The fallen hero and some of his teammates have dark ties to the villainous Apocalypse.
Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers for the finale of X-Men ’97.
The Big Picture
-
X-Men ’97
‘s Season 1 finale sees the team triumph over Bastion and pushes Magneto to give up his war against humanity once more. - The series sets the stage for its second season by reintroducing a fan-favorite villain and teasing the return of a fallen X-Man.
- Apocalypse’s potential resurrection of Gambit as Death could add a dramatic twist to the series, intertwining past actions with future conflicts.
In X-Men ’97’s explosive finale, the titular mutant superhero team finally triumphs over murderous cyborg Bastion (Theo James) and gets their on-again-off-again enemy, Erik “Magnus” Lehnsherr/Magneto (Matthew Waterson) to relent and give up his war against humanity once more. But afterward, they are immediately launched into what’s sure to be their next world-altering conflict. The series dramatically set the stage for its second season by reintroducing a fan-favorite villain and teasing the return of a fallen X-Man.
X-Men ’97
A band of mutants use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them; they’re challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future.
- Release Date
- March 20, 2024
- Cast
- Jennifer Hale , Cal Dodd , Chris Potter , Catherine Disher , Adrian Hough , Ray Chase , Lenore Zann
- Seasons
- 1
- Number of Episodes
- 10
- Streaming Service(s)
- Disney+
In Marvel Comics, Apocalypse Brings Gambit Back As the Horseman, Death
In the final moments of “Tolerance is Extinction – Part 3,” roughly half the team are transported through time and space to Ancient Egypt, where they encounter a fellow mutant, En Sabah Nur (Adetokumboh M’Cormack), a young version of the immortal tyrant Apocalypse, who was one of the team’s deadliest enemies in the original X-Men animated series. Subsequently, a mid-credits scene set in the present-day shows the modern Apocalypse (Ross Marquand) observing the ruins of the mutant nation Genosha.
The despot remarks on how much death Genosha has seen while holding a Queen of Hearts playing card he finds in the wreckage, alluding to deceased X-Man Remy LeBeau/Gambit (A.J. LoCascio), who used his mutant powers to turn playing cards into explosive weapons and sacrificed himself to destroy the wild Sentinel Bastion unleashed in a tragic attack on the island. This could be an indication that Apocalypse will resurrect Gambit to serve as his Horseman, Death, a role the latter once played in the comics.
Apocalypse is usually accompanied by the Four Horsemen, all of whom are typically mutants whose superhuman powers Apocalypse enhances, and serve as embodiments of the concepts that foretell the coming of the apocalypse in the Bible. Gambit is one of several X-Men who has been transformed into the most infamous Horseman, Death. He actually joins Apocalypse’s cause willingly, hoping to serve as a double agent for the X-Men, but underestimates the villain’s power. Being transformed into Death corrupts Gambit’s mind, and he fights against the X-Men.
Although he initially retains more of his individuality than most other Horsemen, even refusing an order to kill the love of his life, Rogue, the Death persona eventually takes a greater hold, even leading him to voluntarily try to kill Rogue to separate himself from his past life. After the X-Men unravel Apocalypse’s latest plot, Gambit attempts to break free from his influence despite the remaining physical and mental changes he’s gone through, before being approached by Mister Sinister. He is next shown working as a member of Sinister’s Marauders, with the latter having reverted him back to his natural self, although there are hints of lasting differences in his personality from his time as a Horseman.
Gambit Has a History of Working for Villains in Comics
Unfortunately, those are not the only points in his history in which Gambit has served as a villain rather than a hero. Earlier comics revealed that he had worked for Sinister previously before joining the X-Men. He is shown to have been responsible for assembling the original Marauders roster, which subsequently massacred the sewer-dwelling mutants known as the Morlocks. Although Gambit was initially unaware of the planned attack and saved a young girl from the Marauders when he learned of it, Rogue and the X-Men were still horrified to discover his involvement and subsequently kicked him off the team for a time.
While they faithfully adapt his origins as a thief, the animated series have omitted these darker parts of Gambit’s story, even inverting his involvement in the Mutant Massacre by having him fight to protect the Morlocks during the attack on Genosha. Resurrecting him as Death would be a dramatic way to acknowledge his less admirable days without the divisive aspect of his Marauders involvement.
‘X-Men ’97’ Brings Back ‘The Animated Series’ Best Line in a Brutal Way
Wolverine’s exchange with Magneto is more than a cheeky hero quip.
Wolverine and Banshee Have Also Been Horsemen in the Comics
The fates of two other characters from X-Men ’97 could also potentially be tied to the Apocalypse/Gambit storyline. In “Tolerance is Extinction – Part 2”, Erik ripped the Adamantium out of Logan/Wolverine’s (Cal Dodd) bones in a scene inspired by the X-Men crossover comic Fatal Attractions, with the usually invulnerable Logan subsequently spending the following episode in critical medical condition. In the comics following Fatal Attractions, there was a period in which Logan simply used his organic bone claws despite them not being indestructible like they are when coated with Adamantium. Adamantium was not successfully restored to his body until Apocalypse selected him for a stint as Death.
In X-Men ’97, another victim of the Genosha attack was Sean Cassidy/Banshee (David Errigo Jr.), an ally of the X-Men who was serving on the nation’s leading council. In the comics, after being killed by a rogue former X-Man, Vulcan, Sean is resurrected by Uriel and Eimin, the so-called “Apocalypse Twins.” Uriel and Eimin are the children of Warren Worthington III/Archangel and served as Apocalypse’s heirs at a point when the tyrant was dead and had not yet been resurrected. Sean was one of four deceased superhumans they chose to serve them, with all being referred to as Horsemen of Death.
Given this, it wouldn’t be that surprising if the animated version is resurrected as a more traditional Horseman. Presumably, if Gambit, Logan, and Sean are all turned into Horsemen next season, the other two will need to take different titles, as the mid-credits scene implies that Gambit will retain the Death role. Given his centuries of military service, Logan would be a logical choice to instead occupy the role of War, leaving Sean likely to either serve as Pestilence or Famine.
Of course, it is possible that the mid-credits scene is no more than a reference to Gambit’s time as Death and that he and Sean will remain dead for the rest of the series, with Apocalypse having another reason for visiting Genosha and Logan recovering a different way. In fact, some viewers may be in favor of the story going in that direction. The destruction of Genosha is seen by most as X-Men ‘97’s most powerful, eerily relevant storyline, but some of its impact has already been dampened by the reveal that Erik survived the battle.
Bringing back more of the victims, especially Gambit, who was a fan favorite, and whose death consequently was the most devastating, could lessen the tragedy more and weaken the series’ connection to reality. That being said, bringing him back as an unwilling antagonist and setting him against Rogue (Lenore Zann) and the rest of his teammates is the exact kind of plot twist the series and X-Men franchise itself is famous for, with one foot in the realm of comic book storytelling and the other in that of soap opera.
X-Men ’97 is available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.
This article was originally published on collider.com