Who is Nathan Summers in X-Men’97

X-Men ’97 is continuing the tale of X-Men in the animated world from where it left off in X-Men: The Animated Series. We got to see that Jean Grey is pregnant with Cycops’ child in the first episode just as she was in the last season of X-Men: TAS before the death of Professor X. Now in the second episode, we get to see that the baby is born and is named Nathan, Nathan Summers. However, the twist at the end of the episode creates the possibility of the newborn baby being one of the most badass characters in the MCU. So who is Nathan Summers seen in X-Men ’97?

Is Nathan Summers the Child of Jean Grey and Cyclops?

As far as we know, Nathan Summers is supposed to be the child of Jean and Cyclops, but there’s a twist to that. By the end of the second episode of X-Men ’97, we see a knock on the doors of Xavier’s mansion. When the door is opened we see a look-alike of Jean at the door saying “I Need the X-Men” and fainting. Now the question is, who is this person since Jean and Cyclops just had a baby and she’s standing right behind Cyclops?

I think I know what happened here. In Uncanny X-Men #168, we meet a clone of Jean named Madelyne Pryor who gets married to Scott however, there is a major difference between the plot of X-Men ’97 and the comic book storyline. In the comics, Cyclops knew that Madelyne was a clone of Jean but in the new series, he does not seem to know that. This is the reason why he is in utter shock when the new Jean shows up.

This suggests that the Nathan Summers seen in X-Men ’97 is not the child of Jean Grey and Cyclops but of Cyclops and Madelyne who, in the comics grows up to be Cable. The thing to remember here is, that this possibility could be twisted a bit by the show so we will have to wait till the next episode to find out exactly what happens but going by the comics, this child is not of Jean.

Who Is Madelyne Pryor in Marvel Comics?

Now since we are talking about Madelyne Pryor it is essential to know her backstory as seen in the X-Men comics. Madelyne made her first appearance after Jean Grey passed away during the Dark Phoenix storyline. The death of Jean shook up the X-Men, especially Scott, or Cyclops. When Madelyne Shows up looking identical to Jean, it baffles the X-Men to the extent that Scott starts believing that she is a reincarnation of Jean. Eventually, Cyclops accepts the fact that Jean is gone and Madelyne is a different person.

Scott marries Madelyne and not after long, they have a child named Nathan. Everything is going well and Cyclops is considering leaving the X-Men and leading a more normal life with his family. However, a series of events in the X-Factor comic run released in 1986 changed everything. Jean Grey was revived in this comic run and to be with Jean, Scott abandons Madelyne and their baby. This loss takes a toll on Madelyne’s mental health and she eventually goes insane because of it.

To make things worse, Madelyne finds out that she was created by Mister Sinister. According to comics, he considered her a failed experiment until the phoenix force fused with her. Mister Sinister then formed a plan to create a scenario where Cyclops had a baby with Madelyne to conduct his research on mutant genetics.

While Madelyne is going through all of this trauma, the demon N’astirh visits her dreams and awakens the dark side of her powers, granting Madelyne demonic powers. She took up the alibi of ‘Goblin Queen’ and set out on a mission to take revenge on Cyclops for abandoning her. However, she dies of suicide before she can exact her revenge.

What are the Powers of Nathan Summers?

After the death of Madelyne, Scott and Jean adopted Nathan and thought that they could live a smooth life as a family and they did for a while. However, this was short-lived as well since Apocalypse infected Nathan Summers with a ‘Techno Organic Virus’ which neutralized the psychic abilities he was supposed to develop and this also took a toll on Nathan’s life span. So, to heal him, they had to send Nathan to the Askani Clan in the future with no chance of Nathan ever returning.

Nathan is then healed and develops psychic and telekinetic abilities. However, his powers are not as strong as they were supposed to be because of the damage the virus had already done. Even after this he is notably strong and grows up to be an intergalactic, time-traveling soldier we all know as Cable.

Is Nathan Summers the Cable from Deadpool?

Yes, Nathan Summers is the Cable we see in Deadpool. When the Askani Clan heals Nathan from the Techno Organic Virus. He finds out about what Apocalypse did to him and makes it his life’s mission to kill him. He becomes a force to be reckoned with with his mutant powers paired with his extreme proficiency in hand-to-hand combat and mastery in using firearms. He can also build firearms and weapons according to his liking because of his expertise in futuristic engineering.

To see where show creators will take this storyline, we’ll have to wait for upcoming episodes of X-Men ’97.