X-Men '97: Who Is Mother Askani and Clan Askani?

Who is the mysterious future leader Mother Askani and her clan? X-Men '97 fans need to know before Season 2!

By Kofi Outlaw

X-Men '97 Episode 10 delivered a Season Finale that also generated some massive hype for Season 2. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!) The X-Men managed to stop the nefarious Bastion and his Prime Sentinel cyborgs from enslaving mutants – while also stopping Bastion from dropping Magneto's "Asteroid M" orbital base onto Earth. However, defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory when the X-Men team(s) were zapped right out of reality after winning the day. 

Scott Summers/Cyclops and Jean Grey/Marvel Girl ended up in the year 3900 A.D., a dystopian wasteland where they are quickly surrounded by a clan of warriors, led by a robed figure. The robed figure identifies herself as "Mother Askani," and reveals she has a young boy named Nathan in her care. Scott and Jean realize that they've arrived in the future Nathan Summers/Cable was brought to by Bishop, to find a cure for the Techno-Organic Virus. 

X-Men '97: Who Is Mother Askani & Clan Askani? Explained

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(Photo: Marvel Animation)

"Mother Askani" or "Askani" is a character from the comics, who plays a pivotal role in X-Men lore. That said: explaining Mother Askani's role in X-Men lore is a big SPOILER for X-Men comics and a MILD SPOILER for X-Men '97 Season 2. Read on only if you want to know! 

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Clan Askani was created by Rachel Summers – the daughter of Cyclops and Jean Grey, who was born in the dark future timeline of "Days of Future Past." That reality was one in which Jean never "died" as Dark Phoenix, but the X-Men also didn't prevent the assassination of Senator Robert Kelly (as well as Prof. X), which allowed Bolivar Trask's Sentinels to officially go into production and institute a new world order. 

Rachel started out as a mutant-hunting "Hound" in that future – but after taking several trips back and forth across time (including joining the modern-day X-Men and Excalibur teams), her being was split apart, and part of Rachel was displaced into the far future, where she found herself facing an important destiny: leading the future war against mutant tyrant Apocalypse. Rachel took on the name "the Bright Lady," and later "Mother Askani" – with the word "Askani" meaning "outsider," a head nod to the legacy of the X-Men, and Charles Xavier's dream. 

Mother Askani eventually died, and Clan Askani was wiped out by Apocalypse; however, she trained Bolivar Trask's time-traveling mutant daughter, Sanctity, to carry on her legacy. Sanctity formed the Askani Sisterhood, which eventually became the surrogate family of a young Nathan Summers, training him to become "The Askani'son," the Prophesized warrior who would finally destroy Apocalypse. As she lay dying, Rachel used her power to pull Cyclops and Jean's minds into the future, so that they could guide Clan Askani and Nathan to maturity. 

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(Photo: Marvel Comics)

In a darker twist, Clan Askani also cloned Nathan Summers as a baby, as a contingency for Nathan dying from the Techno-Organic Virus. Apocalypse eventually kidnaps that clone baby and raises him as his successor, the time-traveling terrorist and evil mutant mastermind, Stryfe. Stryfe became Cable's nemesis, in a war fought both on future and modern-day battlefields. 

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X-Men '97 Season 2 will be doing its condensed version of Clan Askani's saga with Cable, Cyclops, and Jean Grey. It remains to be seen if Apocalypse, Stryfe, and the Future War are part of the animated series' arc. 

X-Men '97 Season 1 is streaming on Disney+

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