The final episode of X-Men ‘97 Season Two is now streaming on Disney+. Titled ‘Survival of the Fittest’, the episode concludes a run of nine tales which included: ‘Days of Past Future’, ‘A Force to Be Reckoned With’, ‘Rise of Apocalypse – Part One’, ‘Rise of Apocalypse – Part Two’, ‘Weapon X, Lies and DVDs’, ‘Danger.exe‘, ‘Strange Land, Savage Heart‘, and ‘The Dead Man’s Hand’.
But have you managed to catch up with the finale yet? And if so, did you spot all the little references, in-jokes, and nods to X-Men: The Animated Series, the comics, and the wider Marvel Universe?
Well, don’t worry about it. All you need do is keep reading for a guide to what hidden references you might have missed from the final episode of X-Men ’97: Season Two!
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Roll call
Into the credits to begin, and notable changes this week include the return of Jubilee to the team line-up and for the first time the inclusion of Sunspot as an official member of the X-Men. Sunspot never made it into the team roll call during the first season of X-Men ‘97, and only previously appeared amongst the X-Force team line-up during the opening credits for the Season Two episode, ‘A Force to Be Reckoned With’.
The other main notable change in the credits is that X-Factor appear as the credits conclude, replacing the standard collection of villains who usually appear in the opening titles.
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A ship submerged
As the episode begins, Rogue, Beast, and Nightcrawler are on a mission to retrieve information from Ship, which is buried at sea. For those who don’t remember, Ship originally appeared in the X-Men: The Animated Series episode, ‘Obsession’, which ended with Ship being sunk.
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Sentinel Squad O*N*E
As the story progresses, Val Cooper, X-Force, and X-Factor head to the X-Corp building in pursuit of Gambit. When it becomes clear the X-Men won’t just hand Gambit over to Val, she sends a collection of Sentinels to attack the team.
These Sentinels have not previously featured on the show (they didn’t appear on X-Men: The Animated Series either) and are known as Sentinel Squad O*N*E.
The difference between these Sentinels and past iterations is that these constructions are piloted by humans, rather than the standard robots we’ve seen before.
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Enter: Siryn
Over to X-Factor now, and with Polaris no longer a member of the team, her place has been taken by the mutant, Theresa Cassidy, aka Siryn. This is Siryn’s first appearance on the show.
Siryn made her comic book debut as a villain in the pages of Spider-Woman #37 back in 1981, before eventually becoming a member of X-Force in the ‘90s comics. She’s also the daughter of the mutant, Banshee.
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Brothers
And speaking of X-Factor, the team is still being led by Havok. The same Havok who is Cyclops’ brother… although Cyclops still doesn’t know this.
Havok and Cyclops met in X-Men: The Animated Series episode, ‘Cold Comfort’, but were unaware of their family connection. To date this connection has not been revealed on either show.
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It’s Morphin’ time
As X-Force members, Psylocke and Archangel mount an attack on Wolverine, they are surprised to find Morph masquerading as Logan. Morph then transforms into Doctor Octopus (the same version of Doc Ock from the ‘90s Spidey cartoon).
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It’s Morphin’ time… again
A short while later, as the X-Men regroup to take on Cable, Morph can be briefly seen in the guise of a character with stretch powers. Don’t be fooled into thinking this stretchy guy is Mister Fantastic – it’s Flatman instead!
Originally introduced in 1989, Flatman made his comic book debut in the pages of The West Coast Avengers. Known simply as Matt (no surname given) Flatman has powers of elasticity.
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Rogue vs. Gambit
As the episode heads into its big climax, Apocalypse takes over Gambit’s body to become an Apocalypse-Gambit hybrid. When Gambit died in the first season of X-Men ‘97, many fans speculated that he would be resurrected as a Horseman of Apocalypse (similar to a storyline in the comics), however, in a surprising turn he instead becomes a vessel for Apocalypse.
Meanwhile, Rogue has absorbed the energy of a Celestial being, becoming god-like in the process. The pair essentially engage in an age-old battle of good vs. evil.
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Familiar faces
A number of mutants can be seen briefly at Xavier’s school, including Artie and Nature Girl. All of these mutants have previously appeared in the season, including Colossus who is now staying with the X-Men.
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Nightcrawler’s sacrifice
As the episode ends, Nightcrawler sacrifices himself to save Rogue. It is implied Nightcrawler dies, but his fate is left ambiguous, leaving the door open for a possible return.
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Credit scene
Cut to a mid-credit scene with what appears to be Val Cooper reading through a private file for the shapeshifting mutant, Mystique. The file contains redacted information, as well as some images of Mystique’s known associates including Magneto, Mastermind, and Scarlet Witch amongst others.
Look carefully and the file also includes some additional details, including a mention of Anna-Marie Darkhölme. In the comics, Darkhölme is a name attributed to Rogue.
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What’s in a name?
The file also contains the names: Randall C, Rebecca R, and Jennifer L. These names are an in-joke, and make reference to actresses who have played Mystique on screen.
Randall Carpenter in X-Men: The Animated Series, and Rebecca Romijn and Jennifer Lawrence from the live-action movies.
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The fan theory… tweaked
And finally, one of the big fan theories throughout Season One and Two of X-Men ‘97 is that Mystique has secretly been masquerading as Val Cooper the entire time. This credit sequence makes it clear this isn’t the case.
However, as the scene ends, Mystique shoots Val and it is implied she will become Val’s replacement moving forward. The fan theory has become a reality, just not quite as speculated.
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