X-Men’97 has come to a glorious end and when I say glorious, I truly mean it. This show has shown us what Marvel has been capable of all these years only if they gave people stories that were true to the source material and majorly focused on what people want. After the amazing journey we all went on with X-Men ’97 people are now looking forward to X-Men ’97 season 2 since the season finale ended with a plethora of possibilities. So, in this article, let’s talk about the five comic storylines that X-Men’97 can explore for Season 2.
1. House of M
One storyline that can be explored in Season 2 of X-Men’97 is the House of M. This idea came to me with a slight tease of Scarlett Witch. When Forge is looking at the board where he has pinned up the pictures of all the missing X-Men. On the board, there was a picture of Scarlett Witch that led me to think that maybe this is a slight tease towards the House of M storyline.
Now if you are wondering what is the House of M storyline, in this comic run, Scarlett Witch has gone out of control and to get her under control the Avengers allied with the X-Men in an attempt to prevent the world from annihilation. Since all the Avengers have been introduced in the series there is a possibility that we might get to see something from this storyline in X-Men’97 season 2.
2. Age of Apocalypse
Throughout the three-episode finale, certain plot details reinforce the fact that Apocalypse is going to have a role in X-Men’97 Season 2. First, the detail of Wolverine’s Adamantium being removed from his body is a subtle nod toward the storyline where Apocalypse re-merges Adamantium in Wolverine’s bones. After this, the final detail of Charles Xavier being thrown into the past by the end of the series also takes us towards the Age of Apocalypse.
Now you may ask what exactly is the story in this comic book? Age of Apocalypse is a story that takes place in a timeline where Charles Xavier is dead and now, without anyone to stop Apocalypse, he takes over the world with several mutants following his lead. However, a group of mutants under the leadership of Magneto are standing strong against Apocalypse.
Now since Professor X has been thrown back in time, we get to see a mid-credit scene of Apocalypse in a destroyed Genosha. Creators of X-Men’97 can swap Xavier’s death with his being stuck in the past. Well, that’s my idea of what can happen so let’s see where Season 2 takes us!
3. Avengers vs X-Men
The Avengers vs X-Men storyline focuses on X-Men standing against The Avengers. After the destructive Phoenix force returns and sets on a path of destruction, conflicting ideologies pit X-Men against Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Phoenix Force returns in this series, along with a new globe-trotting storyline of heroes fighting each other.
We already know X-Men’97 takes place in the Marvel Animated Universe featuring characters like Fantastic Four, The Avengers, and Spider-Man, among many others. The show already set up a scenario in the episode “Bright Eyes” where Rogue calls out Captain America and the Avengers for their inaction over the ongoing events. As such, X-Men ’97 season 2 can further explore these problems and bring forth their adaptation of the Avengers vs X-Men storyline.
4. Age of X Storyline
The Age of X storyline revolves around Magneto sheltering the remaining Mutants around the world inside Fortress X. After tensions between Humans and Mutants surge high, multiple events occur, which are not exactly favorable to the mutant population. With the new Avengers team hunting down the remainder of the mutants, there is a steep decline of the Mutants around the world.
While Age of X cannot be completely adapted into Season 2, X-Men’97 can take elements from the storyline and do its own thing. Rogue, Professor X, and Magneto play a large role in the show. And we already know that Mutant tensions are high in the series. As such, it only makes sense for them to do an adaptation or a storyline peeking into a possible future. This can also act as a way to incorporate Legion, Charles Xavier’s son.
5. X-Men Volume 2 #53 (1996)
Issue #53 from the 1996 X-Men run sounds like one of the most reasonable and logical steps for adaptation in the second season. This comic-book issue introduces us to Onslaught, a being born from the consciousness of Charles Xavier and Magneto. After Magneto rips off Wolverine’s Adamantium, Xavier uses telepathy to make Magneto catatonic. Alternatively, this psychic encounter resulted in Magneto’s negative thoughts entering Xavier’s consciousness, in turn colluding with Charle’s repressed negative thoughts. This gave rise to Onslaught.
The episodes “Tolerance is Extinction Part 2 and 3” explore these events. Hence, since the series ending already teases our Mutant heroes locking horns with Apocalypse, it also makes sense for the showrunners to adapt this storyline.
As of now, all we can do is speculate the direction X-Men’97 Season 2 might take and the possibilities stated by us in this piece are what we think might happen further as the show progresses. However, we are always open to more suggestions to see creativity from your end so, in the comment sections let us know What other comic storylines you think X-Men ’97 season 2 can incorporate.
Ajith Kumar
