Cyclops and Co. couldn't catch a break in Season 2 of X-Men '97. At the start of the sophomore outing, mutants were scattered across time, learning more about a familiar foe: Apocalypse. And even when everyone returned to the present, things weren't back to normal because X-Factor, a government-backed mutant team, was rounding up its own kind. The X-Men thought they'd solved all their problems in the Season 2 finale. However, a new threat emerged for Season 3 as the credits rolled.
Graydon Creed's presidential run was a minor plot point throughout Season 2 of X-Men '97. A known loather of mutants, he ran on a platform of giving humanity the tools it needs to fight back. His mindset landed him in hot water when the Acolytes of Magneto kidnapped him and put him on trial.
Nightcrawler came to his defense because of their familial ties; Graydon is the son of Sabretooth and Mystique, making him Nightcrawler's half-brother. Graydon's life was spared, but his feelings about mutants didn't change. And in the second season's finale, he won the election and was named the President of the United States. X-Men '97 Season 3 will pick up on that thread, with teasers at New York Comic-Con hinting at the evil lurking in the Oval Office.
On paper, Graydon isn't nearly as big a threat as Apocalypse or Mister Sinister, who can call on dangerous abilities to give them the edge. He's just a regular man, which was a big factor in Mystique's decision to abandon him. A comic run or two has given him an upgrade, like a cybernetic suit that turned him into a technopath. But X-Men '97 hasn't given any indication that it's going to pull from any of those.
Instead of facing the X-Men on the battlefield, Graydon will likely meet them in the court of public opinion, using his vast resources to launch a smear campaign designed to turn humanity completely against mutants. It won't matter how many people they save if Graydon gets the world to believe mutants do more harm than good.
At some point, though, Professor X's band of heroes is going to have to get their hands dirty. And there's a long list of foes from the comics waiting for their chance to knock the X-Men down a peg.
X-Men '97 Season 3 Could Feature a Few Important Marvel Comics Villains
With all that's happened in the first two seasons of X-Men '97, it's easy to forget the team had plenty of adventures before the series started, many of which took place in X-Men: The Animated Series.
In one episode of the classic show, Wolverine found himself in Japan, up against Silver Samurai and his gang of villains. Jubilee helped her teammate save a village, embarrassing Silver Samurai in the process. He bounced back from the loss and briefly appeared in X-Men '97 1 when Magneto unleashed a massive EMP on Earth. Maybe that was enough to put the X-Men back on his radar and set up a conflict in Season 3.
If not Silver Samurai, another figure from the past could haunt the X-Men in their next outing. Cassandra Nova, Charles Xavier's evil twin with telepathic powers, has yet to appear in the animated franchise. She was a hit in the live-action MCU when she showed up in Deadpool & Wolverine as the overlord of the Void. Disney+ could give her a second chance after her plan to destroy the multiverse backfired.
And it's a good thing it did, because Dark Beast would never get a chance to show what he's made of if the multiverse ceased to exist. An evil version of Dr. Hank McCoy who worked for Mister Sinister traveled to Earth-616 in comics and began experimenting on mutants. Fearing exposure, he hid in the only place he could: the X-Mansion. Dark Beast took his doppelganger's place and got up to all kinds of no good.
X-Men '97 already pulled off a similar storyline with Madelyne Pryor, who infiltrated the X-Men, posing as Jean Grey under the orders of Mister Sinister. But it worked so well the first time that the powers that be could go back to the dark well again. Dark Beast's motivations are very different from Pryor's, and his presence would put an underrated X-Man in the spotlight.
No matter which direction X-Men '97 Season 3 goes, it's going to keep the audience on its toes. However, if it wants to be as well-received as its predecessor, it must knock it out of the park in the villain department, starting with Graydon Creed.
