X-Men 97 Season 1 has officially ended. And damn, that was one of the finest seasons of Marvel television, period! It might even be a contender for one of the best comic book animated series adaptations of all time, but I digress.

We’ll be discussing the ending of the X-Men 97 Season 1 finale and what to expect from X-Men 97 Season 2, so beware of spoilers ahead. At the time of writing, there is no release date or release window for X-Men 97 Season 2. However, we know that it’s already in production, so hopefully we won’t have to wait long.

Let’s dive in, excelsior!

X-Men 97 Season 1 Ending: Lost In Time

For a full recap of what happened in the X-Men 97 finale, head on over here for my full breakdown article.

Basically, the episode ended with Asteroid M disappearing and most of the X-Men scattered and lost throughout time and space.

So far, only Forge and Bishop are confirmed to be in the present, as well as several others like Colossus, Exodus, and Dust (who can be seen on the board behind Forge below). Meanwhile, others like Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are “off world”.

So, what can we expect from X-Men 97 Season 2?

Well…

Forge Will Probably Assemble A New Team Of X-Men To Save The Other X-Men, Probably Consisting Of His Fellow X-Factor Members

He has Bishop on his side but few options besides that.

He’s already part of another team, X-Factor, so perhaps he’ll just bring that team along. The team consists of Pietro Maximoff AKA Quicksilver, Alex Summers AKA Havok, Lorna Dane AKA Polaris, Guido Carosella AKA Strong Guy, Rahne Sinclair AKA Wolfsbane, and James Madrox AKA Multiple Man.

Some Of The X-Men Are In Ancient Egypt With A Younger Version Of Apocalypse AKA En Sabah Nur

Possible Rama Tut Appearing In X-Men 97 Season 2

Rogue, Nightcrawler, Beast, Professor X, and Magneto are in Ancient Egypt with a younger Apocalypse AKA En Sabah Nur.

We don’t know who is behind that futuristic spherical building but it might be Rama-Tut, who is a younger version of Kang The Conqueror or a variant of Kang The Conqueror. The design aesthetics look similar to the ones seen in Kang’s technology in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

In the comics, Rama-Tut attempted to raise En Sabah Nur as his successor, as Rama-Tut was the ruling Pharaoh when Apocalypse was still known as En Sabah Nur. However, he later failed and they became bitter enemies.

Also, the young En Sabah Nur in X-Men 97 Episode 10 looks exactly like his comic book counterpart in The Rise Of Apocalypse.

It will be interesting to see the X-Men teaming up with a young Apocalypse to fight Rama Tut, a Kang variant.

Cyclops And Jean Grey Meet A Young Cable And Rachel Grey

The woman in the image above is Mother Askani. In the comics, Mother Askani is Rachel Summers.

Rachel Summers is the daughter of the alternate future variants of Cyclops and Jean Grey from the dystopian Days Of Future Past timeline.

And they also meet a young Natham Summers AKA Cable.

What will this lead to? Who knows? Maybe Stryfe will show up like in 1990’s X-Cutioner’s Song.

Stryfe is an evil clone of Cable, as he was born free of the Techno-Organic Virus but was kidnapped and raised by Apocalypse.

The appearance and possible confrontation with Stryfe is quite possible in Season 2, considering that Apocalypse will likely be the main antagonist of Season 2. Speaking of which…

X-Men 97 Post-Credits Might Indicate The Show’s Version Of Age Of Apocalypse

Yes, Apocalypse shows up again after being absent from X-Men 97. He was a recurring villain in the original X-Men The Animated Series. Now he’s back and it seems like X-Men ’97 will be doing its own version of Age Of Apocalypse.

In the comics, Age Of Apocalypse was a 1995 comic book crossover storyline where it is set in an alternate reality where Professor X died (killed by his son, Legion), causing Apocalypse to attack the world and take control of the world. Hence, Age Of Apocalypse. In that timeline, Magneto led the X-Men and the resistance group against Apocalypse.

It is also a very popular X-Men storyline, as the run featured high-profile artists like Joe Madureira and fan-favourite characters like Blink. Making a version of that storyline in Season 2 would be what comic fans and X-Men aficionados. After all, the 2009 X-Men animated show Wolverine and the X-Men came close to doing that story arc, but got cancelled (see cliffhanger image below). Given the positive reception of X-Men ’97 so far, we’re pretty sure Season 2 and a long-overdue AoA storyline in animated form is a given.

Also, Apocalypse’s final line in X-Men 97 Episode 10 is “so much pain, my children, So much death” as he retrieves one of Gambit’s destroyed cards from the dirt. The choice of words is an easter egg, of course, because Gambit became one of Apocalypse’s Four Horsemen in the comics after the events of Decimation, and Death specifically.

So, it looks like Gambit will return in X-Men 97 as Death, one of Apocalypse’s Four Horsemen.

That’s all we have for now, folks.

Again, hopefully, we don’t have to wait long for X-Men 97 Season 2, and Marvel Studios should really learn some lessons from X-Men 97 about how to execute an overarching storyline.