Full spoilers follow for X-Men 97 season 1 and their Marvel comic history.
Well, well, well… what an ending that was. X-Men 97 certainly went out with a bang in the 10th and final episode, titled ‘Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 3’, of its first season – and we suspect you’ve got plenty of questions about the popular Disney Plus show’s finale.
Luckily for you, we’re here to provide answers to – or, at the very least, try to answer – your biggest queries. From its post-credits scene and numerous Marvel cameos, to whether there’ll be a second season and who that mystery character is, you’ll know more than you did once you’re done with this article.
If you’re not caught up on the Marvel Phase 5 series, this is your final warning: bookmark this page until you’ve seen all 10 episodes. Otherwise, you’ll ruin plenty of big surprises for yourself.
X-Men 97 ending explained: who is En Sabah Nur?
That’ll be the real name of Apocalypse, an ancient and extremely powerful mutant who’s proven to be a constant thorn in the X-Men‘s side in the superhero team’s illustrious comic book history. He was also the main villain in the 2016 live-action film X-Men: Apocalypse, where he was portrayed by Oscar Isaac (Moon Knight, Dune). You can find out where that film sits on the convoluted live-action X-Men timeline in our X-Men movies in order guide.
But I digress. One of the world’s first-ever mutants and Earth’s most powerful beings, En Sabah Nur has battled the X-Men and its various spin-off teams, including the Cable-led X-Force, across time and space in numerous forms. Indeed, he’s had many names throughout Marvel history and, whether he’s acted alone or allied himself with other supervillains, including Mr. Sinister (one of X-Men 97‘s most notable antagonists), Apocalypse regularly pops up with a new world-ending plan that the X-Men have to thwart.
Incidentally, this isn’t the first time that Apocalypse has shown up in an animated X-Men series. He appeared in numerous episodes of X-Men: The Animated Series (X:TAS), the beloved 1990s TV show that X-Men 97 is a sequel to. That’s why Beast says “Oh dear” when Nur reveals himself to the titular team (sans Jean Grey and Scott Summers/Cyclops) when they’re mysteriously transported to Egypt in the year 3,000 B.C. in episode 10’s final five minutes.
As for Jean and Scott, they were transported into the future (3,960 A.D, to be precise) where they meet a young Cable/Nathan Summers and Mother Askani, the leader of the Askani clan. Without spoiling too much, Mother Askani is another individual with big ties to the Summers family, but that’s a story for another day…
X-Men 97 ending explained: is there a post-credits scene?
Yes, there is. Once the character-based part of the credits have rolled, we return to the scene of Genosha’s destruction, which devastated the mutant community (and those of us watching) in X-Men 97 episode 5.
Here, we’re reunited with Nur, albeit now thousands of years old and with an ambitious (read: maniacal) plan to assume dominion of Earth. We also see Nur find one of the deceased Gambit’s old cards, which he looks at as he ominously utters the words “So much pain, my children. So much death”.
Why is this ominous? Because – comic spoilers – Apocalypse brings Gambit back from the dead as one of his Four Horsemen of the, well, Apocalypse, transforming him into Death in the process. X-Men 97 episode 10’s post-credits scene, then, appears to suggest that this subplot could be part of season 2.
Speaking of which…
X-Men 97 ending explained: will there be a season 2?
Yes. As reported by Variety, Marvel announced – in July 2022 – that it had ordered a second season of X-Men 97. At the time, it was expected that showrunner Beau DeMayo would helm the series’ next installment.
However, X-Men 97’s creator was fired by Marvel just days before its Disney Plus launch, so it’s unclear who’ll replace DeMayo as showrunner. According to The Hollywood Reporter, though, DeMayo had completed script work on season 2 before his expected departure, and was even discussing tentative ideas with his fellow writers for a third season.
Speaking to NexusPointNews yesterday (May 14), Lenore Zann – who voices Rogue – confirmed that she’d completed voice recording work (audio replacement dialog notwithstanding) for season 2 as well. Still, it could be some time before X-Men 97 season 2 is with us, with plenty of animation work and other post-production aspects that need to be completed before it’s ready to air on one of the world’s best streaming services.
X-Men 97 ending explained: will we see the Age of Apocalypse and Onslaught comic storylines in season 2?
Based on events that play out in the season 1 finale, these two comic book arcs seem to be the most likely candidates for X-Men 97 season 2.
Much like the Mother Askani tease above – and a Wolverine one that I’ll get to shortly – I don’t think it’s a good idea to elaborate on these storylines too much. Doing so would spoil the surprise for any non-comic book readers well ahead of schedule. For now, I’ll just say that ‘Age of Apocalypse’ is surely going to be adapted, based on Apocalypse’s appearance in season 1 episode 10, and that ‘Onslaught’ could happen, given events surrounding Charles and Magneto in the same episode.
X-Men 97 ending explained: how many Marvel character cameos are there?
A lot. X-Men 97 episode 8 was full of crowd-pleasing cameos, but that entry’s surprise character inclusions pale in comparison to the sheer number of Marvel superheroes (and the odd villain) who show up in one of the best Disney Plus shows‘ season 1 finale. Here’s a quick rundown of everyone we noticed in ‘Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 3’:
- Archangel (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Black Panther (the T’Chaka iteration)
- Captain America
- Clock and Dagger
- Colossus (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Crimson Dynamo
- Daredevil
- Doctor Strange
- Dust (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Emma Frost (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Exodus (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Havok (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Iceman (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Iron Man
- Magik (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Mr. Fantastic (Morph briefly changes into him on Asteroid M)
- Omega Red
- Psylocke
- Quicksilver (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Scarlet Witch (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Shadow Cat (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Silver Samurai
- Spider-Man (in Peter Parker form; seen watching a TV screen around the 31:05 mark alongside Mary Jane Watson, as confirmed by DeMayo on X/Twitter)
X-Men 97 ending explained: is Wolverine dead?
No. He had the adamantium ripped from his body by Magneto in episode 9, but he’s far from being placed six feet under.
So, how does Wolverine survive? And what fate awaits him without his adamantium and accelerated healing factor? As much as this is a spoiled-filled article, I’m hesitant to get into all of that because a) it’ll take too long to explain and b) spoil way too much about Logan’s journey in future seasons. Just be safe in the knowledge that everyone’s favorite clawed mutant is still alive, albeit not necessarily well.
X-Men 97 ending explained: what about season 1’s villains, aka Bastion and Mr. Sinister?
It seems that Bastion, unlike Wolverine, perished in the season 1 finale. The major Marvel villain, who was introduced in X-Men 97 episode 7, likely died when Asteroid M’s core reactor was destroyed by the Magneto Protocols – aka the barrage of missiles that the US Government fired at Bastion and the X-Men in an attempt to keep Earth (read: humanity) safe.
Okay, we didn’t see Bastion die, and we all know that somebody isn’t technically dead unless we see their body, so there’s every chance he survived. Until we see or hear otherwise, though, it seems he is.
As for Mr. Sinister, he had all of his mutant DNA stripped from his body by Jean Grey – in her Phoenix form – which significantly aged him and removed all of his superpowers, including the hold he had over Cable’s mind. He’s not dead but, without his abilities, he might as well be.
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