X-Men ’97 Just Set Up the Biggest Mutant Death in History – But Is He Really Dead?

X-Men ’97 just took an unexpected turn, featuring the most surprising mutant death to date. Marvel’s hit X-Men series may be a relaunch of the original animated classic, but it’s surprisingly mature. The first season included a full-scale mutant genocide on Genosha, which led to the death of Gambit. Season 2 has already topped Gambit’s death by killing Magneto, with the last episode exploring Charles Xavier’s grief. Now, though, the show has gone in an unexpected direction with the biggest death yet.

Nobody was surprised when X-Men ’97 resurrected Gambit. Death has always been a revolving door in comics, especially for the X-Men. What’s more, we’d been theorizing how Gambit would return since the end of Season 1. In the comics, Gambit is one of many X-Men transformed into a Horseman of Apocalypse. It seemed inevitable, then, that an Apocalypse-centered storyline would bring him back as Death. But now, in a shocking twist, X-Men ’97 appears to have revealed Gambit is no mere Horseman.

Gambit Appears to Have Killed Apocalypse

The latest episode, “Strange Land, Savage Heart,” ends with an X-Force mission as Cable continues his hunt for Apocalypse. Raised as a Messianic figure who believes he is destined to destroy Apocalypse, Cable is willing to cross any line to achieve his destiny. But he’s been on the back foot all along, well aware Apocalypse has been working on something in the ’90s. Now, at last, X-Force discover what it is: the resurrection of Gambit, much to Jubilee’s horror.

But, most shocking of all, X-Force don’t just discover one of Gambit’s charged cards. They find it beside the husk of Apocalypse himself. It seems Apocalypse’s Horseman technology was unable to control Gambit, likely a result of the resurrection, and Gambit betrayed Apocalypse. Given Apocalypse was granted an important cosmic role by the Celestial named Eson, Apocalypse’s death could have massive repercussions; Eson believes beings like Apocalypse are necessary for humanity to evolve, and he’s likely to want the traditional Apocalypse role taken by someone else. X-Men ’97 appears to be heading in a very unexpected direction indeed.

In the short-term, though, what kind of Gambit are we dealing with? We’ve only seen a glimpse of the resurrected Ragin’ Cajun, and the resurrection has clearly transformed him into the avatar of death we saw in the comics. This Gambit is alone, powerful enough to kill Apocalypse, and likely has his own agenda. At first glance, it looks as though Marvel has done a bait-and-switch; setting Apocalypse up as this season’s main villain, only to substitute him with Gambit. The possibilities here are absolutely thrilling.

But Is Apocalypse Really Dead?

That said, this could potentially be something of a fake-out. This isn’t Apocalypse at his prime; rather, he’s a time traveler from the distant future, an aged being who was actively seeking out a new host for his essence. Episodes 1 and 2 set up the possibility he’d transfer his consciousness into Cable; the story appears to be riffing on “The Twelve,” a story in which Apocalypse possessed Cyclops instead. It’s entirely possible Apocalypse has not died, but instead has jumped into Gambit’s body.

It’s even possible both have happened. Marvel could easily be riffing on Star Wars, where Sith possess a power of “essence transfer” and can possess a host at the moment of their death. By that interpretation, Gambit was able to resist Apocalypse’s control and kill him, but Apocalypse’s spirit has now possessed his body. Whatever the case may be, the X-Men shouldn’t necessarily assume Gambit is still the man they knew. He may have more than a seed of Apocalypse inside him; he may well have Apocalypse himself.

X-Men ’97 Season 2 has earned a rare Rotten Tomatoes record for Marvel, and it still has a staggering 100% critic score. Despite that, this series isn’t perfect; the story is meandering a little too much, which means it feels unfocused. Apocalypse was set up as the major threat, and has been weirdly relegated to the background in the last two episodes. Hopefully, X-Force’s discovery will mean Gambit and whatever remains of Apocalypse become the real focus again, as the story builds towards a climax. No doubt viewers will eagerly anticipate whatever comes next, be it a confrontation with Gambit, a reconciliation, or something even more heartbreaking.