Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for ‘X-Men ‘97’ Episode 8.
We’re nearing the end ofX-Men ‘97’sfirst season, and each episode makes fans more excited (and more stressed) about what each jaw-dropping installment is leading up to. Created byBeau DeMayoforDisney+, this animated Marvel series of the legendary team’s exploits has astounded viewers with the last few episodes, as the Genoshan tragedy and its fallout have brought even more of Marvel’s complex world to life onscreen.
The entire program is a continuation of the classicX-Men: The Animated Series, created byEric Lewald,Sidney Iwanter, andMark Edens, whichdraws on the best parts of that groundbreaking show while introducing new aspects of this wide universethat even the most diehard fans have never seen before. It’s a riveting display of hundreds of years of comics history that is steadily leading up towhat will surely be a bombshell finale— and it can get really, really confusing. Let’s break down the Easter eggs inX-Men ‘97Episode 8, seeing just how many callbacks its creators managed to feature and what they tell us about where the story might go next.
A band of mutants use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them; they’re challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future.
‘X-Men ‘97’ Continues to Impress With Its Cameos
As always, so much ofX-Men ‘97is filled with a specific kind of Easter egg fans cannot get enough of: cameos. Some of these are of mythic X-Men themselves, like when Cable (Chris Potter) shows the team a future where Bastion (Theo James) has conquered and enslaved mutants; this harrowing utopia has the powerful likes of Polaris and Rachel Summers (Jean Grey and Scott Summers’ daughter from another timeline) being used as tools for a ruling human class. This moment also had a fun reference to a place many MCU fans will catch when Beast (George Buza) mentions speaking with “the mystics of Kamar-Taj,” referencing the spiritual stronghold where prolific sorcerers train their abilities from theDoctor Strangemovies.
Next, a scene with Jubilee (Holly Chau) andRoberto (Gui Agustini)shows Reverend William Stryker (JP Karliak) on a nearby TV, who comic fans will recognize as a bigoted preacher who leads his followers to attack mutants. His hatred finds good company in this episode asBastion is revealed to be working with Mister Sinister(Christopher Britton) and Val Cooper (Catherine Disher), along with a young woman who doesn’t say a word, an adolescent whom comic book readers will recognize as his one-time robotic assistant, Daria.
Bastion addresses a whole team of anti-mutant leaders with this trio at his side and shows thathe has some MCU veterans collaborating on his nefarious plots. Along with Kamar-Taj, these live-action elements continue to be spotlighted as the evil cyborg speaks with Baron Zemo (Rama Vallury) about his plans for mutant domination. This moment also features the metal-headed Doctor Doom (Ross Marquand) who, while he hasn’t shown up onscreen yet, could potentially appear in the approachingFantastic Fourfilmas he’s known for being this heroic team’s primary antagonist.
Finally, audiences see their last MCU Easter egg at the end of the episode when Magneto (Matthew Waterson) launches a worldwide magnetic pulsethat catches the attention of everyone’s friendly neighborhood hero,Spider-Man.He’s not the only one who sees this immense feat, as classic villains Silver Samurai and Omega Red (who both showed up inX-Men: The Animated Series) show interest in this immensely powerful attack.
‘X-Men ‘97’ Has a Firm Grasp on Marvel Comics History
While so many ofX-Men ‘97’s Easter eggsare used to spotlight the fun parts of its fantastical world, the show makes sure to touch on real events that resonate with what’s onscreen. This is why Mister Sinister name-drops Josef Mengele, a horrifying real-life figure known for the disgusting medical experiments he conducted on Jewish civilians during the Holocaust. He’s brought up to stress how terrifying Sinister andBastion’s plans to massacre the mutant population are, and this is emphasized even further when the show makes clear something they’ve only hinted at until this point: Magneto’s past. While it has never been said plainly in the series,Magneto is a survivor of the Holocaust, his understanding of just how violent humanity’s hatred of others can become derived from his own experiences as a child. The numbers tattooed onto his arm — which was a common practice by Nazis — make it clear to the audience a terrible aspect of this man’s life that comic book readers have been well aware of.
WhereX-Men ‘97truly excels is by drawing on both its own mythos and the darker parts of reality to tell its story. There are still many entertaining Easter eggs to break down in this episode; from Jubilee donning the all-black suit she wears during her tenure as a vampire in the comics (which would need a whole other article to explain)to Nightcrawler wielding swordsin his fight with the sentinels in a mirror of his usual combat style on page. The series calls back to many enjoyable parts of the original that fans will love, butit doesn’t do so at the expenseof the grounded truths about humanitythat have always been at the center of its story.
X-Men ‘97has made sure to stress not only how terrifying its plots can be, but also how strikingly similar they are to real events — and with these references, it makes sure the audience knows that the atrocities in the showcan all too easily happen in the world they inhabit outside of it.This is capped off perfectly with the final Easter egg as Val Cooper utters a line that has been used for decades by comic book characters and fans alike, especially when referencing horrors like Genosha: Magneto was right.
What Is OZT in ‘X-Men ‘97’?
An underrated comic book storyline is the crux of the animated series’ first season finale.
X-Men ’97 Builds Its Future by Honoring the Past
While it’s always good for a new series to be ambitious, fans never expected season one ofX-Men ‘97would reach the heights it has — and there are still two more episodes to go! It certainly had big shoes to fill following the original series, but even with that precedent, it has exceeded all expectations in telling a nuanced story of how this band of legendary heroesfights back against violent hatred.A key component to this storytelling is its Easter eggs, the waysit pays homage to both the other series and decades of comic book history that created these storylinesin the first place. The season isn’t over, and only time will tell just where this wild plot will go next and how many more references will show up along the way. But no matter what, one thing is for sure:X-Men ‘97absolutely loves where it came from, and the series is ready to show that love every chance it gets.
