The MCU seems to have hit a rough patch lately with its movies. But things have been more positive on the TV side, with WandaVision, Loki, and Moon Knight garnering universal acclaim. The latest win for the franchise takes the form of X-Men ’97, a continuation of the classic animated X-Men series from 1997.
The show has been praised by fans and critics for staying true to the spirit of the original series while also feeling modern and fresh. In a recent episode, X-Men ’97 pulled off an important scene that could have major repercussions, not just for its characters but the MCU as a whole. In fact, a recent interview with one of the cast members of the show hinted at how the scene could lead to a showdown between the X-Men and the Avengers.
X-Men ’97 Is A Fitting Tribute To The Original Series
X-Men ’97 does not waste any time setting up its characters and giving audiences a feel for the world they live in. The main cast comprises of Professor Charles Xavier and a group of mutants under his care who must deal with grave dangers threatening mankind. What X-Men ’97 does well is give hints as to the larger world of the MCU with cameos from non-X-Men heroes including Spider-Man and Doctor Strange.
In episode 7, while on a mission to avenge the demise of Gambit, Rogue comes across Steve Rogers, aka Captain America. While the Captain is on his own mission, he has a conversation with Rogue that does not end well. In fact, Rogue ends their talk by grabbing Captain America’s shield and throwing it far away before flying off to resume her hunt.
Sowing The Seeds Of Conflict With The Avengers
Such grave disrespect to the leader of the Avengers is no small thing. The X-Men and the Avengers have historically been at odds with each other over various issues in the comics, and now it seems we might get to see a repeat of that in the MCU as well. In an interview with Comicbook.com, the voice actor for Professor X, Ross Marquand, hinted that the scene could lead to some grim repercussions:
“You saw what happened in the last episode [with] Rogue and Captain America. There’s a real chance that [Avengers vs X-Men] could happen. He can’t fly. Captain can’t fly. She threw that in the side of a snowy mountain. I’m sure it’s lodged in there 50 feet deep. He ain’t gonna find that shield. It’s not like Mjolnir where you can just like pull it back, it’s stuck in that thing. He’s gonna be pissed at Rogue for a while.”
While fans can debate over whether Rogue was in the right for tossing the Captain’s shield or not, the fact is that the X-Men will always have Rogue’s back, while the Avengers will do the same for Captain America. Meaning any disagreements between the two could likely spill over into a bigger standoff between the two biggest Marvel superhero teams.
The X-Men Have Already Overlapped With The MCU Avengers
There is also the fact that Beast and Professor X have already made cameos in the MCU. The designs of the characters were clearly modeled after the X-Men 1997 series, with Professor X even using his iconic yellow hoverchair from the show. And now Deadpool & Wolverine is set to bring the worlds of the X-Men and the MCU even closer together.
Whether or not Rogue’s hot-headed moment with Captain America leads into an animated version of Captain America: Civil War remains to be seen. For now, fans are happy to get X-Men ’97 for one whole season in which the entire focus is on mutants without them being overshadowed by other MCU characters.
X-Men ’97 is now available for streaming on Disney+.
