X-Men ’97 Season 1 Finale’s Post-Credits Scene Explained

The first season of X-Men ’97 has come and gone, and it follows the Marvel tradition of giving fans an enticing post-credits scene. There is a lot to digest in the final episode of X-Men ’97‘s first season, with some of its biggest surprises coming in the final moments. The majority of the X-Men are lost in the timestream, with Professor Charles Xavier, Magneto, Rogue, Beast, and Nightcrawler stuck in 3000 B.C. Egypt with Apocalypse, and Cyclops and Jean Grey in 3960 A.D. with a young Cable. However, back in the present day, an X-Men villain visits Genosha to tease a major resurrection. 

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for X-Men ’97 Season 1 Episode 10: Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 3. Continue reading at your own risk!

After the credits roll on the finale of X-Men ’97 Season 1, viewers are taken back to Genosha, the location of the mutant massacre orchestrated by Mister Sinister and Bastion. Many mutants were lost that day, including X-Man Gambit. In the wreckage is a figure wearing a dark robe, but we know him to be Apocalypse. “So much pain, my children,” he says. He then puts his fist into the ground to pick up a handful of dirt, and tosses it to the side to display a Queen of Hearts card. “So much death.”

The big indication is that Apocalypse plans to bring Gambit back to life as his Horseman of Death in the Four Horseman. Something similar played out in the comics, with Apocalypse controlling Gambit and forcing him to fight the X-Men before they could free their friend.

What to expect in X-Men ’97 Season 2

There is a lot to look forward to in the second season of X-Men ’97. For example, there will be at least three major storylines taking place at the same time, with Forge and Bishop recruiting a new team of X-Men to find their time-lost friends, the X-Men team in the past in 3000 B.C., and Jean and Cyclops in the future in 3960 A.D. Overall, it appears Apocalypse will be the main villain of X-Men ’97 Season 2. And we still don’t know the status of Wolverine (minus his Adamantium skeleton), Storm, and Morph.

What should really be fun is seeing what new or old characters Forge and Bishop recruit to help them on their mission. When Bishop drops in on Forge, we see the latter has made a checklist of mutants, with some marked as missing and presumed dead like Nightcrawler, Professor X, and Magneto. However, we have some previously unseen mutants like Scarlet Witch, Magik, Dusk, Havok, Exodus, Iceman, Colossus, Quicksilver, Kitty Pryde, and Archangel.

Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are marked as “Off World,” with the others as candidates to join the present-day X-Men. 

All episodes of X-Men ’97 are now streaming on Disney+.