For many 90’s kids, X-Men ‘97 has been highly anticipated since it was announced. Nostalgia alone would make them tune in on a weekly basis… even if it wasn’t as good as its predecessor. Thankfully, it’s every bit as good, if not better.
The new iteration of the show maintains the style of the original X-Men with that “Saturday-morning cartoon” vibe. Additionally, they have modernized it to age with its original viewers. X-Men ‘97 has a darker, more mature tone than the original series had.
X-Men ‘97 Mid-Season Recap
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X-Men 97′ on Disney+ starts a year after the end of the original X-Men series that aired from 1992 to 1997. The original series ended with the presumed death of Professor Charles Xavier, leaving his group of X-Men with no clear leader or direction. Through the first five episodes of the season, the group has to learn to cope without the presence of the Professor.
WARNING: THIS RECAP CONTAINS SPOILERS
EPISODE ONE: To Me, My X-Men
A mutant named Roberto da Costa is kidnapped by the Friends of Humanity, who are tracking down mutants with Sentinel tech for a massive bounty. After being saved by Storm, Bishop, and Cyclops, he wakes up in the X-Men’s mansion. Jubilee attempts to befriend him, but he is hesitant to join the team.
As the X-Men work to learn more about the FOH, Cyclops continues to have doubts about his abilities to lead the team in the wake of the Professor’s death. Jean Grey, who is now pregnant, suggests they leave the team and start a new life. Roberto runs away from the mansion, but Wolverine, Morph, Rogue, Gambit, and Jubilee track him to a nightclub.
Meanwhile, Cyclops and Storm track down Bolivar Trask and interrogate him about the Sentinel technology FOH had. After he refused to cooperate, Jean used Cerebro to read his mind to find out the location of the facility. In the process, Cerebro malfunctions and forces Jean to have a vision of her infant son, a new Master Mold, and a horror for mutants. Jean’s visions send the team to the Sahara desert, where they fight off a group of Sentinels.
Back at the mansion, Roberto tells Jubilee he can’t be part of the group, but he leaves her a business card so they can keep in touch. The mansion’s sensors detected an intruder, which turned out to be Magneto. It was revealed in Charles’ will that his entire estate, including the X-Men, was left to Magneto.
EPISODE TWO: Mutant Liberation Begins
Cyclops and Jean are uncertain about whether or not to leave the team with the arrival of Magneto. Jean tells Storm that she is anxious about their baby being born a mutant. Storm understands and wonders what it would be like to be a human, but is happy about the family she has as a mutant.
Meanwhile, Magneto and Rogue grow closer, in part because Magneto insists she can use her powers without harming him. Magneto is transported to his trial, with some of the X-Men joining as backup. Anti-mutant protestors are seen outside the courthouse. Among them is an FOH member wearing a mask and suit as X-Cutioner.
During the trial, Magneto gives a speech about his history as a man and a mutant but is interrupted when protestors break in. The X-Men try to de-escalate the situation, fighting off X-Cutioner, while Storm and Magneto protect the judges. Storm gets hit by X-Cutioner’s dart, which is later revealed to be filled with enough radiation to permanently take a mutant’s powers away.
This angers Magneto and he breaks X-Cutioner and the judges away into the atmosphere, threatening to kill them but ultimately showing them mercy. This convinces the United Nations to pardon Magneto. Additionally, conversations begin to bring Genosha (a mutant nation) into their jurisdiction.
Wolverine and Jean stay at the mansion and Jean goes into labor. They drive to the hospital, where a doctor refuses to treat her because she’s a mutant. Cyclops and Rogue arrive, and Rogue siphons the doctor’s medical abilities to help perform the delivery herself. The baby is born and is named Nathan Charles Summers.
Back at the mansion, Beast confirms that Storm has lost her powers indefinitely. She decides to leave the mansion, writing a goodbye letter to the team. We see Cyclops watching over Nathan, Rogue, and Magneto touching without her gloves (which Gambit also sees), and Morph and Wolverine together.
As Jean finishes reading the letter to the team, they refuse to accept that Storm is really gone. The doorbell rings and it’s another Jean, who desperately needs their help.
EPISODE THREE: Fire Made Flesh
The episode begins by filling in the blanks of just where this Jean came from, having escaped from a dark lab and made her way back to her home. Cyclops is not sure which of the two Jeans he can trust, and Beast tests both women’s DNA. Beast finds that the Jean who has just shown up at X Mansion is the original Jean Grey, and the Jean who gave birth to the baby is the clone.
Clone Jean does not take the news well, as she still believes herself to be the original. Later on, Beast discovers a marker in Clone Jean’s DNA, suggesting Mister Sinister is the culprit. As Clone Jean tends to a crying Nathan upstairs, Mister Sinister’s voice comes over the baby monitor. It’s then when Sinister uses his control over Clone Jean. Her evil powers take over the mansion. Demons emerge throughout the house, morphing into distorted versions of the X-Mens’ fears.
Clone Jean claims she is the Goblin Queen before escaping the mansion with the baby. The real Jean Grey is still recovering and has not gotten control of her telepathy. Magneto, Cyclops, Morph, and Bishop leave to confront the Goblin Queen. However, they quickly find themselves outmatched by her psychic powers. The X-Men cannot defeat the Goblin Queen, but the original Jean Grey telepathically enters the battle. Jean shows the Goblin Queen the vision of giving birth to Nathan.
After being brought back to reality, the Goblin Queen helps the team fight Mister Sinister and rescue Nathan. They find out what Mister Sinister is doing to Nathan, but it is too late to stop it, and the baby is taken back to the mansion. Beast determines that Nathan has been infected with a virus that is quickly spreading throughout his body. The only option is for Cyclops to allow Bishop to take Nathan into the future to find a cure.
Clone Jean Grey decides to leave the mansion to find her own life. She takes on the name Madelyne Pryor as she bids farewell to Jean Grey. In the last scene of the episode, Storm is seen in a bar where she is approached by a man. It turns out to be Forge, who claims to be a friend of Charles Xavier. He offers to help her restore her powers.
EPISODE FOUR: Motendo?/LifeDeath Part 1
The X-Men try to determine how to celebrate Jubilee’s eighteenth birthday. She suggests that they go to the arcade, but Magneto dismisses the idea. Jubilee vents her frustrations to Roberto and they see a new video game system called Motendo in her room. The system ends up being a way for Mojo to suck them into a video game.
In the game, Jubilee and Roberto escape Sentinels and anti-mutant forces. Roberto is hesitant to use his powers for fear of being outed as a mutant. They answer a payphone, which sends them to Genosha. Jubilee sees a masked figure, but can’t get to her because it’s out of the game’s boundary. Mojo says he’s been in a ratings drought, making him noticeably skinnier. He has decided to try video games to get his audience’s attention.
He tells Jubilee that the video game will let her live forever in the glory days of being part of the X-Men. Jubilee and Roberto are then transported to another level to fight Sentinels and later fight monsters in the Savage Land. Jubilee nearly dies in that level, but the masked figure helps restore her health. They are then transported to Asteroid M, where Magneto is the main boss.
Roberto nearly dies, but Jubilee is able to find an extra life to bring him back. They are then hacked out of the game by the masked woman, who ends up being an older version of Jubilee. Older Jubilee teaches Jubilee that growing up is a good thing. The three of them fight Mojo. Young Jubilee defeats Mojo and gets them out of the video game. Back in the real world, Jubilee and Roberto kiss.
Storm and Forge are at Forge’s cabin, where they talk about their pasts and powers. Forge has the mutant ability to invent and create anything he can dream of. Storm asks how Forge got his prosthetic legs, and he says he lost them in the war. Storm says that she has missed her powers, and Forge offers to help her adapt without them.
Storm and Forge ride horses, and Storm nearly rides hers off of a cliff. She sees an owl and says that the weather is stuck. Forge takes Storm into his lab, where he experiments on her to help regain her powers. She cries over her lost powers, and Forge consoles her.
Storm asks why Forge wants to help fix her. He reveals his past as a government contractor where he designed the technology that took away her powers. She gets upset, and he tells her he loves her. She slaps him and leaves on her horse. Storm seemingly rides off of the cliff, but she falls into Forge’s cabin. It turns out to be the doings of the aforementioned owl, which has now transformed into a demon called The Adversary who feeds on fears.
EPISODE FIVE: Remember It
Upon arriving in Genosha, Magneto, Rogue, and Gambit are surprised that it is far more modern than they remember it. It has become a utopia and safe haven for mutants. Magneto, Rogue, and Gambit meet with Madeline Pryor, who sits on Genosha’s interim council. Magneto is summoned to meet with them. Gambit and Rogue tour the city with Nightcrawler.
While all of the mutants there seem to be happy, Gambit questions how much of a paradise it can be when a single apple costs $10. His love for Rogue is noticeable and Nightcrawler urges him to just be with her. Gambit makes it clear that the situation with her is complicated. Back at the mansion, a news crew features the X-Men team in a piece about mutants. This annoys Cyclops when he is asked about his son. He gets angry and says humans should be thanking mutants for constantly saving them.
Back in Genosha, Magneto is asked to be the ruler of the country by Sebastian Shaw, Emma Frost, and Moira McTaggart. He accepts but asks that Rogue be allowed to rule by his side. Rogue doesn’t like the idea and tells Gambit about her past relationship with Magneto. He was her mentor, but he was the only person she could physically touch and the relationship became more. Gambit sends Rogue to be with Magneto.
Later that night, Magneto and Rogue embrace on the dance floor of a celebration gala while Gambit watches. However, Rogue turns Magneto’s proposal down. Also at the gala, Madeline Pryor, gets a telepathic blast, nearly knocking her out. She runs outside where she sees Cable from the future. He tells her everyone needs to evacuate immediately. She is overcome by the realization that Cable is actually her son, Nathan Summers. Cable is pulled out of time before he can save anyone.
A massive sentinel is destroying the city and killing every mutant in range. As Magneto does what he can to save others, he is caught in one of the Sentinel’s beams. He holds it back with an electromagnetic shield, while also holding back Rogue with metal scraps to keep her safe. In his final moments, Magneto says to not be afraid, before his forcefield fails and he is killed.
Rogue is nearly killed by the Sentinel before Gambit hits her with a kinetically charged motorcycle. Gambit then grabs his staff and jumps towards the Sentinel, but is impaled. As he is dying, Gambit uses his powers to kinetically charge the Sentinel. As he dies, Rogue tells him “Sugar, I can’t feel you.”
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