[00:01] eggs, references, and little things you might have missed in X-Men '97 season 2 episode 7, "Strangeland: Savage Heart." Now, this episode pulls a lot from the upcoming mutant civil war that could lead to "Days of Future Past" happening
[00:16] for real in this show. Rogue does the >> Previously on X-Men. >> Because she is a linchpin of this episode. Nightcrawler and Graydon Creed >> Yeah, I didn't follow any of that. >> All right, then. Allow me to explain.
[00:29] Years ago, Mystique and had a baby, as Creed explains later in this episode. original show since the first episode of season 2, where he was leading the Friends of Humanity. This is where they originally revealed Creed's parentage
[00:42] to embarrass him. >> Real name, Graydon Creed, Sr. >> Graydon Creed, Sr.? >> But, he also has a connection to Fugitives," he was spreading anti-mutant hysteria by blaming mutants for
[00:58] created. Later, Apocalypse reveals that he was disguised as a human scientist who developed the virus that's actually a precursor to the strain that Sinister used to infect baby Nathan. Then, in the episode "Bloodlines," Creed's own
[01:11] council of hatemongers attempted to banish him from the group unless he family. >> You lied about your mutant heritage. You >> You lied about your mutant heritage. You brought the stain of Sabretooth into our
[01:24] >> That episode revealed that Mystique did try to kill an infant Nightcrawler before abandoning him. And years later, Mystique would raise Rogue as her >> Wait, so who's Nightcrawler's dad? >> In the comics, his mom's his dad. It's
[01:36] >> Like a Cartman mom situation? >> Exactly. [music] So, the previously on shows Kurt reunited with Rogue in Genosha, and then Roberto and Jubilee watching a newscast of Reverend William Stryker. And he's saying that
[01:48] Stryker's hologram appeared last episode, and I'm wondering if this clip is here to foreshadow that Creed will win the presidency and then start this war against humans. That would kick off a Days of Future Past dystopia in the
[02:02] press conference from last episode. Notice how the lights even make little X's. And then we go to the opening credits. Polaris has been added to the font is the same as his limited series from the 1980s. Then we see the
[02:16] Executioner with the UN protesters from last season and Mystique killing baby Nightcrawler in the episode Bloodlines followed by Creed with the techno virus we see Val Cooper from last season dressed in her Bastion jumpsuit being
[02:29] captured by some Prime Sentinels. And guys, I have to show you this brand new Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters shirt in our merch store where we design like a classic Ivy League symbol but with the added DNA helix at the top.
[02:42] tribute shirt showing his wrecked helmet Charles. And right now our merch store is running a 15% off sale on all of our superhero merch. This includes classic X-Men parody merch like the "Whoo, I'm
[02:55] X-Men and the Nighthawks Diner shirt and print, the Remember It tribute to Variant hoodie, No Living with the Killing, and if you're a store member at our $5 tier, you get an additional 15% off the sale. So, that's 30% off total
[03:10] plus orders over $100 get free shipping. Links are below and become a member so you know when we make new drops. Now, back to what I was saying. Then we begin Remember It as we see the destruction from the ground level. This is
[03:22] reminiscent of the opening of Batman v Superman, which opened with the Zod battle from Bruce Wayne's point of view and set up his motivations for the film. We even see Magneto from a distance like how Bruce observes Zod and Superman from
[03:34] below. In this case, our POV character is Piotr Rasputin, aka Colossus. He was a key member of the team when they were rebooted in Giant-Size X-Men number one, but he's only ever been a supporting member of the animated series. He helped
[03:47] recruited their help against Omega Red. He came to America after his government saw him using his powers to rescue his baby sister Illyana from a plow. So, he had to flee to America for safety. Now, in the comics, Illyana has a really
[04:01] Peter's very young sister, but then Limbo, where she got a magic demon sword and learned to use her mutant teleporting power. She then became a member of the New Mutants, which is the
[04:13] Last season, Morph also turned into her to fight Madeline Pryor. Now, in the comics, Illyana eventually became a little girl again, but tragically died which is basically created to be a metaphor for the AIDS crisis. of Illyana
[04:29] hardened Peter's heart, and he answered Magneto's call to join his acolytes, season. Now, the wide shot image of the Sentinel attack is pulled straight from Frank Quietly's artwork from New X-Men. Illyana opens up a portal to save these
[04:41] three, who were created as background characters last season, but I remember here. Now, Illyana's selfless act has put her right in the line of fire. And let me tell you here, her death IS SAD. >> ILLYANA!
[04:54] >> BUT NOWHERE near as sad as in the comics, when she was just a little girl Now, Colossus' screams are then overlapped with the crowd cheering, these people would have cheered for this little girl's death if they had been
[05:10] there. As we saw on Val's TV last episode, Creed is running for president, flag like George C. Scott in the movie Patton. Creed also ran for president in the comic event Zero Tolerance, where he was assassinated by his own mother,
[05:23] audience with a beard. He might be the same hooded member of the FOH High Council that we saw in the episode Bloodlines. And then we get the title of the episode Strange Land, Savage Heart. And this is a play on two things. One,
[05:36] Hearts, more on that in a bit, but there's also the Robert Heinlein novel Stranger in a Strange Land, about a human raised by Martians who returned to Earth. This is similar to Graden Creed. He was born to mutants, lives among
[05:49] humans, and returns to mutants in this episode. It seems like he is running previous show, Kelly was an anti-mutant senator who changed his views and then Then, the meeting is attacked by the Acolytes. Now, in the comics, these were
[06:03] a group of mutants who followed Magneto, first appearing in X-Men issue one, created by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee. In the animated show, they appeared in the Sanctuary arc. This is when Magneto built an asteroid to be a mutant haven
[06:15] where he attempted to adapt Charles' dream by living away from humanity. The Acolytes were freedom fighters on Genosha who followed his cause. However, Magneto and nearly killed him. Afterwards, Apocalypse drained Cortez's
[06:28] now, I'll go through all of these Acolytes because there are so many of who's made out of protoplasm, by the way. We also saw Magneto rescue him from Genosha in the episode Sanctuary, which
[06:41] explains why he joined the Acolytes. And Carmella Unuscione. This is Crown, the dude with lips, Senyaka, and at the very end here, we see Amelia Voight. She can turn into mist, and she is a former lover of Charles Xavier. This is
[06:53] Delgado, and we see Colossus wearing his comic-accurate Acolyte uniform, and the white-haired man here is actually an old friend of Gambit's named Byron. This is Vindaloo. This is Gargoyle in the back, Tempo, and finally, Sheamus Melonc跟你.
[07:05] but I'm not. And here on the left is Projector, the spotted guy in the front is Barnacle. This is Anne Cortez, sister of Fabian, followed by Neophyte, which brings us to Rusty and Skids here in the background. Now, these were two mutants
[07:18] rescued by X-Factor who later joined the New Mutants. Then, they were brainwashed Front. After Magneto used his powers to free them, they joined his Acolytes. Rusty was also adapted as Firefist in Deadpool 2. Scanner is this woman in
[07:31] and this woman is your mom. This furry guy here is named Spore, and finally, Made the name up, don't know who that is. Now, at Creed's rally, notice he has a prominent facial scar, which was not present in the original show. Last time
[07:46] we saw Creed, his own hate group was dropping him off with his dad. injuries from Sabretooth. The attack on the rally is led by Exodus, who is one
[07:58] was born in the 12th century, and Magneto made him his right-hand man in the Fatal Attraction storyline. He did appear as a background character in the getting to see him front and center, however in this episode. Now, the news
[08:12] broadcast after the attack is from WHIH, the in-universe news station in the MCU. with the president, and this is kind of weird, right? Like, if the president's top advisor wore a blue and yellow leather jumpsuit to a meeting, that
[08:25] would be strange. Exodus accuses X-Factor of holding mutants hostage, their cells, we even see Pyro and Avalanche watching. These are two government-sanctioned team Freedom
[08:38] And the guy with the forearms here is probably Forearm, a member of the Front. It's nice that X-Factor's locking up criminals, but remember, they locked up teenagers in episode two this season. I also think it's funny that X-Core is
[08:52] watching the news, but instead of on a TV, they needlessly transfer it to this hologram, which in no way gives them a clearer picture than just turning on a collar is cut open at the top to show off his priest collar. Now, in the
[09:04] original series, just like in the comics, Nightcrawler is a man of God and lived in a monastery. This is even where the X-Men caught up with him in X2. comics, but Chris Claremont actually made him a priest in X-Men issue 100.
[09:18] revealed that the hate group the Church of Humanity manipulated him into priesthood, so he would become pope. I wonder if this is why we're seeing background. They could be setting up a similar fate for Kurt. But honestly, in
[09:32] could have stayed celibate. Dude played. Although, in season 4, he did get make right with the Lord. >> I will give thanks to you, oh Lord. I will trust and will not be afraid. >> So, all of this now becomes personal for
[09:48] their brother. For Kurt, he's drawing from the tenets of Christianity, showing God be the one who decides who lives and dies. Charles then communicates with sanctuary arc in season 4. Now, back then, he was able to convince Kelly to
[10:03] let him and the X-Men go to Magneto as envoys of peace. But here, we see that the government's patience is growing thin as tensions with the mutant race presidential candidate is essentially a declaration of war against humankind.
[10:17] United States could also be seen as an aggressive act. Turns out they are of Antarctica that is a jungle where dinosaurs are still roaming around. Magneto and Xavier were trapped here for all of season 2 and then captured by Mr.
[10:31] in the episode, they mention the power-dampening field that Sinister the ability to walk. In season 3, the fight Sauron and an evil cult with the help of Ka-Zar. Now, it's appropriate
[10:45] that the Acolytes have headquarters here because Magneto originally built his citadel in the Savage Land before he ever fought the X-Men. We even see a in season 1, episode 5. >> He even had plans, too, Remy. Mutant
[11:00] art, fashion, dance. >> And there's a little flirty thing happening with Bishop and Lorna, right? >> I may have read your file, Lucas. >> May have read your file, too. >> She calls Bishop Mr. Doomsday Clock
[11:12] He showed up to warn the X-Men about the end of the world in Days of Future Past. And I love how much of a badass she is during this crash. No powers, dive life. And this is when Mr. Doomsday becomes a literal ticking clock of a
[11:26] plot device. If he doesn't release the energy he stored up, he'll die. I done a lot more with that to create tension, but you know, I guess we only reactivated Sinister's power dampening field. They're occupying a palace that
[11:39] used to belong to Magneto, but was taken over by Sinister prior to season 2. In season 2, Magneto said, >> When I built it, I had great ambitions >> Which means he originally wanted his mutant sanctuary to be in the Savage
[11:52] Land. So now the Acolytes are fulfilling his dream. Then in season 3, it's occupied by the forces of Zaladane and Sauron. Here it looks partially battle at the end of season 2. Notice also the Acolytes all wear devices on
[12:05] their belts to cancel out the dampening field, and Sinister's Nasty Boys wore similar devices in season 2. Now Colossus is very friendly with his old Acolytes have never really been the enemies of the X-Men. In the episode
[12:17] Sanctuary, the X-Men didn't fight Magneto, but they did help take down Fabian Cortez for murdering him. This is the episode that firmly establishes the Acolytes as enemies of the X-Men. And the Acolytes don't even realize that
[12:30] the error of his ways and would be ashamed of what they're doing in his Colossus actually share a moment since they were teammates for years during the Claremont Byrne run. That was before Kurt left to form the team Excalibur. At
[12:44] wearing his good guy uniform with the giant M from earlier in season 1. And this is showing us that on the surface at least, they are following the example that Magneto set when he was Chancellor of Genosha and not as a supervillain.
[12:57] episode. >> But your sister would never want you to >> This is what drives Colossus all through this episode. He is grieving Illyana, would have been safe. And this comes full circle at the end of the episode
[13:12] when Colossus admits that his heart is still cold toward humans, but >> you would have convinced Illyana. >> The shrine for lost Genoshans is flanked with purple and banners, tributes to Magneto that were probably recovered
[13:24] the Morlock Marrow, and we saw her dead body in the episode, remember it. And of and this painting of Illyana. Now, Kurt notes that Peter painted it himself, and this is a key part of Peter's character in the comic. He is an artist and a
[13:38] we see a sign reading "Mutants Matter", a clear reference to the Black Lives at Creed, who then returns it to him like he's spitting in his face. earth, so great is his love for those who fear
[13:54] >> Now, this passage is taken from Psalms chapter 103 verses 10 through 14. The passage is about God's love for sinners, which is what Kurt is trying to emulate. him because he believes that's what God would do. Kurt convinces Exodus to hold
[14:08] a trial for Creed, but there's one important detail here. The last time we up a dam, but as they say, he was released. But Kurt brings up a new idea. He is proposing a court that is run by mutants, a way for mutantkind to start
[14:23] creating a formal system of laws. This is the cornerstone to establishing a civilization. Now, Genosha was in its infancy when the Sentinels attacked, but we are seeing the show gradually move toward a more formal nation being
[14:37] established. Now, I should say this happened many times in the comics, and return to Genosha under the protection of X-Core and started to form a mutant nation again. Now, when court is called into session, the main person sitting
[14:50] these two sitting beside each other are likely the Kleinstocks brothers who stack up to form one big dude. Notice that during the ritual, Colossus stays in armored form, as he does through most of the episode. Now, leading up to
[15:02] joining the Acolytes in the comics, he refused to change back into a human. This represented how he was cold and emotionless after he lost his sister. However, he still helped the X-Men escape after Xavier stole Magneto's mind
[15:14] in X-Men 25. Now, when Exodus lists his crimes, he says, >> Which we saw in the episode "Time Fugitives". And then president. >> That's from season 2 when they attacked
[15:27] Kelly's press conference. After Exodus makes a very compelling case, Kurt gives his brother a chance to help himself. >> Why do you hate mutants? >> Because you were born. >> And that is of course quoting his most
[15:39] Series. >> Why do you hate us? What did we ever do >> You were born. >> And what follows is basically a therapy session with an audience for Graydon Creed. He walks through his tragic
[15:53] by his mother, but he also had the >> He wanted a cub. >> And man, I actually started feeling bad Creed thought that he had to become cruel like his parents in order to
[16:07] >> Every night [snorts] I reminded myself, >> But like Kurt points out, he doesn't really hate all mutants. >> You hate the two who hurt you. >> As Kurt says, this trauma made him feel
[16:20] like being merely human meant that he was inferior. So, he has spent his entire life fighting to prove that mutants are actually the ones who are inferior to him. And as he points out, this also allows mutants to actually
[16:32] somebody, you're actually the one who carries the burden. And then Kurt makes forgiveness. >> All you need to do is forgive yourself >> All you need to do is forgive yourself for thinking you weren't strong enough.
[16:47] Colossus. >> I find the defendant >> [screaming] >> What was Peter going to say? >> Well, I think he was going to say not guilty. You see, Exodus is a god-tier
[17:01] telepath and telekinetic. He was reading Peter's mind. He knew his decision, which is why he intervened. Exodus cannot let anything undercut his plans. If Colossus were to overturn his orders, then it would mean losing stature in his
[17:14] group and maybe being replaced as leader. Magneto is also the same way. He created a mutant sanctuary, but insisted on ruling it as a dictator. >> This sets up Colossus leaving the Acolytes, which actually took a couple
[17:27] comes to his senses and realizes that he cannot support their terrorist ideology. cure for the Legacy Virus, which kills him, but saves his people. But, he came Joss Whedon and John Cassaday's Astonishing X-Men. And then, Lorna and
[17:42] Bishop swoop in riding freaking pterodactyls. Lorna is quickly becoming show. Bishop also returns the favor and saves her life. Then, the X-Men get their powers back and go ham on the Acolytes with Colossus even tossing
[17:55] Milan out of the castle. Creed runs into Exodus setting up Nightcrawler to have a his specialties in the comics. It's actually pretty kick-ass to watch two would think Exodus would have the advantage because he's a telepath.
[18:08] However, when Kurt teleports, he actually goes into another dimension when he's there, Exodus can't read his thoughts, which is how he's able to really like this one-liner where Colossus punches everybody off screen
[18:22] until he blocks Rusty's powers leading to Bishop blasting him out of the way. moment where they just nod. They were both on the X-Men's gold team when Bishop had his first appearance in Uncanny X-Men 282. Exodus says,
[18:35] >> And oddly enough, in the Earth X universe, it is revealed that Nightcrawler does become the demon villain Belasco, but that's just a that Nightcrawler looks like a satanic monster, but he is a man of God. To
[18:48] Exodus, Nightcrawler is like a demon freeing the unjust sinner from hell when Kurt is actually an angel trying to liberate a soul from bondage. Kurt is by teleporting in and flanking him with a second sword held by his tail.
[19:02] >> But then, stunner Creed proves that he cannot be saved and Exodus' long life is cut short. Then, Creed thinks that that order to be freed, but that was always the X-Men's intention. But see, Creed
[19:16] can't let himself owe Nightcrawler a favor. He has to be the one to force his own escape, so he doesn't owe a mutant anything. Lorna tries to take Creed out, but Kurt once again saves his life, but doesn't make his escape easy.
[19:28] save you. >> Kurt's line >> cannot conceive nor can I is the appalling strangeness of the mercy of >> is taken from Graham Greene's novel Brighton Rock. A priest is comforting a
[19:40] young woman and explains that God shows mercy to everyone, even the sinners who appear to be the most broken, as Kurt has done here. But, he lays down the ultimate insult. >> I may not be a mutant, but you are very
[19:52] son. >> In trying not to be like his parents, Creed has become exactly like them. The episode ends with Colossus joining the X-Men, apparently becoming a teacher at the school, meaning that X-Core is
[20:05] Xavier's school was able to keep its charter. Colossus also turns back into his human form, symbolic of how he is moving through the stages of his grief. of Colossus here in the sunset is very much like this panel from Uncanny X-Men
[20:19] 304 when he was burning his paintings. When grieving Illyana, he let go of beautiful to him and kept his ties to humanity. And the episode ends back in the Acropolis with X-Force tracking down Apocalypse's lab, but instead they find
[20:32] >> How could this be? >> Now, it could be that Apocalypse's new Horseman Death was so powerful that he destroyed his former master. But, I that the husk is from a resurrection
[20:45] immortal. Every few hundred years, he needs a new vessel to serve as a host for his essence. Cable was originally going to be his ultimate final host, but that's a story that we may see adapted on the show very soon. I wonder if
[20:58] might see a situation like when Apocalypse possessed Cyclops in the control of his body. And this seems to be confirmed by the burned playing card Genosha, which could be setting up Gambit as the final boss of the season.
[21:14] Gambit's resurrection? Let me hear your thoughts down in the comments below, or Threads, or on our free-to-join Discord server. And if it's your first time subscribe, smash that bell for alerts. For Screen Crush, I'm Ryan Arey.