X-Men ’97 Sets Up Gambit’s Return In His Darkest Form, Rewriting An Iconic Marvel Storyline

X-Men ’97 episode 10 seemingly confirms that Gambit will return from the dead in season 2, albeit transformed into his darkest comic-book persona.

Warning! This article contains spoilers for X-Men ’97 episode 10.

Shockingly, X-Men ’97 episode 10, “Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 3”, teases Gambit’s resurrection, though his eventual return in the Marvel show’s season 2 will likely be even more tragic for himself and for the X-Men than his death. X-Men ’97 episode 10’s epic ending concludes the animated series’ first season with Bastion’s defeat and the X-Men successfully preventing Asteroid M from hitting the Earth. However, the team has traveled in time, with some heroes getting stuck in Ancient Egypt, while others are stranded in the far future.

X-Men ’97‘s open-ended finale clearly sets up an exciting premise for the upcoming X-Men ’97 season 2. Apart from the time-traveling X-Men, the season 1 finale also teases Apocalypse’s threat in the present day, which may make En Sabah Nur the main villain of the second season. The X-Men previously faced Apocalypse in X-Men: The Animated Series, where the villain attempted to take over the world with his Horsemen and failed to kill the world’s earliest psychics in the past. Now, not only will Apocalypse return, but he may also weaponize Gambit’s death in X-Men ’97‘s Genosha tragedy to torment the X-Men.

X-Men ’97 Just Revealed How Gambit Will Return

Apocalypse Holds The Key To Bringing Gambit Back To Life in X-Men ’97 Season 2

X-Men ’97 episode 10’s brief post-credits scene features Apocalypse retrieving one of Gambit’s cards from the ruins of Genosha. As he picks up the card, Apocalypse says “so much pain, my children, So much death.” Not only does this line of dialog show how shocking Bastion’s attack on Genosha was, even for a villain as ruthless as En Sabah Nur, but it also teases Gambit’s return as the Horseman of Death. Since Gambit is one of the most powerful victims of the Genosha tragedy, he seems like the perfect candidate for Apocalypse to bring back to life as his servant.

In the comics, Rogue begins a relationship with the mutant Pulse, a mutant who can suppress other mutants’ powers. Mystique uses this information to mortify Gambit, who’s already afflicted by Scarlet Witch’s decimation of the mutant population. Meanwhile, Apocalypse takes advantage of Gambit’s jealousy and resentment to tempt him with the idea of leaving his past behind. Gambit agrees, and Apocalypse makes him the Horseman of Death. Apocalypse can do the same in X-Men ’97 season 2, only resurrecting Gambit instead of manipulating him this time.

Gambit Will Become A Villain In X-Men ’97 Season 2

Gambit Will Likely Become Apocalypse’s Brainwashed Horseman Of Death In X-Men ’97 Season 2

Professor X found out about the Genosha through his telepathic abilities in the post-tragedy X-Men ’97 episode 6. Professor X also received a vision of Gambit turning into a giant skeleton and attacking him. After X-Men ’97 episode 10’s post-credits scene, it seems like Professor X’s Gambit vision was an omen of the cajun hero’s return as a full-fledged villain, and that his skeleton appearance was a hint at his role as Apocalypse’s Horseman of Death, brought back to life by En Sabah Nur to affect the X-Men emotionally before wiping them out.

Since Gambit will need to be resurrected in order to serve Apocalypse, the mutant hero will likely lack the conscience to realize what happened to him at Genosha and why he’s following Apocalypse’s orders, which may turn Gambit into Apocalypse’s most effective Horseman. Previously, Rogue was able to remove Angel’s evil impulses in order to help him break off from Apocalypse’s control in X-Men: The Animated Series. In X-Men ’97 season 2, Rogue may not be able to do the same with Gambit, possibly due to his death and resurrection.

The character who brings Gambit back to normal in the comics is none other than Mister Sinister.

How X-Men ’97 Will Change Gambit’s Apocalypse Storyline

Horseman Of Death Gambit May Be More Dangerous Than His Comic Book Counterpart In X-Men ’97 Season 2

Although Gambit’s time as the Horseman of Death affected his relationship with Rogue and the X-Men in the source material, he didn’t spend too long working with Apocalypse, and he wasn’t able to do much damage while under the villain’s control. Given the emotional weight of Gambit’s heroic death in X-Men ’97 episode 5, his resurrection in X-Men ’97 season 2 may take center stage. It’s possible that Gambit will be much more powerful and ruthless as the Horseman of Death, and that Apocalypse will be able to exploit Rogue and the X-Men’s love for Gambit in order to hurt them.

The circumstances around Gambit’s return in X-Men ’97 season 2 will also be vastly different from the source material. Scarlet Witch’s House of M storyline hasn’t taken place in the X-Men ’97 universe, and Apocalypse can recruit other Horsemen rather than the still absent Polaris and Sunfire. The biggest difference might be that Gambit’s motivation to join Apocalypse won’t be jealousy, but an instinctive wish to survive. Apocalypse’s motivations will also change, from wanting to be mutantkind’s savior after the mutants’ decimation to taking advantage of the X-Men’s absence in the present day in order to take over the world.