X-Men ’97 Showrunner Reveals Full List of Animated Series Episodes to Watch Before Finale

X-Men ’97 showrunner has just dropped a lot more homework in the laps of Marvel fans, heading into the Season 1 finale! 

DeMayo had previously given X-Men fans a heads-up that the classic Animated Series story arc “One Man’s Worth” was a smart thing to rewatch before the X-Men ’97 finale arrived. That storyline saw future Sentinel Nimrod travel back in time to 1959 to kill a young Charles Xavier before he could become the founder of the X-Men. Thanks to time-hopping X-Man Bishop and some allies intervening, Xavier’s life was (eventually) saved in 1959 and the future preserved. 

Well, in his newest tweet Beau revealed this longer list of X-Men: The Animated Series episodes for fans to watch: 

• One Man’s Worth, Pt 1 and 2
• Sanctuary, Pt 1 and 2
• Descent
• The Final Decision 

“Sanctuary” – This is an adaptation of the classic X-Men (vol. 2) debut story arc from 1991 comics and its “Fatal Attractions” sequel, Magneto tried to establish his own mutant colony on “Asteroid M,” a mutant safe haven on a space asteroid. Magneto’s group The Acolytes and the X-Men teamed up to fight against the Sentinels in Genosha and end the mutant slave-labor system there. However, Magneto had snakes in his garden: Acolyte Fabian Cortez betrayed him and tried to hold Earth hostage with nuclear missiles stored on Asteroid M. Magneto and the X-Men rallied to save Gambit from the Acolytes and disable the nukes; Asteroid M got destroyed but Cortez secretly survived thanks to Apocalypse’s intervention. 

“Descent” – This episode looks at the year 1888 and examines the relationship between scientists James Xavier and Nathaniel Essex – the man who would become Mister Sinister. Xavier uncovered Essex’s experiments on mutants to enhance himself and save his wife, Rebecca Essex – as well as Essex creating the killer known as Jack the Ripper to further his experiments. Upon being exposed as a monster, Essex fled, leaving his old life behind and starting his life as Mister Sinister. Professor X was revealed to have a book Essex wrote about his findings, which he left to James Xavier. 

“The Final Decision” – The Season 1 finale of X-Men: The Animated Series saw Master Mold intervene when Magneto tried to kill Senator Kelly. Master Mold abducted Kelly and usurped control of the Sentinels from his creator Bolivar Trask, attempting to replace key world leaders’ brains with computers. The X-Men and Magneto defeated Master Mold, which changed Kelly’s mind about mutants and positively affected anti-mutant sentiment. 

What Will X-Men ’97’s FInale Be About? 

These clues Beau DeMayo is dropping paint an increasingly clear pictures of where the X-Men ’97 three-part-finale is headed. 

(SPOILERS) In X-Men ’97 Episode 7 it is revealed that the villain Bastion has been masterminding mutant extinction all along and has a history with the X-Men and US government that goes back decades. Bastion has access to tech that is far beyond the present day, transforming normal humans into cybernetic Hybrid Sentinels. Cable showed up to help the X-Men battle Bastion and his Operation Zero Tolerance forces, hinting that Bastion’s attack is the beginning of an alternate future timeline. 

Based on Bastion’s comic history and origins, it’s clear that X-Men ’97’s “Tolerance is Extinction” story arc will be drawing upon X-Men: The Animated Series’ various looks at possible dark futures for mutants. Sinister, Nimrod, Master Mold, Apocalypse, Cable – all of these characters are involved in the war between humans, mutants, and machines, that extends into both the past and future timelines of X-Men: The Animated Series lore.  The events we’ve witnessed in the show have no doubt created this new timeline where Bastion emerges, and his alliance with Sinister may hint at Apocalypse making a return from the “dead.” Speaking of which, DeMayo mentioning “Sanctuary” and “Final Decision” is a big hint that Xavier will return from his own “death” and re-unite with Magneto to help save mutantkind – and possibly a space battle of some sort. And all of this sounds like a pretty epic ending to X-Men ’97 Season 1.

X-Men ’97 streams on Disney+