Marvel Studios is taking its punches in stride by finding a new home for aspects of its three most controversial projects. Just like when Season 1 came out of the gates swinging, X-Men '97's sophomore outing is taking the world by storm as it drops new episodes on Disney+. Season 2, Episode 4, "Rise of Apocalypse, Part II," picks up right where the previous entry left off, with the titular team in danger after an attack from the mysterious Rama-Tut.
A traveller from a different time, Rama-Tut came to Ancient Egypt in search of a great power. He enslaved En Sabah Nur and his people, forcing them to erect statues of deities and build pyramids in order to achieve his goal more quickly. However, the first mutant rebelled and led a resistance against his former master.
Making friends with the X-Men allows the Nur to locate a temple that's actually a ship from another world. When he steps foot inside, he hears a voice calling out to him. The mystery figure reveals itself to be Eson, a massive extraterrestrial who's searching for someone worthy of wielding incredible power and wreaking havoc on the world.
To those who only watch X-Men '97, Rama-Tut and Eson may seem like nothing more than cogs in the machine that eventually produces Apocalypse. But diehard MCU fans will recognize them as so much more, being examples of Marvel Studios' willingness to go back to the drawing board.
Failed MCU Projects That X-Men '97 Is Giving Second Life To
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Nur's ascension to godhood in "Rise of Apocalypse, Part II" sends Rama-Tut running for the hills. Rather than standing and fighting, the pharaoh uncovers a time machine, puts on a new outfit, and wishes his lackeys the best of luck. But his escape is a jaw-dropping moment because his new costume is a spitting image of Kang's from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Prior to the comic-accurate mask's arrival, X-Men '97 went out of its way to make the connection between Rama-Tut and Jonathan Majors' characters obvious. However, seeing is believing, especially in the superhero world.
Clearly, Marvel Studios is ready to give the Conquerer another shot, as evidenced by his major role in X-Men '97 Season 2. Maybe attaching him to Apocalypse's hip with a new actor at the helm of the Time Sphere could work as well on the big screen as it does on the small one.
Eternals
Eson, the being who provides Apocalypse with the upgrade that makes him strong enough to conquer the world, is a Celestial. If that word sounds familiar, it's because it's been present in the MCU since Guardians of the Galaxy. It took until Eternals for Celestials to really peel back the curtain on their operation, though.
Celestials are responsible for maintaining the fabric of the universe. But they have a funny way of keeping the peace. In Eternals, the titular characters learned that they were created with the sole purpose of preparing Earth for the arrival of a Celestial growing within it, Tiamut. Sersi and most of her allies weren't on board with mass destruction, so they stopped Tiamut in his tracks, angering the head Celestial, Arishem, in the process.
Eson isn't pushing the same agenda that Arishem did in Eternals when he talks to Apocalypse in X-Men '97. That's probably because the Disney+ series is following in the footsteps of the source material, which saw Eson rebel against his people's directive and follow his own path.
Moon Knight
Nur spent his early days in Egypt and looked to the stars as he lived under Rama-Tut's rule. One of the gods he looked up to was Khonshu, the Egyptian God of the Moon and the Night Sky. In a flashback in "Rise of Apocalypse, Part II," Nur single-handedly raised up a statue of Khonshu, much to the delight of onlookers.
The creative team behind X-Men '97 surely realized they couldn't send the show to Egypt without giving Khonshu a shout-out. However, he does come with his fair share of baggage. Of course, he played a major role in another Disney+ series, Moon Knight, where he helped Marc Spector learn how to control his powers and defeat the evil Arthur Harrow.
Had Moon Knight only been two episodes, Marc and Khonshu might've been considered one of the MCU's best duos; that's how good their chemistry was early on. But the show struggled to find its footing and delivered a disappointing finale that included Khonshu turning into a kaiju-sized monster for an out-of-left-field fight.
A brief cameo in a beloved series might be just what the doctor ordered for Khonshu. By having him and Marc appear in small doses, Marvel Studios can repair their image before working on another season of Moon Knight or the Midnight Sons movie that many on the internet are clamoring for.
