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X-Men 97's season one finale delivers a sprawling cliffhanger that reshapes the entire series, sending mutants across multiple timelines and setting up a story centered on Apocalypse and the mysteries of time itself.
The Post-Credit Scene and Gambit's Dark Future
The season ends with a post-credit scene showing Apocalypse arriving at the ruins of Josiah, where Gambit sacrificed himself to stop Bastion's deadly attack. As Apocalypse picks up one of Gambit's playing cards, he speaks ominously: "So much pain my children, so much death." For those familiar with Marvel Comics, this moment signals far more than mere reflection on past losses. It's a clear tease of Gambit's resurrection as Death, one of Apocalypse's Four Horsemen.
In the comics, Apocalypse recruits elite mutants to serve as his Horsemen: War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death. Each recruit is transformed into a puppet of the horseman archetype they represent, losing their free will in the process. The show appears to be setting up Gambit's return in this role, particularly since Professor Xavier glimpsed a vision of Gambit appearing as Death while on the Shi'ar homeworld earlier in the season.
If Gambit becomes Death, other powerful mutants may also be conscripted. Sebastian Shaw, with his ability to absorb energy, could become Famine. Madelyne Pryor, given her connection to the Phoenix Force and role as Goblin Queen, might become War. Polaris has a history as Pestilence in the comics, though Rogue could also fill that role, given her power to drain life through touch.
The Time Displacement and Scattered Teams
The finale's central catastrophe occurs when Magneto awakens from Xavier's psychic attack and uses his power to stop asteroid M from crashing to Earth. However, a malfunction in Bastion's black hole generator sends the asteroid hurtling through time instead. The X-Men scatter across multiple eras:
- Rogue, Nightcrawler, Beast, Xavier, and Magneto land in Egypt around 3000 BC, where they accidentally rescue a young Apocalypse.
- Jean Grey and Cyclops arrive in the year 3960 AD, reuniting with an adult Cable and meeting Mother Askani, leader of the Askani clan.
- Storm, Wolverine, and Morph's whereabouts remain unknown.
Black holes and dark matter serve as anchors for multiversal travel throughout the Marvel multiverse, as seen in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and Across the Spider-Verse. The finale's chaos suggests this displacement was not random, with Bishop noting that a mysterious force seemed to want the X-Men lost in time.
Rama-Tut, Kang, and Future Conflicts
A mysterious dome visible at the episode's end closely resembles the futuristic technology of Rama-Tut, Kang's Egyptian pharaoh persona. The dome's circuit design mirrors those seen on Kang's time chair in Ant-Man: Quantumania, suggesting Kang will play a significant role in season two.
According to Marvel Comics lore, Apocalypse eventually overthrows Rama-Tut's Egyptian rule, forcing the conqueror to flee back to the future. In the show's narrative, Jean and Cyclops may help drive this conflict, potentially allowing Kang to escape further into time and eventually adopt his "Conqueror" identity in the 40th century.
Season Two's Direction
Season two appears heavily inspired by 1994's "The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix." Jean and Cyclops will likely raise a variant of Cable in the 40th century while fighting Apocalypse's future incarnation. Meanwhile, the scattered team in ancient Egypt must confront the younger Apocalypse they accidentally saved.
Wolverine, having lost his adamantium to Magneto, is expected to go feral without the metal's stabilizing influence. Storm and Morph remain unaccounted for, their futures uncertain across the multiverse.
The finale's emphasis on characters existing in timelines where they don't belong echoes warnings from Multiverse of Madness about incursion risks. Combined with the Kang tease and the X-Men's timeline displacement, season two suggests Marvel is building toward a larger multiverse crossover event involving both the animated and live-action Marvel universes.
