No one can fault X-Men ’97 for its ambition. The latest episode dove deep into X-Men lore, as Wolverine sought adamantium from the Weapon X Project. We got the real Wolverine back, but admittedly not in the story everyone expected; we’d all assumed this would draw on the comics, where Logan learned he was “Weapon Ten” in a much bigger project. While there were allusions to this, X-Men ’97 dodged the full reveal.
Except for one scene, which ran for less than ten seconds. Here, the reassembled Team X skimmed through a series of DVDs on previous test subjects. Attentive viewers will have spotted Wolverine himself, Silver Fox, Garrison Kane, Sabretooth, and even Agent Zero (Maverick’s old codename). Another, Weapon XVIII, turned out to be an experiment with the aliens known as the Brood. But the others were so much more exciting, tying in to 11 different X-Men and Marvel characters in just a single scene.
This one brief scene sets up a staggering 11 characters (including one I’ve yet to be able to identify):
The Winter Soldier is a delightful surprise, but the most exciting reference here is undoubtedly X-23. In the comics, X-23 was created by an offshoot of the Weapon X Project, raised to be the ultimate assassin who responds to a “trigger scent.” She’s effectively Wolverine’s daughter, and he took her on board in this role; in fact, she even became the next Wolverine after Logan’s death, and still shares the codename with him now he’s been resurrected again.
Impressively, X-Men ’97 doesn’t just mention X-23; it also drops a nod to Kimura, her handler and nemesis, making it all a little more concrete. We appear to be setting up a Generation X X-Men spinoff team, starring younger mutants who are being trained at Xavier’s School, and X-23 (also known as Laura Kinney) served as a member of one such team. That said, I do suspect there’s already too much going on in X-Men ’97 Season 2, so this is probably something Marvel intend to explore in a later season – turning this Wolverine-centered story into setup for something much bigger.
“Ant” is the character I’m most curious about, because I’ve currently been unable to figure out who this is a reference to. Given Weapon XVIII turned out to be the Brood, I wouldn’t be surprised if this proves to be an important addition – a new name on the list that’s been added to become something so much more important. That said, it’s disappointing to see the story end with the discs destroyed, because many of these teased mysteries will so easily be forgotten.
The first five episodes of X-Men ’97 are streaming now on Disney+, and new episodes will be released weekly. Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
