Gambit’s death in X-Men ’97 was one of the show’s most tragic moments, but a new reveal about the upcoming season 2 makes this so much worse. Instead of bringing the X-Men team into the Marvel Cinematic Universe proper, X-Men ’97 revisited the version of the team from X-Men: The Animated Series, which ran for five seasons on Fox Kids Network between 1992 and 1997. X-Men ’97 season 1 revealed that even members of this classic mutant team aren’t safe from death, however, as Gambit sacrificed himself on Genosha, leaving other members of the team distraught.
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Gambit’s death pushed Rogue to extreme lengths, fuelled by her guilt at choosing romance with Magneto over her X-Men teammate. Despite Gambit’s death, Marvel Studios’ Head of Streaming and Television, Brad Winderbaum, has now suggested that Rogue will return to this relationship in X-Men ’97 season 2. “Well, Rogue and Magneto are stuck in the past together,” Winderbaum revealed in an interview with Collider, teasing “a lot of romance” in X-Men ’97 season 2. “They’re kind of our past team, and Scott and Jean are in the future, along with Storm and Forge.”
Rogue & Magneto’s X-Men ’97 Romance Explained
X-Men ’97 season 1 revealed that Magneto and Rogue had formed a romantic bond long before the latter joined the X-Men. In order to help Rogue gain control of her powers, her adoptive mother, Mystique, brought her to Magneto in the Savage Land. Rogue quickly became infatuated with Magneto, and even more so when they realized that his magnetism manipulation powers allowed him to touch her skin when nobody else could. The relationship ended after Rogue started to feel the weight of their demons, but Magneto joining the X-Men in X-Men ’97 brought them back together.
Magneto and Rogue have demonstrated romance on many occasions in Marvel Comics, but the exploration of this storyline was new to the X-Men’s animated revival – never explored in X-Men: The Animated Series. Magneto and Rogue’s romance in season 1 caused huge problems for Gambit, who also loved Rogue, and while she eventually chose him, this was just too late. Winderbaum’s new comments suggest that Magneto and Rogue, now trapped in the past with a young En Sabah Nur, will be rekindling their romance in the wake of Gambit’s demise.
Throwing a spanner in the works, however, Gambit has been teased to be returning as Death, one of Apocalypse’s horsemen. He may witness Magneto and Rogue rekindling their romance, which would make his death in season 1 even more tragic. It won’t only be Magneto and Rogue demonstrating their love in X-Men ’97 season 2, of course, as Jean Grey and Scott Summers – stuck in the future – and Storm and Forge – in the present – will also be exploring romantic storylines. This will lean into the soap opera drama of the X-Men, which makes the upcoming continuation even more exciting.
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