In the June issue of Episode Magazine, Enes Taştan reviews X-Men ’97.
Ask any “geek” of a certain age this question: What was your favorite era of X-Men? Chances are, a significant number of the answers will point to the 1990s. What’s interesting, however, is that this isn’t limited to people who actually lived through that era. Many readers and viewers discovering X-Men for the first time today eventually find themselves diving into the comics, animated series, and stories of the ’90s. Because even after all these years, the strongest foundations of the mutant universe are still built upon that period.
When the first season of X-Men ’97 ended, we were left with a rather strange picture: Bastion had been defeated, but it didn’t feel like the mutants had won. Gambit was dead. Genosha had been destroyed. Magneto had watched everything he had defended for years collapse before his eyes. And the X-Men themselves had been lost in time. That was the situation.
Perhaps that’s why, when the Season 2 trailer was released, people weren’t just talking about the new characters or surprise returns. After the first season, X-Men ’97 had stopped being a project sustained purely by nostalgia. It had earned the audience’s trust. That was exactly the feeling I had while watching the new trailer. This time, Marvel doesn’t seem to be making just another season. They appear to be attempting something much bigger.
THE INFLUENCE OF “THE ADVENTURES OF CYCLOPS AND PHOENIX” AND “RISE OF APOCALYPSE”
The first thing that stands out in the new season trailer is that the story is split across three different timelines. We see Scott and Jean in the distant future. Xavier, Magneto, Rogue, Beast, and Nightcrawler encounter a young Apocalypse in Ancient Egypt. Meanwhile, Forge and Bishop are trying to locate the missing X-Men in the present day. At first glance, it looks complicated, but for comic book readers, it actually opens the door to many familiar storylines.
The scenes featuring Scott and Jean alongside Nathan Summers immediately reminded me of The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix. It’s one of the stories I’ve wanted to see adapted into animation for years. The Ancient Egypt sequences, meanwhile, barely even try to hide their Rise of Apocalypse influence. The repeated shots of a young En Sabah Nur strongly suggest that Marvel isn’t planning to use Apocalypse merely as the season’s villain.
To be honest, after watching the trailer several times, the first question that came to my mind was this: What if the X-Men are unintentionally helping bring about Apocalypse’s rise? Some of the hieroglyphs and scenes from the past seem to hint at exactly that. If Marvel really goes in that direction, the result could be something far more interesting than a classic hero-versus-villain story. After all, that’s my favorite aspect of time-travel stories. Sometimes, while trying to save the world, the heroes end up becoming the very cause of the disaster.
Then there’s the matter of Rama-Tut. I think this detail will go unnoticed by many viewers, yet it may be one of the most intriguing aspects of the trailer. Rama-Tut isn’t just an ordinary pharaoh—he’s one of Kang’s earliest variants. Some of the technology, the time portals, and especially the events unfolding around Apocalypse inevitably bring that connection to mind. Of course, it’s far too early to say this will directly tie into the MCU, but it’s equally clear that Marvel hasn’t completely closed that door.
Things become even more interesting when it comes to Gambit. He isn’t physically present in the trailer, yet he’s everywhere—in Rogue’s gaze, in the playing cards, in the void left behind by Genosha. In my opinion, one of the greatest strengths of the first season was that it didn’t use Gambit’s death merely as a shocking moment. That event changed every character, especially Rogue and Magneto. You can still feel its impact throughout the trailer. Considering Apocalypse’s role in the story and the possible arrival of Archangel, the Death Horseman Gambit theory no longer sounds nearly as far-fetched as it once did.
The shadow of Genosha hangs over the entire trailer. That detail is important to me. Marvel could have chosen the easy route—they could have moved on to a new season, introduced a new villain, and continued as if nothing had happened. But when I look at the trailer, I see that Genosha has not been forgotten. Rogue is still carrying that burden. Magneto is still carrying that rage. The entire mutant community still seems to be living with that trauma.
APOCALYPSE’S FUTURE AND DETAILS THAT RECALL THE “HOUSE OF X” ERA
Beyond all this, Bastion may have been defeated, but the fear of the world he created has not disappeared. Perhaps that’s why Danger’s appearance caught my attention. The new Sentinel models we see in the trailer, the ruined cities, and Cable’s glimpses of the future all kept leading me to the same thought. Apocalypse may be the great threat, but perhaps Apocalypse isn’t the real issue. The real issue may be the future itself.
The dark future that Cable has been trying to warn everyone about throughout the season. There are also several details here that evoke the House of X era, particularly the X-Corp reference. It could be a small nod, or it could be the first step in a much larger plan. Either way, it’s fascinating to see traces of the era in which Jonathan Hickman reshaped mutant society.
The same can be said for Quentin Quire. Those who have read Grant Morrison’s New X-Men run will remember Quentin as one of the characters who embodied the anger of mutant youth during the Riot at Xavier’s storyline. Seeing a character like him emerge in a post-Genosha world doesn’t feel like a coincidence to me. I believe the second season won’t just focus on the battle against Apocalypse, but also on the ideological divisions within the mutant community itself.
Another intriguing detail may be hidden in the future timeline. The reappearance of Mother Askani in the new season trailer particularly caught my attention. Considering her connection to Rachel Summers in the comics, it’s possible that the story being told here extends beyond Nathan’s journey alone. After all, Rachel appears in many universes as the daughter Scott and Jean never had. If Marvel chooses to explore those relationships, the emotional side of the second season could be far more powerful than we expect.
As for Wolverine, there’s still a great deal of mystery surrounding him. Magneto ripping the adamantium from his body was one of the most unforgettable moments of the first season. In the comics, that event completely changed Logan’s life. Yet the trailer remains deliberately silent on the subject. Logan appears to have returned, but the question of how he returned still remains unanswered.
Rather than providing dozens of answers, the new season trailer leaves us with dozens of questions. To be honest, as someone who has been reading X-Men for years, that’s exactly what excites me. Seeing references to completely different eras—from Rise of Apocalypse to The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix, from New X-Men to House of X—all within the same trailer is not something you come across very often.
Trying to fit ideas of this scale into a single story is a serious risk, but judging by the trailer, Marvel doesn’t seem afraid to take that risk. Now only one question remains: Can they really carry a story this ambitious? That’s the thing I’m most curious about before the second season begins.
