X-Men ’97 Episode 4 Recap with Spoilers: “Motendo / LifeDeath — Part 1”

The first season of X-Men ’97 is still going strong, delivering some surprising stories for Marvel’s mutants week after week. The newest episode, which actually was split into two wildly different segments, was certainly no exception, showcasing quite a few characters amid the aftermath of the series’ premiere. If you need help understanding everything that happened in X-Men ’97‘s fourth episode, we’re here to help.

Obviously, spoilers for Episode 4 of X-Men ’97, “Motendo / LifeDeath — Part 1”, below! Only look if you want to know!

What Happens in X-Men ’97: “Motendo”?

The team debates how to celebrate Jubilee’s eighteenth birthday, and she suggests that they go to the arcade. When Magneto shoots down the idea, Jubilee vents her frustrations to Roberto. They both then notice a new video game system installed in Jubilee’s room — a console dubbed Motendo. This quickly proves to be the latest machinations of Mojo, who uses his technology to suck them into a video game. In a city setting not unlike the X-Men arcade game, Jubilee and Roberto escape Sentinels and anti-mutant militia, although Roberto is hesitant to use his powers for fear of being publicly outed as a mutant. They then answer a nearby payphone, which transports them to a stage on Genosha, and Jubilee’s memories of Trask kidnapping mutants there. Jubilee then spots a masked figure, but can’t access her because of the confines of the game.

As Mojo explains, he’s been in a ratings drought (which has made him skinnier), and has decided to pivot to video games to regain his audience’s attention. He argues that the video game will allow Jubilee to live forever in the glory days of being an X-Man, outside of the more recent drama. Jubilee and Roberto are then transported to fight Sentinels on another city stage, and later fight monsters in the Savage Land. Jubilee nearly dies in that level, but the masked figure helps restore her health. They are then transported to Asteroid M, where Magneto is the boss fight. Roberto loses nearly all his health, but Jubilee is able to find an extra life and restore him.

Jubilee and Roberto are then hacked out of the game by the masked woman — an older Jubilee, who was the last remaining beta tester created by Mojo for the game. Older Jubilee, who goes by the name of Abscissa, teaches Jubilee that growing up is a good thing. The three of them fight Mojo, who has inserted himself as the final boss of the game. Jubilee ultimately delivers the final blow that defeats Mojo and gets them out of the video game, while Spyral deals with Mojo. Back in the real world, Jubilee and Roberto kiss. 

What Happens in X-Men ’97: “LifeDeath Part 1”?

Storm and Forge are settled in at Forge’s cabin, where they bond over their shared pasts and powers. Forge, as it turns out, has the mutant ability to invent and create anything he can dream of. Storm asks how Forge got his prosthetic legs, and he explains he lost them in the war. Storm admits that she has missed her powers, and Forge offers to help her get creative and adapt without them.

Storm and Forge ride horses, and Storm nearly drives hers off of a cliff. She then notices a nearby owl circling, and argues that the weather around them is stuck. Forge takes Storm into his lab, where he begins to experiment on her to help regain her powers — but it doesn’t work. She begins to cry and plead over the loss of her powers, and Forge comforts her. 

Later, Storm asks why Forge is so hell-bent to help fix her. He reveals his past as a government contractor — which, accidentally, included designing the technology that took away Storm’s powers. She grows upset, and he tells her he loves her, but she slaps him and leaves. Storm then rides her horse at night, seemingly off of the cliff, only to end up back in Forge’s cabin. It turns out to be the machinations of the owl, which has now transformed into a demon called The Adversary, and wants to feast on Storm’s fear.

New episodes of X-Men ’97 debut on Wednesdays exclusively on Disney+. If you haven’t signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

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