Omega Red). When it’s all done, and Morph questions Logan’s ethics, Logan basically admits that he needed the metal because he’s nothing without his claws.
Marvel – Disney+
Not only did “Weapon X, Lies and DVDs” kill Season 2’s momentum, but it also betrayed Wolverine’s character (and his comic book history) entirely. The 1990s arc where Logan had to live without his Admantium (the “Bone Claw Era”) did important work for his character, as it forced Logan to re-earn his title as one of the world’s most dangerous men through new tactics and means. It was a whole new Wolverine who finally got the metal back; X-Men ’97contradicts that character lore and rekindled some of the heavier discourse about whether the series trulyknows the X-Men characters.
X-Men ’97is streaming on Disney+.
X-Men ’97 Needs to Make One Major Change for Season 3 and Beyond, After Season 2 Got It So Wrong
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