X-Men ’97 Ending Explained: Season 1 Finale Review

Ahead of the title sequence, we hear heartbeats hammering against a dark background. That’s the atmosphere throughout the season 1 finale of Marvel’s X-Men ’97. Heart-racing action, heart-pounding suspense, heart-wrenching dialogue, and a hearty epilogue that leaves us with more questions than answers.

But before we get to that Six Months Later Epilogue, and those significant cameos, we’ve got a whole other 30 minutes to cover. To us, X-Fans, for one final stand against Bastion and his Prime Sentinels.

---

Evolution Thrives in Darkness

Charles and Erik are speaking in a bar as young men, musing on the potential existence and future of mutantkind. Sensing a familiar kinship, Charles comes out to Erik as a mutant and Erik reveals he is a mutant, too. As is his way, Charles is optimistic about mutant and human relations; he wants to help mutants cherish their gifts and lead the world by example in embracing the differences everyone shares. On the other hand, Erik is more realistic about humanity’s tolerance: “Run and hide, before someone starts dreaming of camps.” After all, “minds are far harder to bend than metal.” Is he wrong, though?

Their debate is interrupted by Rogue’s voice, yanking Erik into awareness that Charles is manipulating his mind. They are, in fact, in Erik’s own mind. Charles gives Magneto an ultimatum. He must restore the Earth’s magnetic fields or else Charles will force him to do it telepathically. Erik reminds Charles what happened to his own village when reason went up against tanks, but Charles still decides to overpower Erik’s mind. As Professor X violates Magneto’s free will, people all over the world witness the return of electricity, including Silver Samurai, Iron Man and Captain America, Daredevil, and Doctor Strange.

---

Dreams Built to Die

On Bastion’s island base, Bastion gives the typical villainous monologue, avowing that Xavier’s dream paved the way for his plan all too perfectly. The Gold Team X-Men, aside from Jean Grey, are all held by Sentinels and forced to listen. They try to reason with him and convince him that all-out destruction won’t solve anything. Storm’s words are especially poignant: “None choose to be born, Bastion. Thus why we must never begrudge them being.”

Of course, Bastion rejects Storm’s appeal to his humanity. Instead, he deploys his Prime Sentinels all over the globe so that he can “protect humanity from itself.” That’s just a fancy way of saying he’s going to take out humanity’s protectors so they are left defenseless. His Sentinel hybrids attack Cap and Iron Man, Black Panther and the Dora Milaje, Daredevil and Cloak and Dagger in the streets, Omega Red with Darkstar and Crimson Dynamo, and finally Psylocke and Frenzy with Alpha Flight members Northstar, Aurora, and Puck. By eliminating all who would side with the underdogs, Bastion defeats any chance of the world’s empathy foiling his plan.

---

Examples Must Be Made

With his evil speech delivered, Bastion prepares to kill Cable but Mr. Sinister protests. It seems Bastion had promised Sinister he could keep Cable, but what good is a villain’s word? Suddenly, a rumbling moves throughout the island and birds erupt from the treetops. In a swell of water and telepathic flame, the Phoenix rises up with Jean Grey at its center.

She forces Bastion to switch off all his Prime Sentinels across the globe and she unravels Sinister’s mutant-spliced DNA, turning him into a crippled old man. However, Bastion doesn’t stay down for long. Now that the Phoenix Force has left Jean, he overpowers the X-Men again and beats down on Cable. He rips Cable’s arm from his shoulder and fuses his own mutant-cyborg body with the metal, evolving into a mightier winged version of himself. His new strategy is to hurl Asteroid M into the Earth.

---

Where Is My Mind?

Up on the asteroid, Cyclops and the Blue Team tend to Wolverine, Magneto, and Professor X, who are all unconscious. Jean contacts Scott to update him, but then they’re interrupted by Professor X, who says he must try to repair Magneto’s mind. Even thought Scott and Jean protest, Professor X insists this is the only way to save the world from Bastion.

While the X-Men prepare for Bastion’s incoming assault, Rogue reassures her team that “the cards are always in the X-Men’s favor.” Even in the face of failure, her heart goes back to Gambit. When Bastion lands, he goes straight for the asteroid’s gravity core, but Rogue has other plans for him. She doesn’t hold anything back as she pummels him out of the asteroid and back down to Earth, dealing blow after blow until they land in large ruins that look eerily like a former apocalyptic villain the X-Men have already faced.

---

Staying Afloat

Despite Rogue’s best efforts, Bastion rises again and outsmarts her brute strength, nearly choking her until Roberto intercepts with his firepower as Sunspot. Meanwhile, Earth’s leaders debate on how to handle Asteroid M and Charles attempts to breakthrough with Magneto’s mind. The chilling waves of Erik’s anguish slosh around them, and we even see a wayward boat in the ocean, carrying Rogue as well as Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Polaris.

Magneto struggles to sift through his awakening memories. Charles reminds him that the people he’s seeing, including himself, are those who can help him keep afloat. But Erik remembers that Charles hurt him, too. To this, Charles replies, “The only ones who can break our heart are those kept in it.” Still, Erik’s mind refuses to be calmed and the psychic waters are close to overtaking him and Charles.

---

Trojan Sentinel Horse

Though the X-Men put up a worthy fight, Bastion continues to withstand their strongest attacks. Even Cyclops, unleashing the full fury of his optic beams, barely makes a dent in Bastion’s shell. With each attack, he regenerates. Bastion taunts the X-Men, telling them that a family that can’t save itself is merely working together to die alone. Bleak but possibly true.

However, the Sentinel that Bastion summons to take down the Blue Team is actually piloted by the Gold Team thanks to Forge and Beast’s tech prowess. Both teams reunite, with Morph landing down as Sauron, while Storm reassures Cyclops that Forge is tending to Nathan. Even under the crushing weight of a Sentinel’s foot, Bastion manages to survive. He and the X-Men all prepare to attack. Suddenly, Scott and Storm share an epiphany. The team’s leaders urge their fellow mutants to start doing what they’ve been preaching all along and embrace the future. This strategy truly gives “kill them with kindness” a whole new meaning.

---

Magneto Protocols

Even in the face of the X-Men’s empathy, Bastion clings to his hatred. They attempt to reach him by reminding Bastion that Professor X wanted to recruit him and give him a family, but it was his mother who denied Bastion the chance at community. Bastion refuses to hear this, and he snarls that even if humanity does continue to create mutant babies, humans would rather die than allow mutants to continue. At that very moment, the Magneto Protocols are initiated and missiles fly toward the asteroid. Missiles collide with the space station as well as the gravity core, but Jean protects the team with a psychic force field. Scott reaches his arm out to Bastion but Bastion refuses the offer, instead choosing to be obliterated in the explosion.

Chaos ensues as the asteroid is destroyed, and Jean attempts to wrangle everyone, with help from Morph as Mr. Fantastic. Jubilee falls through a hole in the station’s exterior, but Sunspot manages to save her as the asteroid continues to fall toward Earth. The X-Men struggle to come up with a plan to spare Earth from being hit with Asteroid M, and they land on combining their powers to attempt to destroy the asteroid before it makes contact.

---

Family Worth Fighting For

Before their effort against the asteroid begins, Jean and Scott say goodbye to Nathan via telepathic signal. It’s a heartwarming moment in which Cable gets to tell them that he hated hearing stories about the X-Men because he felt he should have been there, too. Jean reassures him that he always was and Scott tells his son that he loves him. When the plan to stop the asteroid begins, all the X-Men use their powers to work together and stop its impact.

Down on Earth, news reports share that the missiles only made the situation worse. No surprise there, good job humans. People, including Peter Parker and Mary Jane, watch in terror as the asteroid continues to fall. Back in Erik’s mind, he and Charles finally reach an understanding that compels Erik to remember who he is: Magneto. With that, Magneto reawakens and is able to bring the asteroid back into orbit. Earth is saved thanks to the X-Men! But then the asteroid blinks out of existence — is it an explosion? No matter what it is, the X-Men are gone.

---

Six months later, the events known as E-Day mark the day when the X-Men disappeared. Forge tinkers in a lab while a radio broadcast says that Graydon Creed edges ahead in the polls against President Kelly. Then Bishop walks in to inform Forge that it’s not a matter of where the X-Men are, but when.

Rogue and Nightcrawler arrive in 3000 B.C., accompanied by Beast, Professor X, and Magneto. They all encounter a young Apocalypse, going by his name En Sabah Nur. At the same time (sorta), Scott and Jean are in 3960 A.D., where they meet Mother Askani of Clan Askani and a young Nathan Summers. But where are Morph and Wolverine? All of this is to be continued in X-Men ’97 season 2.

What do you hope to see in season 2? Share your thoughts, and season 1 opinions, with other Marvel fans over at Sideshow Social Network or in side.show/geekgroup, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!