A tragic side of Wolverine’s character and relationship with the team in X-Men: The Animated Series just got much worse in episode 3 of X-Men ’97.

Spoiler alert! This article contains spoilers for X-Men ’97 episode 3 “Fire Made Flesh.”

A heartbreaking element of Wolverine’s character throughout Marvel’s comics and their adaptations is made even sadder in X-Men ’97. The critically-acclaimed sequel series to the beloved X-Men: The Animated Series continues numerous character and plot threads and adapts famous arcs from the X-Men comic source material. The third episode of X-Men ’97 completes both of these actions simultaneously by bringing Madelyne Pryor – also known as the Goblin Queen – into the continuity and having Wolverine share an emotional moment with Jean Grey, following Pryor’s brief turn to villainy. Pryor’s inclusion forces Wolverine to accept a harsh reality twice in his lifetime.

Madelyne Pryor, like her comic counterpart, is a clone of the original Jean Grey made by Mister Sinister, who seeks to use her and Scott Summers – Cyclops – to have a child who he intends to use for unscrupulous mutant experimentation. In X-Men ’97 episode 3, “Fire Made Flesh,” the X-Men learn the truth when the real Jean Grey confronts them and the clone falls under the mental manipulation of her creator, Mister Sinister. Thanks to the real Jean Grey, however, Pryor regains control of her mind and the X-Men save her and Cyclops’s son, the future hero Cable.

Is Wolverine In Love With Jean Grey In X-Men ’97?

In the X-Men comics and their adaptations, Wolverine has had many different love interests throughout his life (which is far longer than an ordinary human’s due to his unique mutant powers). Notably, Wolverine is in love with Jean Grey, and while many iterations of Grey have romantic feelings for Wolverine, the two do not form a romantic relationship. In most iterations and adaptations of X-Men, Jean Grey’s main love interest is Cyclops, creating a love triangle and further intensifying Wolverine’s rivalry with Scott Summers. The original X-Men: The Animated Series show adapts this element of their collective dynamic.

Throughout X-Men: The Animated Series, Wolverine struggles with his unrequited love for Jean Grey, which is used as a source of drama throughout the show, especially its early episodes. This element of the original series is popular enough to have been turned into two memes, with both being based on different moments from the season 1 episode “Captive Hearts.” A heartbroken Wolverine does not attend Cyclops and Jean Grey’s wedding at the start of season 2, opting instead to fight a simulation of Cyclops in the Danger Room.

Jean Grey’s Clone Is Every Solution Wolverine Needs

The existence of Madelyne Pryorseemingly provides the solution to Wolverine’s heartache. Scott Summers only loves the genuine Jean Grey and, by the end of the third episode of X-Men ’97, Pryor frees herself from Mister Sinister’s control. Wolverine even reminds viewers of his love for Jean Grey towards the end of the episode, helping the real Jean Grey refocus herself by reaching into his mind, seeing his memories, and, naturally, his romantic feelings for her.

After forcing Mister Sinister to retreat and sending her son to Bishop’s future in the hopes that he will be cured of Sinister’s virus, Madelyne Pryor is left on her own. Cyclops rekindles his relationship with the real Jean Grey, her son is gone, and she is left with the memories of her clone template. While it might seem like Pryor could eventually choose to begin a romantic relationship with Wolverine in lieu of Scott Summers, this is, tragically, not the case.

Note: When Mister Sinister replaced the real Jean Grey with the clone has yet to be revealed.

Even Without Cyclops, Jean Grey Doesn’t Choose Wolverine

Rather than stay with the X-Men, Madelyne Pryor opts to leave and start her own life, grappling with her false memories from the real Jean Grey and the emotionally traumatic truth that she is a clone meant to be a pawn of Mister Sinister. It would also seem that Madelyne Pryor still loves Cyclops, even if Scott only has romantic feelings for the real Jean Grey. Sadly, Wolverine now inhabits a world with two Jean Greys and neither truly loves him – even the Jean Grey who cannot be with Cyclops.

Madelyne Pryor is in a similar position to Wolverine as well. Just as Wolverine has to learn to accept that his love for Jean Grey is not reciprocated, Madelyne still loves Cyclops, who only truly holds romantic feelings for the original Jean Grey. The third episode of X-Men ’97 may not be the final appearance of this new version of Madelyne Pryor, so her love triangle with Cyclops and the real Jean Grey, as well as Wolverine’s unreciprocated feelings for perhaps both Jean Greys, will likely continue to develop.