'X-Men ‘97' Season 2 premiere reveals the fate of the mutants across three different timelines
It's time to reunite with everyone's favorite gang of mutants in 'X-Men '97' Season 2. This season's first three episodes were released simultaneously on Disney+ on Wednesday. The animated series picks up the X-Men's story from the Season 1 finale. The last time that viewers saw the mutants, they were dispersed across time, spanning from the ancient past to the distant future. The first three episodes of this season take viewers across three different time periods: 3000 BC in the Nile Delta, the 1990s, and 3960 AD in the Atlantic Basin. Bishop and Forge figure out the X-Men's current location, and they split up to find them and bring them back to the 1990s. Forge jumps ahead to the future, while Bishop goes back in time to the past.
The first episode of Season 2, titled 'Days of Past Future,' is set in the future. It follows Cyclops (Ray Chase) and Jean Grey (Jennifer Hale) as they reunite with his time-displaced son, Nathan Summers (Michael Johnston), who is under the care of Mother Askani (Gates McFadden). Nathan, who will eventually become Cable, is being prepared for the role he must take in defeating Apocalypse. However, Apocalypse’s forces, including the Four Horsemen, attack and capture the trio before the others arrive to help them escape. Undeterred, Apocalypse decides to attack the X-Men when they are most vulnerable.
The series travels back to the 1990s in the second episode, 'A Force to Be Reckoned With.' In the absence of the X-Men, the adult Cable (Chris Potter) recruits the mutants Jubilee (Holly Chou) and Sunspot (Gui Agustini) to his newly formed X-Force squad. However, Polaris, a member of the government-backed X-Factor, captures Jubilee and takes her to DC. She is held in a cell with a power inhibitor around her neck; however, Polaris helps her escape by giving her a 5-minute head start. Jubilee fights her way out as the song 'Volcano Girls' by Veruca Salt plays in the background. Also, the X-Force rescues the other mutant kids who are held captive.
The third episode, 'Rise of Apocalypse Part I,' is set in 3000 B.C. Ancient Egypt, focusing on the younger version of Apocalypse, En Sabah Nur (Adetokumboh M'Cormack). Before he becomes the Apocalypse known to the X-Men, En Sabah Nur is portrayed as a younger figure who sees himself as a freedom fighter rather than a conqueror. Magneto uses the opportunity to mentor Nur and appeal to his humanity, steering him away from his darker impulses that could turn him into a future tyrannical conqueror. However, Professor X, who remains skeptical of Nur, clashes with Magneto over his belief that he can change the future.
