"To Me, My X-Men" X-Men '97 Recaps: "Remember It" & "Lifedeath" Part 2

 X-Men '97

This is it. If you've watched "X-Men '97," and you should have, you know that episode five is where shit really hits the fan. I wasn't sure if watching it the second time it would hurt me less emotionally, but it hurt me just as much. If you're not an "X-Men" comic reader, I'll give you a little background. The massacre that happens on Genosha calls back to Grant Morrison's "New X-Men" #115 when Cassandra Nova unleashes wild Sentinels on the mutant nation of Genosha and they slaughter more than sixteen million mutants. The Adversary made their first appearance in "Uncanny X-Men" #188. Forge used his shamanic abilities to summon the Adversary when his company was slain during the Vietnam War. So if you're looking for some extra reading, check those out. Otherwise, let's head in to the back half of this season.

"Remember It"

Gambit: "The names Gambit, mon ami. Remember it."

At the mansion, Trish Tilby is interviewing the various X-Men to try to show normal humans that mutants are just like them. But the various dramas happening around the mansion may undo them all. Meanwhile, Magneto, Rogue and Gambit head to Genosha as the mutant nation prepares to be admitted into the UN. While there, Magneto is offered the nations chancellorship and he agrees to take it but only if Rogue leads with him. Rogue reveals her past with Magneto to a brokenhearted Remy. At the celebratory party, celebration turns to screaming when tragedy strikes.

"I can't feel you." *sobs*

For the first twenty minutes of "Remember It" there is a sense of dread hanging over everything. Even durng the scenes of mutants seemingly living their lives in peace being carefree, you just know that something bad is going to happen. If you're a comics reader, you know that mutants on Genosha are never a good thing, whether they are in power or not. But Beau Demayo, who wrote this episode, kind of lulls us into a false sense security by filling us with the interpersonal drama that we've come to know and love with the X-Men.

Trish Tilby is at the mansion and she's doing a piece on them that is supposed to show people that mutants aren't that different from regular humans. It initially feels like things might go well for them. Hank is killing it in his interview. He may be blue and covered with fur, but Beast is personable and charming. And there is clearly chemistry between himself and Trish. He's the perfect interview subject and mutant spokesperson. Things are going really well initially, but leave it to Cyclops to muck it all up.

Things are going well at first. Trish asks Scott to tell her about Jean. It's great to watch Scott and Jean tell their story from two different perspectives. Jean is talking to Logan and Scott is talking to Trish. Things seem to be going well, until Trish brings up Nathan. They should have known that Trish would know about Nathan's birth, but it sends Scott spiraling. And he goes on a bitter diatribe about normal humans. I don't think he's wrong, but this was definitely not the place to go off.

"X-Men '97" continues to show viewers what makes her such a badass and one of the few Omega level mutants in the X universe. We first see Jean in this episode and she is effortless holding back the water of the lake so she can stand on the bottom and sort through her jumbled memories. This is effortless. No sign of exertion and she's definitely not going to faint. Logan comes out to talk to her and we see the chemistry that exists between them. Logan loves Jean so much and he's always cheering for her. He's always on her side. Maybe that's why she kisses him. Because he's solid. She's doubting her memories of her love for Scott, but she doesn't have to doubt Logan. That is probably why Logan leaves her after the kiss.He knows why he is doing this.

We see Scott talking to Jean. The conversation shifts to Nathan. It's then that the real Jean shows up revealing that Scott and Madelyne are conversing through a psychic rapport. Jean easily banishes Madelyne from Scott's mind and Jean and Scott have a knock down drag out saying all the things that they've been hiding from each other since Jean returned. People say that Jean doesn't have a right to be upset at Scott when she finds Scott and Madelyne canoodling. But, I'm a Jean apologist and I'll say she has every right. What Scott and Madelyne are doing is worse. It's more intimate. It's a bigger blow because Jean is still trying to piece her life back together. I did enjoy the homage to the psychic affair that Emma and Scott had in "New X-Men." Their confrontation is cut short when Jean receives a painful psychic flash from Genosha.

On Genosha, things look great. Rogue and Gambit are reunited with Nightcrawler, but there is noticeable tension between Rogue and Gambit due to Rogue's closeness with Magneto. This tension only escalates when the Interim Council of Genosha consisting of Madelyne Pryor, Emma Frost, Sebastian Shaw, Banshee and Moira Mactaggart, suggest Magneto for chancellor. Magneto agrees but only on the condition that Rogue lead alongside him.

The conversation between Rogue and Gambit is truly heartbreaking. You feel for these two kids. Rogue comes clean with Gambit about how when she was with Mystique she met Magneto and fell for him fueled by his idealistic dreams for a mutant nation and the fact that his powers allowed them to touch. But Erik's inner demons pushed Rogue away from him and towards the X-Men. Rogue and Gambit's romance has always felt star crossed, but you always have hope. But it feels like hope dies here. Particularly when Rogue and Magneto share an intimate moment at the gala, in front of everyone, to the strains of Ace of Base's, "Happy Nation," which was a perfect touch.

The final 10 minutes of this episode are some of the most heartbreaking minutes of television I've ever witnessed. As an "X-Men" fan, I had a feeling this was going to happen. But I still wasn't prepared for the carnage and shocking violence that fell on Genosha when the Sentinels attacked. We never would have seen this on "X-Men the Animated Series." We see mutants vaporized in front of us. Like, the first time I watched this episode, I'm pretty sure I watched with my mouth wide open and my heart in my stomach. Magneto, Rogue and Gambit show us why they are some of the best characters in comics. When Magneto protects Leech, trying to keep his promise from episode two, it's gut wrenching. Hearing Magneto tell Leech not to be afraid in German will never not rip the heart from my chest.

Gambit is the star of this episode. He saves Rogue multiple times. Protecting her from running off half cocked. I honestly didn't think they would kill any of the main characters so my eyes bugged out of my head when Gambit died. But he did it in a blaze of glory. Taking out that Sentinel and saving so many people. I enjoyed the call back to the first episode of the X: TAS which is also where the episode gets it's name.

I know I said in my recap of the first episode that I kind of wished that they'd replaced Lenore Zann and I'm man enough to admit I was wrong. She knocks it out of the park in this episode. Some of the best voice work I've heard ever. She imbues Rogue with grit and grief, sadness and happiness. That last line reading of "Sugah, I can't feel you" as she cradles Remy LeBeau's lifeless body will never not completely and utterly destroy me. She deserves an Emmy for the work she does on this episode and or the remainder of this season, honestly.

Grade: A+

"Lifedeath" - Part 2

Storm: "What are demons, but reflections of our fear and shame? Things we bury within us, hide from loved ones, even as they poison our heart until we finally heal our adversary by embracing it."

Deep in space, the Shi'ar Empire is fighting a war with the Kree. Battles are fought and won by the Imperial Guard and Lilandra's crazy, treasonous sister, Deathbird. When Lilandra announces that she plans to marry Charles Xavier, Deathbird challenges him to prove his loyalty the Imperium by renouncing Earth and having Lilandra erase all memories of the X-Men. Meanwhile, Storm attempts to save Forge from the Adversary's poisonous bite and herself from the shadowy figures clutches.

Star crossed.

I kind of feel bad for any episode that was going to air after "Remember It," because that is a pretty perfect episode of any "X-Men" animated or even live action series. It has everything you've come to expect from the X-Men. There is the soap opera dramatics, amazing action sequences, joy and tragedy, for better or for worse. I think it makes sense to take a breather after such an intense episode rather than just jump right back into the fallout and aftermath of Genosha. We are also heading into the final stretch of this first season so there are a couple of pieces that need to be moved into place before the rapidly approaching three-part season finale. It's just hard not feel that this episode is kind of a letdown even though while it doesn't reach the staggering heights of "Remember It" or even some of the other episodes so far, it is still perfectly enjoyable.

You may look at the title of this episode and think it's going to be completely Storm focused but that is not the case. Just like "Motendo/Lifedeath" - Part 1, Storm's story is just part of the episode, with the other part being focused on checking in with Charles Xavier and the Shi'ar after he left with them at the end of the original series's finale. Unlike the former episode, this one switches back and forth between each story rather than focusing on one at the beginning and the other at the end. Let's look at each story individually and we'll start with Xavier's because it's the one that I'm least invested in.

One of the things I really enjoyed about "X-Men: The Animated Series" was while the focus was on the X-Men, they didn't neglect the rest of the world they lived in. It was easier back then to have small cameos from different Marvel characters but now that Marvel owns most of its characters "X-Men '97" can do that too. All that to say, I loved seeing the Shi'ar battle the Kree and Deathbird taking on Ronan the Accuser. The Shi'ar and the Imperial Guard were such huge parts of the original series that it's great seeing them here. And did I see Vulcan working with the Imperial Guard? If so, that could open up some story possibilities for season two of '97. You may not know what I mean, but if you know, you know.

I kind of like how they play Lilandra as smart, but also extremely naive. When you're in power for a long time, you lose touch a bit with reality and I think that is kind of where Lilandra is here. She really thinks that the Shi'ar people will love that she's getting married to Xavier and that this will raise the spirits of the people in the midst of war. Well, it's not just Deathbird that is unhappy that Lilandra is marrying a Terran. I thought it was hilarious when Deathbird called our galaxy the "Milky Way ghetto." 

In situations like this, there is always an ancient rite. Deathbird invokes the right of M'Dashaa and tells Xavier that he needs to renounce Earth and allow Lilandra to erase all memories of his X-Men. We all know that Xavier would never do that, especially the latter. This allows Deathbird to truly reveal her traitorous intentions and we are given a brief battle before Xavier psychically takes them to school. I get why they do this pulling from Xavier's passion as an educator but the whole sequence rubs me the wrong way. It's giving big colonizer, white savior in space vibes. I'm not sure if this is intentional. Are they trying to make Xavier look like a giant, condescending douchebag especially when he's telling Deathbird to raise her hand and offering demerits. We may never know if Xavier's "teaching"methods work because he gets a vision of Gambit's death and announces that he's heading back to Earth.

Storm and Forge are still dealing with the Adversary after it bites Forge. Forge pulls from his families shamanistic background to temporarily send it away. The magic Forge uses is very close to what we see Doctor Strange use in the MCU which I thought was very interesting. I think visually there are a lot of cool stuff with the Adversary like that whole section with Storm being put in a coffin. It's all really cool. I like the idea of them trying to adapt Lifedeath. It's a classic X-Men story, but this is one of the few instances where it doesn't translate well to the animated format. Storm was without her powers for a whie and this whole thing feels very rushed.

I'm not a huge fan of the trope of it was you holding yourself back all along which is basically what happens here. The power was in Storm all along she just had to release it again. It gives off a vibe of the writers not really knowing a good way to give Storm her powers back, so this is the way they went. That being said, I love that Storm gets her own magical girl transformation sequence much like Madelyne Pryor in episode three. It's a thrill seeing Storm's classic black costume in the animated series complete with her headpiece. I love it so much. I don't even care that makes no sense that she was able to do this and that her hair grew back. I just would have like overall for there to be more focus on Storm and this storyline because looking back on the season as a whole it just feels sort of inconsequential. 

The episode ends with Storm learning of the massacre on Genosha and Bolivar Trask being confronted by Mister Sinister about what happened in Genosha.

Grade: B

Next up, Rogue is on the rampage and the true mastermind behind all of this is revealed.

What did you all think? Are you emotionally recovered from episode five? How did you feel about Xavier's return? What did you think about Storm's story? Let me know in the comments.