X-Men ’97 2×01, 2×02 and 2×03 Review: “Days of Past Future” 3-Part Premiere

The animated X-Men 97 series returned for a second season with a banger three-episode premiere that sets the stage for the iconic mutant team facing off against Apocalypse across the timeline.

It took about two years, but yay to the X-Men 97 sophomore season finally debuting on Disney+. Apparently, with the show having already been renewed for a third season, the creative team hopes that fans won’t have to wait this long between seasons. Well, I will have my fingers crossed. You never know what might happen in the ever-changing Hollywood landscape.

With most of the X-Men displaced through time during the finale of season one, the second chapter opened with Bishop and Forge deciding to bring their teammates back in ‘Days of Past Future’. Forge jumped ahead to reconnect with Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, Jean, and Morph, while Bishop traveled to the past to get Rogue, Nightcrawler, Beast, Prof X, and Magneto. The common foe across the timeline was Apocalypse, with the past focusing on his rise to power while the future being all about the height of his reign.

I liked how the creative team decided to spotlight one timeline each episode instead of having the viewers constantly hopping between the past, present, and future. And while that meant certain characters wouldn’t pop up in every episode, it helped with the pacing and narrative purposes.

Arriving in the future, Forge immediately got attacked by Apocalypse’s robot hounds. Fortunately, Forge was saved by Storm and Wolverine, after which Forge (and the audience) were able to get up to speed with what the X-Men had been doing in the future.

Cyclops and Jean were happy looking after Nathan. However, they were also trying to deal with the inevitability of leaving Nathan again because of the destiny he’s supposed to fulfill. I enjoyed how the writers explored differing opinions about potentially messing with the timeline. Scott and Jean were ready to risk it all just to be with Nathan. Forge was all about getting the X-Men back to the present ASAP. Storm, on the other hand, took the middle road. In Ororo’s mind, everything happened for a reason. There was a purpose behind the X-Men being pulled into the future. Thus, it would be beneficial to all of them to let time flow as intended. It was very That’s So Raven way of trying to understand time, which is something I also gravitate to.

Ororo’s opinion matched Mother Askani’s sentiments, who, it was revealed, had been responsible for saving the X-Men during the season one finale and sending separate teams to the past and the future to stop Apocalypse and ensure a better future for mutants and humankind.

Forge did mention how he and Ororo hadn’t talked about nurturing a romantic relationship between a scientist and a woman of faith. I mean, Ororo and Forge being a thing in X-Men 97 doesn’t really annoy me. But I would be okay if the duo decided to call it quits during the second season. I would be here for Ororo getting to interact with T’Challa and developing their relationship instead.

Of course, one of the moments I had been hyped about was Ororo summoning a cosmic storm. A part of that scene had been used for marketing the current season. And the full moment delivered a lot of satisfaction to my fanboy heart. Needing immense energy to power a vehicle, Mother Askani asked Ororo to create a cosmic storm, much to Ororo’s surprise, as she thought she could only control the forces of planetary weather.

Ororo getting to level up her powerset reminded me of how a future version of Jubilee helped present Jubilee unlock what she was capable of during episode 4 of the previous season.

Seeing Storm manipulate the solar winds while giving one of her iconic monologues was amazing! Storm truly is the Omega of Omegas!

My gripe with ‘Days of Past Future’ was similar to my gripe with the first season of X-Men 97. The storytelling continued to be a bit too fast-paced. The introduction of the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse should have been a moment that drastically escalated the stakes for our heroes. And yet, we saw the X-Men defeat them in a manner of minutes just to keep the story moving.

Similar to the first season, keeping up with the narrative will be tough for viewers unfamiliar with a whole bunch of X-Men comic books. That’s why I hope the writers decide to slow things down a little going into season 3.

With Nathan finding the strength to send the X-Men back to their timeline and becoming the leader the mutants in the future needed, episode 2, titled ‘A Force to Be Reckoned With’, was about the state of mutants in the present.

As expected, Professor X’s school had been abandoned, with young mutants having no one to turn to. Making matters worse, the government had created a new mutant team, called X-Factor, to help with mutant-related issues. And that involved imprisoning mutants to keep society safe. Sigh!

Leave it to certain individuals to side with the government and target their own communities under the guise of upholding the law for the greater good. I do enjoy it when X-Men storytelling draws parallels to real-world situations.

With Cable recruiting his X-Force team to track down an Apocalypse Horseman, he reached out to Jubilee and Sunspot. Again, the two young mutants joining Cable moved a bit too quickly for my liking, but at least the writers managed to highlight Jubilee’s unease with Cable’s style of doing things. Cable didn’t have time to offer mercy to his enemies. He also didn’t have time to look after mutants not directly involved with his mission to stop Apocalypse.

Jubilee showcased a bunch of leadership traits as she not only escaped prison (thanks to Polaris’ help), but also ensured the other mutants were rescued too. As Jubilee put it to Cable, she didn’t see the sense in fulfilling Cable’s mission if that meant ignoring the very people said mission was supposed to protect.

Episode 3, titled ‘Rise of Apocalypse – Part 1’, took us into the past to see the X-Men interacting with a young version of Apocalypse, or En Sabah Nur. Much to Prof X’s annoyance, Magneto had been spending time trying to teach Nur about becoming a merciful mutant leader.

I get where Mags was coming from. In his opinion, if he had the power to influence Nur, that might alter the timeline to create a much more accepting present. Mags even credited Charles for believing in him and helping him see a brighter future for mutants and humankind. So, Mags was simply paying it forward.

However, I can’t help but side with Charles on this one. Mags wanting to change the timeline came across as him trying to rebuild another Genosha, and that meant Mags was ignoring Nur’s violent tendencies when it came to rescuing enslaved humans. Heck! Mags even played into Nur’s God Complex to try and get Nur to heed Mags’ advice, which, of course, backfired.

Apocalypse will eventually come around to the “good side” (somewhat) if one were to follow the developments in the decades-long comic book plotlines. However, now was not the time. So, I’m very excited to see how the X-Men stuck in the past will figure out a way to return home while the X-Men in the present get ready to face the future version of Apocalypse, who had decided to travel to the ’90s.

Did you watch the three-episode premiere of X-Men 97 season 2? What did you think of it?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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