Recap: The X-Men Face Off With a Powerful Foe in Season 2, Episode 4 of "X-Men '97"

Half of the X-Men remain in the distant past after Mother Askani sent them there with the hope of preventing the rise of Apocalypse. Magneto had instead planned to use the first mutant to push Xavier's dream into being, but that plan was derailed. Instead, the X-Men now lay in a pile of rubble after an attack from the pharaoh known as Rama-Tut.

The episode opens right where we left off, with En Sabah Nur and the X-Men beneath the rubble of the mountain following Rama-Tut's attack. However, we find Nur holding the dead body of Baal before seeing that the X-Men were saved by Magneto. Nur threatens the X-Men, but Xavier talks him down.

the rest of the X-Men debate whether they should continue to attempt to stop the rise of Apocalypse or simply return home. Rogue points out that changing Nur's fate could bring back everyone they lost in Genosha, including Gambit. Beast proposes a vote, but Magneto ends the conversation by stealing and destroying Bishop's time band. He promises that this mysterious cosmic temple will have the power to get them home once they've saved Nur from becoming Apocalypse.

Xavier explains to Nur the future from which they have come and he becomes interested in working with them again. He agrees to let Xavier search his mind for answers. Xavier sees Nur's past, leading up to a sight of a constellation as a voice calls to him to "be eternal." When he comes out of Nur's mind, Xavier says he has seen the constellation before, over the temple. Nur says he can lead them to that constellation and the temple and they all set out together.

The team eventually finds the temple and sets up camp before heading in. Nur finds Rogue sitting awake and the two talk about what they've lost. Nur tells her he can't afford to love because it is a weakness. She tells him she hopes he experiences it some day, for the sake of everyone.

Candra, Rama-Tut's servant, places a helmet that looks a lot like Xavier's Cerebro on his head. He begins to communicate with Xavier telepathically, calling him to the temple. Inside, he presents himself as Rama-Tut but explains that he has had many names, including Nathaniel, Victor and Kang, confirming that he is, in fact, the conqueror we know.

Kang explains to Xavier his plan to conquer this time and use the cosmic power inside this temple to do so. If he were to get the power before Nur, he would stop Apocalypse from coming to be. However, Xavier points out that Kang would simply use the power himself to conquer any time he likes. Kang admits this and tells Xavier he cannot stop Apocalypse and he never stops him, before releasing Xavier from this telepathic vision.

The team heads into the temple and quickly realizes that is looks familiar. They find the head of a Celestial, much like the ones we have seen in the MCU, before Beast's scanner gets a reading on celestial power. The team splits up to find its source, with Nur, Xavier and Bishop traveling together.

Beast, Rogue, Magneto and Nightcrawler find a control panel and realize that this temple they're in is actually Ship, the vessel of Apocalypse in their time. Meanwhile, Nur leads Xavier and Bishop to a throne room, seemingly being pulled there by some unseen force. In the room, Xavier notices glyphs of the story of Apocalypse and calls for Magneto, saying Nur knows everything.

When Nur sees the Glyphs, he understands that he is destined to become a god of sorts. He attacks Bishop and takes him out easily. Nur then makes his way to the center of the room, where a shrine opens up, offering him power. The others arrive just in time to stop him and a fight begins.

Nur makes short work of the X-Men though and gets back to the shrine where he is engulfed in a white light and finds himself floating before a Celestial, who offers him power. The credits tell us that this particular Celestial is actually Eson the Searcher, the very same being we have seen on Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in EPCOT.

The X-Men regroup and Beast says he managed to repair their time bands. However, Rogue debates they just created Apocalypse and they need to stay and stop him. The group argues before Magneto again takes control and opens a portal to send the rest of the team home while he stays behind to pay for his mistakes. Xavier refuses though and grabs his cape.

Apocalypse returns with a blast that sends Magneto and Xavier flying, while the rest of the X-Men return home. Apocalypse emerges, now imbued with the cosmic power and baring his iconic look. He orders ship to bring him to Rama-Tut's temple, and it launches towards the city.

Magneto pleads with Apocalypse to resist the urge for violence, but instead, another fight begins. Xavier tries to cancel Ship's order, but it refuses.

As the ship arrives over Rama-Tut's temple, Candra warns him of the coming attack. Rama-Tut, or Kang, decides it is time to abandon this time and he gets into his ship. He tells Candra that her destiny has not yet come to be, because Apocalypse can only be challenge by "a force that is external." In the comics, Candra is part of a group of immortal mutants known as the Externals. She will likely have a role to play in the fight against Apocalypse in future episodes. For now though, Kang dons his familiar purple and green outfit before leaving his city to be destroyed.

Magneto and Apocalypse continue to fight while Ship launches its attack on the city. Apocalypse threatens Xavier before Magneto fights back yet again. He encases Apocalypse in metal and launches him out of the ship and into the distance.

Now alone on Ship, Magneto and Xavier debate what they can do to stop the attack on the city. Magneto says goodbye and promises to sacrifice himself to save the lives of those in the city. He safely launches Xavier from from the city and uses all of his power to not only stop the attack, but to destroy Ship in the process.

An explosion flings Magneto feet away from Xavier, who tries to crawl to him. However, Apocalypse reaches him first. He grabs Magneto by the head and lifts him up before blasting him with a weapon, completely disintegrating his body.

Apocalypse spares Xavier and leaves him weeping in the sand holding Magneto's helmet. Later, Bishop arrives to bring Xavier home. Xavier simply repeats the words he heard earlier from Kang regarding Apocalypse. "We couldn't stop him. We never stop him." And the episode comes to a close.

It's not all over just yet though. We actually get a post-credits scene in this episode. We see Wolverine, dressed in all black, standing on a rooftop. He is joined by Captain America and Black Widow, with the former handing him a file on Weapon X. Cap tells Logan he shouldn't do this alone, but Logan assure him he has a crew. He even says he's "getting the old band back together." There are a lot of characters in Wolverine's history that could be a part of this so we'll have to wait and see. But what is Logan's mission? Is he trying to get his adamantium skeleton back?

This episode had all of the heart and energy of the first season and that is saying a lot. Another emotional gut punch from this show and we are now set up for what should be an epic back half of this season. And while it seems as though we're going to take a brief detour, this Apocalypse story is far from over.

The second season of X-Men '97 is now streaming on Disney+.