By James Pearson on
Spoiler Warning: This recap and review will contain spoilers for the first three episodes of X-Men ‘97 season two, which are currently available now on Disney Plus. So, go watch them now and then come back and have a read of my thoughts on all three! Trust me, they are worth the watch!
The X-Men are back! After what felt like a lifetime ago, Season two of the hit animated show, X-Men’97, is finally back on Disney Plus! Season one ended with our merry band of mutants being scattered across time alongside the tease of the return of one of the X-Men’s deadliest foes, Apocalypse. With the show’s cliffhanger sets him up as season two’s big bad. And in traditional X-Men’97 fashion, the series wastes no time and dives headfirst into our new status quo, as we catch up with our time-displaced heroes who are currently scattered across three time periods: the past, the present, and you guessed it, the future. While the new season seems to initially move a little too quickly for its own good (which once again was a common theme and complaint from many fans of season one), it still manages to deliver a truly engaging and nostalgia-filled ride that harks back to many iconic comic book storylines.
By debuting all three episodes at once, Disney has set up the season by establishing where all our favourite characters are and giving us a clear view of where the story is headed this season. Each episode focuses on a different faction of the X-Men, each at a different point in the timeline. Allowing each team enough time to re-establish themselves, but also allows us to explore three distinct and unique time periods.
But where do we begin? Well lets kick things off with episode one: “Days of Past Future”.
In this episode, after our rescuers Forge (Gil Birmingham) and Bishop (Isaac Robinson smith) devise their plan and catch the viewers up on where the rest of the team have found themselves, we follow Forge as he heads to the far future, where Cyclops (Ray Chase), Jean Grey (Jennifer Hale), Wolverine (Cal Dodd), Storm (Alison Sealy-Smith) and Morph (John Paul Karliak ) have joined Mother Askani (Gates McFadden) and her clan as they aid in the protection of Scott’s time-lost son, Nathan Summers(Michael Johnston). This episode is an adaptation of ‘The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix’, a comic run from 1994, that like the show follows Scott and Jean as they get a chance to raise and protect their ‘son’ (his mum is Madelyne Prior, Jean’s clone… it’s complicated) in a post-apocalyptic future. You know the usual parents and son dynamic in comic books.
This reunion of the Summers family acts as the episode’s emotional hook. And it definitely succeeds (or at least for me it did) at pulling on the heartstrings. Especially when you look back at the journey this family went through last season: From clones to sending their child to the future, to losing Madelyne and saying goodbye to Cable yet again, this family has been through it! The show definitely adds its own spin on the core of what made ‘The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix’ such a statement storyline in Scott, Jean and Cable’s story in the comics. And here, with the weight of the original show, as well as season one, it’s just nice to see the pair truly get to feel what it’s like to be parents. Watching them aid in his development, to revealing the truth of their connection, and finally coming to the realisation that as soon as he knows the truth they must leave him again, it was heartbreaking! My only complaint here is that once again the pacing of the show’s storytelling means that most of this bonding has taken place off screen. I’d have loved at least two to three episodes to fully dig my teeth into the drama of the pair trying to raise their son, knowing who he is to become and unsure if their actions are hurting the timeline or aiding it. Yet alas, it seems the X-Men have bigger fish to fry, and I understand as much as I’m a fan of these smaller family-focused storylines, many would rather watch Wolverine slash up robots and Storm act all badass. (Both things we see in this episode, and both things I did enjoy despite my grumbling.)
Speaking of Storm, shout out to the Queen herself! Harnessing the sun itself? Live-action Storm pronto, please! Definitely a high point of the episode.
Now, I’m not a huge comic book nerd, but I always love it when shows take advantage of their format and give us unique characters casual fans have never met, and die-hard fans have always yearned to see. In episode one, we meet the ‘Final Horsemen’, villains from the ‘Uncanny X-Force’ run of comics. (… I’ll come back to that team later though.) A unique group of characters that were fun to see, but sadly, as usual due to the fast pace of the episode, they got one fun fight scene and that’s it. On to the next cameo.
That cameo actually being a pretty big one, and another many casual fans probably missed. Mother Askani being Rachel Summers. An alternate timeline child of Scott and Jean and time-line hoping big sis to Nathan. A cool character to see on the show, but I will say they definitely gave her ‘reveal’ a little too much attention. As I do believe, unless you are a huge X-men fan, you probably had no idea who she was. Once again though, with the rushed pacing we spent very little time with her, which is a shame. She’s a great character; maybe we will see her again? Who knows.
Moving on though, episode two returns to the present for ‘A Force to Be Reckoned With.’
We follow the all-grown-up Nathan Summers AKA Cable (Chris Potter) as he recruits Jubilee (Holly Chou) and Sunspot (Gui Agustini) to join his new team, X-Force! Tonally, this episode serves as a very fun change of pace, leaning into the over-the-top nature of classic 90’s X-men comics. And we continue a trend that spans across all three episodes, with a brand new intro sequence that focuses on our fresh faced team. (Can’t lie, this was pretty cool.)
This episode sees our new team trying their best in a world without the X-Men, as it lays the seeds for the plans of our present-day version of Apocalypse. (Which also gives us a nice little cameo from the OG Horseman Death, as well as the GOAT herself, Emma Frost. Love that Ice Queen.)
Episode two definitely feels the most like a regular episode of this show, but its main focus is on the new and unique dynamic between Cable and Jubilee. On one hand, you have the hyper-militant, walking Swiss Army knife who believes that the ends always justify the means. On the other, you have one of the youngest and most idealistic members of Xavier’s students, one not willing to sacrifice her morals even when all seems lost. The pair perfectly fit the popular, and in my opinion overused, young student and older father figure that the entertainment industry has been gravitating towards. (The Mandalorian, The Last of Us, just to name two other examples of this trope. Funnily enough, both involve Pedro Pascal…)
It was also cool to see the return of X-Factor in this episode. A team that did appear in the show’s original run. And it makes a lot of sense to bring them in as the government’s answer to the X-Men and X-Force, especially as we see how quickly they have become pawns of an administration not overly sympathetic to the rights of Mutants. Though I am sad that after her almost redemption in season one, Val Cooper seems to be back in a villainous role.
Polaris (Carolina Ravossa) is definitely the standout character here, as she gets a small but vital character arc over the course of Episode two and if the trailers are anything to go by has a big role to come. As a big fan of the House of Magnus (huge Wanda stan I can’t lie), I’m excited to see where her storyline takes her. Maybe to a reunion with her father and siblings? (I can only dream!)
And I would be betraying my inner Whovien if I didn’t give Naoko Mori, who voices Psylocke, a quick shout-out! As many might know, she played Toshiki Sato in Torchwood, and I love to see her back (well, hear her back) on my screen! Also, thank you X-men’97 for giving Psylocke her British accent!
Finally, Episode three takes us back to the past, as we explore the world of Ancient Egypt and the origin of En Sabah Nur AKA Apocalypse (Adetokumboh M’Cormack)! In ‘’Rise of Apocalypse: Part One.’
Now, this is my favourite episode. Why? Because I love a villain origin story! Apocalypse isn’t a newcomer when it comes to this show. Having appeared in its original run (Angel from episode two being a direct result of this villain’s mayhem in the show’s past), we finally get to see a different side to one of the show’s most terrifying foes. Through this episode, we get to see and connect with Nur before he became the genocidal manic we all know and fear - personally, I love him, but if you know me, you know my one weakness is a good villain - and get to experience his downfall and the events that lead to him becoming the tyrant we and the X-men know all too well.
Due to this focus on our villain, the X-Men who appear in this episode do just feel like they are here to fill our episodic X-men quota. That is, besides Magneto (Matthew Waterson). The episode explores Erik’s attempts to change history and preserve Nur’s seemingly good nature into the future.
The relationship between the two characters is pure gold! With Waterson giving a stellar performance and oozing pure charisma and drama off every line he delivers - which is no surprise after his performance last season. Magneto clearly believes he can rewrite history and shape Nur into the first ‘X-man’ rather than their greatest enemy. He is most definitely wrong; we all know what the great River Song once said: ‘Time can’t be rewritten’, but it was a joy to watch him try!
