The X-Men team may be presumed dead after the end of X-Men ’97 season 1’s finale, but a new line-up might have already been teased for season 2.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for X-Men ’97 episode 10, “Tolerance is Extinction – Part 3.”
A new X-Men line-up has already been teased for X-Men ’97 season 2, featuring eight new powerful heroes. Before the X-Men get reinvented into the live-action MCU, Marvel Animation’s X-Men ’97 has caught up with the X-Men team from 1992’s X-Men: The Animated Series, introducing iconic mutant heroes such as Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Jubilee, and Gambit to a modern audience. X-Men ’97 season 1 took the team on many dramatic adventures and pitted them against several iconic villains, culminating in a battle against former X-Men leader Magneto and human-Sentinel hybrid Bastion in the epic three-part finale, “Tolerance is Extinction.”
The fate of the X-Men team has been left uncertain after the events of X-Men ’97 season 1, episode 10, “Tolerance is Extinction – Part 3.” After defeating Bastion, the X-Men struggled to stop Asteroid M from hitting the Earth, but were saved at the last moment by Magneto, who thrust his former base back into space. However, this action caused Asteroid M to explode, displacing the X-Men in different time periods. While the team are presumed dead in the present, however, two surviving heroes may have teased the formation of a new X-Men team in X-Men ’97 season 2.
Forge’s Board Featured 8 Potential X-Men Members For X-Men ’97 Season 2
In the wake of the X-Men team’s disappearance in X-Men ’97 season 1, episode 10, Forge was met by the time traveler Bishop in the present day, who revealed that there is still a way to save their mutant friends. They likely won’t embark on this undertaking alone, however, and Forge may have already uncovered the perfect mutant heroes who could join them on this mission. Forge had compiled a board of known mutants featuring the X-Men members who are presumed dead, as well as a selection of mutant heroes who could join him and Bishop in their upcoming adventure.
Forge’s board put eight new mutants front-and-center, perhaps teasing a powerful line-up for X-Men ’97’s new X-Men team. This means that siblings Piotr and Illyana Rasputin, a.k.a. Colossus and Magik, respectively, could join Forge and Bishop on their mission in X-Men ’97 season 2. Both of these heroes were previously impersonated by Morph in X-Men ’97, proving the significance of their extraordinary abilities. Forge’s board also includes founding X-Men member Bobby Drake, a.k.a. Iceman, who may rejoin the team permanently, as well as Emma Frost, who unveiled her second mutation, diamond-like skin, after X-Men ’97 episode 5’s massacre on Genosha.
Cyclops’ younger brother, Alex Summers, a.k.a. Havok, was also featured on Forge’s board, teasing his involvement with the new X-Men team after having been a member of X-Factor in X-Men: The Animated Series. Havok’s romantic involvement with Magneto’s daughter, Polaris, could incite some interesting conflict in X-Men ’97 season 2. Forge’s board also includes Kitty Pryde’s Shadowcat, Sooraya Qadir’s Dust, and, interestingly, the Marvel Comics villain Exodus, whose telekinetic and telepathic abilities could be a powerful mirror of missing X-Men member Jean Grey’s powers. These mutants could join forces as a formidable new X-Men team in X-Men ’97 season 2.
Dust has never appeared in X-Men’s animated series’, as she debuted in Marvel Comics in 2002.
Forge’s Board Created Another Major X-Men Mystery
As well as teasing the formation of a new X-Men team, Forge’s board in X-Men ’97 season 1, episode 10, also created a major mystery that the series must address in season 2. While several X-Men members are presumed dead, and others have the potential to join Forge and Bishop’s new team, two mutant characters were labeled as being “off-world” on Forge’s board: the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. The children of Magneto weren’t seen during X-Men ’97 season 1, though they did appear in Magneto’s mind in the season finale, and Quicksilver was impersonated by Morph during battle with Bastion.
The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver previously appeared in X-Men: The Animated Series episodes “Cold Comfort” (Quicksilver), “Repo Man” (Scarlet Witch), and “Family Ties.”
Wanda Maximoff’s Scarlet Witch and Pietro Maximoff’s Quicksilver would make formidable members of Forge and Bastion’s new X-Men team, but the siblings being “off-world” poses a problem. It’s unclear exactly where the Maximoff twins might actually be, if not on Earth, though one theory suggests X-Men ’97 could find them in the Inhuman city of Attilan on the moon, bringing a new species into the animated series’ future. It’s also possible the twins could have been aboard Asteroid M, meaning they may have been displaced with the X-Men, setting them up for a bigger role in X-Men ’97 season 2.
