X-Men ’97 ended its second episode with a sizable cliffhanger. As the team pondered over Storm’s parting words, before the former mutant decided to leave the team, the X Mansion saw a red-headed woman, identical to Jean, entering the mansion, looking for the X-Men.
This character is expected to be Madelyne Pryor, a discarded clone of Jean Grey constructed by Mister Sinister and brought to life by the Phoenix Force. Mister Sinister uses Pryor to manipulate Scott, who at the time was reeling from the death of Jean Grey. However, given that Pryor (or Jean) has been introduced while the other one is alive, the show could have accidentally shot itself in the foot.
Cyclops abandons Madelyne in the comics
In the comics, Cyclops never had the chance to marry Jean Grey before meeting Madelyne Pryor, thanks to her death. However, the character developed a very loving relationship with the clone. The two got close and eventually married each other, This was followed by their having a son, Nathan Summers. However, while they were happy together, living in domestic bliss, with Scott even considering retirement, everything changed when Jean Grey returned to life.
Scott would go on to abandon Madelyne and Nathan, resorting to renewing his superhero career with the original X-Men reassembled. However, this shift in the dynamic does not sit well with Pryor, as she slowly starts losing her mind, eventually becoming the villainous Goblin Queen.
After she is defeated, Jean and Scott decide to raise Nathan by themselves but are forced to send him to the far future to be cured of a techno-virus, installed in him by Apocalypse, who is afraid of the child’s power and capabilities. This child grows up to become Cable, who starred in the second Deadpool film as the first major appearance of the character in live-action.
X-Men ’97 might not get away with messing up the canon
It is very clear that the woman that Scott Summers has a son with is Jean Grey. The character is not Madelyne masquerading as Jean or anything else, but given the nature of the show, we cannot be completely sure. It is possible that Jean Grey was replaced without the team knowing, given that there is a months-long gap between the end of X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men ’97. Without Charles to corroborate the identity of a real or fake Jean, it would have been the perfect time to slot the clone in place of Jean.
However, given that the woman who stumbles through the door of the X-Mansion seems to be looking for X-Men, it seems that there is a lack of familiarity on her part, which could mean that the clone is Madelyne. However, all the drama surrounding her character is now moot, given that she would never know Scott, or fall in love with him, or have his child.
