The final post-credits tease of X-Men ’97 season one saw the ancient mutant Apocalypse among the ruins of Genosha, after the genocidal attack by Bastion. He was lamenting his dead mutant children, saying “So much pain. So much Death.” He says the words “death” holding Gambit’s charred playing card, suggesting that just as in the comics, En Sabah Nur will transform the deceased X-Man into his Horseman of Death. This role once belonged to another former X-Man, Archangel. But what about the three other Horseman? Which mutants will take those roles?
Where there is a Horseman of Death, there are always three other Horseman at the side of Apocalypse. They are War, Pestilence/Plague, and Famine. The question is, which dead mutants will the ancient Apocalypse raise from the grave to join Gambit? While it’s not necessarily a given that all four horsemen will be resurrected mutants, we have a feeling their master will want to make a statement—using dead mutants murdered by Sentinels against humanity. Here’s who we think will join Gambit as the other three Horsemen.
Dazzler/Horseman of War
Longtime X-Men fans were thrilled to see mutant pop star Alison Blaire, a.k.a. Dazzler, in X-Men ’97, partying it up in Genosha. She’s a major X-Men character who only appeared briefly in the ’90s X-Men: The Animated Series. Her return was short-lived, as when tragedy struck Genosha, we saw Ali among the dead after the Sentinel attack. If Apocalypse resurrects her as a Horseman, our guess is she’ll be the Horseman of War. Even though her powers of turning sound into light may appear goofy, it also means she can fire deadly lasers from her hands. This is something she did handily in the original 1989 X-Men pilot. It’s a pretty outwardly aggressive power if perverted by someone like Apocalypse.
Banshee/Horseman of Pestilence
Poor Sean Cassidy. The romantic partner of Moira MacTaggert of Muir Island, the mutant Banshee was a major X-Man for many years in the comics. He appeared a handful of times in the ’90s cartoon. We see the Irish mutant flying away from the destruction in Genosha in “Remember It,” when a Sentinel blast incinerated him, along with the mutant Marrow. However, since his mutant ability involves a highly powered sonic scream, given how an airborne disease travels, we think Banshee might be a prime candidate for the Horseman of Pestilence. In the comics, the Apocalypse Twins resurrected him from death as one of four Horseman of Death. We could see a twist on that in X-Men ’97 year two.
Madelyne Pryor/Horseman of Famine
Jean Grey’s clone Madelyne Pryor was one of the breakout stars of X-Men ’97 as the Goblin Queen. Sadly, her life ended tragically after briefly connecting with her son Cable moments before she died in Genosha. As an Omega Level mutant, since she’s Jean’s genetic double, Apocalypse would be wise to use her as a Horseman. With her vast mental powers, she could lay waste to the Earth as only the Horseman Famine could. We also think she’d be the first of Apocalypse’s Horseman to break free from his control, just as she broke free of Sinister’s control in the episode.
Many other mutants died in Genosha, so the possibilities for new undead Horsemen is endless. We’ll find out who makes the cut for Apocalypse when X-Men ’97 eventually returns to Disney+.