Beyond continuing the story of the original X-Men Animated Series, X-Men ’97 has masterfully adapted many storylines from the comics. However, the final episode of Season 1 has gone one step further. One line confirms an obscure story detail, which legendary writer Chris Claremont never had the chance to make canon in the comics.
The final episode of X-Men ’97 Season 1 found the team seemingly sacrificing themselves to save the Earth. In truth, they were scattered across time and space. This left Forge to try and rebuild the team with a group of new Mutants. However, he was informed of what happened to his friends by the time-traveling Lucas Bishop.
The scene between Bishop and Forge was a shout-out to the original X-Men Animated Series. It was there that Bishop first traveled in time, assisted by an elder Bishop, as part of the series’ adaptation of Days of Future Past. The scene plays up the irony of Bishop knowing Forge from that adventure, but the younger Forge not recognizing Bishop. It also drops a major revelation with one seemingly innocuous line.
When Bishop first enters Forge’s lab, he addresses him by the first name Daniel. He does this to confirm that he and Bishop are friends in the future. However, this line is notable as no comic has ever established what name Forge might have beyond his superhero codename.
According to The Claremont Run, a SSHRC-funded academic initiative, Chris Claremont came up with a full name for Forge when the character was introduced in Uncanny X-Men #184. Claremont’s script notes gave him the name Daniel Lone Eagle. However, Claremont never had the chance to confirm this fact in any of his later comics. No other X-Men writer addressed the point either, until the Season 1 finale of X-Men ’97.
All ten episodes of X-Men ’97 Season 1 are now streaming on Disney+.