Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for X-Men ’97 Season 1 Episode 8.
The Big Picture
-
X-Men ’97
faces off against Zero Tolerance forces infused with Prime Sentinels, leading to a thrilling showdown. - Spider-Man makes a cameo in the episode, hinting at potential crossovers in future episodes of
X-Men ’97
. - The appearance of villains like Doctor Doom and Baron Zemo, as well as the return of William Stryker, sets the stage for more conflict.
X-Men ’97 kicked its three-part season finale “Tolerance is Extinction” off with a bang, as the X-Men found themselves cornered on all sides by Bastion (Theo James) and the overwhelming force of Operation: Zero Tolerance. Zero Tolerance’s forces consist of Prime Sentinels, human beings infused with Sentinel tech that makes them unstoppable killing machines. While the bulk of the action was dedicated to the X-Men’s fight against the Prime Sentinels, “Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 1” still managed to pack in plenty of cameos featuring characters from the X-Men mythos and other Marvel heroes & villains. Some of these cameos passed by in the blink of an eye, while others were characters that previously appeared in X-Men: The Animated Series. Here’s a look at each of the characters that show up in “Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 1”.
X-Men ’97
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.
- Release Date
- March 20, 2024
- Cast
- Jennifer Hale , Cal Dodd , Chris Potter , Catherine Disher , Adrian Hough , Ray Chase , Lenore Zann
- Seasons
- 2
- Number of Episodes
- 10
- Streaming Service(s)
- Disney+
- Franchise(s)
- X-Men
The Amazing Spider-Man Swings By ‘X-Men ’97’
Perhaps the biggest cameo in “Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 1” belongs to none other than Spider-Man himself. The web-slinger is shown hurtling through New York City when Magneto (Matthew Waterson) triggers an electromagnetic pulse that disables the Prime Sentinels and throws the world into a new dark age. Spidey’s presence had previously been teased before in “To Me, My X-Men” when a Daily Bugle article featuring photos courtesy of his alter ego Peter Parker. The X-Men also cameoed in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, specifically the Season 2 episodes “The Mutant Agenda” and “Mutants’ Revenge.” Storm (Alison Sealy-Smith) aappeared during Spider-Man‘s take on the classic Secret Wars storyline. Perhaps Spidey’s appearance is hinting that he’ll return the favor in future episodes, or that Disney might be considering a similar revival for Spider-Man: The Animated Series.
Two X-Men Villains Reappear — And They’ve Both Fought Wolverine
Spider-Man isn’t the only person who witnesses Magneto’s EMP. In Japan, the mutant known as the Silver Samurai observes with a grimace. In Russia, a lab starts to fail…reawakening the mutant super soldier known as Omega Red. Both the Silver Samurai and Omega Red previously appeared in X-Men: The Animated Series, and both of them clashed with Wolverine (Cal Dodd). Omega Red was a product of an attempt to replicate the process that grafted the indestructible metal Adamantium onto Wolverine’s bones. He tried to take over leadership of Russia in the episode “Red Dawn” but was stopped by Wolverine, Jubilee, and the steel-skinned Colossus. The Silver Samurai encountered Wolverine in the episode “The Lotus and the Steel,” where Wolverine managed to defeat his teleporting nemesis. Both of them reappearing could hint at trouble for Wolverine…and a potential return of Colossus to X-Men ’97.
Rachel Summers Appears in ‘X-Men ’97’
Most of “Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 1” is dedicated to the dynamic between Cyclops (Ray Chase), Jean Grey (Jennifer Hale), and Cable (Chris Potter). It’s a dynamic that’s made awkward by the fact that Cable is several decades older than his father due to the nature of time travel and that he’s also the son of Jean’s clone Madelyne Pryor. However, Cable isn’t the only Summers child to make an appearance in the episode — while debriefing the X-Men on the future Bastion comes from, a redheaded mutant is shown lifting objects as fire wraps around her. This is Rachel Summers, Cyclops and Jean’s daughter. Rachel was born in the dystopian future known as the Days of Future Past, where the Sentinels have all but wiped mutants out. She was originally brainwashed into becoming a mutant hunter known as a “Hound”, but eventually broke free. Rachel would travel to the present and ultimately master the Phoenix Force, making her one of the most powerful mutants on the planet. If Rachel shows up in the present in X-Men ’97, it’ll continue te branching out of the weird, wild Summers-Grey family tree.
Two Marvel Supervillains — And a Future X-Men Foe — Appear in ‘X-Men ’97’
X-Men ’97 has slowly been introducing other characters from the Marvel Universe in its back half, including Spider-Man and Captain America (Josh Keaton), and that continues with “Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 1”. Doctor Doom and Baron Helmut Zemo are members of Zero Tolerance, with both of them expressing their doubts about Bastion’s plan. Doom’s presence, while surprising, is not entirely unexpected: Zero Tolerance was founded by the UN, and as the ruler of the nation of Latveria, he is part of that governing body. Zemo’s presence is interesting, especially considering the comics “Tolerance is Extinction” is drawing from. In the comics, Zero Tolerance was formed as a response to Onslaught, the creature who supposedly killed the Avengers and Fantastic Four. In their absence, Zemo disguised himself and his Masters of Evil as the Thunderbolts — who are having a resurgence ahead of their upcoming live-action movie.
The X-Men also have another enemy waiting in the wings. Early in the episode, Bastion leaks footage to the world that Charles Xavier (Ross Marquand) is not dead, but was whisked away to the Shi’ar Empire for treatment. This sparks a flurry of reactions, including one from William Stryker. Stryker himself was one of the deadliest foes the X-Men ever faced, as he used his evangelical crusade to proclaim mutantkind as agents of the devil — and his Purifiers would take that to a lethal extent. While Stryker previously appeared in the live-action movies (most notably X2: X-Men United), his appearance in X-Men ’97 hints that mutantkind will have plenty of hurdles to overcome. Stryker himself even became linked to Bastion when the Prime Sentinel resurrected him and other anti-mutant figures, making them into cyborgs.
X-Men ’97 is available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S. with new episodes on Wednesdays.
