X-Men ‘97 continues its streak of excellent storytelling, despite some cracks starting to show. They’ve stopped Apocalypse (for now) and have turned to uncovering Wolverine’s backstory.
In Episode 4, “Rise of Apocalypse (Part 2),” Magneto realizes that perhaps his influence over En Sabah Nur isn’t strong enough to stop him. Magneto and Professor X take center stage alongside En Sabah Nur as the team finds Ship, Apocalypse’s future ship and home to the prophecy of his life.
Unfortunately, Beast and Nightcrawler don’t have a lot to do in this episode, and even Rogue is given only a moment to reveal her lingering guilt from Genosha before being the team’s main muscle in the final battle. With the other Apocalypse episodes giving all members semi-significant importance, this team’s imbalance sticks out.
Despite a deeply emotional conclusion to the episode, the whole first arc of this season feels like a set-up to something bigger down the line. The Apocalypse storyline doesn’t feel resolved because each timeline left his power undisputed and his path open-ended. While it is very likely they pick up this story later, it is a tad unsatisfying that the X-Men haven’t reached a final outcome against this foe.
After the post-credit cliffhanger in the fourth episode, we finally find out who’s in the old gang that Wolverine assembled in Episode 5 “Weapon X, Lies, and DVD.” Gathering his ex-fiancee Yuriko a.k.a. Lady Death Strike, his nemesis Sabretooth, two pals from the Weapon X program (Maverick and Garrison Kane) and his fellow X-Man Morph, Wolverine finds himself at the Weapon X base that gave him his adamantium skeleton. This unusual team finds the remnants of an alien presence that stopped the base from finishing the program.
Surprisingly, this episode is more Morph-centric than expected. The writers juggle the suspense of the mission with the unresolved tension caused by Morph’s feelings, leaning into the melodrama that makes X-Men stories so addicting. By telling Wolverine’s story through Morph’s perspective, the audience gains a better understanding of both characters even while Wolverine remains an enigma. Much of Wolverine’s appeal is what goes unsaid about him, so fans will be happy with the small glimpses into his true motives.
X-Men ’97 Season 2 takes advantage of the vast number of mutants present in comics, giving everyone a chance in the spotlight one way or another. We still have yet to see the main cast’s reactions to the aftermath of Apocalypse, but with three episodes left anyone’s favorite character can have their moment.
