’X-Men ‘97’ review: “Tolerance is Extinction Part 1” says the quiet part loud

For long time readers of X-Men comics, very few characters have changed the way Magento has. As time has gone on, a haunting reality has grown over the entire franchise. Every incarnation, from the canonical comics to the films, has to deal with it. However, The Animated Series never needed to reach that moment. Until X-Men ‘97 episode 8, that is. In the first part of “Tolerance is Extinction,” the show from our childhood finally has to reckon with a hard truth: Magneto was right. 

X-Men ‘97 episode 8 begins the finale

Impressively, Magneto (Matthew Waterson) himself barely speaks in X-Men ‘97 episode 8. It’s a testament to his formidability as a character, but more on that in a bit. First, the X-Men need to catch up to what’s actually happening. Cable’s (Chris Potter) stuck around to do so, revealing that the timeline now features Bastion (Theo James) rallying humanity behind his Prime Sentinel plan. The concept is pretty horrifying, as Cable frames the peace Bastion brings to the world as “Xavier’s Dream.” That’s in spite of mutants ending up slaves to the half-Sentinel humanity. Never say X-Men ‘97 is subtle. 

The team splits off to try to investigate: Cyclops (Ray Chase), Jean (Jennifer Hale), and Cable investigate a possible headquarters, Beast (George Buza) tries to retrofit Cerebro to find Primes, and the others guard a wounded Rogue (Lenore Zann). While this sets up the action, there’s some juicy drama from the Summers family. Cable and Cyclops are reasonably awkward with each other, not helped by the reveal that Cable has tried to stop Genosha repeatedly. Not that Cable needed any more reason to be cold, it’s haunting when everyone realizes why.

When the action starts — as Beast inadvertently activates every Prime Sentinel at once with Cerebro — the three get to bond fighting for their lives. It’s not the most healthy family moment, but it’s very X-Men. Cable’s incredulous “you have a Porsche” quip is a good moment of levity that lets the hardened soldier slip. This probably won’t make the family less weird, but it does highlight the ability of the Summers to rally when needed. It’s definitely a need right now. 

Bastion is…weird

These three also discover the truth of Bastion. As expected, he has a very similar origin as his ‘90’s comic debut. X-Men ‘97 makes the choice to speedrun his entire deal in an inconsistent flashback via Jean’s powers. This is probably for the best, Bastion being a weird Nomad/Master Mold hybrid creature is downright silly. However, this makes him less of a character and more of just a physical obstacle. He’s clearly meant to be the side effect of humanity’s anti-mutant biases, but a slightly more eloquent robot doesn’t exactly help the argument. If anything, he’s the one speed bump undermining everything else. 

That’s not to say X-Men ‘97 shouldn’t still adapt the same era of comics the animated series already did. I imagine this would hit with an even louder thud if Bastion was set up as some kind of season-long mystery. Setting him up and out here quickly is for the best, albeit clunky. Theo James is doing well with little, infusing Bastion’s speech with a truly sinister sneer. His interactions with the revealed to be alive Dr. Cooper are incredibly straightforward. Besides that, it takes a special breed to stare down Dr. Doom, even on a monitor. 

There’s a surprising amount of sense of how little change has happened over time to Bastion’s plans. From colluding with other power players behind thinly veiled doors to exploiting lower class Americans “economic anxieties,” it almost comes off as anachronistic. In truth, the point is that things have been the way they are now for a lot longer than we may have realized as kids in the ‘90’s. Which leads back to Magneto. 

Magneto was right

As the X-Men comics have continued for decades, much of its cast has been put under a microscope. This has been particularly true for Magneto. Once the core villian for the X-Men to fight off in a monthly comic, as more of his history seems to be repeating, it’s become much more difficult to sell that idea. This became text in the 2001 storyline “Eve of Destruction,” which X-Men ‘97 is directly pulling from. In that arc, Magneto is believed to have died protecting Genosha. Leaving a video manifesto of his argument, the arc created a martyr in universe and reality. Grant Morrison, the most prolific thinker about comics, got a hold of the X-Men in 2003 and inspired by that story, introduced the rallying cry: “Magneto was right.” 

The phrase became the header of a now defunct fansite dedicated to grassroots academia on the topic; thank The Watcher for the Internet Archive. That conversation spreading has been one of the largest influences on the X-Men as a franchise. Magneto and Xavier have become less antagonistic and more two sides of the same coin, both influencing mutantkind. The mainline Magneto hasn’t truly been villainous in ages and the films have always framed him as sympathetic. This raises a bit of a conflict when it comes to liberal sensibility, however. Can we really argue that Magneto’s militancy is correct? 

Resistance is necessary

X-Men ‘97 doesn’t make the argument at all, instead Magento is simply stripped and mounted on a crucifix with the permanent brand of the Holocaust exposed for all to see. Matthew Waterson’s performance put on hold for a critical moment, leaving the animation team to help the audience figure it out themselves. They do a great job. Dr. Cooper sees through Magneto just how far hatred and fear drives people, and the answer to a better world requires not just the idealism of Charles Xavier, it requires the resistance of Erik Lehnsherr. She frees him, giving voice to this in the most recognizable way. 

It is a struggle to parse how X-Men ‘97 episode 8 has the same executive producer as The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. The latter concludes with Sam Wilson giving a “both sides” speech to defend the status quo the series challenged. Compared to X-Men ‘97, it’s downright embarrassing. In this series, the strife of the suffering are much closer aligned with reality, despite being based on a children’s cartoon. 

Not to spoil the fun, but…

Of course, X-Men ‘97 is still that series. The return of Xavier as Magneto is at his lowest emotionally really does suggest another very silly ‘90’s story is on the horizon. Whether that’s how “Tolerance is Extinction” culminates or is what awaits in season two, it’s concerning. Continuing to pull from the speculator driven ‘90’s era of comics risks undermining the strong message. Bastion aside, the Marvel Animation team has done a mostly solid job adapting things. Yet, I do hope as this season wraps and we look to the future, the inspiration also does. 

X-Men ‘97 drops new episodes every Wednesday on Disney +.

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Images courtesy of Marvel Studios/Disney