X-Men '97: Episodes 7 Review/Spoilers

[Frontier]

It's funny, DeMayo said Theo James is voicing a fan favorite character. Does Bastion have many fans?

90's nostalgia?

[Klaue's Mixtape]

Great episode.

A couple things need to be explained in the next one.

How did Magneto survive?

Where was Storm and we need a STRONG reaction from her to his death.

I say this because is the Day of Future Past episode she tells Gambit that she knows him better than anyone.

[Havok83]

He died saving mutants and was just about to be the head of Genosha. So I presume some people would care. Didn't say it had to be the X-men in particular.

Hell perhaps the woman who accepted being his Queen and was making out with him in front of the world should have spared hik a thought instead of pretending Remy was her man.

Narratively it wouldnt have made sense to go from a funeral for Gambit in the US to a funeral for Magneto in Genosha. I think the reasons for why we didnt see one were covered with good responses

Well clearly Rogue loved Gambit, not Magneto despite her actions andher grief is a response to not expressing that more clearly when she the chance

[Frontier]

They might not have done a funeral for Magneto because they haven't found his body yet.

[yogaflame]

Late to the party, but it's interesting to see all the varied reactions to this episode. I thought it was weird but still very good. I think Beau will be back as head writer for the last 3 episodes. He has been missed.

To Jack: yeah, it sucks when your favorite gets sidelined, doesn't it? That's how all non-Wolvie centered fans have felt for the last two decades+ in these adaptations, so you have my condolences.

As a Storm fan, I was hoping she'd be back in this episode. I kept thinking she'd descend from the sky, either at Remy's funeral in the rain, or at any random point, but I guess they are saving her for the big 3 part finale. Cable's reveal that the Prime Sentinels are vulnerable to emp's will make her the MVP in countering them, especially if Magneto is otherwise occupied. I can wait...

Seeing Rogue kick butt was awesome! The Foxmen films had a whole generation or two of people thinking she's just some emo who "camnt kiss muh bofriend", so it was great to see her tearing things up this episode. The Cap cameo was cute(did you notice his license plate on his motorcycle references Rogue's first appearance?), and if the Avengers get pulled in at some point(ONSLAUGHT them, you cowards!), that could be fun, but I am glad they didn't devote too much time to them. This is an X-Men story, let them do their thing.

I was surprised neither Jean or Kurt caught Trask, but I think that scene was a bit more complex than Rogue simply 'killing him'. It was more like she 'un-saved' him, as he was clearing jumping off that roof before she caught him. I know it's splitting hairs, but it still merits pointing out. It was strange that she nor the wider team(other than Nightcrawler, whose inclusion has been great, but I kinda hate the giant eyes. I know that's kinda referencing the OG Cockrum design, but over time they're usually rendered more normal sized, and here it's a little distracting) really mentions Magneto, but I guess there's a lot of moving parts and some things slipped through the cracks. I'm sure we'll get plenty of him in the next 3.

Emma's diamond form reveal was fine. This show isn't about her, and it's not exactly doing the Morrison run verbatim, so that she got any shine was generous. I'm sure the Polaris fans are still fuming out there, but remember, the X-Men didn't find her immediately in the aftermath, so maybe she'll get a nod next season. Kinda weird that Shaw wouldn't have survived too, though, since it seemed like the roof just fell on them, and his power should have protected him from such an attack, but whatever.

I loved Morph turning into Quicksilver. He has such a great character design, one that was severely downplayed in both the Foxmen and MCU versions, so it was cool to see him so well rendered here. As for Morph's powers, I mean, technically ALL mutant powers are physical mutations, so there's no reason morphological changes couldn't replicate ANY powerset, including the more esoteric/energetic ones, but it seems the show has decided on the limitation being more just the 'physical ones' in nature. Morph did rip off a Sentinel's head back in the OG show using a Sasquatch form, so the precedent was there. I also loved when the Prime Sentinel blasted Morph, there was that immediate reversion to the baseline form, even with some blobs of flesh falling off, akin to some of Morph's feats in Exiles. I do think the show is unsure what to do with Morph a lot of the times because they are not really a storied comic character, certainly not within the X-Men proper, but it brings a novelty to this team, and sets it apart from other canons. Going into this show it seemed like Morph would be a 'DEI' propaganda piece, but instead they've just been a cute cameo and quip machine. Underserviced as a 3D character, perhaps, but not an overly obnoxious PR stunt either, so I guess that's fine.

Scott and Jean's relationship is definitely on the rocks, but it's nice to see them maintain their professionalism as best they can, and when Jean threw the skyscraper into the ocean, it was definitely a step up from that time in the OG show where she straight up let that tower fall onto a kid(luckily Rogue and Wolvie swooped in). Scott is having a rough time, struggling to maintain Xavier's lofty ideals. I was not the biggest fan of the 'Rightclops' era in the comics, but there's certainly a logic for him becoming more radical. It will be interesting to see how this show handles him moving forward.

I do think it's fair to say, especially season 1 to season 1, that the original show was slightly better at giving all the teammates something to do in most episodes. Granted, Beast was in jail almost the whole season, but even then he got cute scenes peppered throughout. This show certainly isn't flawless, and more could be done with Beast, Logan, Morph, Bishop, and Sunspot(whose dad is also a Hellfire Club member, and Black, which seems to be ignored here, as both Roberto and his mother seem to be like, "average" Brazilians) in particular(and Storm, if I am being honest, even though she's had some great moments), but this cast is gigantic, and there's only 10 episodes here to the OG's 13, and I find the density of these episodes to be impressive with high re-watchability factor, so let's just let them cook. We have at least another season of this already in the pipeline, and who knows how things will proceed from there. I will say the OG show kinda had a rough season 2, and the later seasons were much less equitable in terms of who showed up and got featured, so, ensembles are just tough. Balancing an engaging plotline, rich characterizations, and featured action scenes is complex, but this show has done a lot right. It's not perfect, but it's still very, very good.

I knew Bastion was coming, and I remember OZT in the comics(probably around 1997 even?), but seeing Trask turn into a Prime Sentinel and whoop the teams butt was so well done. I hope they lean into the nanobots and all that in the 3 part finale, as I find that soo disturbing, even moreso now given real world technology having seemingly caught up to the 'sci-fi super-science' it was positioned as back in the 90's. Truth can be stranger than fiction. I look forward to seeing how they explain the details of this Bastion's origins, especially since the Siege Perilous and the humanized time-traveling Nimrod from the 80's comics never came up in this continuity.

And I am wondering if we'll get an Onslaught-origin this season with Xavier coming back and Magneto seemingly under Bastion's control. I can see him being used as a 'false-flag' type event to tip anti-mutant hysteria into overdrive, and maybe yanking out Logan's adamantium, forcing Xavier to shut him down ala Fatal Attractions, but we'll just have to see how it all plays out. You never know with this show. They can pack so much into 30 minutes, the next 3 episodes will basically be a 1.5 hour movie. If they can somehow outdo the rest of the season, it will be spectacular!

[Havok83]

Scott and Jean's relationship is definitely on the rocks, but it's nice to see them maintain their professionalism as best they can, and when Jean threw the skyscraper into the ocean, it was definitely a step up from that time in the OG show where she straight up let that tower fall onto a kid(luckily Rogue and Wolvie swooped in).

LOL....OMG thank you for that unexpected laugh right now

[Winter_fury]

Why is simperine on this team again?

[PyroFN]

Why is simperine on this team again?

Because he is more than his trauma and claws. Now, hush.

[whitecrown]

Why is simperine on this team again?

Beau has promised he's getting his moment.

[Doom'nGloom]

Why is simperine on this team again?

Yeah it's really annoying that Logan is going after Jean when MORPH IS RIGHT THERE!!!

[NK1988]

Yeah it's really annoying that Logan is going after Jean when MORPH IS RIGHT THERE!!!

His reaction to Morph being effed up by the Prime Sentinel was at least pretty touching.

Makes sense too given Morph's unfortunate history with new killer robots.Basically Logan has PTSD from that fist ep of TAS.

[butterflykyss]

I'm personally very thankful there has been very little wolverine so that a new crop of fans can see just how amazing the other xmen are. the movies, games, TV shows have been nothing but wolverine-centric so kudos to the creative team letting him do less of the heavy lifting. it's very refreshing and feels like an ensemble show now compared to what foxmen gave us: wolverine and the xmen.

[CamilleMoineau]

Hell perhaps the woman who accepted being his Queen and was making out with him in front of the world should have spared hik a thought instead of pretending Remy was her man.

I'm perfectly fine with the fact that she spent the entire episode focused on mourning the person she ultimately chose. She realized--and I think, will continue to realize--just how much she loved Remy, hence her claiming him as hers. I love that the grief she feels for him is also combined with the underlying anger and guilt for how she behaved towards him, even if the way she's dealing with it all right now..isn't great.

[nightw1ng]

They might not have done a funeral for Magneto because they haven't found his body yet.

Exactly this. They were still searching for survivors. With Gambit, they clearly had a body they could bury, but not for Magneto. Why would you have a funeral for someone you aren't completely sure is dead?

[Uncanny X-Man]

It was good to get confirmation on the character played by Theo James... I don't know if Bastion is necessarily a "fan favorite" but I thought Theo really nailed it with his voice acting.

It was so cool to have Cable appear however briefly and interact with Scott and Jean - I loved how brusque and anticlimactic his reunion with his dad was. I also wonder if he resents Jean ("Get out of my head. You're not her") or if he was just being generically rude and in character.