The X-Men are back!
We are so excited to have the iconic X-Men animated show return and it came back with a vengeance. Between Magneto’s new leadership and ‘turning over a new leaf’ and the crazy storyline they may be introducing already, Episodes 1 and 2 have already been wild. It makes us even more excited to know we get 8 more weeks of this! Before I get into breaking down the most prominent pieces of Episodes 1 and 2, take a second to listen to our podcast reactions episode, whether on your listening platform of choice or live in the blog.
Magneto and his X-Men
As the trailer told u before the debut of Episodes 1 and 2 of X-Men ’97, Xavier made the interesting call to put Magneto in charge of just about everything he owned, including his X-Men. While Cyclops clearly thought he would take on that leadership role, the ending of Episode 1 left us instead with not only an unlikely hero but an unlikely villain. Episode 2 then had us watching Magento closely as he worked to gain the trust of the X-Men and really the entire world, considering he is notoriously a pro-mutant extremist. Yet all of this leaves us with the largest question, will it stick?
At this point, Magneto’s future has three paths. The first is that he actually does continue to honor Xavier by leading his X-Men in the noble cause of mutants and humans co-existing peacefully. The second is something gets in his way of redemption and Magneto reverts to his usual way of thinking. The final option goes to something we discussed in the predictions episode, which is the possibility of Xavier’s return. The original series ended with Xavier being taken by Lilandra to her home planet for treatment, where he would have to stay. However, that doesn’t necessarily have to be as permanent as it was originally, now that the series has returned. It’s possible that Xavier could make a comeback and in doing so, Magneto would revert to his role as Xavier’s equal but perfect antithesis. Quite frankly, all three of these are highly possible, so it’s hard to choose which one is more likely, but I would put my money on the last one, as it seems unlikely that Professor X will never make a return.
Storm’s Future
So far, Episodes 1 and 2 told us Storm is arguably one of the most powerful mutants to exist while then simultaneously stripping her completely of her powers. It was a whiplash of emotions, as we saw Storm completely lose her abilities to control the atmospheric weather and for lack of words, become human. On top of this upsetting moment, she also leaves the X-Men, adventuring out on her own for the first time possibly since she was a teenager.
Now, to level-set, the show didn’t just completely take Storm away forever, and if they did, they’d be making a huge mistake. The likelihood of her never regaining her powers seems nearly impossible, especially when she has been compared to a goddess several times already in the new series. The strike of energy that stole her power from her either will have to learn to be reversed or the mutant gene will turn out to be stronger than it, allowing the powers to be taken completely for longer periods, but not gone permanently. It does still raise the question of Storm’s future, specifically for this season, as it looks like the X-Men have their hands full with two Jean Greys. However, don’t be shocked if Storm makes a grand entrance towards the back end of this season, powerful as ever. If there’s one thing this show has always done very well, it creates pivotal storylines that while sometimes lost for a while, are always seen to the end, eventually.
Gambit x Rogue x Magneto?
One of the more strange parts of the first two episodes is the possible love triangle that Marvel has chosen to create in the show. Fully comic-accurate, Rogue and Magneto do actually have a brief relationship in the comics, resulting in the birth of a child. Considering we just saw the birth of Jean and Scott’s son (well maybe Jean), I don’t think we’re going to be seeing another child popping up anytime soon but it is crucial to understand the relationship Rogue and Magneto share. To first answer how he can touch her, he uses a thin magnetic shield to layer around his body, technically being fully protected by her at all times as his skin never actually touches hers. To Rogue, whether she’s aware of it or not, she can’t feel the shield, which allows her to think this one and only person in the world can actually touch her. It makes sense for her to then feel attraction to him, as to her, he’s her only option if she wants to have ‘skin-on-skin’ contact.
Let’s not ignore my man Gambit over here though, the third member of this possibly messy love triangle. For those who are comic readers, he and Rogue also share a relationship and more than that. They struggle with an again off-again type of thing but are currently married, Rogue even taking his last name of LeBeau. These two don’t quite get the same peace of mind regarding Rogue’s power, and instead, she either wears a power inhibitor to be with him physically or, later in the comics, she learns to better control her power by facing her fears and anxiety about it. While we are clearly nowhere near that yet, as these two are both in the OG series and also the beginning of this one still seems to have them in their flirty will they, won’t they stage, it seems Rogue very quickly has allowed another suitor into this story. Gambit already clearly has his suspicions, as seen towards the end of the episode, so Magento’s whole trust crusade will likely be in danger as Gambit is not always known to stay calm and collected. This could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for Magneto’s new hero lifestyle as mentioned before.
Jean Grey vs Madelyne Pryor
The final scene of Episode 2 is the beginning of one of the most crazy storylines ever, or at least to me, since the comics are a little wild. If you haven’t listened to our predictions episode for X-Men ’97 that gave the summary already, here it is. After Dark Phoenix takes place, Jean actually dies. She is replaced by a clone named Madelyne Pryor, who takes Jean’s place on the X-Men team without anyone knowing the difference, including herself. Madelyne has no clue she isn’t actually Jean Grey and she and Scott have a child together, as we see in Episode 2 of X-Men ’97, who grows up to become Cable. Upon finding out that she isn’t who she thinks she is, Madelyne sort of loses it, which concludes in her becoming the villain known as the Goblin Queen.
With this knowledge, it’s clear this is the direction X-Men ’97 is going right off the bat, but I think everyone’s question since the episode premiered is: who is the real Jean Grey? For the most dramatic storytelling, it most likely is the one who showed up at the end of the show, rather than the one who had the baby. However, I have a more important question, which is: when were they switched? My working theory is all of this connects to Mr. Sinister in some way, who also has been named the prime villain of Season One of X-Men ’97. Whether he found Jean after Dark Phoenix or one of the nine million times he kidnapped her, I have a hunch that he’s behind the clone creation. As for why, I think that’s a little too far out of my ballpark for now with the information at hand, but I can’t wait until we can watch Episode 3 to see the drama unfold around this.
Image: “X-Men 97”, Colin Leggett, GameRant
Sisters Assembled 