[00:02] human-mutant war for season 3. Welcome back, ScreenCrush. I'm Ryan Arey, and references, and little things you might have missed in the season 2 finale of X-Men '97. Now, if you guys follow our socials, you know that I truly did not
[00:15] like the last episode. I wanted the show to keep Remy dead because, remember, it television. But after this episode, I'm kind of warming up to the resurrection, but we'll talk about that as we go along. Now, the intro usually features a
[00:28] they've added so many members to the team that they rarely pause to show us of Cable and the Clan Chosen fighting Apocalypse in the future, which is taken from the episode Time Fugitives part 1. Also, notice that Sunspot and Jubilee
[00:43] credits, taking the total team membership up to 15. And that's not even counting Colossus, who's just watching the kids at the school. Now, in the swell like this, they would usually split the teams off into spin-off books
[00:56] like Excalibur, or they would split it into two teams like the blue and gold squads in the early '90s. X-Men '97 is confirmed for two more seasons, but I series just yet. Down in the comments,
[01:09] team members who should go or stay. Now, in the final shot, instead of Magneto and supervillains facing the team, we see Val Cooper with X-Factor. And her glasses flash like they do at the end of the episode in front of the
[01:22] that she's been [music] Mystique all along, but at the very least, I think of the big bad for the whole season, manipulating events behind the scenes. bit more as we go along. In the center,
[01:35] we see Quentin Quire, Pixie, Chamber, and a girl created for the background of Genosha running from a piloted mech Sentinel. And that leads us into the episode with Cable saying, >> The woman who raised me told me I had a
[01:47] to kill Apocalypse. >> Now, he is referring to Mother Askani, rebels in episode 1. She's actually Rachel Summers, Scott and Jean's traveled into the future to lead Clan Askani and guide Nathan to his destiny.
[02:03] told that he was going to destroy Apocalypse. We heard the prophecy in episode 1. >> The one destined to destroy Apocalypse his power. >> So, this makes Nathan 100% convinced
[02:18] because it is preordained. And as we'll on him because he does something morally dubious in the name of a greater good, which then creates a greater evil. Now, this season has shown us that the X-Men
[02:31] are stuck in a kind of time loop and their time travel has had a >> All right, well, it gets a little timey-wimey and confusing, but in the two-parter Rise of Apocalypse, we see the origin of how En Sabah Nur became
[02:44] Apocalypse. He discovers a ship in the past that has hieroglyphics of his future. And this is the same ship we see later in this episode and we've seen it before in the episode Obsession. >> That episode also began Hank's, um,
[02:57] friendship with the AI. >> We request permission to board you. >> In that episode, Beast actually makes friends with the computer called Ship, which then turned against Apocalypse to aid the X-Men. And this is adapted from
[03:10] ship became the headquarters for the past, he recognized the ship immediately. spacecraft Ship. >> So, this is all implying that the past,
[03:23] present, and future have already been written. Apocalypse was foretold to be created at this altar, and this altar was also foretold to create Cable as we saw in episode 1. But this episode shows that maybe the Celestials can alter that
[03:36] inevitability, which we'll explain a little later in the video. I love this show because every time that theme kicks in, I am transported back to Saturday to have a piece of art that can instantly make you feel like you're a
[03:48] part of something that you love. Like I was also a huge Transformers fan when I still continues on today. >> What do you mean? Eternal War, which we're collaborating with on this video, you forge an
[04:00] original Transformers epic with the legendary Simon Furman, the writer who defined the Transformers universe for my generation. This is an all-new chapter in the story where you uncover the rise of the Chaos Legion, which forces the
[04:12] Autobots and Decepticons to actually work together. I mean, we could actually see Optimus Prime fight alongside Starscream. That's one of my childhood know in the comments which Autobot-Decepticon team-ups you would
[04:24] >> But, what kind of a game is it? >> My favorite kind. It is a mobile-based character collector focused on building tactical squads with more than 10 different gameplay modes. Even when I'm not online, my squad is still fighting
[04:36] and gathering forces, so I can focus on my favorite part, upgrading my Ark, which is the home base, to keep my resources flowing to upgrade my squads. Transformers: Eternal War is my favorite kind of game. It has an epic story and a
[04:48] hands-off approach that lets me skip repetitive maintenance and focus on the Autobots and Decepticons to fight the Chaos Legion. Transformers: Eternal War is open for pre-registration right now, and if you sign up with our link below,
[05:02] you get awesome pre-registration awards: Jazz, Bumblebee, and the exclusive 40th anniversary avatar frame and nameplate. Sign up is below, and I'll see you in Cable and X-Factor are tracking Apocalypse because his brain emits
[05:15] Celestial energy. Now, we explained this way back in episode 4, but it's run through it again. In the MCU, the Celestials are a cabal of space gods that claim to create suns and galaxies and planets and maybe even the universe
[05:28] itself. They also lay eggs in planets and need the population of said planet This is slightly different from the comics where the Celestials arrived on Earth millions of years ago in order to implant a special gene into humanity
[05:43] that allows humans to gain superpowers. The X-gene that creates mutantkind is a part of this celestial gene. We also saw a celestial in Guardians of the Galaxy, Eson the Searcher, using the power stone to mow down an entire planet. Now, in
[05:55] episode 4, En Sabah Nur meets the same celestial, Eson, who gives him the power in a bit. But, the important thing is Apocalypse always emits this cosmic track him down to various resurrection chambers in the future. Cable even calls
[06:11] Xavier Chuck, a nickname that he really hated in the comics. Now, when we flash Apocalypse drawn with just an outline. And this is similar to how his disembodied presence appeared in the season 5 episode The Fifth Horseman.
[06:24] This was also the first episode to show us that Apocalypse's mind could survive the destruction of his body. Now, as I mentioned earlier, I really hated the Gambit return, but I love the trolley problem it creates for this episode. For
[06:36] get revenge on the man who killed his best friend. But, he refuses to betray what may be the ultimate death of Apocalypse that we'll talk about later Nightcrawler reuniting with Ship. Now, in the original series episode
[06:52] the AI, and they became friends. The episode ended with Beast recovering this tablet and being forced to watch Ship kill itself in order to stop Apocalypse. encountered it in the future, the team must have realized the ship wasn't
[07:07] destroyed, so now they're searching for it on the ocean floor. We see these same Egypt with particular focus on the celestial, Eson the Searcher. Ship warns offending powers beyond your comprehension.
[07:21] Celestials, she's referring to the cosmic balance itself. In the arc Beyond Good and Evil, the heroes even theorize that if Apocalypse is the embodiment of evil, then he can never be killed. Now, the Celestial doesn't see the universe
[07:34] in terms of good or bad, they only see growth. See, the Celestials are cosmic gardeners who cut the weeds out of a planet so the strongest plants can thrive and survive. This fits directly with Apocalypse's philosophy of survival
[07:47] of the fittest. It's also the bedrock of evolution, and mutants are the result of ways that the philosophy of the Celestials and Apocalypse align, which is why they granted him this power to be a destructive force on Earth to create
[08:01] statue opens up, and actually in the comics we saw a similar statue with a similar mouth portal in a later run fights her way forward, and remember she absorbed the powers of Ms. Marvel, Carol
[08:15] not as powerful in the show as she is in the movies, but there is still a touch which could be part of what helps her to survive and push through. But, mostly she's able to enter the gate because she actually has part of the power from a
[08:29] Apocalypse gave a portion of his powers to his love, Kendra, who then betrayed him. Then Gambit stole the gem and jammed it into Rogue, endowing her with some of the Celestial's power. Now, while she enters the chamber, X-Factor
[08:42] shows up at Genosha to assault X-Core Tower. So, now the full team is here minus Colossus, who's at the mansion babysitting the kids. Now, I've enjoyed course of this show. She is voiced by original Jean Grey actress Catherine
[08:55] Disher, and in season 1 we first saw her coordinating with Cyclops and working on behalf of mutants. But, following Genosha it was revealed that she was also working with Bastion to create a fail-safe against mutants. Now, she
[09:07] didn't know about the giant Sentinel or the plan to destroy Genosha, but she was However, eventually her conscious got to her and she freed him. >> Magneto was right. >> And this season she's gotten a promotion
[09:20] sanctioned superhero team. Now, it seems like she's trying to find a middle are dangerous and need to be policed, but at least she thinks it should be mutants doing the policing. And now she's actually giving orders to Cable,
[09:33] who very easily uses his future technology to break through the defense grid. Remember, Cable also has a little bit of that celestial magic in him as he got upgrades when he put his arm into the celestial altar in the future. Val
[09:45] are similar to Sentinel Squad One from the comics. Now, a few episodes ago, we her office, and we thought this was really weird at the time, but this explains why. Back in season 1 of the original show, Master Mold decided to
[09:59] replace humanity. >> You will remove Senator Kelly's brain >> So, apparently, the government has decided that the real problem wasn't intelligence. This defense grid was specifically designed to get Sentinel
[10:13] attacked following the Sentinel assault on Genosha in the episode Remember It. asked Polaris how it feels to go up against her former team. >> I'm an X-Man. Pretty sure I always was. >> Now, she wasn't a founding member of
[10:25] this version of the X-Men, but she was the first to join afterwards. In the left her old boyfriend Iceman to join X-Factor and to be with Havok, but more on him later. Charles is also hooked up to an updated version of Cerebro, that
[10:39] run of New X-Men. And that takes us to Rogue. She is in a white void drawn in by Eson. Now, this calls to mind the visual of Sersi communicating with Arishem in the Eternals, but the white void is also very much like the realm of
[10:53] eternity and the Living Tribunal in the comics, where mortals like Adam Warlock entities. Now, as I mentioned earlier, Rogue entered this realm with a little bit of cosmic power herself, which at least grants her an audience with Eson.
[11:05] chosen for this power. >> Life only advances at the expense of other lives through struggle, through
[11:17] >> The Celestials need some force on Earth to propel evolution forward. And I should note that in the alternate Earth X universe, it was revealed that they needed people of Earth to act as antibodies to protect the egg and the
[11:30] Galactus. I think that makes way more sense than babies eating brainwaves of turning point of the episode is when she refuses to give up and Eson sees her strength and is intrigued by it. And this actually goes back to the theme of
[11:44] this episode, that we are stronger as a species when we work together. This is also the core tenant of Xavier's dream and a bedrock of civilization. And founding principle of the mutant nation of Krakoa. When mutants use their powers
[11:57] things that they could have never done alone. In the comics actually, this nickname a fastball special, named after how Colossus would throw Wolverine at stuff. Now, Eson is intrigued by this
[12:10] However, the Celestial survival of the fittest philosophy does mean that there must still be a sacrifice. Now, this is similar like how a sacrifice is needed to obtain the soul stone in Infinity War and Endgame. And this idea goes all the
[12:23] way back to the ancient world, like biblical times. Prehistoric their deities. Sometimes animals, sometimes objects, sometimes even family are ready to leave behind the things of
[12:36] this world and ascend to a higher plane of reality or to receive divine gifts. Now, Nightcrawler's self-sacrifice later adds a New Testament spin to this, which emerges looking like one of the Eternals with these Jack Kirby lines in her new
[12:49] cosmic uniform, she calls Nightcrawler elf, which is Wolverine's nickname for to the attack on X-Corp. So, they drop in Strong Guy. Wait, that's his name? No, his name is Guido, but he goes by Strong Guy. He was actually a bodyguard
[13:02] and his power is that he can absorb kinetic energy and it makes him stronger. Bishop actually has the same power, which is why later he says, "You know neither of us can really make a dent in the other, right?" Kind of like
[13:15] meet, you have the unstoppable force meets the immovable object. Strong Guy Cassidy, and she's actually the daughter of the hero Banshee, who in the original series had the most hilarious screaming power of all time.
[13:34] Now, Wolfsbane was an original New Mutant alongside Sunspot, and at this period in the comics when she was in X-Factor, she was actually stuck in her wolf form after she was tortured by geneticists on Genosha. Multiple Man
[13:47] Comfort, and we saw him dancing in the episode Remember It. His power is to outside, Forge has this kick-ass jetpack, which by the way, he's built instance, he builds one for Mystique in Mystique issue seven. Storm, who
[14:02] remember is an omega-level mutant, pretty easily wipes these Sentinels off that these Sentinels have a glowing circle in their chest, which looks a lot like Tony Stark's arc reactor. This to me is very much pointing to the theory
[14:16] that this model of Sentinel was designed by Tony Stark, and also that his tech could be repurposed by Damage Control to create Sentinels in the MCU. Now, this shot, where Cable surveys the battle, it really struck me how similar this visual
[14:29] episode, mutants were celebrating their new nation with a fireworks display, and then Cable showed up and tried to stop it. Now, mutantkind are in a civil war with each other, creating a darker kind of firework over the rubble of that
[14:42] faces off with Psylocke, who is now using a psychic katana, like she does in that she's actually fighting Morph. Then, he takes the form of Doctor Series, which remember is in the same episode as the original X-Men series.
[14:57] Then, she uses her telepathy to create imaginary duplicates of herself, leading up to my favorite moment of the episode, where she uses a psychic knife on >> But, these brains have already been scrambled.
[15:09] referring to in the episode Weapon X Lies and Videotape, with Department H implanting false memories in him and other soldiers. Now, in the air, Havok they met when he interrogated her in
[15:22] episode two this season. Now, Jubilee has come a long way. Back in the episode Red Dawn, she could barely fly, and she was always comic relief or a hostage in seeing her become a badass this season. She was with the X-Men for 5 years, but
[15:35] just a few months with Cable, and she can actually use her powers in combat. I about to get sucked into the engine, but then diverts herself slightly into the cargo door. Now, with all of these interpersonal fights in this episode,
[15:47] you'll notice that Havok doesn't join in the Summers brawl, even though he is Cyclops' brother and technically Cable's uncle. And this is because as of right now in the series, Cyclops and Havok do not know they are brothers. When they
[15:59] Comfort, they were just confused that their powers didn't work against each >> I don't understand what gives. >> So, this entire episode, I think, is a Future Past, when another time traveler, Bishop, traveled back in time to kill
[16:13] Gambit, and now Cable's doing the same thing. And look, I am not a fan of Gambit coming back from the dead, but man, it was so much fun when he woke up and just kicked X-Factor's ass. Especially this moment when he charged
[16:25] up Jamie Madrox's duplicate and made them all explode. This also made up for one of the silliest parts of last episode, Gambit in his full costume just lying in a hospital bed, because frankly, this wouldn't be nearly as
[16:37] scrub. We also get Cable versus his parents, where he actually unleashes his full telekinetic power, like we briefly saw last season. Now, in the comics, Cable's power is always limited because he's always using his abilities to hold
[16:50] back that techno-organic virus. So, it's very rare that he actually unleashes like this. He attacks his dad at his greatest weakness, removing his visor, his eye beams, and this leads to Cable destroying several floors of the
[17:02] building, clearing a path to finally assassinate Gambit. Now, when the tower is attacked, it made me think about the tarot cards from Gambit's resurrection. saw were death, the tower, and the lovers. While initially we saw this as a
[17:15] recap of Remy's life, which it technically is. The cards also seem to goes down this episode with Gambit's resurrection. Now, when Apocalypse takes full control over Remy's body, he uses his kinetic manipulation abilities to
[17:29] also saw prominently featured in the Death tarot card. Remember, this card is we do see that here when Cable shoots Remy, but really >> Death is evolution. >> The card is all about releasing the old
[17:44] to usher in the new. So, when Remy dies, Apocalypse is then able to evolve into this new mutated form of Gambit. The second card in that trio was the Tower, life changes, and the collapse of unstable foundations. Unfortunately for
[17:59] Charles and company, this unstable foundation was actually X-Corp. The Tower and even the X-Men themselves are founded on shaky political grounds due to government jurisdiction and international law. We also see Val pick
[18:11] up this card at the end of last episode. And maybe this gave her the idea to search for X-Corp. The X-Men were already on thin ice by operating outside confronted Gambit in New Orleans last episode. And now, by harboring
[18:24] Gambit/Apocalypse at X-Corp, they are in direct violation of those laws. In a way, Gambit caused the destruction of the Tower since Val, X-Force, and X-Factor only attacked X-Corp Tower to retrieve him. I'm willing to bet that
[18:38] unforeseen political consequences in the future. Finally, this brings us back to the Lovers card. Now, of course, this card is about Rogue and Remy. Ison tells she must sacrifice herself. >> Your life
[18:53] for his. >> And Rogue didn't hesitate. In tarot, the self-sacrifice required to make a healthy partnership flourish. By choosing to sacrifice herself, Rogue fulfills the emotional depth of this
[19:06] card and in the end is rewarded. And by the way, this is an incredibly deep pool. Morph for just a second turns into Flatman, a member of the Great Lakes Avengers. He could have just turned into Mr. Fantastic like he did a few episodes
[19:18] ago, but I appreciate that he's the kind of guy who goes for the truly deep-cut still before there's a blast of energy and then the manifestation of a fanged skull, calling to mind another type of undead villain, a vampire. And
[19:31] Apocalypse fully takes the form of Gambit. Now, notice, he's got the same become a red scythe, just like when Gambit was the Horseman Death. trench coat with much better hair. And this is also similar to a moment in the
[19:45] body of Cyclops. And then, in the episode, he spreads his mind to everyone, mocking Charles. >> To me, my X-Men. >> Now, this is, of course, the Professor's famous motto, "To me, my X-Men", that
[19:59] goes all the way back to the very first issue. Apocalypse knows that this is the him after he killed Magneto. So, that's why he's choosing this moment to mock would meet way back in the original series. So, what we have here are two
[20:13] Apocalypse believes in survival of the fittest, strength over mercy, but Xavier believes in cooperation. Civilizations would never rise if people didn't pull says. >> The ones you care for will be your
[20:29] >> And this goes back to Rogue's encounter with Eson. The Celestial had the same view of Apocalypse, but when she showed ceaseless devotion to Remy, the god saw strength in her endless love for him. So, Rogue casually removes one glove to
[20:42] draw away Apocalypse's spirit, very similar to what she did for Archangel in season one's "Come the Apocalypse". She compresses him into a single jewel, much Candra thousands of years in the past. So, I do wonder if all of this is part
[20:55] of the same time loop. Cable takes away the gem and maybe Apocalypse's followers then Apocalypse gives it to Candra, starting the loop all over again. Or, it could be that Rogue talking to the Celestial finally broke this loop. If
[21:09] loop to begin with, then the Celestial Eson could break the time loop, and maybe Apocalypse is finally finally dead. In season 1, Cable said that he tried to stop Genosha more than 200 times, and Beast theorized that the
[21:23] destruction could have been an absolute point in time that had to occur. Well, the desolation of Genosha did lead to this moment, the defeat of Apocalypse. So, maybe this could be why that point in time could not be altered. Then,
[21:35] first time they've done this since their powers were taken away back in season that's so sweet, it makes up for the crime of resurrecting Gambit to begin Rogue fully expects to die, but she is spared because of another form of
[21:50] sacrifice, self-sacrifice. Nightcrawler is a follower of the Christian faith. He even became a priest like he did in the comics. So, then we flash back to see that he made a very Christ-like decision. He gave his life to save Rogue
[22:02] friends. He explains to the Celestial that his sacrifice will mean creating a lasting peace for the people he loves. It's a beautiful speech, and I have a leave him dead. There are too many characters on this team, and there's no
[22:16] better way for Nightcrawler to go out than offering his life up for the sins holding Nightcrawler's Bible, which in the opening credits, which makes me think that for all these years Beast has
[22:28] been reading the Bible. And then we see the team back in the kitchen where they started in season 1. They have their X-Men branded mugs. Beast is reading a and notice how Jean is telekinetically pouring coffee. Wolverine is also
[22:41] sometimes wore in the original series. And then we see Beak, Nature Girl, and Wing with Jubilee and Sunspot, who might also be teachers at the school now. genetics lesson while Quentin Quire is standing. He's always being rebellious.
[22:55] left, and the girl in the middle is a mutant runaway from the Marvels issue 2. season. And I think the girl on the right is Ide Okanquo. Now, she is a Nigerian mutant and one of the first to appear after the Scarlet Witch depowered
[23:09] the mutant race. So, she's always been a symbol of hope for mutantkind, which is they're in a hopeful era. And then we see Colossus painting an image of himself with his sister. And notice in it, he's wearing a sweater vest that
[23:21] which of course matches the colors of his costume. And then Rogue and Gambit get their happy ending reading Nightcrawler's Bible. Notice that Gambit wore in episode one when making breakfast, which let's face it was
[23:34] probably way too spicy. But, the happy ending is undercut by a mid-credit scene Beast's girlfriend in the comics, is reporting that mutant hater Graydon Creed has defeated President Kelly. So, now there will be a vile mutant-hating
[23:49] up a season where the X-Men have to fight institutional bigotry. Imagine Creed's Friends of Humanity piloting Val Cooper's Sentinels. The school will I can see them retreating to Genosha full-time. Maybe eventually setting up a
[24:05] war of humans against mutants. Val Cooper is also going through this file Associates, we see grainy images of the other members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants: Magneto, Toad, Quicksilver, Wanda, Mastermind, and Blob. Uh couple
[24:18] you know who they are, tell me in the comments. And then we see a tribute to actors who have played the character: Rebecca Romijn, Jennifer Lawrence, and Randall Carpenter, who voiced her in the original show. The file says, "Mystique
[24:30] play on an intelligence memo that circulated in the summer of 2001 titled "Bin Laden determined to attack US." And then, uh RIP Val Cooper, but hello Mystique. She is an incredible villain, somebody who does not have a firm
[24:45] for herself. And right now, she's perfect for this show. Her son, Graydon son, Nightcrawler, just gave his life to save her adopted daughter, Rogue. In Days of Future Past, Mystique was the original assassin who killed Senator
[24:59] And she's also even worked for Apocalypse in the past. I actually have no idea what her angle is, but this is a very exciting prospect for season 3. So guys, thanks for watching our coverage all season long. I love this show. I had
[25:13] to reread old X-Men comics that I haven't read for years. We will be back next year with season 3. And don't forget to pre-register for Transformers: sure that you get awesome rewards like Jazz, Bumblebee, and the exclusive 40th
[25:28] anniversary avatar frame and nameplate. I'll see you in game. But what did you Let me know your thoughts in the comments below or in our free-to-join And if it's your first time here, please subscribe, smash that bell for alerts.
[25:40] subscribe, smash that bell for alerts. For ScreenCrush, I'm Ryan Arey.