Did X-Men '97's Season 1 Finale Hint at the Arrival of Another Mutant Team?
Are Generation X headed to X-Men '97 Season 2?
The first season of X-Men '97 is now in the books, and its impact on the Marvel mythos is still continuing to be felt. As fans debate exactly what the series' future could look like, especially given the various plot twists and turns in the season finale, there's also the question of what things will look like for some of the show's other mutants.
The final moments of X-Men '97's finale showed much of the team thrown across time by the destruction of Asteroid M, either to Egypt in 3000 BC, and an unknown cosmic location in 3960 AD. A handful of X-Men, meanwhile, were left on Earth in the present day, with events jumping ahead six months after their disappearance, which is culturally known as "E Day." The present-day scene shows Forge and Bishop determining how to rescue the team, with a wall of mutants who have and have not been accounted for behind them. Two of the mutants who have been accounted for are Emma Frost and Jubilee, begging the question — could we see a version of Generation X on X-Men '97?
Who Are Marvel's Generation X?
Created by Scott Lobdell and Chris Bachalo in 1994's Uncanny X-Men #318, Generation X are a team of teen superheroes led by Banshee and Emma Frost. Operating out of a separate academy in Massaachusetts outside of the influence of Charles Xavier, the original roster of the team consists of Jubilee, as well as Chamber, Gaia, Husk, Monet St. Croix, Mondo, Penance, Skin, and Synch. The team operated in some form or fashion for years, and famously loosely inspired a Generation X television movie in 1996.
With Charles among the mutants who are now scattered across time and space, it certainly would be interesting for X-Men '97 to explore the concept of an X-Team forming in his absence. Jubilee being one of the few X-Men who remained in the present day certainly opens the door for her to appear on or help found the team, especially after her Season 1 arc has concerned her feelings of arrested development and growing up. The first season of X-Men '97 has also gone out of its way to acknowledge Emma Frost, who was one of the few mutants to survive the Genosha massacre. Although former showrunner Beau DeMayo confirmed that Emma would not be returning to the first season after she was found alive, the opening credits of X-Men '97's latter episodes have featured her multiple times, potentially hinting at her return in a future storyline. Plus, those involved with X-Men '97 have hinted that the series will draw inspiration from the comics up until Grant Morrison's New X-Men, which sees Emma joining the flagship X-Men team after the dissolving of Generation X.
Is X-Men '97 Renewed for Season 2?
Work has already begun on a sophomore season of X-Men '97, which was already renewed by Marvel Animation prior to the show's premiere.
"We're working on season two. But we haven't started yet. I know a little bit of the storylines and characters," co-composer Taylor Newton Stewart explained in a recent interview. "It's always upping the ante. I mean, it's pretty intense what happens. Yeah, immediately when I was told, I was just like, 'Oh my gosh, what's happening? This is incredible.' So, just as a fan alone, I am very excited."
The first season of X-Men '97 is now available to stream exclusively on Disney+. If you haven't signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.
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