Marvel Confirmed X-Men '97's Season 2 Title & It May Not Be What You Think
This article contains spoilers for the "X-Men '97" Season 1 finale, "Tolerance is Extinction – Part 3"
"X-Men '97" — the successor to "X-Men: The Animated Series," which helped pave the way for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has wrapped up its debut season on Disney+, and what a batch of episodes it turned out to be. It has it all, from action to drama to deep-cut Marvel cameos, notably a Black Panther (Isaac Robinson-Smith) one that has infuriated many fans. As a standout in the streamer's expansive and varied library, anticipation for Season 2 is high. Fans everywhere are wondering what lies ahead for their favorite band of mutant do-gooders. Somewhat surprisingly, a new title for the show isn't on the horizon.
During a chat with Variety, "X-Men '97" executive producer Brad Winderbaum revealed that the series won't go through a title change for Season 2. "It'll be 'X-Men '97,'" he stated plainly when asked if the show could become "X-Men '98" in its next season. One has to imagine that the likes of Wolverine (Cal Dodd) and Magneto (Matthew Waterson) will see the year 1998 at some point, but, as Winderbaum's comment implies, it isn't likely to happen in Season 2. That, or years will go on from season to season but the title will remain static for the sake of consistency.
Considering the apparent time travel-heavy nature of "X-Men '97" Season 2, perhaps keeping the "'97" label regardless of the in-universe year on display is for the best.
Time seems to be a main focus of Season 2
Based on the finale of "X-Men '97" Season 1, "Tolerance is Extinction – Part 3," fans can expect to do quite a bit of time hopping throughout Season 2. In the aforementioned episode, the X-Men are divided by time itself while trying to prevent Asteroid M from colliding with Earth. First and foremost are Jean Grey (Jennifer Hale) and Cyclops (Ray Chase) — Marvel's coolest mutant not named Wolverine – who are flung far into the future of 3960 A.D. There they see their young son, Nathan, who they sent ahead in time earlier in the season in hopes of healing his techno-organic virus.
Meanwhile, Professor Charles Xavier (Ross Marquand), Magneto, Rogue (Lenore Zann), Beast (George Buza), and Nightcrawler (Adrian Hough) end up in the ancient past. In the Egypt of 3000 B.C., they encounter the mutant En Sabah Nur, infamously known as the villain Apocalypse (Marquand). As for Forge (Gil Birmingham), Jubilee (Holly Chou), Sunspot (Gui Agustini), Bishop (Robinson-Smith), Wolverine, and Morph (J.P. Karliak), they're in the present day of 1997, desperate to find out what has become of their allies.
Evidently, time will be a major element of "X-Men '97" Season 2, with a handful of eras seemingly taking center stage throughout. Nevertheless, it seems 1998 won't come around in the next set of installments — or, at least it or any other year won't be represented by the title.