While the road taken by season 2 of X-Men ’97 hasn’t been as smooth as the ride delivered by season 1, never let it be said that the show doesn’t know how to end things big. After a genuinely superlative opening four episodes, it seemed that the season floundered a little between the time-hopping set up of uber-villain Apocalypse and figuring out where to go from there. We got some filler episodes that gave us spirited adventures that fleshed out the likes of Wolverine, Polaris and Nightcrawler, but as the ranks of The X-Men continued to swell and the amount of mutant teams reached critical mass, it feel like that early, raw emotion was getting lost in the shuffle.
Well, with season 2 finale “Survival Of The Fittest” upon us, can X-Men ’97 deliver one of those reliably huge finishes while retaining that tragic heart the series has managed to cultivate? After all, it’s never a true epic battle unless one of the X-Men takes a (presumably temporary) dirt nap, is it?
After absconding with an unconscious, Apocalypse-possessed Gambit, Professor Charles Xavier and his fellow X-Men fortify the X-Corp building on Genosha as they await the inevitable blow back. But while the amassed forces of both X-Factor and X-Force prepare to storm the place and end the threat of Apocalypse for good, a small splinter group of Xavier’s crew have come up with a risky solution. Rogue, Beast and Nightcrawler have located Ship, the alien spacecraft that 5000 years ago gave En Sabah Nur access to Celestial powers which transformed him into the genocidal maniac we know today, and in order to save the soul of her corrupted boy toy, Rogue is willing to enter the creation chamber knowing full well there’s going to be a hefty price to pay.
But while Rogue barters with the god-like space-being that helped create their most hated enemy, both the forces of Valerie Cooper and Cable launch their attack to pierce the defences of the X-Men and kill Gambit in order to end the threat of Apocalypse forever. But as mutant kicks the living shit out of mutant for the greater good, the presence of En Sabah Nur within Gambit only grows stronger by the minute – and after an emotional show down with his parents, Cable manages to get a fateful shot off that seemingly makes the entire fight a moot point.
Of course, a mere bullet isn’t going to stop the most evil and powerful mutant who ever walked the face of the earth, and after fully taking over Gambit’s body, it looks like this new form of Apocalypse is set to roll over the earth like a plague. However, there’s still Rogue’s Celestial-sponsored play still to try, even if she knows that there’s going to be an almighty price to be claimed – but will that price actually be paid by her, or will a more divine spirit take the strain?
Despite hurling everything at us but the kitchen sink (although I suspect Morph could turn into said appliance if required), “Survival Of The Fittest” doesn’t quite manage to deliver a flawless, X-Men finale, simply because it’s far too absurdly big to cram in a single, thirty-two minute episode. Also, when you figure that it took four fucking episodes, and the death of Magneto, to kick everything off, there’s woefully little time to squeeze everything in and give it all the attention it needs to match that humungous opening. But while the “final” battle against Apocalypse does feel noticably rushed and leaves what should have been a near insurmountable task feeling a bit too easy, you can’t say you don’t get your money’s worth. The mutant on mutant action is non-stop, and while the bloated role-call of super powered beings mean that heavy hitters like Storm or Archangel have virtual nothing to do other than cameo during the huge battle, the epic nature, and sheer number of blink-and-you’ll-miss-them details proves to get the old heart (and fists) pumping in equal measure.
Morph transforms into the Doctor Octopus from the 90s Spider-Man cartoon, Wolverine shrugs off a psychic attack from Psylocke with a smirk, Cyclops and Jean contine their family drama by squaring off with their own son (it’s always something melodramatic with these three) and various other action beats gives the show that devastatingly epic feel it’s done so well in the past. However, there’s a sense that a lot has gotten lost in the shuffle, not just in that packed finale, but in the season altogether. For example it’s never spelt out the particulars out why Apocalypse bothered to possess Gambit in the first place – was it a bizarre cosmic accident? A hastily cobbled together infiltration plan? Or did Apocalypse just fancy a Cajun himbo face-lift? Additionally, I still haven’t grasped the point of X-Corp yet as all it really is is just the basic X-Men but with the diplomatic immunity powers of a Lethal Weapon villain. Maybe a bit more plot and a few less explosions could have made that twist something a bit more formidable other than giving Charles’ crew fancy new digs and reference Grant Morrison a little more.
However, arguably the biggest victim of some rushed plotting is that we’re not really given enough time to process Rogue’s sacrifice before it’s al out immediately undone, and as a result, the ultimate purging of Apocalypse’s evil ends up being frustratingly brief and disappointing neat. However, once again the makers of the show have been pulling the old bait and switch routine and it’s that final twist that finally brings in that emotion that we’ve all been waiting for.
After neutralising Apocalypse’s evil with her sparkling cosmic upgrade, we’re fully expecting Rogue to die after saving her great love, Gambit; however, much to her – and our – surprise, this doesn’t happen because back at Ship, we’ve discovered that Nightcrawler has entered the transformation chamber to parley with the Celestial and made a deal of his own. It comes completely out of the blue (or does it – the last time Nightcrawler got to show the depths of his faith was only 2 episodes ago, setting up his sacrifice) and while it seems that X-Men ’97 can’t seem to make its point without killing someone (first Gambit, then Magneto), the trick hasn’t gotten old enough yet to not be effectively devestating.
Bloated? Yes. Rushed? Possibly. But despite not boasting the more balanced sheen of season 1, the sophomore season of the beloved 90s comeback still offers ample proof that this series must continue. With more political issues looming thanks to a Mystique-heavy post-credit sting, maybe the confirmed third season can streamline the team while creating a more grounded story for a change. Still, these mutants still remain defiantly X-emplary.
Season 2 ends on a fan-favorite killing high as it drags all of its various threads into a whole and ultimately does justice to that unfeasibly awesome first half. Is it perfect? No, but but it succeeds by being in turns incredibly epic and genuinely moving as Apocalypse and Nightcrawler tag out in favour of the Rogue/Gambit romance being able to live once more. Once again, the X-Men deliver yet another example why we should hate and fear them less and less…
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