Previously on the Disney+ series X-Men ‘97, Jubilee and Sunspot join Cable’s X-Force as they pursue one of Apocalypse’s Horsemen. They battle X-Factor, and Jubilee is taken prisoner. Sunspot convinces Cable to rescue Jubilee and other imprisoned mutants.
The episode takes us back to 3000 B.C., where we see Apocalypse’s younger self, En Sabah Nur. Rather than focusing on presenting him as an unstoppable villain, this episode explores En Sabah Nur’s internal conflicts.
A theme that is used in this episode is betrayal. There’s a scene where En Sabah Nur wants to kill his first master but is stopped by Magneto, who is trying to guide him into becoming a liberator of mutants, making Charles Xavier’s dream a reality. Here, Beast, Rogue, Nightcrawler, and Professor X witness Magneto appeal to En Sabah Nur’s need for liberation. He lives as a rebel leader against a cruel king. Magneto hopes he can change En Sabah Nur from the villain he is destined to become. But En Sabah Nur ends up backstabbing Magneto when he discovers the X-Men’s goal to use the unthinkable of killing his master and planning an attack on Magneto and the X-Men who are present at that time. During the attack, Bishop comes and helps, reuniting with his team.
Through the theme of collaboration, we witness Magneto assist En Sabah Nur in an attack against the regime. We see a nostalgic side of the two men before fate made them adversaries. Amidst their victory, Magneto convinces En Sabah Nur to spare an enemy, convinced he is getting through to the world’s first mutant.
Professor X uses his powers to look inside the prisoner’s mind. Instead of getting information, he’s placed in a tide of Rocks of the Eternal Shore. This scene is visually captivating with the colors and motions of rocks, sand, and gravity pulling him through. As he comes back to reality, he informs everyone that he has experienced something new and strange. This now will give him a sense of protection and curiosity about the warning he was presented with.
When En Sabah Nur discovers the prisoner was his first slave, he violently kills him. And his anger grows when he discovers the X-Men, now joined by Bishop, are using the technology to return to the 1990s. Feeling betrayed, a battle ensues with devastating consequences as King Tut unleashes a powerful strike against the rebels. Our X-Men are trapped in the war as the screen reads To Be Continued…
Overall, this was a really good episode. It’s cool to see who En Sabah Nur was before he became Apocalypse. It’s also unique to put into perspective an allyship between Magnus and En Sabah Nur, similar to what Magnus has with Professor X. Adetokumboh M’Cormack is incredible as En Sabah Nur. He puts so much emotion into his portrayal as the young mutant. It will be intriguing to see what happens in the next episode. Will the group finally all come back together in the 90s, or will something else come up?
Rating: 8/10