Is X-Men ’97 setting up one of Marvel’s most controversial story arcs for Season 2? It certainly seems like a possibility as we head into the Season 1 finale!
(WARNING: SPOILERS for X-Men ’97 Episodes 1-9!)
In X-Men ’97 Episode 9, “Tolerance is Extinction – Part 2”, the X-Men are split between two enemies threatening humans and/or mutants: Bastion and his Sentinels, and Magento, who crippled the world’s magnetic field, plunging the planet into chaos. Even the return of Charles Xavier isn’t enough to mend all the lingering doubts and wounds the X-Men have suffered, but there’s little time for therapy before the X-Men split into two teams, to face both of their foes.
The Battle of Asteroid M ultimately takes a brutal and tragic turn. Xavier’s team includes Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, and Jubilee – who ultimately have to face Magneto and turncoats Rogue and Sunspot in a head-on battle. Professor X tries to psychically coerce Magneto into repairing the Earth’s magnetic field, but Cyclops stops him so that Jean’s team has the continued advantage of the Sentinels staying offline. When Magneto nearly wins the duel, Wolverine crosses the ultimate line by impaling Magneto on his claws. Magneto, in turn, retaliates by ending his feud with Wolverine for good, by tearing the Adamantium metal right off Logan’s bones!
Fans of 1990s X-Men comics know that we are seeing X-Men ’97 merge two of the biggest storylines of that era: “Operation Zero Tolerance” (the debut of Bastion and his Prime Sentinels) and “Fatal Attractions” (The brutal showdown with Magneto on Asteroid M, and Logan losing his Adamantium). Fans also know that “Fatal Attractions” had one game-changing outcome that led into another major Marvel story arc: Onslaught.
Is X-Men ’97 Bringing Onslaught to Season 2?
“Onslaught” is a Marvel villain who is a sentient psychic entity, created in the mind of Professor Xavier when he inadvertently absorbed part of Magneto’s consciousness. However, that psychic melding of minds occurred after Magneto stripped Wolverine’s Adamantium away, prompting Xavier to finally cross the line and use his powers to stop Magneto, once and for all.
We have to see if X-Men ’97 Episode 10 will have Xavier retaliate against Magneto the same way he does in the comics – and if it similarly results in the creation of Onslaught. At the pace that X-Men ’97 is moving through comic book arcs, it would be nothing for Season 2 of X-Men ’97 to quickly get to the Onslaught reveal, instead of the years of mystery the comics dragged out.
“Onslaught” started as a compelling Marvel mystery – and the reveal that Xavier had become the ultimate villain was one of the bigger twists in ’90s comics. However, the story arc became a crossover event that pulled the Avengers and Fantastic Four into the mix.
The finale of “Onslaught” saw the Avengers and F4 get trapped in a pocket reality created by Omega mutant Franklin Richards, leading to the infamous “Heroes Reborn” event, in which Image Comics creators like Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld attempted to relaunch Avengers and F4 titles (or character spinoffs like Iron Man and Captain America) with ’90s edge. The initiative succeeded in generating bigger sales for struggling titles at the time, but critically it quickly fell apart – as did fan enthusiasm for the new visions of the characters.
Onslaught has similarly been a villain of diminishing returns in his later appearances, making it hard for fans to value the character. Maybe X-Men ’97 can change that? The show has already teased that other Marvel heroes are in play (Captain America, Spider-Man, Hulk), so a more faithful adaptation of the “Onslaught” event is possible.
X-Men ’97 is now streaming on Disney+.
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