After an incredibly wild ride, we have reached the epic conclusion of X-Men ‘97… kind of. The three-part finale will be stretched out over episodes 8, 9 and 10, all titled “Tolerance is Extinction.” After being introduced to the big bad behind the curtain last week, all of the dominos are now in place.
This week’s intro interestingly still does not include Magneto, despite the fact that we learned last week that he is still alive. The only new visual in this weel’s intro is Nimrod standing inside Master Mold. However, we do get the return of Bishop and futuristic Storm and Wolverine battling Nimrod and Magnetor on Asteroid M as well.
The episode opens with Cable shooting at bottles on the lawn of the X-Mansion. Cyclops tells Jean Cable has been avoiding him since he learned the time traveler is actually his son, Nathan. We learn that Bishop and Nathan got separated in the time stream and Nathan got to the future alone.
Cable briefs the X-Men on the Prime Sentinels, living weapons capable of giving birth to a new apex species. When Wolverine questions why Cable didn’t stop Genosha, his technology explains that he was repeatedly temporally pulled away from the moment any time he tried. Beast explains that the mystics of Kamar-Taj speak of absolute points that occur across all timelines and cannot be changed. This plays perfectly into the ongoing Multiverse Saga of the MCU, while also referencing Doctor Strange and the other sorcerers.
As Cyclops and Cable argue over how best to handle Bastion and their ongoing situation, Jean interrupts them to point out a news report that reveals that Charles Xavier is alive. The reporter on TV suggests the X-Men faked Xavier’s death as a way to garner public support for mutants. She also highlights the fact that Gyrich, who was believed to have killed Xavier, was found murdered.
In New York City, we join the Da Costa family and Jubilee. They’re watching a news report in which William Stryker is preaching that a war between humans and mutants was always inevitable. You may remember Stryker from the X-Men films as the military leader who conducted the Weapon-X experiments. Roberto’s mother, Nina, sparks some tension between herself and her son and Jubilee by pointing out that she is hosting a fundraiser for Genosha because the X-Men aren’t doing enough to help.
Back at the mansion, Jean treats Rogue, who is still unconscious after the attack from the Prime Sentinel who took over Bolivar Trask’s body last week. Nightcrawler comforts Jean as she continues to struggle with the memories of Madelyne. He mentions being abandoned by his mother, the iconic X-Men villain Mystique. Yes, that is a truth from the comics.
Cyclops, Jean and Cable make their way to a location they believe to be Bastion’s base of operations. Meanwhile, we see Mister Sinister conducting his experiments on Magneto before being joined Valerie Cooper, the X-Men’s former point of contact at the UN who they believe to have been killed on Genosha. She is wearing a uniform signifying that she has been working for Bastion all along. Sinister tells her he is using Bastion in order to collect Mutant test subjects, despite the fact that the power dynamic tells us Bastion is very much the one in charge.
Cooper approaches Magneto, who is collared to nullify his powers. She apologizes to him, telling him she did not know what would happen. She begs him to talk to her despite the fact that he has not said a word since Genosha.
At the mansion, Beast is visited by Trish Tilby, who comes baring hot cocoa rather than a camera and microphone this time. The cups are labeled Kate’s Coffee, which believe it or not, could be a reference to an actual location from the comics that is located across the street from a SHIELD headquarters in New York City. She sees that Beast is working on the body of Trask to try and better understand these Prime Sentinels. Het lets her know that he is working on locating the other Prime Sentinels that are already out there.
Cyclops, Jean and Cable arrive to learn that this mystery location is not a Sentinel facility, but rather Bastion’s childhood home. We see Sentinel toys as well as a reference to the Stark Expo. Jean senses another mind and they find Bastion’s elderly mother, who was seemingly awaiting their arrival and expects them to take her with them. They explore the house further and Jean sees a flash of memories that let us see Bastion’s path. His father was infected with something made by Nimrod and Bastion was literally born a machine, descended of the sentinels.
Back at Bastion’s base, Cooper argues with the villain that they should have been told about Genosha. As Bastion explains his reasoning, we see several monitors turn on around him revealing faces of people who are seemingly in on his plan. He is interrupted by one of those monitors, baring the face of Doctor Doom. The iconic villain cites his own indifference to Bastion’s plans, a very Doom-like move. The next villain to jump in is none other than Baron Zemo, who points out that the Sentinel program can’t fully roll out as long as the X-Men have allies like President Kelly. Bastion assures him that has already been handled.
Bastion gives Cooper a tour of his facility and shows her exactly what his new Sentinel program entails. A man is experimented on, with Sinister at the controls, turning him into a Prime Sentinel. Cooper sees other Prime Sentinels adapting to their new lives and abilities. It’s clear she is not comfortable with what Bastion is doing here.
Back at the house, Bastion’s mother shows the X-Men a piece of art he created as a child. The piece depicts Sentinels standing over the bodies of mutants, surrounded by flames. Bastion’s mother transforms into a Prime Sentinel and readier herself for battle with the X-Men. In the city, Jubilee and Roberto shop while discussing his mother’s reactions. They’re interrupted by the family’s butler Ford, who also transforms into a Sentinel. At the mansion, Beast locates hundreds of Sentinels suddenly being activated around the globe before Trish is revealed to be one of them.
Trish attacks Beast, throwing him through the first floor of the mansion and sparking an action sequence throughout the whole of the episode. Cyclops, Jean and Cable find themselves surrounded and take off in the Blackbird. In the mansion, Morph transforms into the Juggernaut to combat the Prime Sentinel, but it doesn’t go so well. Jubilee and Roberto are chased by several Sentinels, prompting Jubilee to say “I am totally done with malls.” This is a nice callback to the original series, in which Jubilee refers to herself as “a mall babe.”
With the mansion now on fire, Wolverine takes on several Sentinels by himself as he makes his way to save the still unconscious Rogue. He his joined by Nightcrawler, who is now wielding swords as we have seen him do at times in the comics. In one of the most impressive fight scenes in the series thus far, the two heroes take on the Sentinels to try and protect Rogue. We even get a look at what it is like to be teleported by Nightcrawler.
Roberto saves Jubilee by revealing that he can fly while in his Sunspot form, which features the iconic Kirby Krackle. Meanwhile, the Blackbird is being pursued by dozens of Sentinels until the team decides to abandon the ship. They do so in a Porsche, briefly turning the episode into “Fast X… Men.” See what I did there? Cyclops and Cable work together to take out the Sentinels, with help from Jean, in another impressive action sequence.
Roberto and Jubilee crash into his mother’s fundraiser, revealing to the public that he is a mutant. He explains to her that the Sentinels are tying to kill him but the Sentinels argue they do not kill mutants, they save them. Clearly fearing the public perception, Nina tells Roberto to do what they say.
Bastion arrives at the mansion to find it in ruins. His enjoyment is interrupted by a message from Sinister telling him that Cooper has let Magneto go. Bastion is not overly concerned with the news and he casually walks through a portal back to his base. There, we find Sinister holding Cooper captive. Cooper launches into a monologue as we see a flashback of her letting Magneto go, Roberto and Jubilee being collared by the Sentinels, Cyclops and company still surrounded by Sentinels and eventually, Magneto making his way to the North Pole. She ends by saying “Magneto was right” and the master of magnetism sends a magnetic wave throughout the Earth that renders all machines useless.
As the wave makes its way around the globe, we see several other characters taking notice, including Spider-Man as he swings through New York City. Could this be a hint that the wall-crawler is headed for a revival as well? We also see the Silver Samurai and Omega Red, a pair of memorable X-Men villains. Meanwhile, all of the Prime Sentinels drop to the ground instantly, ending all of the fights against the X-Men.
At what is left of the mansion, Wolverine points out that Magneto has declared war and wonders where the Professor is when you need him. Right on cue, a ship crashes into the ruins. A door opens up revealing a being in a familiar space suit. The helmet is removed to reveal Charles Xavier, who sends out a psychic message to his team with the iconic line, “to me, my X-Men.”
Talk about an epic start to a finale! The stage is set for a massive war between humans and mutants and now it is unclear exactly where Magneto will stand. Is he still going to be willing to uphold Xavier’s dream? Or will we see him return to his villainous ways that only allow for one dominant species to exist? And what other plans does Bastion have up his sleeve? With two episodes left, we are in for some major excitement over the next couple of weeks.
X-Men ‘97 is now streaming on Disney+.