In the wake of X-Men '97’s explosive Season 1 finale, Marvel Studios Animation is about to try something no Disney+ Marvel project has ever done. Following the implosion of Asteroid M, the mutant team finds itself scattered across time, with storylines unfolding simultaneously across three distinct eras.
The animated revival is set to make Marvel Disney+ history by telling a story that actively jumps between the ancient past, a dystopian future, and the present day. While the MCU has experimented with time travel before, this is the first time a Disney+ Marvel series has structurally split its core ensemble in this way. Even more surprisingly, the show will likely keep them apart for an extended period.
X-Men '97 Season 2's Big Swing
After Asteroid M’s catastrophic destruction, Magneto, Rogue, Nightcrawler, Beast, and Professor Charles Xavier awaken in Ancient Egypt, 5,000 years in the past. There, they come face-to-face with En Sabah Nur, the powerful mutant who will later go by the name Apocalypse.
Meanwhile, the asteroid’s implosion sends Jean Grey and Cyclops 2,000 years into an apocalyptic future. There, they encounter a group of rebels called Clan Askani, who protect a young boy named Nathan Summers. Cable, Jubilee, and Sunspot remain in the present, anchoring the timeline that viewers are most familiar with.
This is far from the first time Marvel has played with time. Loki sent the MCU's new God of Stories across centuries, collapsing and revisiting key moments in the Sacred Timeline. But despite its cosmic scale, Loki still largely stuck to one primary storyline told from the trickster’s perspective.
X-Men '97 Season 2, however, will separate its heroes across time itself, with multiple X-Men stories playing out across millennia. Their arcs will likely exist as parallel plotlines that weave and intersect as the season’s overall story comes into focus.
The Ancient Egypt storyline instantly elevates the stakes by introducing one of the most well-known X-Men villains. Xavier and Magneto witnessing the dawn of En Sabah Nur’s rise could fundamentally reshape how their ideological battles with him, and each other, unfold.
Meanwhile, Jean and Cyclops’ meeting with Clan Askani shifts the spotlight to Nathan Summers and his future self. Nathan grows up to become Cable, the time-displaced warrior seen in Season 1. With Cable, Jubilee, and Sunspot anchoring the present day, it’s likely their story will dovetail with Jean and Cyclops’ arc with young Nathan.
At its core, this ambitious setup continues what made the original X-Men animated series a beloved property in the '90s. That series subverted all expectations for animated superhero media, delivering complex, serialized storytelling that respected its audience and drew sharp parallels to real-world problems.
Marvel Studios Animation is expanding that formula by weaving together discordant timelines in what is already Disney+’s most structurally complex Marvel series yet. If Season 1 proved X-Men '97 could recapture that '90s magic, Season 2 seems set to redefine what a Marvel series—animated or not—can be.
