X-Men '97: Episode 5 Review/Spoilers

[Factor]

I enjoyed the episode, but I'm bummed that Xavier is returning already.
I feel like they barely showed the team without him. It would have been more impactful if they had to deal with Genosha without their leader.
Storm looks great, but it's weird that she picked an even older costume.
I wonder if Xavier knows Vulcan is Scott's brother?

[NK1988]

I'm not really convinced. The way that episode depicted his "death" avoided showing a body, had an easy out of why the Sentinel thought he was dead, and felt much more blatant with the permanence of Gambit's death and the focus on that. It didn't feel like the way they'd have written it if he were actually gone. It feels like his leadership of the X-Men wasn't really explored yet and there was more to do there. I'm pretty sure he's in one of the ads in a scene we haven't seen yet, but I'll have to do a rewatch to be sure.

The opening credits just reference who isn't currently on the team. Storm has been absent since losing her powers, hasn't she? Magneto not being there because he's presumed dead makes sense, especially if his survival is meant to be a surprise.

Also, Xavier sensed Remy's death in this episode but not Erik's, right?

I don't know, I could be wrong, but it just feels like this is a fake-out because of how it's been done so far.

Yep. The fact he only saw Gambit's death and not that of his oldest, dearest friend seems definitive proof to me Magneto is alive.

[Refrax5]

Her old school costume looks so good in animation, though! God, I want to see the 80's uncanny team assemble now. We've already got Storm, Wolverine, Cyclops and Nightcrawler. Now we just need a certain Russian construction worker to quit his job and join the band.

I said this in the other thread, but as much as I prefer the more classic looks and line-up, it feels strange to me for a show called X-Men 97 to be drifting away from the 90s costumes and vibe. That seems to be such a part of this show's uniquely identity, you know? Regardless of what era was being adapted, it was always a pretty consistent team with a consistent look from that era. Its kind of what separates it from just being another X-Men adaptation.

So while I love Nightcrawler (and Colossus, although he was a 90s X-Man so that wouldn't break the consistency) and the Claremont era costumes, it feels weird to see 70s Storm and 80s Magneto in the very specifically 90s styled show.

It's not a complaint, exactly, but it feels odd.

[NewMutant]

There seems to be some gripes about the episode, but I was still snacking on it and enjoying. I was surprised to see Xavier return so quickly but I'm rolling with it. Lifedeath was not exactly Lifedeath. While I like the messaging her powers coming back by will (unless I'm misunderstanding) can feel like a cop out. Additionally, surprised to see her OG uniform become her regular look.

Waiting for Mother Frost to emerge from the rubble...

[Tofali]

The episode is not one of the best, but that Storm scene? One of the most epic moments ever.

Storm's transformation will live longer than the table setting the episode was doing.

[Hi-Fi]

This costume would make more sense if they're entering the 00's:

[Mistah K88]

Spoilery guess

I think Sinister is a misdirection. They made it a point to have Nimrod in the opening. Im pretty sure it was him who blasted Trask.

Now who is pulling the strings there I guess we'll find out in episode 7 or 8.

I agree. They also kept the Apocalypse in the opening as well. Wasn't Lilandra in openings two episodes before we actually saw her?

[Psy-lock]

I don't think the 70's costumes are any more jarring here than using the 90's costumes and characters while adapting Claremont's stories.

[Nox Noctes]

Agreed. I just didn’t connect with the Forge/Storm thing because it feels like they barely know eachother.

That and Lilandra/Xavier are not interesting lol

Yeah me too. Forge & Storm was too rushed, there wasn't any chance of building any chemistry between them, so it felt forced. I could not care less about Charles & Lilandra. I would have preferred Charles stay in space for longer.

I wonder what Sinister's goal is here. Unless he's a misdirect. There are too many directions this show could go, it's hard to settle on just one theory.

[Mistah K88]

You know I think they should have just mentioned that Storm has been at Forge's place a while back when they were eating bison chili. With Storm leaving in episode 2 and Genosha being on the news in this episode establishes that it has been a month.

[Handsome men don't lose fights]

This costume would make more sense if they're entering the 00's:

Can't say I was a fan of the X-men's faux anime era. It felt like too much. Joe Madura (sp) wasn't a bad artist by any means, just not my cup of tea.

[NK1988]

Out of curiosity, is Trask in the comics a one-dimensional nutcase? I just thought that ending of Episode 6 seemed to imply some level of remorse on his part, like maybe he didn't intend for his Sentinels to be used in quite such a bloody and murderous fashion.

[Refrax5]

I don't think the 70's costumes are any more jarring here than using the 90's costumes and characters while adapting Claremont's stories.

I think it's more that the aesthetic was always consistent regardless of what era of stories they were doing. It was still the 90s era team and this show is specifically called X-Men 97, so it's weird to abandon that one consistent and unique element of the show's identity. They always did stories from various eras, but the show had the 90s team in their 90s costumes for the entire original run. If you change the roster and change the costumes, there's pretty much nothing left differentiating it from any other adaptation and there's nothing really making it X-Men "97."

Like I said, it doesn't make the show any less in quality and I personally don't have any specific nostalgia for the 90s team. I prefer the more retro X-Men looks of the 70s and 80s. It just seems to be a sudden and odd change in some of the things that make the show unique among other animated X-Men shows.

[marhawkman]

Was looking forward to a quality epic adaptation of space Marvel for a long time (GotG game was a step to the right direction, but still not enough), and this episode finally delivered.

If Sinister devised a plan to destroy Genosha independently (without Apocalypse, Cassandra or anyone else's influence), wonder if the next stage is to replace killed mutants with controlled clones like Madelyne.

Teh way the Morlocks got shoved to the center stage made it feel like this was here to replace the Morlock massacre. Sooo he's probably collecting DNA or something.

[marhawkman]

Out of curiosity, is Trask in the comics a one-dimensional nutcase? I just thought that ending of Episode 6 seemed to imply some level of remorse on his part, like maybe he didn't intend for his Sentinels to be used in quite such a bloody and murderous fashion.

Well.. one of the leads in the Sentinel program in the comics... was actually just a guy who wanted to keep superheroes and super villains in check by giving police the ability to fight them. It wasn't specific to Mutants, and wasn't meant to murder everyone either. Which is why you so often see Sentinels using stuff like sleep gas, and tasers to knock people unconscious in the older stories. And again LAW ENFORCEMENT, not weapons of mass-murder.