Classic X-Men hero Psylocke joined her fellow mutants for an exciting team-up photo-op at New York Comic-Con (NYCC), sparking a flurry of theories about the character's inclusion in the upcoming X-Men '97 Season 2. The psychic comic book mainstay made a brief appearance in X-Men '97's first batch of episodes, but was by no means a proper member of the team. However, that may all be about to change.
Fans in attendance at NYCC spotted an epic X-Men '97-themed activation on the show floor (via Tanooki Joe on X), collecting a series of life-size statues modeled after Marvel's marvelous mutant team. While everything seemed pretty innocuous, some eagle-eyed audience members raised their eyebrows at the fact that Psylocke is included as a part of the Comic-Con photo ops.
Psylocke was notably not a part of the mainline X-Men '97 team to this point in the series. Her standing alongside faces of the series like Cyclops, Wovlerine, and Storm has some thinking she could be granted top team status in the show's upcoming second season.
The character made a brief appearance at the end of Season 1, seemingly as a part of the Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight, but aside from this brief moment of trading blows with a sword-wielding foe, she was nowhere to be seen in the show's first batch of episodes.
With more X-Men '97 on the horizon, this NYCC set-up could be the first step toward Psylocke becoming a bigger part of the series going forward. Fans can expect to receive news about the upcoming series during Marvel's television and animation panel, scheduled for Saturday, October 11, at 1:30 p.m. ET (for more information on Marvel's NYCC plans, click here).
X-Men '97 continues the story of the beloved X-Men: The Animated Series from he 1990s, following Charles Xavier's titular team of mutant superheroes as they try to carry the torch after the death of their wheelchair-bound leader/mentor. Season 2 has no known specific release date, but is expected to arrive sometime in 2026.
Psylocke's X-Men '97 Future Explained
With more X-Men '97 coming, it would make sense for even more characters from across Marvel's mutant mythos to get the spotlight. Season 1 kept things pretty vanilla with its X-Men team. Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, and Jean Grey were some of the series staples who took up the bulk of the screentime.
However, as the show's story expands, so should its mutant team. While not on the level of a Wolverine, Psylocke is still a mainstay of the X-Men universe, being featured in hundreds of comic issues, a couple of X-Men movies, and even some video games (including the uber-popular Marvel Rivals).
She even has a history in the continuity X-Men '97 takes place in. Yes, she was in Season 1 ever so briefly, but she also appeared in the classic X-Men: The Animated Series as well.
Originally voiced by Tasha Simms, Psylocke played a part in several episodes of the beloved '90s cartoon, even joining the X-Men team at one point. However, she eventually left the super-powered squad in the rearview for unknown reasons.
Perhaps, X-Men '97 could see her reconcile with the team, returning to its lineup on a more permanent basis.
