All 18 Marvel Easter Eggs & References In X-Men ’97 Episode 5

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for X-Men ’97 episode 5, “Remember It”

The new X-Men ’97 episode 5 is absolutely full of incredible Easter eggs and references. Continuing the adventures of the X-Men in the wake of Charles Xavier’s apparent death and Magneto’s inheritance of the X-Men team itself, the epic twists and turns just keep on going. As such, X-Men ’97 is no exception as one of the most intense and exciting episodes yet.

Previously in the episodes of X-Men ’97 that have been released thus far, the team of mutant heroes has been grappling with the reveal that Mister Sinister replaced Jean Gray with a clone who’s now going by the name Madelyne Pryor. Likewise, a powerful Storm met with X-Factor’s Forge who offered her a path to potentially regain her command of the elements. Now, X-Men ’97 episode 5 features a return to the mutant nation of Genosha with an impressive amount of Easter eggs and references.

20 Genoshan Flag

Straight From The Comics

At the beginning of X-Men ’97, Magneto, Rogue, and Gambit arrive in the newly UN-recognized Genosha. As they land in the Blackbird, the mutant nation’s flag can be seen waving in the wind. Notably, it’s the exact same design as the Genoshan flag that’s seen in the original Marvel Comics.

19 “Magneto Is/Was Right”

Darkly Teasing The Future

Appearing before crowds of cheering mutants, it’s revealed that the citizens of Genosha carry high levels of support and adoration for the X-Men and their new leader. Magneto is given some obvious love in particular with signs reading “Magneto Is Right”, proving the power of his words at the recent UN council meeting. However, it’s also a reference to the original comics with the phrase “Magneto Was Right” having become a popular rallying cry by mutants in the wake of Magneto’s supposed death, shortly after Genosha was recognized by the UN (mirroring X-Men ’97).

A Shared Vision

In a similar vein, statues of Magneto and Professor Xavier are erected on Genosha. Meant to honor their shared vision of mutantkind having a bright and peaceful future, Genosha is certainly a product of that long-held desire. Likewise, it’s also a likely reference to Magneto and Xavier agreeing to work together and rebuild Genosha after it was destroyed in the original comics.

17 Glob

Robert Herman

Amidst the crowd of mutants on Genosha is none other than Robert Herman’s Glob. Having completely transparent skin made of bio-paraffin, Glob’s entire skeleton can be seen at all times. As such, he’s not a hard mutant to spot. In the original comics, Glob was a member of the New Mutants.

16 Pixie

Megan Gwynn

Another Genoshan resident and X-Men ’97 newcomer is Megan Gwynn’s Pixie. Beyond her ability to fly with her impressive wings, Pixie can also wield magic. Furthermore, Pixie can generate a hallucinogenic dust which she can use to distract and disorient her opponents as well.

15 Nightcrawler’s New Role

Communities of Faith

X-Men ’97 episode 5 reveals that Nightcrawler joined Genosha’s leading council of mutants with a focus on helping various faith communities that had come to the island. This is not unlike Nightcrawler’s recent role in the comics with the mutant nation of Krakoa. With mutantkind having developed the ability to resurrect themselves and their memories in the event of their deaths, Nightcrawler began forming a new mutant philosophy and faith as a whole, helping guide mutantkind’s spiritual well-being for a new age.

14 Multiple Man

James Madrox

Genosha now looks to be the home of Multiple Man aka James Madrox. A member of Forge’s X-Factor in the original X-Men series, it’s unclear if the team is still active by the time of X-Men ’97 or not. At any rate, Multiple Man is seen creating several copies of himself while dancing with several other Genoshan mutants. Madrox was also briefly featured in the live-action X-Men: The Last Stand.

13 Dazzler

Alison Blaire

Seen performing in the street and at the Hellfire Gala in the evening, Alison Blaire’s Dazzler makes two brief appearances in X-Men ’97 episode 5. She also received a brief reference in the previous episode as well. Having the ability to turn sound into powerful blasts of colorful light, it’s no wonder that Dazzler is both a hero and a pop star in the comics’ Marvel Universe. To that end, there are some rather large hopes that Taylor Swift will make an appearance as Dazzler in the MCU’s upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine movie.

12 Exodus

Bennet du Paris

Exodus is featured among the dancing mutant crowd as well in X-Men ’97. Real name Bennet du Paris, Exodus has the unique power where his telekinetic, telepathic, and teleportation abilities are enhanced when others around him or he himself have faith. Once a servant of Apocalypse, Exodus would become a follower of Magneto and most recently Hope Summers in the comics, believing her to be the next mutant messiah.

11 Genoshan Council

Seems To Mirror Krakoa’s Quiet Council

Inviting Magneto to become their Chancellor of Genosha, it’s revealed that the mutant nation is being led by a council of mutants including the likes of Sebastian Shaw, Emma Frost, Banshee, Madelyne Pryor, Callisto, and Moira MacTaggert (though the X-Men animated universe has yet to reveal if she’s a mutant like she is in the comics). As such, this council does bear a similarity to Krakoa’s Quiet Council in the comics where mutant leaders hailing from all aspects of mutant life and culture were included in its ranks.

10 Rogue’s Comics History With Magneto

A Romantic Past

As was teased in previous episodes of X-Men ’97, Rogue has a romantic history with Magneto, one that’s finally revealed in X-Men ’97 episode 5 when Rogue reveals her past with the Master of Magnetism to Gambit. Just like in the comics, Rogue came into contact with Magneto before becoming an X-Man and was temporarily a member of the Brotherhood of Mutants. She and Magneto eventually formed a brief romantic relationship, one that was established around the same time when they discovered that Magneto’s electromagnetic field prevented Rogue’s powers from harming him, allowing them to touch.

9 Uatu The Watcher

A Cosmic Witness To Tragedy

Preceding the events of the Hellife Gala on Genosha, the faintest outline of none other than Uatu the Watcher can be seen in the night sky witnessing the events below. As such, this confirms the X-Men animated universe exists in the same multiverse as the primary MCU Earth-616 and more adjacent worlds. As such, it would certainly be exciting to one day get some sort of crossover between X-Men ’97 and Marvel’s What If…?.

8 Hellfire Gala

A Mutant Party of Epic Proportions

In X-Men ’97 episode 5, Sebastian Shaw and Emma Frost throw the Hellfire Gala, celebrating mutantkind with a big party and fireworks on Genosha. This mirrors the more recent annual Hellfire Galas seen in the comics on the mutant nation of Krakoa, one where the Quiet Council provided a rare invite for humans and other heroes to the island and the next year’s roster of X-Men was elected. However, 2023’s Krakoan Hellfire Gala came with its own dark massacre not unlike what’s seen on Genosha in X-Men ’97.

7 Archangel

Warren Worthington III

Having already been featured in X-Men ’97’s premiere thanks to Morph taking his form, Warren Worthington III’s Archangel makes a true cameo during the Hellfire Gala. Having been given metal wings due to his corruption by Apocalypse in the original X-Men animated series, Warren has since been freed from the villain’s control (though he still has the blue skin and metal wings). Likewise, Warren’s Angel also became Archangel in live-action with 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse.

6 Madelyne and Cable

Mother and Son

Just before the entire island nation of Genosha falls into pure chaos, the time-traveling mutant agent known as Cable appears before Madelyne Pryor at the Hellfire Gala. Seeing his eyes, Pryro realizes that Cable is her grown-up son Nathan who was just recently sent to the future as a baby to be treated for the tech-organic virus he’d been injected with by Mister Sinister. However, Madelyne and Cable have no time to reunite before he’s sent to another time, having missed his chance to warn Genosha of its impending doom (though he potentially teased a future Apocalypse appearance).

5 Wild Sentinel

A Brutal Killing Machine

Immediately after Cable is forcibly sent away, the entirety of Genosha is rocked to its core with the emergence of a Wild Sentinel. Mirroring the original comics with New X-Men #115 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly, the “Fall of Genosha” storyline has already come in the animated X-Men universe. A multi-headed Sentinel with a kaiju-sized insect body, countless Genoshans are helpless before it. While the Wild Sentinels were sent to destroy Genosha by Cassandra Nova in the comics, Cable’s warning that “He is coming” suggests that maybe this could be the work of Apocalypse instead.

4 Magneto’s Death

Mirrors The Comics

In the same vein, Magneto seemingly dies during the Wild Sentinel’s attack. Attempting to protect members of the Morlocks, Magneto blocked a direct blast from the Wild Sentinel for as long as he could before the robot mutant killer confirmed that the “Omega-level threat” had been eradicated. However, Magneto was actually saved by his followers in the comics, and something similar is likely true for X-Men ’97 as well. Likewise, perhaps Cable will try to time-travel again to set things right and prevent the destruction before it happens.

3 “Remember It”

Gambit’s Last Stand

Telling the Wild Sentinel to remember his name after it stabs him through the side, “Remember It” is both a reference to the classic Gambit line from the original series as well as being the title for X-Men ’97 episode 5. Using his final breath to blow up the entire Wild Sentinel, Gambit’s death is as shocking as it is epic. However, one could easily see the death being undone by Cable’s time travel or perhaps even Gambit becoming one of Apocalyspe’s new Horsemen, a means to bring him back while also mirroring one of his original comics’ arcs.

2 Fall of Genosha

The End of Magneto’s Nation

By the end of X-Men ’97 episode 5, Genosha is no more. What was once an island nation of hope for mutantkind has been reduced to ashes with countless having been slain, just like in Marvel Comics’ original “Fall of Genosha” storyline. As a result, one can only hope that Genosha will either be rebuilt in the future as Magneto and Xavier intended in the comics, or that Cable will succeed with another attempt to travel back into the past and prevent the devastation from happening in the first place.

1 “I Can’t Feel You”

Rogue Echoes The MCU’s Scarlet Witch

Tragically, Rogue is seen holding Gambit’s body in her arms, lamenting that she can’t feel him. This is a dark and brutal mirror to Wanda Maximoff in the MCU’s WandaVision when she breaks into SWORD and finds the remains of the Vision. Reaching out with her power, Wanda says the exact same thing in her grief as she’s no longer able to feel Vision’s mind and spirit like she once could.

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