‘X-Men ’97’ Season 1 Recap: Here’s everything you need to remember before Season 2 premieres on Disney+
After spending nearly two years wondering what happened to their favorite mutants, ‘X-Men ’97’ officially returns with Season 2 on Disney+ on July 1. The new chapter picks up after one of the show’s biggest cliffhangers, and anyone who has not revisited Season 1 lately might need a quick memory refresh before pressing play. Season 1 spent much of its run building toward the three-part finale, ‘Tolerance Is Extinction,’ where the X-Men faced threats from every direction. The team was no longer united by the end. Rogue and Sunspot chose to stand alongside Magneto, while Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Wolverine, and the remaining members fought Bastion and his anti-mutant campaign known as ‘Operation: Zero Tolerance’. Under Mister Sinister’s control, Cable was manipulated into attacking Jean Grey, making it appear that she had been killed. At the same time, Magneto took matters into his own hands by unleashing a worldwide electromagnetic pulse that shut down technology across Earth.
Wolverine suffered one of the most brutal moments of the season when Magneto forcibly ripped the adamantium from his skeleton, leaving him badly wounded. Jean’s story, however, was far from over. Just when it looked like Bastion and Mister Sinister had gained the upper hand, the Phoenix Force emerged from Jean. Her return completely changed the battle. The cosmic power shut down every active Prime Sentinel around the globe, ending Bastion’s army in an instant. It also destroyed the genetic material Mister Sinister had stolen for his experiments, causing the longtime villain to rapidly age into a frail old man after losing the source of his strength. Bastion was not ready to admit defeat. After losing control of his Sentinel army, he ripped the cybernetic arm from Cable and attached it to himself. He then launched one final attempt to wipe out mutantkind by sending Asteroid M directly toward Earth.
As disaster approached, Professor Xavier realized the battle could not be won through force alone. Instead of attacking Magneto, Xavier entered his old friend’s mind. Inside Magneto’s memories, Xavier witnessed decades of pain and anger that had shaped his worldview. Xavier eventually reached him by reminding him that, despite everything they had been through, the X-Men had always considered him family. With his mind cleared, Magneto used his powers to stop Asteroid M after the United States launched missiles under the Magneto Protocols in an attempt to destroy the massive space station before it struck Earth. Elsewhere, Cyclops, aka Scott, took a very different approach with Bastion. Scott appealed to the small piece of humanity still buried inside the villain. He argued that fear of the future could not dictate every decision and urged Bastion to let go of his hatred. Moments later, the government missile strike badly damaged Asteroid M, and Bastion was apparently destroyed in the explosion.
Although Earth was saved, the victory came at an enormous price. The destruction of Asteroid M’s gravity drives triggered what first appeared to be a massive implosion. Many members of the X-Men were pulled through what appeared to be a temporal rift, sending them to completely different eras. That twist now serves as the starting point for Season 2. One group, including Rogue, Magneto, Beast, Nightcrawler, and Professor Xavier, found themselves transported to Egypt in 3000 BC. Not long after arriving, they fought off attackers and rescued a mysterious mutant warrior. The man turned out to be En Sabah Nur, the individual who would one day become Apocalypse. Cyclops and Jean landed somewhere very different. They arrived in the distant future, specifically the year 3960 AD.
There, they were welcomed by a hooded woman called Mother Askani along with a young Nathan Summers, the child they would eventually know as Cable. Before the finale ended, another surprise was revealed. Mother Askani was secretly Rachel Summers, the daughter of Cyclops and Jean, who had grown into the leader of Clan Askani. Not everyone disappeared into another time period, though. The present-day timeline closed on an ominous note during the mid-credits scene. Back on the ruined island of Genosha, Apocalypse appeared among the wreckage and addressed his followers while surveying what remained of the mutant nation. With heroes scattered between ancient Egypt, the distant future, and the present day, Season 2 begins with more questions than answers.
