While Episode 6 had some pretty big moments, it was nowhere near as massive and impactful as Episode 5. Still, the last episode turned out just fine. Episode 6, titled “Lifedeath – Part 2”, opens with an epic war between the Kree and Sh’iar empires. Leading the Kree army, we see Ronan the Accuser battling a lost battle with Sh’iar’s best warriors, who operated under the command of Deathbird, sister of Sh’iar empress Lilandra. Soon, we see Lilandra announcing her marriage with the one who we all thought died in the original X-Men: The Animated Series, Professor Charles Xavier.
We witness Xavier in perfect health. He even receives a suit from Lilandra that enables him to walk. Everything seems to be going according to Lilandra’s desires until Deathbird invokes the Rite of M’Dashaa, which forces outsiders like Charles to purge their memories of their homeworld to prove their loyalty to the Sh’iar empire.
Charles, out of his love for Lilandra, accepts Deathbird’s challenge but hesitates in accepting the terms of M’Dashaa when the moment actually arrives in front of him. This scene shows Charles’ love for X-Men is even greater than his love for Lilandra. When things around him start to get out of hand, he takes all the key Sh’iar figures, including Deathbird and Lilandra, into an astral plane where he tries to educate them all about the concept of coexistence. However, horror strikes Charles’ face after he receives a psychic vision of Gambit’s tragic demise. This forces Charles to call off his wedding and return to Earth with his X-Men.
Meanwhile, we also see Storm trying to cure Forge from the venomous bite of the gigantic owl-shaped demon. Forge uses all his strength to expel the demon with the help of his mother’s spell book, which looks pretty similar to the type of magic seen in Doctor Strange movies (Oops! Spoiler Alert!). Storm helps Forge search for a rare cactus that can cure the venom. The moment Storm enters the cave, her claustrophobia resurfaces, and the owl-shaped demon returns. But thanks to Ororo’s toughness and resilience, she fights her fears and regains her powers to defeat the demon for good. She uses the cactus juice to treat Forge. Soon, they both learn about the devastating attack on Genosha.
Episode 6 ends with Trask running away from a shadow. Soon, we find out that the shadow belongs to Mister Sinister, the psychotic supervillain responsible for the attack on Genosha. The character has already appeared in Episode 3, titled “Fire Made Flesh”. He was responsible for replacing the real Jean Grey with her clone, Madelyne Pryor. In addition, he was the one who infected Nathan Summers, son of Pryor and Scott Summers (Cyclops), with the techno-organic virus. Pryor had no alternative but to send her son, Nathan, to the future with Bishop as the X-Men had no cure for him.
It seems like Mister Sinister is serving as the primary antagonist in X-Men ‘97. His shocking and devastating actions have already affected Charles Xavier and Storm. The duo could join forces with the X-Men again to stop Mister Sinister at any cost. Plus, we should not forget that Magneto also lost his life in Episode 5 while trying to protect a group of mutants from the vicious attack of the Wild Sentinel. Xavier will have to digest the fact that his best friend is no more. This could make Charles lose his control and go berserk on an emotional level in Episode 7.
In addition, Episode 7 has been titled “Bright Eyes”, which seems to be inspired by one of the most popular catchphrases from Rogue: “Remember me, bright eyes?” The next episode could largely revolve around Rogue, who is heartbroken after Gambit’s death.
Episode 7 of X-Men ‘97 will arrive on Disney+ Hotstar on April 24. Stay tuned for more updates.
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