X-Men ’97: Who Is the Goblin Queen?

We’re officially three episodes into X-Men ’97, and there’s already been a lot to process with the Disney+ animated series. X-Men ’97 has taken the mythos of Marvel Comics and remixed in some fascinating ways — and that was especially the case with the series’ third episode. Obviously, spoilers for Episode 3 of X-Men ’97, “Fire Made Flesh”, below! Only look if you want to know!

Episode three of X-Men ’97 dives into the curious case of two Jean Greys (Jennifer Hale), after a second doppelganger showed up at the mansion’s door. It is soon revealed that one of the Jeans — the one that the X-Men have been with for quite some time, and who just gave birth to baby Nathan — is actually a clone, who was created by Mr. Sinister to engineer the perfect mutant spawn. Across the episode, the two Jeans come to terms with their place in the world, with the clone rebranding herself as Madelyne Pryor, the Goblin Queen. So, who is Madelyne? Keep reading to find out. 

Who Is Marvel’s Goblin Queen?

Created by Chris Claremont and Paul Smith in 1983’s Uncanny X-Men #168, Madelyne Pryor is initially introduced as a cargo pilot in Alaska, who meets and falls in love with Scott Summers / Cyclops. Despite drawing an uncanny resemblance to Jean, who had died and disappeared during the events of The Dark Phoenix Saga, Madelyne quickly made it clear that she was her own woman, eventually marrying Scott and becoming the mother of Nathaniel Summers / Cable. For some time, Madelyne existed as a civilian on the periphery of the X-Men, but she briefly gained superpowers from Loki, becoming Anodyne. After Nathaniel is born, Madelyne and Scott settle in to a quiet life in Alaska, until Scott grows unhappy and leaves to form the X-Factor. Madelyne is then nearly killed by the Marauders, but rescued and brought back into the fold of the X-Men.

Eventually, Madelyne learns that Jean is alive, and is driven to madness by the demon S’ym. She then learns that she is a genetically-engineered clone of Jean, who was created by Mr. Sinister and awakened after Jean’s death. She then participates in Sinister’s Inferno torture of the X-Men and is presumed dead. She eventually returns and becomes a member of the Hellfire Club, eventually becoming the group’s Red Queen. She most recently factored into Marvel’s Hellions and New Mutants titles, as well as the “Dark Web” event.

What Is X-Men ’97 About?

Marvel Animation’s X-Men ’97 revisits the iconic era of the 1990s as The X-Men, a band of mutants who use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them, are challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future.

The voice cast of X-Men ’97 includes Ray Chase as Cyclops, Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey, Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm, Cal Dodd as Wolverine, JP Karliak as Morph, Lenore Zann as Rogue, George Buza as Beast, AJ LoCascio as Gambit, Holly Chou as Jubilee, Isaac Robinson-Smith as Bishop, Matthew Waterson as Magneto, and Adrian Hough as Nightcrawler. Beau DeMayo served as head writer; episodes are directed by Jake Castorena, Chase Conley and Emi Yonemura, and the series is executive produced by Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso and DeMayo.

What did you think of X-Men ’97‘s introduction of the Goblin Queen? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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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