At the end of season one of X-Men ’97, our team of mutant heroes are now lost in time, and presumed dead to the world. We see that Forge is planning to keep the dream of Charles Xavier alive however, and he has a corkboard of several known mutants he plans to recruit. While many of the X-Men are listed as “Presumed Dead,” or in the case of Scarlet With and Quicksilver, “Off World,” several others are prime candidates. Based on Forge’s board, here’s who we expect to become the all-new, all-different X-Men in season two.
Colossus (Piotr Rasputin)
Piotr Rasputin, the metal-skinned mutant powerhouse called Colossus, is a mainstay of the team in the comics. In the animated shows, the Russian-born mutant was just a guest star a few times, and never formally joined the team. He only appeared in two episodes, displaying an over-the-top Russian accent. His appearance on Forge’s board suggests next season, Colossus will finally step up and become a real X-Man at last.
Magik (Illyana Rasputin)
Colossus isn’t the only member of the Rasputin family on Forge’s board. Also seen is his sister Illyana, a.k.a. Magik. We saw the mutant teleporter as a child in the original series, but here we see her as a teenager. That’s not a continuity error either. In the comics, Illyana spent years in the Limbo dimension as a child, when it was just months here, returning as much older. As a mutant sorceress and owner of the Soul Sword, she’ll make for a formidable X-Man if Forge recruits her. Like her brother, Morph transformed into Magik in one episode of X-Men ’97.
Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde)
One of the most requested (and beloved) characters in X-Men history finally appears on Forge’s board. Katherine “Kitty” Pryde, born with the power to phase through solid objects, is finally confirmed as existing in the X-Men: The Animated Series universe. Despite appearing in the original pilot episode “Pryde of the X-Men,” she never appeared in the ’92-’97 series. This appears to be the older version of the character, using her Shadowcat codename and costume. So if she joins the team, it’s unlikely she will be the junior member she originally was.
Havok (Alex Summers)
We know from this season that Scott Summers/Cyclops has a complicated family tree. This is a guy who has a cyborg son that’s older than he is, and a father who’s a space pirate. But he also has a powerful brother named Alex Summers a.k.a. Havok. A powerful energy manipulator, they separated Scott and Alex as children. When they met in the original series, Havok was a member of the team X-Factor, and they didn’t know they were brothers. As far as we know, they still don’t. It’s time to rectify that mistake next season with Forge officially recruiting Alex Summers into the X-Men.
Iceman (Bobby Drake)
Robert Drake, better known as Iceman, is a founding member of the team who only appeared once in the original X-Men: The Animated Series. He was front and center in the third season episode “Cold Comfort,” but we haven’t seen him since. This season, we kept seeing Bobby in the original X-Men class portrait in Xavier’s office, hinting there was more to come for him. The fact that he’s on Forge’s board suggests it’s finally time for this Omega Level mutant to rejoin the team. Besides, it’ll be nice to have such a prominent gay superhero on the X-Men.
Archangel (Warren Worthington III)
Another original X-Man on the board is Warren Worthington III, also known as the razor-winged Archangel. He’s listed as “Presumed Dead” on Forge’s board, although not because he was fighting with the X-Men on Asteroid M. We saw him flying around Genosha when the massacre happened. Yet given his upgrades from Apocalypse, who gave him his metal wings, it’s highly unlikely he died there. And if the X-Men’s “Big Bad” of season two is indeed Apocalypse, they’ll probably need his former Horseman of Death to fight him.
The White Queen (Emma Frost)
Emma Frost, the former White Queen of the Hellfire Club, made a brief appearance in season one of X-Men ’97. She was part of the ruling council on Genosha, before Bastion’s Sentinel massacre happened. Emma was presumed dead, but just as in the comics, she survived when her secondary mutation happened, emerging in her diamond form. She also took a romantic interest in Cyclops. But she’s still a telepath of the highest order, and Forge’s new team is going to need one of those, especially with Jean and Charles gone. Also, Emma Frost and Kitty Pryde have a great love/hate dynamic we’d love to see in the show.
Dust (Sooraya Qadir)
This character is a more recent addition to Marvel Comics X-Men canon, first appearing in Grant Morrison’s New X-Men series in 2002. Dust, whose real name is Sooraya Qadir, is a young Muslim mutant who has the power to transform her body into a pliable cloud of sand. Originally from Afghanistan, the X-Men recruited Sooraya as a student of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. She’s quite powerful, and in her dust form is hard to detect telepathically. She would be an asset to any team that Forge forms.
Exodus (Bennet du Paris)
This one’s the wild card. On Forge’s board we see the image of Exodus, one of the most powerful mutants in the Marvel Comics pantheon. Bennet du Paris comes from the 12th century, where his telekinetic, telepathic, and teleporting abilities became augmented by Apocalypse. He’s served En Sabah Nur as well as Magneto in the modern age, even leading his Acolytes. We saw him on Genosha in episode 5, “Remember It,” partying it up. It looks like he survived the massacre. Exodus isn’t really a joiner, so it might be shocking to see him as an X-Man. But with Apocalypse in play next season as the main villain, anything is possible.
