X-Men ’97 has officially come to a close as of last Wednesday, and it still doesn’t feel real. Indeed, the show’s singular nostalgia factor had plenty of viewers curious in the weeks leading up to its premiere back in March, but in no way were we expecting Beau DeMayo‘s masterpiece to hit as hard as it did.
Indeed, within the first two episodes, it was clear that ’97 would offer a more mature take on the animated series canon, thanks to its incisive treatment of both character drama and uncompromising political attitudes to go along with its wonderfully choreographed superhero combat. But, by the time “Remember It” rolled around and absolutely pulverized our nerves with one of, if not the most devastating half-hours to ever come out of Marvel Studios, we knew we were in for the ride of a lifetime.
And that ride will only continue into the still in-production second season, as the time-fractured X-Men prepare to field the challenges presented by Apocalypse, with whom — whether they’re stuck in 3000 B.C., 3690 A.D., or the present day — they’ll have to contend, in some capacity.
But it’s the present day to which we turn our attention for the moment, as it’s the site of ’97‘s take on one of the most storied mutant teams ever to grace Marvel Comics.
Is X-Men ’97 setting up the X-Factor team?
Let’s look at what we know first; Apocalypse began in the comics as the chief villain of X-Factor, and he’s very obviously going to be the main focus of the second season. Moreover, the overwhelming majority of the main ’97 cast is trapped outside of the present day, with only Forge, Bishop, Jubilee, Cable, and Sunspot holding the fort in the ‘90s. Forge, meanwhile, has been searching for the X-Men for six months following the Asteroid M incident, and with Bishop’s information about the team being trapped in time, it’s likely that the remaining team will be divided yet again as they seek to bring their friends home.
It’s no great leap, then, to assume the X-Men will need a bit of extra firepower as Apocalypse prepares to take advantage of a world still reeling from Bastion’s heinous operations, and so who better to stand against the ancient mutant than his oldest enemies?
We know, for instance, that Iceman and Angel — founding members of X-Factor in the comics —exist somewhere in the ’97 continuity, given their very limited involvement in the original animated series, and Angel in particular still has a score to settle with Apocalypse after he was brainwashed by the tyrannical villain in the old show. Moreover, we already know that DeMayo is all too happy to do justice to X-Men who were overlooked in the original series, thanks to his handling of Nightcrawler in ’97, and next up on that list would undoubtedly have to be Iceman, who’s long overdue for a modernized screen appearance.
Valerie Cooper, meanwhile, could very well fill the role of X-Factor’s government liaison (she certainly owes them after the role she played in the Bastion incident, even if her conscience ended up winning her over) as she did in the comics, and with Forge looking ready to step up as the leader of their current ragtag group, that’s two heads of another major iteration of X-Factor right there; an iteration that just so happens to include Mystique, whose history in the animated series alone (much of which involves Apocalypse) would be the perfect pivot point for inter-team tension, should DeMayo want to play with that.
Then there’s the matter of why X-Factor existed in the comics in the first place. The original X-Factor team consisted of Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, and Jean Grey as heroes who dissented from X-Men to form their own team. The reason they did that was because Charles Xavier named Magneto as the new leader of the X-Men, and they were none too pleased about that. Read that again; in the comics, X-Factor exists because Professor X made Magneto the new leader of the X-Men. Does that ring any bells?
Moreover, with Forge keeping tabs on other mutants, it’s no great leap in logic to think that he’s going to end up recruiting some, but operating as a team of mutants will be no easy task considering the nuclear state of mutant-human relations. But what if Forge were to advertise himself as a mutant bounty hunter, one who “captures” mutants and secretly trains/recruits them as the threat of Apocalypse begins to loom? You know, kind of like how the original X-Factor team first operated in the comics?
In any case, it’s safe to say that if DeMayo does end up doing X-Factor for X-Men ’97, it’s going to be a team that’s singular to DeMayo’s vision, as the likes of Beast, Cyclops, and Jean Grey are currently stranded out of time. For now, though, the patterns are patterning and the gears are turning, and we should not at all be surprised if Bobby Drake and Warren Worthington III (and perhaps Alex Summers, among others), end up playing a very big role in season two of X-Men ’97.
The first season of X-Men ’97 is now streaming on Disney Plus. A second season has been confirmed, while a third season is in devlopment.