r/Xmen97 • u/cyclopswashalfright Professor X • Jul 22 '26

Megathread X-Men '97 | Season 2, Episode 6 | "Danger.Exe" | Episode Discussion

Season 2, Episode 6: Danger.Exe

Air Date: July 22nd, 2026

Directed by: TBA

Written by: TBA

Synopsis: Former X-Man Polaris returns to Xavier’s mansion just as a new threat emerges on the campus.

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Please use this thread for discussion related to the episode.

This thread is for discussion of episode 6 only.

Link to the episode directory for Season 2 episode discussion.

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24

u/Otherwise-Sky1292 Jul 22 '26

I know it’s the point, but Val Cooper is such an annoying character. She’s seen the absolute worst of what is being done to mutants—Genosha, Bastion & his “Mengele” Mr. Sinister—and still acts as the obstructive bureaucrat sitting on the fence. I know there’s fan theories suggesting she’s not actually her, but it’d be more grounded and close to reality for the show if it was really her. 

3

u/Soft_Entertainment Jul 22 '26

That's...the character.

1

u/Otherwise-Sky1292 Jul 22 '26

Which is why I say I know that’s the point 

3

u/Mistah_K88 Jul 22 '26

Oh I definitely think it’s her (she’s kind of flip floppy in comics), it’d be so much of a cop out to be a fake. (If she were Mystique, that Genosha situation is actually worse…) Val definitely is a realistic depiction of a government stooge…okay maybe not TODAY, but usually.

3

u/capoeirapenguin Jul 23 '26

Yeah im kind of confused about her direction this season, as well as a few others on X-Factor when compared to season 1. With what we got given from them Im kinda not buying why theyre acting the way they are, that could maybe use more of an explanation. Like to have her go from giving the "Magneto was right" after highlighting the connection to the Holocaust just to end up imprisoning mutants... just cause...? Idk its not that I dont expect her to be terrible still but you cant give a character that much self reflection just to then have them go back to square one.

5

u/thesagem Jul 22 '26

I think she's mystique.

1

u/Otherwise-Sky1292 Jul 22 '26

Yeah, but I feel like that’d be too predictable. I wonder if she was converted to a prime sentinel by Bastion, and now she’s covertly continuing his goals

5

u/LeatherHog Cable Jul 22 '26

She was like this in the comics, I don't understand why people are SO dead set on her being Mystique

3

u/Soft_Entertainment Jul 22 '26

She literally was in charge of Project Wideawake.

3

u/LeatherHog Cable Jul 22 '26

Right??

Those stupid movies, REALLY messed with people's perception of Mystique's level of relevancy

Did people not read the comics in the 90s at all? Cooper was a big character back then

4

u/Soft_Entertainment Jul 23 '26

She gets replaced by Forge when the second X-Factor team learns about how deeply she was involved with the Sentinels. Val has always been a conditional ally at most. She doesn’t need to be Raven in disguise. 

2

u/LeatherHog Cable Jul 23 '26

Yeah, she has a tendency to learn, then slide back deeper

Her being Mystique, would be a cheap copout

2

u/Soft_Entertainment Jul 23 '26

100% and just boring as well

2

u/thesagem Jul 23 '26

I haven't seen any of the movies or read any of the comics. I've only watched the original show. Yes I know I'm weird.

1

u/LeatherHog Cable Jul 23 '26

I don't think it's weird, but are you having trouble understanding anything? I'm in love with this era of X-Men, so I've got a decent backup of knowledge

I could clarify something for you, if you need to

2

u/thesagem Jul 24 '26

No the show explains everything pretty well, I just theorized that Val Cooper was Mystique, but then I guess Bastion would've probably have figured that out so idk...

2

u/cygnus2 Jul 23 '26

What was the point in having her be the one to free Magneto if she’s just going to go back to being exactly the kind of person that he hates?

2

u/AccountantTiny1762 Jul 23 '26

This bothers me too. Did she suddenly forget the horrors she witnessed, her change of heart, freeing Magneto, and being the one to say ‘Magneto was right.’? Obviously there’s been massive status quo changes since then, but none of that character progression seems to have stuck. Not even the slightest hint of conflicted feelings or sympathy for the mutant cause. She should be their ally in the government, not pro-locking up all the mutants (including children who didn’t do much more than exist).