Meanwhile, the MCU chases its own tail.
Editor’s Note: The below contains spoilers for X-Men ’97 Episode 7.
The Big Picture
- Rogue and Captain America team up to investigate Genosha and uncover clues about the attackers.
- Captain America previously appeared in the X-Men animated series, connecting Marvel characters.
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X-Men ’97
seamlessly incorporates characters from the larger Marvel Universe in its narrative.
It’s always nice to see a familiar face, and after the events of the last two episodes of X-Men ’97, everyone surely needed one, especially one as reassuring as Captain America’s (Josh Keaton). In this week’s episode, “Bright Eyes,” the Sentinel of Liberty bumps into Rogue (Lenore Zann) as she investigates the attack on Genosha. Still grieving the loss of both Gambit (A.J. LoCascio) and Magneto (Matthew Waterson), she gives Captain America a hard time, but together, they find out some important information about who is behind what happened in Genosha, as well as where the series may be headed from here on out.
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
- Main Genre
- Animation
- Seasons
- 2
- Number of Episodes
- 10
- Streaming Service(s)
- Disney+
- Franchise(s)
- X-Men
Rogue Gives Captain America a Hard Time in ‘X-Men ’97’
The episode begins with the X-Men attending Gambit’s funeral, but Rogue is notably absent, instead storming the prison at Ryker’s Island looking for Henry Gyrich (Todd Haberkorn) and Bolivar Trask (Gavin Hammon). The former is credited with the killing of Professor Charles Xavier (Ross Marquand), while the latter is the creator of the Sentinels, so it makes sense for her to assume that they had something to do with the attack on Genosha. While the two aren’t at Ryker’s Island, Rogue still manages to grab some clues from General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Michael Patrick McGill) to help on her quest.
She heads to a remote shed in the snowy wilderness, where she’s greeted by none other than Captain America himself. Apparently, they’re both out in the snow in the hopes of finding Henry Gyrich as a lead to Bolivar Trask, and the shed actually hides a secret OZT installation (which stands for “Operation: Zero Tolerance” and is related to Bastion, the villain behind the Genosha attack). The place looks quite a bit like the Hydra installation that Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) uncover at Camp C3 in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, except this one is deserted, as it seems whoever was there was expecting someone to show up after Gyrich. Cap manages to hack into the OZT servers, though, discovering that Gyrich has been moved to Mexico City.
Rogue is naturally eager to go after Gyrich right away, but Captain America informs her that he can’t join along on the mission; he’s doing things “by the book” this time, afraid that showing up with her in Mexico City may be interpreted as official support, which it isn’t (even though he may personally support the mutants’ cause). Rogue isn’t his enemy, of course, but she is angry at him for declining to help her, so she throws his shield away toward the faraway mountains — not out of spite, but because she wants to make sure she finds Gyrich and Trask before him (okay, maybe she did it a little out of spite, too).
This Isn’t Captain America’s First Foray Into the Animated X-Men Universe
It may be a little puzzling for newcomers to the X-Men animated universe that Rogue and Captain America actually know each other, and that’s because “Bright Eyes” isn’t his first time in an X-Men animated series. Previously, he starred in an X-Men: The Animated Series episode in Season 5 called “Old Soldiers.” Set in World War II, it tells the story of how he (then voiced by Lawrence Bayne) and Wolverine teamed up to stop the Red Skull (Cerdic Smith) in France.
“Old Soldiers” begins with Wolverine at a French cemetery visiting Professor André Cocteau’s grave, reminiscing about the fact that Cocteau betrayed him during the war. He then recalls how, in 1944, he operated as a spy for the Allies in France, doing all kinds of “black bag” work that needed doing; one of these missions involved rescuing Cocteau from a Nazi castle with the help of Captain America.
Who is ‘X-Men ’97’s Bastion in Marvel Comics?
‘X-Men ’97’s big bad shows the Sentinels are still the greatest threats mutants will ever face.
Together, Logan and Captain America infiltrate the Nazi castle, but not without taking out many platoons of soldiers first. When they finally find Cocteau, the scientist is working on a giant armored robot called The Sleeper, and refuses to leave with the two heroes, even setting up an alarm to stop them. The Red Skull is behind the whole operation and shows up to confront Captain America while Logan takes out The Sleeper itself. They’re successful, but the Red Skull manages to escape on a jet with Cocteau, puzzling Logan for decades after. Only at the end of the episode is it revealed that Cocteau was actually a double agent working for the Allies, hence why he couldn’t leave with Logan and Captain America.
Captain America Isn’t the Only Marvel Universe Cameo in Episode 7
As cool as it is to see Captain America show up yet again in the X-Men animated universe, he’s actually not the only character from the larger Marvel Universe to do so in “Bright Eyes.” General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross is also present at Ryker’s Island, and even namedrops the Hulk when Rogue is attacking the facility. The two characters have a shared backstory, of course, and now it’s known that the Emerald Giant also exists in X-Men ’97. What’s interesting about Cap and Ross showing up is that they’re both voiced by their actors from What If…?, Josh Keaton and Michael Patrick McGill, respectively. This may not say much at first, but it’s actually the second time that X-Men ’97 drops a connection to What If…?, the first being the Watcher bearing witness to the attack on Genosha in the episode, “Remember It.”
With that in mind, Captain America showing up in X-Men ’97 actually speaks of an interesting trait of the Marvel animated series from the 1990s. The Animated Series, for example, never had issues incorporating the larger Marvel universe into its narrative. In Season 2, for example, the episode, “A Rogue’s Tale,” reveals that Rogue actually met Carol Danvers (Roscoe Handford) when she was still Ms. Marvel, and even stole Danvers’ abilities, thus gaining the power of flight. In another Season 2 episode, “Mojovision,” the Punisher enters as the X-Men face the challenges imposed by the villain, Mojo (Peter Wildman). Doctor Strange also has not just one, but three cameos in different episodes of The Animated Series, and the X-Men themselves would often cross over into Spider-Man’s own animated series, as well.
It’s not clear yet how X-Men ’97 ties into the multiverse and the MCU, but the lines are getting blurrier with each new episode. Still, it’s easier for the animated series to incorporate the larger Marvel universe into its fold, as their shared history means that the characters have some major history between them. “Bright Eyes” doesn’t explain if Rogue has ever met Captain America, but the fact that his existence had previously been established means it’s not even important to know that. It definitely signals that they can eventually meet in live-action, but with the MCU currently chasing its own tail as it struggles to build the larger Multiverse, it feels like X-Men ’97 has beaten them to the punch in terms of crossovers.
X-Men ’97 is available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.
This article was originally published on collider.com