Warning: This article contains spoilers for Marvel Animation’s X-Men ‘97Season 2
When the fourth episode of Marvel Animation’s X-Men ‘97Season 2 faded to black, it signaled a seismic shift for the future of mutantkind that executive producer Larry Houston says will have lasting repercussions for our beloved mutant heroes. But first, let’s grab the remote and hit rewind. With the X-Men scattered throughout the timeline, one team found themselves on the Nile Delta in the year 3000 B.C.E. There, lost to the sands of time, Professor X, Magneto, Beast, Nightcrawler, and Rogue met the mutant known as En Sabah Nur as he began his ascent to power and his transformation into the tyrant known as Apocalypse.
Stranded in this ancient past, the X-Men tried to find a way back home to their present day ‘90s. But Magneto, Master of Magnetism, had other plans. He saw an opportunity to rewrite history. What if a mutant with Apocalypse’s power had tried to champion mutant-human harmony 5,000 years before Charles Xavier ever did? What if En Sabah Nur was not merely the first mutant, but rather the first X-Man? Feeling the future malleable under his fingertips, Magneto took it upon himself to try and mentor the mutant destined to be feared one day as Apocalypse.
“You risk our fates on a mutant who cannot be trusted.” That was the warning Charles Xavier issued to his longtime friend and rival, Magnus, A.K.A. Magneto. While the two leaders once clashed over differing ideologies regarding the future of mutantkind, Magnus now tried to convince En Sabah Nur that his destiny was not to conquer the world, but rather to save it. And for a brief moment, he may have convinced him. But none escape the whims of time
When En Sabah Nur discovered that the X-Men were trying to rewrite his future, he felt betrayed, and the kinship he briefly shared with his fellow mutants melted into rage. Cementing his destiny as Apocalypse, Nur launched a black hole to destroy Pharaoh Rama-Tut’s kingdom. As Charles and Magnus faced the mutant they’d hoped to change, Apocalypse reminded them that he does not capture his enemies, he crushes them. And with a fatal blow, he vaporized Magneto
Magneto’s death now leaves mutantkind with an Omega Level-sized void, the ripples of which have yet to be felt by the X-Men. “Right now, we’re plotting out Season 3 and Season 4, and the one thing I keep telling the writers is you can do this, but you’ve got to know what the repercussions are and where you’re going to land the plane,” says executive producer Larry Houston on mapping out Magneto’s death. “What’s the end result of this? What are you going to do with this character no longer being here? And they plotted out the repercussions to that over the next two seasons.”
But right now, the X-Men don’t have time to mourn the colossal loss of their leader. Apocalypse has his sights set on the ‘90s and he plans to show the world that only the strongest survive
Watch Marvel Animation’s X-Men ‘97Season 2 on Disney+ now!
In this article: X-Men ’97 | Season 2,X-Men,Magneto,Professor X,Apocalypse (En Sabah Nur)
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