Marvel Perfectly Pays Off 1 Magneto Storyline X-Men Spent 32 Years Building

Summary Magneto's decades-long buildup in X-Men '97 comes to a stunning climax in a powerful display of his omega-level powers.

The episode confirms Magneto's belief that humans and mutants cannot coexist, validating his predictions and ideologies.

Bastion's successful propaganda campaign leads to a future where mutants are subjugated, aligning with Magneto's longstanding assertions.

One Magneto storyline has just been paid off perfectly by Marvel in X-Men '97 after 32 years of build-up. X-Men '97 Episode 8 is the first in a three-part finale in which the clandestine arch-villain of X-Men '97 Season 1, Bastion, commences his plan to subjugate mutants in earnest. This saw his new brand of Sentinels, humans imbued with a litany of tech-borne destructive powers, assault mutants worldwide. Despite not knowing the details of their transformation, these Prime Sentinels were developed from willing participants who underwent the process out of fear of being dominated and/or replaced by the mutant population.

The effects were devastating, culminating in the destruction of the X-Mansion as the likes of Wolverine and Nightcrawler struggled to overcome the rapidly healing assailants. That is, at least, until Valerie Cooper frees Magneto from the custody of Bastion and proceeds to unleash his omega-level powers to short-circuit the entire globe, including every Prime Sentinel it powered. It was a stunning display of Magneto's uninhibited power but placed the world on the precipice of an all-out war. It was also an act of defiance that perfectly encapsulated his entire worldview.

Related All 18 Marvel Easter Eggs & References In X-Men '97 Episode 8 The first chapter of X-Men '97's three-part season finale is here, featuring a large collection of exciting references and epic Easter eggs.

X-Men '97 Confirms Magneto Was Right

Close

The episode heavily featured Cable, who revealed that the future from which he traveled was one in which Bastion's war against mutants ended in the villain's favor. The willingness of humankind to undergo the transformation into Prime Sentinels was stoked by Bastion's assertions that mutants were poised to replace humanity, depriving them of their livelihoods and ways of life. This, unfortunately, would culminate in humanity's sentinel-powered victory over mutantkind and a "Utopia" in which mutants are subjugated by humanity, carrying out labor with their powers whilst humanity lives in luxury as their superiors.

This vindicates Magneto's whole MO. X-Men '97 Episode 8 is a culmination of years of animated X-Men stories punctuated by the line "Magneto was right." As humans begin rallying against mutants in the wake of the Genoshan massacre, Magneto's lifelong assertion that humans and mutants could never coexist was finally validated by Bastion's successful propaganda campaign. While his dogma until now could be ascribed to a handful of "bad apples", X-Men '97 has definitively validated Magneto's predictions.

Magneto's Attack On Earth Pays Off His Iconic Debut Line

Close

These developments call back to Magneto's animated debut in the original X-Men animated series, where his plans for the mutant takeover of Earth were revealed. It was here that, when challenged by Storm over whether he wants a war with humans, Magneto utters the line, "Better that we die on our feet than live on our knees!" The line would define his career thereon and was also decidedly prescient, as it would turn out that Xavier's future with Bastion around would lead to complete mutant subjugation

So far, X-Men '97 has perfectly built on the original animated series' narrative, and Magneto's attempts to continue the legacy of his old friend Xavier, despite his own lifelong doubts, has been a heartwarming turn in his character arc. This renders the ultimate vindication of his militant beliefs even more tragic as he proclaims "enough" before his defiance sparks the war he heralded in his debut. With what is known about Cable's future and Magneto's capacity for compassion, it is now harder than ever to rally against his motives.