Full spoilers follow for X-Men 97 season 1 and their Marvel comics history.
Well, well, well… what an ending That used to be. X Men 97 certainly went out with a bang in the first season’s 10th and final episode, titled ‘Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 3’ – and we’re guessing you have plenty of questions about the finale of the hit Disney Plus show.
Luckily for you, we’re here to provide answers to – or at least try to answer – your biggest questions. From the post-credits scene and countless Marvel cameos, to the question of whether there will be a second season and who That The mysterious nature is that you will know more than before when you finish this article.
If you’re not yet caught up on the Marvel Phase 5 series, this is your final warning: bookmark this page until you’ve seen all 10 episodes. Otherwise you’ll ruin a lot of big surprises for yourself.
X-Men 97 Ending Explained: Who Is En Sabah Nur?
That will be the real name of Apocalypse, an ancient and extremely powerful mutant who has proven to be a constant thorn in the X-Men’s side throughout the superhero team’s illustrious comic book history. He was also the main villain in the 2016 live-action film X-Men: Apocalypsewhere he was played by Oscar Isaac (Moon Knight, Dune). You can find out where that movie is on the complicated live-action X-Men timeline in our X Men films in order guide.
But I digress. And Sabah Nur, one of the world’s very first mutants and the most powerful beings on Earth, has battled across time and space in countless forms against the X-Men and its various spin-off teams, including the Cable-led X-Force. He has gone by many names throughout Marvel history and, whether acting alone or allying himself with other supervillains, including Mr. Sinister (one of X Men 97‘s most notable antagonists), Apocalypse regularly surfaces with a new world-ending plan for the X-Men to thwart.
This isn’t the first time Apocalypse has appeared in an animated X-Men series. He appeared in numerous episodes of X-Men: The Animated Series (X:BAG), the beloved TV show from the 1990s X Men 97 is a sequel to. That’s why Beast says “Oh dear” when Nur reveals himself to the titular team (sans Jean Gray and Scott Summers/Cyclops) when they are mysteriously transported to Egypt in the year 3000 BC in the last five minutes of episode 10.
As for Jean and Scott, they were transported to the future (3960 AD, to be exact) where they meet a young Cable/Nathan Summers and Mother Askani, the leader of the Askani clan. Without spoiling too much, Mother Askani is another individual with major ties to the Summers family, but that’s a story for another day…
X-Men 97’s Ending Explained: Is There a Post-Credits Scene?
Yes there is. Once the character-based portion of the credits rolls, we return to the scene of Genosha’s destruction, which devastated the mutant community (and those of us who watched) in X Men 97 episode 5.
Here we are reunited with Nur, albeit now thousands of years old and with an ambitious (read: maniacal) plan to take control of the Earth. We also see Nur find one of the deceased Gambit’s old cards, which he looks at while ominously uttering the words, “So much pain, my children. So much death”.
Why is this ominous? Because – comic spoilers – Apocalypse brings Gambit back from the dead as one of his Four Horsemen of, well, Apocalypse, turning him into death in the process. The post-credits scene of X-Men 97 episode 10 seems to indicate that this subplot could be part of season 2.
Speaking of which…
X-Men 97’s Ending Explained: Will There Be a Season 2?
Yes. As reported by VarietyMarvel announced – in July 2022 – that it had ordered a second season X Men 97. At the time, showrunner Beau DeMayo was expected to direct the next installment of the series.
However, the X-Men 97 creator was fired by Marvel just days before the launch of Disney Plus, so it’s unclear who will replace DeMayo as showrunner. According to The Hollywood ReporterHowever, DeMayo had completed script work for Season 2 before his expected departure and even discussed preliminary ideas with his fellow writers for a third season.
Speak with NexusPointNews Yesterday (May 14), Lenore Zann – who voices Rogue – confirmed that she had also completed voice recording for Season 2 (despite the audio replacement dialogue). Still, it may still be a while away X Men 97 Season 2 is on its way, with a lot of animation work and other post-production aspects to be completed before it’s ready to air on one of the world’s top streaming services.
X-Men 97’s Ending Explained: Will We See the Age of Apocalypse and Onslaught Comic Storylines in Season 2?
Based on events that take place in the season 1 finale, these two comic books seem like the most likely candidates X Men 97 season 2.
Much like the Mother Askani tease above – and a Wolverine tease I’ll get to soon – I don’t think it’s a good idea to flesh out these storylines too much. Doing so would spoil the surprise for non-comic book readers well ahead of schedule. For now, I’ll just say that ‘Age of Apocalypse’ will definitely be adapted based on Apocalypse’s appearance in Season 1 Episode 10, and that ‘Onslaught’ could happen given the events surrounding Charles and Magneto in the same episode.
X-Men 97’s Ending Explained: How Many Marvel Character Cameos Are There?
A lot of. X Men 97 episode 8 was packed with crowd-pleasing cameos, but that entry’s surprising character inclusions pale in comparison to the sheer number of Marvel superheroes (and the odd villain) appearing in the season 1 finale of one of the best Disney Plus shows. Here’s a quick overview of everyone we spotted in ‘Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 3’:
- Archangel (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Black Panther (the T’Chaka iteration)
- Captain America
- Clock and dagger
- Colossus (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Crimson dynamo
- Daredevil
- Doctor Strange
- Dust (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Emma Frost (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Exodus (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Havok (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Iceman (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Iron Man
- Magik (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Mr. Fantastic (Morph briefly turns into him on Asteroid M)
- Omega red
- Psylocke
- Quicksilver (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Scarlet Witch (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Shadow Cat (only as an image on Forge’s ‘missing persons’ wall)
- Silver Samurai
- Spider-Man (in Peter Parker form; seen looking at a TV screen next to Mary Jane Watson around 31:05, as confirmed by DeMayo on X/Twitter)
X-Men 97 Ending Explained: Is Wolverine Dead?
No. The adamantium was ripped from his body by Magneto in episode 9, but he hasn’t been placed nearly six feet underwater.
So, how does Wolverine survive? And what fate awaits him without his adamantium and accelerated healing factor? As much as this is a spoiled article, I’m hesitant to get into all that because a) it’ll take too long to explain and b) there’s way too much to tell about Logan’s journey in the coming seasons. Take comfort in knowing that everyone’s favorite claw mutant is still alive, albeit not necessarily well.
X-Men 97’s Ending Explained: What About Season 1’s Villains, AKA Bastion and Mr. Sinister?
It appears that Bastion, unlike Wolverine, perished in the season 1 finale. The big Marvel villain, who was introduced in X Men 97 episode 7 likely died when Asteroid M’s nuclear reactor was destroyed by the Magneto Protocols – aka the barrage of missiles the US government fired at Bastion and the X-Men in an attempt to save Earth (read: humanity) to keep safe.
Okay, we didn’t see Bastion die, and we all know that a person isn’t technically dead unless we see his body, so there’s a good chance he survived. But until we see or hear otherwise, it looks like he is.
As for Mr. Sinister, he had all his mutated DNA removed from his body by Jean Gray – in her Phoenix form – which aged him considerably and removed all his superpowers, including the hold he had on Cable’s mind. He’s not dead, but without his abilities he might as well be.