X-Men ’97 Season 2 Premiere Review

Originally published July 2, 2026. This article reviews the 3-episode premiere of season 2 of Marvel’s X-Men ’97 animated TV series.

---

Previously on X-Men ’97 … time became a real issue for Marvel’s premier mutants! Just as Asteroid M was exploding, sending most of the X-Men to their deaths, half the team was pushed into the future while the other half was sent to the past. And both destinations featured more than a hint of Apocalypse.

The long-awaited return of X-Men ’97 is finally here, and season 2 is shaking things up in every timestream. Here are the highlights from the three-episode premiere, including all those cameos and one royal cliffhanger.

---

Episode 1 “Days of Past Future”

“None escape the whims of time.” – Mother Askani

• Main Location: 3960 AD, Atlantic Basin
• Morph Cameo Watch: During the fight against the Four Horsemen, Morph shifts into Thor
• Voice Actor Trivia: Mother Askani is voiced by Gates McFadden, who played Dr. Beverly Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation

In the 40th century, anyone who opposes Apocalypse’s reign is hunted down by Cyber-Hounds — which are very Terminator-esque in their design. Forge and Bishop have split up to bring back the X-Men, with Forge dropping in on the future. Fortunately, Wolverine and Storm rescue him from the Hounds.

While Apocalypse attempts to regenerate, his servant Ozymandias presents Nathan as a potential bodily vessel for the ancient mutant. Of course, Cyclops and Jean Grey do everything they can to stop this from happening, even if that means staying in the future and disrupting the flow of time. They’re searching for the right moment to tell Nathan he’s their son. However, given how Madelyne Pryor’s episode was such a standout in season 1, it’s odd that Jean Grey is immediately placed into the role of Nathan’s mother. She and Cable had a warm reconciliation by the climax of season 1, but it’s Madelyne who placed the psychic goodbye message into Nathan’s mind.

Post-Apocalyptic Roadkill

Though the rest of the team wishes to return to the present, Storm understands Scott and Jean’s hesitation. But even Storm, with her epic speeches, grows tired of Mother Askani’s cryptic prophecies. When she pushes the leader to speak plainly, Askani reveals that Storm wields more power than she knows. At the same time, Askani also confesses that she’s the one who scattered the X-Men across time.

Over the course of a single episode, it’s impressive how Nathan goes from a boy who just wants to play to a young man ready to lead his people. Thanks to an epic pep talk from Storm, reminding Nathan that “it is your choice, and only yours, to become who you wish to be,” Nathan not only masters his telekinesis but also takes on Ship’s Celestial tech. By the end of the episode, it’s clear as a spring day when his shift into Cable occurred.

---

Episode 2 “A Force to Be Reckoned With”

“Peace out, losers!” – Jubilee

• Main Location: 1997 AD, Present Day
• Young Mutant Cameos: Monet/Penance, Dust, Quentin Quire, Chamber, possibly Synch, the Stepford Cuckoos, Anole, Rockslide, Beak, Angel Salvadore, Glob, Nature Girl

During episode 2, we’re returned to the present day. Things aren’t looking good for mutants (as usual) in 1997. But a new team has stepped up to replace the X-Men and this one is government sanctioned. Hey Havok, a piece of advice, if you have to say, “We’re definitely the good guys,” that probably means you aren’t. Case in point: Val Cooper’s government team called X-Factor is rounding up young mutants. She says it’s for a mutant relocation campaign but that sounds awfully familiar, in a very bad guy way.

Of the three premiere episodes, this present-day foray might just be the strongest. We already knew what we were getting from the future and the past, but the present is where X-Men ’97 is shaking things up a bit with X-lore. Even the episode’s intro is reformatted to feature the X-Force lineup, led by Cable and including Jubilee, Sunspot, Archangel, and Psylocke. Plus, Emma Frost finally makes her double-crossing debut as the White Queen and she’s as sassy as ever. Some queens don’t even need a crown.

Going Full Force

After last season’s Morph cameo, it’s so much fun seeing the actual Psylocke leap across the screen, slashing her katanas and using her psychic butterfly power signature. She also provides combat training to Jubilee, who then gets her own badass fight scene in a dark hallway, lit only by her fireworks. As she sets X-Force’s prisoners free, present-day Jubilee finally taps into Abscissa’s full potential.

On the other hand, Jubilee isn’t quite on board with Cable’s methods of kill first, ask questions maybe later. In fact, Jubilee is utilized very well as a moral compass for Cable and Polaris. She forces Cable to remember his past and grapple with how mutant children, like marginalized youth in any world, must grow up faster and more resilient than others. Is it fair? No, but it’s reality and as Mother Askani said, it’s their burden to do what must be done. Jubilee’s influence even extends to Polaris, who’s poised to ditch Knock-Off Cyclops and rejoin the X-Men’s cause.

---

Episode 3 “Rise of Apocalypse Part 1”

“Only a coward feels mighty stepping on ants.” – Magneto

• Main Location: 3000 BC, Nile Delta
• The Name Game: Apocalypse’s name, En Sabah Nur, can be translated from Arabic to mean “The First One” or “The Morning Light”

With half the X-Men now returned to the present, it’s our first time seeing Magneto, Professor X, Rogue, Beast, and Nightcrawler in Egypt. Episode 3 further pits Charles versus Magnus. Their battling philosophies always do well when a third party challenges their views, and now that person is young Apocalypse. Magneto’s influence over En Sabah Nur is one of the most fascinating aspects of episode 3. He consoles Nur, reminding him, “It comes as a heavy burden to be the first of your kind.” While Charles chatters away on his high horse, Magneto sees the potential in Nur to walk a different path than the Apocalypse they know.

In steering Nur away from pure vengeance against the Pharaoh, Magneto seeks to turn En Sabah Nur into the first X-Man and rewrite history in mutantkind’s favor. However, nothing is ever that simple. A misunderstanding spurs Nur to believe the X-Men are working against him. Just as tensions reach a boiling point, Bishop drops in for a rescue. At the same time, the Pharaoh uses Celestial technology to aim a powerful beam at the X-Men’s location.

Right before the episode ends, we learn the Pharaoh’s name: Rama-Tut. Surely the X-Men and En Sabah Nur will survive this particular attack but what will come from the reveal that the Pharaoh is a time-displaced version of Kang the Conqueror?

---

While it’s inevitable that Apocalypse won’t suddenly turn into a hero, other characters are headed for major turnarounds. What do you think is in store for Polaris, Magneto, Jubilee, and the others? And who do you think Morph will turn into next?

Join the conversation with other Marvel fans over at Sideshow Social Network or in side.show/geekgroup, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!