After spending the season poking holes in the theology of Charles Xavier, X-Men’ 97 episode 9 turns to the professor himself. “Tolerance is Extinction Part 2” brings the Xavier/Magneto conflict back into focus. Unlike the original series though, it has become a lot harder to believe in Xavier’s dream. Right as it may be, even Xavier (Ross Marquand) sees his failures for what they are, and that opens the door for everything to go wrong.
Two sides of the same coin
Despite the high stakes from Magneto’s disruption of Earth’s magnetic field, most of X-Men ’97 episode 9’s conflicts are personal. Cyclops (Ray Chase) and Xavier have it out over his will. Rogue (Lenore Zann) also hits Xavier with his failings when he tries to comfort her. Even President Kelly (Ron Rubin) gives Xavier the what for. Really, the entire episode is a half hour beatdown of the man. By the time Magneto (Matthew Waterson) has arrived to recruit the X-Men to his side, Xavier barely can make a case for stopping those who take it.
Truthfully, old fans might have a hard time with all this. While Charles Xavier has all kinds of ups and downs in the comics, The Animated Series version is different. This Xavier has been the comforting leader, father figure, a paragon. Speedrunning him through a My Hero Academia style reckoning may come off as a cynical take. In fairness to these fans, it is, but not without purpose. Moving Magneto into his more sympathetic state means Xavier’s ideals also have to shift. Pretending that leading the X-Men as status-quo defenders doesn’t have consequences is far less honest.
X-Men ’97 episode 9 breaks up the family
The confrontation is needed, because Magneto has taken things too far and superheroes do need something to punch. Even so, at this point it’s to prevent further harm. Not every X-Men member agrees, though, keeping things nice and gray. Rogue defecting is a pretty straightforward payoff for her arc. Especially after losing Gambit, Magneto surviving Genosha is the only light she’s got. However, Roberto (Gui Agustini) joining too is a genuine surprise and a welcome one. He’s a scared kid, completely over his head, and he’s hurt. Given how Roberto joined the story similarly to Jubilee, flipping his allegiance is a good way to tie back to the deepening conflict.
Magneto isn’t the only one splintering the X-Men. Bastion (Theo James) is still here, his threat only checked by Magneto. The team has to split up to deal with both simultaneously, which means we’re treated to not one but two great group action scenes. Morph (JP Karliak) being used for fun cameos isn’t new, but turning into the Hulk and getting thrown around by Jean (Jennifer Hale) goes incredibly hard. Magneto is able to fight off the entire team and Marvel Animation really cooks with these scenes. The choreography is sharp, the classic theme remix is deployed just right, Beast’s (George Buza) puns are on point. This is also where things go from very bad to much worse for the X-Men.
Bastion still has iconic bastard man Sinister (Chris Britton), who reveals he can control Cable (Chris Potter) the same way as Madelyne Pryor. With Cable easy to influence thanks to his conflicting emotions about Jean, she’s now on the back foot. Bastion restrains the others, forcing Cyclops to stall his group right before Xavier is able to lock Magneto down. That opening is the last one they get. With an overdue “shut up” to his friend — seriously the quips in this show rule — Magneto is about to end it for good when Wolverine (Cal Dodd) stabs him in the back.
Oh yeah, Wolverine is here
X-Men ’97 has been very Wolverine light. Given the character’s explosion in popularity in the years since The Animated Series, this has been welcome. That said, he is also the perfect character to step up in this moment. Logan’s defiant “The brave die first” encapsulates his entire outlook. He’ll fight for less conflict for the sake of everyone else, because if anyone knows the horrors of war, it’s Wolverine. Just like Magneto, he doesn’t want to see even more mutant death, but he’s picking his battles more carefully. Remember two episodes ago, where he noted they’d have to stop Trask from jumping even though he’d personally enjoy it? That is the kind of pragmatism that now drives this Wolverine.
Of course, knowing the costs doesn’t prepare for what happens next. Plenty of fans have speculated on whether or not Magneto can extract the adamantium from Wolverine’s skeleton. The comics have explored this, usually with the expectation that kids won’t see it. To see this in the revival of the famous cartoon is genuinely jarring. It’s the final shot of the episode, and it is in a strange angle. Compared to the rest of the action, there’s the impression that this was uncomfortable to depict. The point gets across either way, but this shot is not the strongest.
Comic fans, get ready to explain the ’90’s
At this point, I (and I assume many comic fans) am now pretty confident I know where this is going. Bastion has basically been a means to get Xavier and Magneto in a room at their lowest. Given this is basically his original function too, it’s a safe bet the X-Men are about to experience a whole new Onslaught. Which if so, that is pretty silly. Despite the stakes, Bastion hasn’t really been impactful as a villain. Expanding into more of the arc he comes from isn’t exactly going to give us more meat to chew. But, superheroes need to have something to punch, and they’re going to get that.
Even in the face of truly goofy source material, X-Men ’97 is keeping focus. Going into the finale, it’s very difficult to see this ending going well for the good guys. That’s to the audience’s benefit, though. With the boundaries pushed this far, a tidy wrap up would be something from a lesser Marvel Disney+ show. Whatever happens next in X-Men ’97, there’s no going back.
X-Men ‘97 drops new episodes every Wednesday on Disney +.
Images courtesy of Marvel Studios/Disney
Travis Hymas is a freelance writer and self appointed Pokémon historian out of Salt Lake City, Utah. Known to be regularly obessive over pop culture topics, gaming discourse, and trading card games, he is a published critic featured on sites such as Uppercut and The Young Folks.
