X-Men '97 Recap with Spoilers: "Bright Eyes"

Here's what happened in X-Men '97's latest episode.

By Jenna Anderson

We're nearing the end of the first season of X-Men '97, and it looks like the Marvel Animation series is building to quite a finale. This week's episode, "Bright Eyes", checked back in on the aftermath of the mutant massacre on Genosha, and delivered some compelling story beats along the way. If you need help unpacking everything in the latest episode of X-Men '97, we're here to help.

Obviously, spoilers for Episode 7 of X-Men '97, "Bright Eyes", below! Only look if you want to know!

What Happens in X-Men '97: "Bright Eyes"?

Gambit's funeral is held, as Nightcrawler eulogizes him. Most of the team attends, except for Rogue, whose absence upsets Jubilee. Meanwhile, Rogue flies to a military base and fights soliders, asking for Trask and Gyrich's location. This leads her to a base in the snow-capped mountains, where she and Captain America reluctantly team up to share information. Captain America reveals that both Trask and Gyrich are tied to some sort of mystery organization only known as OZT. Rogue asks Captain America to go with her to find Gyrich in Mexico City, but he refuses, arguing that it will send the wrong message. When he says his hands are tied, she throws his shield into the mountains, arguing that he won't be needing it anymore. She tracks Gyrich down to Mexico City and uses her powers on him, absorbing a vision of Nimrod and a man tied to him in the process. 

The president tries to shut down rescue efforts in Genosha. This irritates Scott, in part because Madelyne's body is still unaccounted for. Jean sympathizes, in part because she was starting to regard Madelyne as a sister of sorts. The X-Men travel to Genosha and help with the clean up effort, as Beast speaks with Trish Tilby about the problems mutantkind is facing. Jean and Scott search through Genosha's central building to search for survivors, and end up finding Emma Frost, who was able to survive through a new mutation that can activate her diamond form. As Emma is rescued, Scott still cries over the loss of Madelyne.

Meanwhile, Jubilee convinces Roberto to tell his parents he's a mutant, arguing that they deserve to hear it from him directly instead of finding out if and when he's killed. They visit Roberto's mom, where he simply tells her he's a mutant. While she is privately accepting of it, and admits that she always suspected he was, she argues it needs to be kept out of the public for the sake of her company. 

Trask sends a message to the X-Men, leading them to a building in Madripoor. Overcome by grief, Rogue is visited by Nightcrawler and the X-Men, who bring her with them to Trask's location. The building reveals a secret lab containing extremely advanced Sentinel prototypes. They see Trask about to throw himself off a building, because he is worried the future of the Sentinel program will cause destruction even worse than Genosha. Rogue nearly stops him, grabbing him by the scruff of his coat, before throwing him off the building. This causes ire for the team, as they wonder if they're really endorsing killing. This also activates a secret Sentinel technology that he has been bonded with, which sends him on a killing spree against the X-Men. Cable shows up to offer the X-Men aid, and Jean and Scott realize that Cable is really baby Nathan, all grown up. 

Sinister meets with the mysterious man who has been spearheading his new Sentinel efforts, and who reveals that he knows that Charles is alive. He promises to help vanquish the X-Men once and for all. The man then travels to a vacant barber shop where he's holding a very alive Magneto, who is being restrained with a power-dampening collar. This man, Bastion, taunts him by using a metal razor to shave Magneto's face. 

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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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