The first season of X-Men ’97 is hurtling towards its big conclusion, but we’re not quite at the end yet. Instead, this week we’ve reached the penultimate episode, aka Episode Nine, aka ‘Tolerance is Extinction – Part Two‘.
This episode is the second chapter in the three-part finale of X-Men ’97, and it offers up plenty of action, adventure, and X-citement! ‘Tolerance is Extinction – Part Two‘ also serves up lots more nods, winks, in-jokes, Easter eggs, and references to X-Men: The Animated Series, the comics, the wider Marvel Universe, and beyond, so you had best be paying attention!
Want to know what all of those references and in-jokes are? Then keep reading. Below you will find all of the details about what you might of missed from this week’s episode.
Oh, and don’t forget, on this blog I’ve previously provided a run-through of all the references and in-jokes in the first eight episodes, which includes: ‘To Me, My X-Men‘ (E1), ‘Mutant Liberation Begins‘ (E2), ‘Fire Made Flesh‘ (E3), ‘Motendo/Lifedeath: Part One‘ (4), ‘Remember It‘ (E5), ‘Lifedeath: Part Two‘ (E6), ‘Bright Eyes’ (E7), and ‘Tolerance is Extinction – Part One‘ (E8). So, if you’ve missed anything important, you should find it here.
And now onto Episode Nine…
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Storm returns
First up, it’s always worth scanning the opening credits for any changes. Each week the credits get tweaked, usually to make some alterations, and this week is no different.
The change for Episode Nine? After an extended absence, Storm has finally been re-added to the credits, and she appears in her black costume.
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The Sentinels are primed
Sticking with the credits for a moment, and in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene, the human characters featured in the opening credits have been replaced with Prime Sentinels.
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Blue & Gold
Onto the episode now, and with an all-out war on the horizon, the X-Men discuss a plan of action. During the conversation, Cyclops divides the team into two groups: Blue and Gold.
The division of the X-Men into ‘Blue’ and ‘Gold’ is a reference to how the X-Men were split into two factions during the 1990s-era of the comics. The Blue team appeared in the pages of X-Men, while the Gold team featured in the pages of The Uncanny X-Men.
For those wondering, the comic book line-up during the 1990s was as follows:
- Blue team: Cyclops, Rogue, Wolverine, Gambit, Beast, Psylocke, and Jubilee.
- Gold team: Storm, Bishop, Archangel, Iceman, Jean Grey, and Colossus.
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Scrambled
After the teams have been decided, Beast and Forge work on a device to disable Bastion. As noted in the episode, the device is called a mnemonic scrambler, which was previously used on Jean Grey when she transformed into the Dark Phoenix.
For those keeping track, this device previously appeared in the X-Men: The Animated Series episode, The Dark Phoenix Saga Part III: The Dark Phoenix.
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Going green
Now, something which occurs a couple of times during this episode is the use of costume changes, and the first notable change comes via Rogue’s green outfit. If the costume looks familiar, it is because a variation of this costume previously appeared in flashback scenes in the X-Men: The Animated Series episode, ‘A Rogue’s Tale’.
However, Rogue’s green costume is also a nod to her original outfit from the comics. When Rogue made her debut in the Marvel Universe, she sported a similar green ensemble.
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Morph’s death
Sticking with Rogue for a moment, and after some soul searching, Rogue decides to abandon the X-Men and join forces with Magneto. Before she leaves the team, she explains her reasoning, highlighting the many casualties and situations the X-Men have faced (Jean’s death, Bishop’s time-travel disappearance etc).
It is here that Rogue also mentions Morph’s ‘death’ which occurred in the opening two-part story of X-Men: The Animated Series (aka Night of the Sentinels – Parts One and Two). As a quick reminder, Morph was left for dead during a battle with the Sentinels.
However, when Rogue makes this comment about Morph she also reveals an interesting little detail. She says: “Morph was barely on the team 30 minutes before we tossed them to the wolves.”
This line tells us that when X-Men: The Animated Series first began, Morph was essentially a new recruit to the team, rather than a seasoned member. This is important information as it helps to explain his death.
In essence, Morph ‘died’ because he was very inexperienced when he fought the Sentinels. Being new to the group he had very little in the way of field training.
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The Mutantcycle
And now for a quick observation.
As the action switches from the X-Mansion to Muir Island, we get a quick glimpse of a storage area which contains a number of vehicles, including the X-Men’s Blackbird jet. But look closely and you’ll also see a curious looking yellow and brown motorbike with claws!
This bike is ‘Wolverine’s Mutantcycle’. This odd little vehicle has not featured in X-Men ‘97 or X-Men: The Animated Series before, but some X-fans will recognise it as the Mutantcycle was created for the 1990s X-Men toy line from ToyBiz!
For those who don’t quite remember, the product development team at ToyBiz thought it would be a good idea to give Wolverine a motorbike that was designed around his costume and claws. Of course it looked stupid, but it certainly wasn’t the worst toy to appear on toy shelves back during the ‘90s.
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Black leather
As the X-Men prepare to suit up (more about that in a moment), Cyclops hands Cable a new costume which is yellow and blue. He then makes a quick comment about it not being “black leather”.
This is a nod to the black leather outfits worn by the X-Men in the live-action X-Men movies. It is also a riff on a joke from the first X-Men movie from 2000, which contained a similar exchange about the team not wearing “yellow Spandex”.
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Costumes a plenty
Onto some more costume changes now, and as the X-Men suit up, Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, and Jean switch to new outfits. However, longtime X-Men fans will know these aren’t ‘new’ outfits, but are instead ‘old’ outfits.
The costumes which are used here are classic outfits taken from the comics.
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Pryde of the X-Men
Sticking with the costumes, and not only are these classic outfits from the comics, but they have also appeared in animation before, via the 1989 television pilot, X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men. For those unfamiliar with this cartoon, it was a one-off 20-minute pilot episode for a proposed X-Men animated series that never got off the ground.
Pryde of the X-Men featured a team line-up which included Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Dazzler. Kitty Pryde also featured in the episode.
Although the cartoon wasn’t a ratings success, and therefore didn’t lead to a show, it was pretty decent and featured some superb animation. It also inspired an X-Men game from Konami, which regularly appeared in gaming arcades during the 1990s.
Should you wish to watch Pryde of the X-Men, the episode can usually be found on YouTube.
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A classic tradition
And before moving away from the subject of costumes, it’s worth noting that the appearance of ‘classic’ costumes in Marvel stories is becoming something of a tradition. In recent times, many of the MCU movies and TV shows have found ways to briefly pay homage to classic comic book costumes, and it would seem that X-Men ‘97 is following suit.
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The new mutant
As the ‘suit-up’ scene comes to an end, Jubilee can be seen holding a business card for Roberto Da Costa. But look closely, and you’ll see it has some hidden Easter eggs in the telephone and address details.
First up, the telephone number 009 071 982 is a reference to September 7th (09/07) 1982 – the publication date of the graphic novel, The New Mutants. This comic book marked the first appearance of Roberto Da Costa in the Marvel Universe.
Secondly, the address ‘1 Claremont Avenue’ is a reference to legendary X-Men writer, Chris Claremont. In addition to writing many of the iconic X-Men stories, Claremont co-created Roberto Da Costa/Sunspot (alongside artist Bob McLeod).
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It’s Morphin’ time
Nearing the end now, but time for a quick cameo thanks to Morph! As the X-Men engage in battle, Morph transforms… into the Hulk!
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Show me what you’re made of
And finally, as the episode draws to an end, the X-Men and Magneto engage in battle, before Wolverine brutally stabs Magneto with his adamantium claws. In retaliation, the master of magnetism begins to pull the metal out of Wolverine’s body as the episode fades to the end credits.
This whole sequence is inspired by the comic book, X-Men Vol 2 Issue #25. Magneto did the exact same thing to Wolverine in the comic, which left Wolvie without his metal claws/skeleton for quite some time, and also caused him to become feral.
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