Warning: SPOILERS for the X-Men ’97 episode “Tolerance is Extinction - Part 1” are ahead!
The beginning of the end of X-Men ’97 Season 1 is here, and man, was there a lot to absorb. The latest episode of the critically-acclaimed Marvel TV show to debut to Disney+ subscribers was jam-packed with major events, including Bastion’s origin being revealed, the activation of countless human-Sentinel hybrids across the world, the destruction of the X-Mansion, an amazing Wolverine and Nightcrawler team-up, and Professor X arriving back on Earth. Even by X-Men ’97 standards, “Tolerance is Extinction - Part 1” was a wild ride.
But for our purposes, there are three specific things worth talking out in more detail. Not only did “Tolerance is Extinction - Part 1” feature some great cameos from characters both directly tied to the X-Men property and from the wider Marvel universe, as well as a badass Magneto moment that completely upended Bastion’s plans, but I’m also psyched by the tie-in to the Marvel multiverse that was thrown in. So let’s break these down one by one.
Some Major Marvel Characters Briefly Appeared
Mister Sinister isn’t Bastion’s only prominent ally. For one thing, we learn that Valerie Cooper has been in cahoots with him, although the devastating attack on Genosha went too far for her, and it leads to her eventually freeing Magneto, which we’ll talk more about later. More importantly, while Bastion is meeting over video conferencing with other colluders, we see Doctor Doom, the Fantastic Four’s arch-nemesis, and Baron Zemo, one of Captain America’s main enemies, are among these ranks. But don’t go thinking they’re yes men, as Doom considers what Bastion did to be a war crime, and Zemo notes that the Sentinel program can’t go wide if leaders like President Kelly see the X-Men as allies.
Then towards the end of the episode, as Magneto is showing off an incredible display of power that’s affecting the entire world (again, more details are forthcoming), among the people witnessing what’s happening are Spider-Man and Silver Samurai, and Magneto’s actions also lead to Omega Red being freed from stasis. This Spider-Man, of course, is the same one who led Spider-Man: The Animated Series (one of the best animated TV shows of all time) from 1994 to 1998, and hopefully this cameo can help pave the way for Spider-Man ’98 to be made. As for Silver Samurai and Omega Red, both those characters previously appeared in X-Men: The Animated Series, so hopefully future seasons of X-Men ’97 will directly loop them into the larger narrative.
Magneto Changed The Game In Just Minutes
Although Magneto was originally thought to have been killed by that Wild Sentinel on Genosha mere moments before Gambit met his tragic end, he was revealed to still be alive end of “Bright Eyes,” albeit held captive by Bastion and having his mutant abilities suppressed by an inhibitor collar. In “Tolerance is Extinction - Part 1,” Valerie Cooper notes that Magneto hasn’t said anything since Genosha and tries to get him to talk with her, as she was remorseful for her role in what happened on Genosha.
Then, upon learning that Bastion is weaponizing civilians with his advanced Sentinel tech, she realizes she can’t sit back and do nothing anymore. So while Bastion’s human-Sentinel attacks on mutants are happening across the world, Valerie frees Magneto, and he wastes no time flying to the Arctic and unleashing an electromagnetic wave across the globe. While this thankfully disables all the human-Sentinel hybrids and Bastion’s master scheme (though whether he has a backup plan remains to be seen), it also knocks out all electricity.
As Wolverine sees it, the Master of Magnetism has essentially declared war. This means that while Bastion remains the most pressing threat to currently deal with, Magneto and the X-Men, and mutants as a whole, will likely have to deal with public opinion shifting against them yet again. I'm also curious to see if Magneto's actions, although done for the greater good, will lead to him and the X-Men ending up on opposite sides once more.
Genosha Is Important To The Multiverse
As cool as those cameos and Magneto’s EMP wave were, what really got me nerding out in this X-Men ’97 episode was something that Beast said about how the attack on Genosha is important to the multiverse. Upon learning how Cable, who we now know is Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor's adult son Nathan, had tried numerous times to prevent the attack, only to be temporally pulled away from it (as seen in "Remember It"), Beast muses:
Strange. The mystics of Kamar-Taj speak of absolute points. Events that occur across all timelines. Cable could travel to the very moment Genosha fell, but time would stop him.
If Beast is correct, then that means Genosha is destined to be attacked across all realities in the Marvel multiverse. These absolute points could also be labeled as fixed points, meaning there’s nothing any time traveller can do to change them. That has me wondering about if the MCU, specifically the Earth-616 reality, could also explore this event.
Granted, whenever the X-Men reboot is added to the slate of upcoming Marvel movies, we can presumably expect it will take place in the present day rather than 1997. That said, it would still be interesting how that time period shift and other factors would lead to an attack on Genosha that looks different from what happened on X-Men ’97, yet still stand as an event that must happen.
There are just two episodes left to go in X-Men ’97’s run, but production on Season 2 has begun and Season 3 is being developed. Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more coverage on what’s become one of the best Disney+ TV shows, and learn what’s on the small screen horizon with our guide of upcoming Marvel TV shows. For any non-Marvel series inquiries, consult the 2024 TV schedule.
