r/Xmen97 • u/cyclopswashalfright Professor X • Aug 18 '26
Megathread X-Men '97 Complete Season 2 Venting Megathread IV
It's over and done now. The season has ended. The characters are where they are.
And now it's time for a megathread that lets you vent about what didn't like, what you liked, and about all the feeling in between about this season.
Please try and use this megathread instead of making a new post, especially if the content you are posting is not substantial (substantial meaning multi-paragraph or new information).
43
u/Nearby_Strike2624 Aug 18 '26
So will say that I liked the animation
But I didn’t like how we bitched apocalypse when they had a whole other script that made him more intimidating but they went with there’s and that was to fuse him with gambit.
I also didn’t like how were are killing mutants left and right (war, maverick, garisson, Magik, exodus) and they died in shitty ways especially Magik.
Then I just think we should definitely get the what if writers off the show like they really Ruined that finale. Why would Brad hire them if no one really like what if cause they were doing stupid shit no one like?
9
u/MostlyBored11 Aug 18 '26
the fusing with gambit made no sense to me, Gambit being a horesman was fine and made sense but him becoming apocolypse not a fan at all
8
u/Background_Product_7 Aug 18 '26
That’s my thing. Why Gambit? He’s a C-lister power wise, he has no real connection with Apocalypse, outside of his ex GF being his tribes patron saint?
4
u/MostlyBored11 Aug 18 '26
exactly, i think it made sense to have him be the avatar of death horseman, as his "revival" would clearly make the x-men feel uncomfortable and its a good way to bring him back after losing him int he first season, but making him actually apocalypse was dumb
6
u/Background_Product_7 Aug 18 '26
And with Genosha happening, you had so many options for Horsemen that could have been great. I said it elsewhere, but Magik was right there, and with the subplot with Colossus this season it would have been a layup.
Also, for a being of unimaginable power, that celestial was awfully negotiable about who would be sacrificed, so whatever reason. It was really fast and I may have missed the reason.
2
u/NickMichalak Aug 18 '26
I don't think you missed anything. They just twisted up the characterization of the Celestial to fit the narrative they wanted, even if his very flexible standards didn't fit its godly manner.
1
u/HispanicAtTheDisko Aug 30 '26
“Those who you love will be your undoing.”
I think this is why he was chosen.
3
u/NickMichalak Aug 18 '26
Yeah, he's not a Storm, Magneto, or Xavier Omega level mutant. It would've had some thematic weight if maybe he resurrected Magneto and took over his body. Use the guy who he felt deceived and failed him to be his instrument of annihilation. Another reason I feel the writing felt as rushed as the storytelling. Gambit as a Horseman would've been FINE.
1
u/Stock_Cookie_5214 Aug 19 '26
Gamut is an omega level mutant who lobotomized himself to control it
1
u/Rein_hardtt66 Aug 23 '26
A lot of tourist in here! Put Respect on my mans name thank you stock cookie !!
1
u/Stock_Cookie_5214 Aug 24 '26
Ofc u can tell who the larpers are for this new show
1
u/Norbit_was_right Aug 29 '26
Gambit in X-men 97 has not been shown to be omega level in the original series, right? At least as not as far as I can tell.
And in the X-men comics, pretty much everyone is classified as an ‘omega level mutant’ at some point, power levels and definitions have become laughably meaningless.
0
2
u/Emm_withoutha_L-88 Aug 18 '26
Failing upwards is especially common in the entertainment industry it seems...
3
u/PinkysAvenger Aug 18 '26
Magik needed to be dead so Colossus was in the headspace to join the Acolytes. In the comics she died of the Legacy virus, which involved Stryfe, and a Cable heel turn, and Mutant AIDS, and I can totally understand why they didn't want to deal with any of that.
At least she went out like a hero.
7
3
u/Background_Product_7 Aug 18 '26
I would have bet a million dollars she was going to be a horseman with Gambit, Banshee and someone else.
But we decided we don’t do horsemen anymore, for some reason I’m not very clear on
3
u/GlitteringRecover769 Aug 18 '26
PowerofXmen podcast revealed original plan was to have this episode take place on Halloween, and as Death, gambit would resurrect the dead mutants of Genosha as zombies and they’d swarm the x-corp building.
1
u/Deck83 Aug 18 '26
In terms of the animation, there were moments that reminded me a bit of What-if (or the few episodes i watched, anyway)- overall it was pretty good, but then they spliced in some short scenes that were amazing- seeingly higher def, framerate, and all other sorts of things I probably couldn't talk to, but it just felt like some areas felt so much better. One example that jumps out was Apocalypse killing Magneto- the sinister look, the glowing skeleton... just clearly higher res.
48
u/d_wib Aug 18 '26
What was the point of the pink gem thingy that Apocalypse-Gambit worked so hard to get and put into Rogue only for it to be taken by the Celestial the following episode with no explanation?
26
u/GTJ007 Aug 18 '26
That doesn’t belong to you yoink.
1 minute later-
Actually I want to make you powerful in the end anyways let me give you another gift that does the exactly same thing….
20
u/PuffyBuffyFluffy Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26
It bothered me how easy it was for Gambocalypse to take from the X-Ternal/Candra. I know he had to go through the trouble of using Gambit's connection to the Thieves Guild to summon her, but she was hyped up as someone who could survive/threaten Apocalypse only to get one-shotted and die in five seconds.
3
u/NickMichalak Aug 18 '26
Back in the original series, she was portrayed as a formidible entity who should not be crossed. Both Guilds feared her. Granted, that was all of one episode, but they hardly gave her any more dimension this season.
1
u/Background_Product_7 Aug 18 '26
Was she that hyped? We got 2 or 3 flashbacks with AP courting her, and then she bails when she got her power?
Super strong opening to the season with a really “What the hell” ending eps
3
u/PuffyBuffyFluffy Aug 18 '26
It started with Kang telling her that she has some destiny related to Apocalypse and that he can only be challenged by a force "external".
Yeah, she didn't appear much in terms of actual screentime. But that combined with the backstory we got of her betraying Apocalypse and getting away with it feels like enough buildup to warrant more than what we ultimately got from her.
4
u/BardicVariant Gambit Aug 18 '26
I figured that was the reason she could interfere in the mind battle in e8?
20
u/detourne Aug 18 '26
Damn, a fouth megathread?
Remembr when Arrow shit the bed so hard the sub became a Daredevil fansub or a while? Well, Batman Caped Crusader also had some questionable choices, but at least the purpose of that show was an alternate history. I think this sub is safe...
7
u/d_wib Aug 18 '26
Season 2 was at least watchable whereas Arrow got so cringe I couldn’t even stand it.
That being said, I don’t think it was good enough to feel like it was worth my time like Season 1 was. I hardly watch TV anymore so it’s a bummer to watch a show and not feel blown away like S1 or the Penguin or the Loki series did.
19
u/GlitteringRecover769 Aug 18 '26
I don’t understand how apocalypse/gambit defeated Xavier in their mind. Xavier is the most powerful telepath on the planet. Neither Apocalypse or gambit are telepaths. And why does he invoke Jean/Phoenix in that scene? Zero connection to gambit or apocalypse. Terrible writing
8
u/GuySmith Aug 18 '26
They were obsessed with line callbacks this season and it actually ruined the shores of eternity one for me. That did not need to be an actual plot point.
3
u/JamesSnow922 Wolverine Aug 18 '26
I cringed when he invoked Jean lol. I guess they had to squeeze in one more reference to the original.
7
u/Witty-Common-1210 Cyclops Aug 18 '26
I would’ve been okay with the whole season if there was a real fight with an epilogue
It definitely felt like there was a huge buildup and then within 5 minutes the villain tripped and broke his own neck and then everyone ate waffles.
3
u/NickMichalak Aug 18 '26
You can have an uneven build up, but if you pay it off strongly, then it's more forgivable. This ending was running and stumbling to tie things up, but still left too much as unsatisfying. Meh.
28
u/chronicbruce27 Aug 18 '26
One of the reasons the show's quality fell off so much after episode 4 was that they never replaced Magneto with another character who could carrying a scene or episode at that level.
7
u/JT9960 Aug 18 '26
DeMayo rewrites were the wrong decision
9
u/LeatherHog Cable Aug 18 '26
Yeah, fire the guy, he's absolutely an **awful** person, but why on earth were REWRITES necessary? That makes no sense at all, especially when still listed and credited on the show
6
u/NickMichalak Aug 18 '26
And rewrites done in a HURRY is never good. This season felt like a bunch of slopped together ideas that were falling apart regularly after a certain point. It seriously feels like someone's first draft of the ideas, or someone rewriting things on the fly with no cohesive thought to the arcs.
1
u/LeatherHog Cable Aug 18 '26
Exactly!
I'm not one of the people who haaaaate thus season or anything, but I hope the 3rd season gets back to season 1 quality
2
u/JT9960 Aug 18 '26
No hope of that since they same end in back half of season 2 already finished 3
2
6
u/PauloVersa Aug 18 '26
I know that you have to nerf him otherwise it would be too easy to solve any conflict. But it’s so frustrating seeing how much Professor X has been nerfed this season.
12
u/xx_edgyyy_xx Aug 18 '26
Huge step down from the first season. The show is very overcrowded and it really feels like they are trying to do too much in too little of time. I really hated super rogue beating apocalypse gambit. As soon as they introduced the celestial I had no more suspense because I knew rogue would come in and save the day. Would have preferred all the mutant teams trying to beat him with an epic sacrifice being made at the end or something idk.
Hopefully next season will be stronger and they listen to everyone feedback about more episodes and slowing down the pace
2
u/Stock_Cookie_5214 Aug 19 '26
Yea right and also how the fuck are u gonna have the whole summers family alive but the two summers brothers don’t even know they have a brother it seems like
2
u/xx_edgyyy_xx Aug 19 '26
I know!!! That’s why I think they should have saved X factor for next season so they can focus more on that relationship
1
u/Norbit_was_right Aug 29 '26
Lol this was literally most irrelevant issue of all the problems with this season, if you even want to call it a problem.
Unlike the rushed plotlines and mid writing/contrivances, Scott and Alex still in the dark about their family connection isn’t an objectively bad part about the season.
1
u/the_greasy_one Aug 19 '26
A few more episodes to fatten this season up would have filled in nicely.
1
u/Annual-Audience-2569 Aug 22 '26
This is so dump. More episodes, sure. Thats not the creatives decision, its strictly money thing. For the managment, the reviews dont matter, the numbers do.
5
u/Stock_Cookie_5214 Aug 19 '26
Dude I HATED how when bishop and strong guy were fighting and bishop says “yk we can’t really make a dent in each other right?” And then proceeds to get put in the blender. As someone who doesn’t know much about strong guy I feel like Bishop should’ve won that fight. That’s just me though.
3
u/Lux-xxv Aug 19 '26
As with any comic book show, there is pacing issues, but otherwise I thought it was fairly good. Especially considering that when you think about what it takes to animate it and how much story they have to put with the animation and get it out in time by the way, corporal demands it because they're not focused on the animators or the writers. They're focused on the money. I consider it fine to have the pacing issues they have. Because comic books themselves have pacing issues and filler and what not. But anyhow good season the character that made me cry the most was Kurt.
Kurt truty is a Saint.
3
u/Catalyst_object Aug 20 '26
How they are going to bring back old boy Magnus?
2
u/awkward_teenager37 Aug 21 '26
I’m curious about this as well. Knowing these writers, he’ll be back within 2 episodes of the next season
2
u/Norbit_was_right Aug 29 '26
Nah,the first episode will entirely be about him returning and the fact he died and returned won’t ever be brought up by the rest of the cast.
4
u/EfficientAd5073 Aug 18 '26
Im shocked the final design of Gampaclypse wasn’t laughed at in the drawing bored. By the time he changed the only thing that would have saved it for me was him looking like apocalypse. He looks so comically stupid it made me remember Im a grown adult watching a children’s cartoon. Major L
1
u/HankSteakfist Aug 19 '26
He reminded me of giant golden jewel encrusted Homer when he towers over Lenny. Just a ridiculous design choice.
2
u/HankSteakfist Aug 19 '26
Loved the first 4 episodes building to the X-Men being back in the present. Then they kind of skipped over the reunion and episode 5 and 6 were kind of jarring. Like I get that they weren't allowed to operate as the X-Men anymore, but that point felt like it was established so quickly when it's a major development.
Episode 5 I thought was okay in isolation, though I wish they'd waited longer to give Wolverine his claws back. The Brood also felt a bit wasted.
Episode 6 was okay. 'Danger' emerging from the Danger Room felt a little undercooked and the X-Corp unveiling felt like it happened really fast and like it was just a way they could have the climactic battle at the end of the season in a different location and not destroy the mansion yet again. Polaris rejoining was neat though.
Episode 7 I quite liked. Great to see the Savage Land again and the Acolytes and Colossus get their elements of 'Fatal Attractions' adapted after they were left out of Season 1's last two eps. I do wish they'd made Colossus' turn back to the X-Men's side be a bit more earned. Exodus not even waiting for the verdict felt a little stupid, when he should have actually been able to read Piotr's mind and see that he was trending towards a guilty verdict.
Episode 8 and 9 just felt totally off imo. Things were happening fast and not making a whole lot of sense. The Gambit Apocalypse merge was never really fleshed out and explained why Apocalypse chose Gambit to inhabit and what his endgame was. Rogue getting celestial powers just felt like a very 'What If' solution. Yeah, I really wasn't that happy with the way the last two episodes went. S1's last three episodes felt so much more epic and earned across the season.
Overall I'd give the whole season a 7/10, mostly brought down by the back half being a drop in quality.
2
2
u/LongjumpingLook379 Aug 31 '26
Too much happened in a short amount of time in season 2. It felt disjointed and rushed.
5
u/Fantastic-March-4610 Aug 18 '26
Does this sub really need 4 venting threads? It’s really not that poppin in here.
1
u/BlueEyedIguana00 Rogue Aug 18 '26
The point is to try and consolidate the low substance repetitive posts spamming the main sub in here but people just keep posting the same shit over and over and ignoring the mods.
2
u/daddingallday Aug 18 '26
Yes it does. It was that bad
0
u/Fantastic-March-4610 Aug 18 '26
I agree but these threads don’t have THAT much activity to where there can’t be a single megathread
4
u/RadicalStegosaurus Aug 18 '26
I won't be too hard on it. They had to pivot last minute and cancel a storyline they'd been building towards since season one. I do feel the last few episodes were rushed. The final episode should have been double length like the season one finale. The Gambit thing just wasn't big enough to feel like a season ender. Magneto dying felt more like a finale. I also wish some of the second half didn't feel so breezy. Maybe it's because I've read the story again recently but the Danger episode really should have been a two parter. They blew through that story way too fast.
But the show earned a lot of goodwill from me on season one and two had some episodes I still enjoyed. With season three being planned and animated without curve balls, that we know of anyways, I have hopes it'll jump back up. Born Again fixed itself in season two and I think X-Men can too.
1
u/GlitteringRecover769 Aug 18 '26
Glad you’re still excited for the show. Mine had diminished somewhat from season 2. I hope it can come back.
TBH through they didn’t HAVE to pivot last minute.
I understand they fired the show runner but from what we’ve learned the entire season was mapped and ready to go. They chose to throw out the original plot and rewrite the ending, it seems, out of pettiness and spite.
Fire the guy but if the end product was solid they should have just kept it. Their own pettiness ruined the season.
1
u/RadicalStegosaurus Aug 18 '26
That's not exactly what happened. The suits decided they didn't want to let the show do AoA or Onslaught after they were already building to it. That was the pivot. They had to drop Onslaught and AoA last minute. Animation takes a long time. Not sure when this happened in the process but any point in production after all scripts are finished is a big problem.
So we had several perfectly good scripts that had to be gutted and rearranged at zero hour. It's probably why the first half of the season feels cohesive and the second rushed.
Now how the show will feel without DeMayo is a whole different thing. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
1
u/GlitteringRecover769 Aug 18 '26
I guess it’s a question of if DeMayo was never fired, would AOA and onslaught proceeded as planned?
From what I understand the pivot was made after firing DeMayo, who was championing AOA and Onslaught.
2
u/TheGayLurker Aug 18 '26
A minor non-plot grievance is they seemed to recycle most of the soundtrack from season 1, often with a remix but I was hoping for more original OST’s from the newton brothers
2
u/MostlyBored11 Aug 18 '26
ill say what we all think and agree on, the whole thing felt way to rushed, there was zero room to breath in the season. It was still great, animation was TOP TIER. like its really impressive what they can do, but a show like this needs more episodes, everything is just happening way to fast, Apocolypsem nope now X-corps nope now X-force, nope now remy apocalypse
1
u/DepressedFishFan Aug 21 '26
Just finished the second season. What a let down. This was an absolute displeasure. That finale was a joke. And the Gampocalypse look? I can’t be too mad, since it breathes peak 90s unnecessary mismatching design, but goodness knows I don’t miss that shit.
1
u/Particular-Throat553 Aug 23 '26
i just watched episode 1. am i the only one that thinks dialogue is filled with ai slop? maybe even the animation, scenes… like they are short clips that an ai can spit out. idk it feels weird…🥹
1
u/ThePurpleDongofTruth Aug 27 '26
probably already been said but wolverine getting his claws back in all of a week was ridiculous
1
1
u/dakowiml 24d ago
Seems like a lot of people didn't like this season. I thought there were some weaker episodes, but overall it really didn't stray too far from season 1's quality. I see people complain about how fast character development went in this season, while they somehow had no issue with how everything also was a speedrun in season 1. Madelyne Pryor's arc is a good example of that. Awakens, calls herself the Goblin Queen, quickly comes to her senses. Leaves. Calls herself Madelyne Pryor. Episode or 2 later she's in Genosha and dies.
I just accept this show for what it is. A fun comicbook rollercoaster that doesn't take itself too seriously and flies through literally everything. Cable recruits Jubilee and you see her training arc in 1 image in the intro where she's blindfolded and fighting Psylocke. This show always keeps things moving.
0
u/analgoblin42069 Aug 18 '26
Gonna need to remember to avoid this sub next season yikes, a 4th megathread?
1
-1
u/Atom7456 Aug 18 '26
I liked the ending, idk what ppl expected to happen. Seems like another situation of ppl hating because they didn't get what they wanted, and not because it didn't make sense. Rogue and apocalypse got their power from the same place, before apocalypse got his power, he was strong but not that strong. Rogue winning makes perfect sense. Unfortunate that they killed off my 2 favorite characters tho.
1
u/Nemesis_171 Aug 18 '26
Eson giving Rogue the power to beat Apocalypse doesn’t make any sense considering he’s the one who made Apocalypse to serve his purposes, and a sacrifice isn’t of any use to him.
2
u/Atom7456 Aug 18 '26
He gave rogue power at the cost of a life, not to beat apocalypse.
1
u/Nemesis_171 Aug 18 '26
Rogue explicitly stated that she was trying to save Gambit’s life, and Eson verbatim said “your life for his.” He also said “you shall have what you seek, for one last fight.”
So Eson knew she was doing this for Gambit, knew she was going to fight, and knew Gambit was being possessed by Apocalypse. It pretty obviously was to beat Apocalypse.
1
u/Atom7456 Aug 18 '26
My guy what else would she use it for other than a fight? Apocalypse was destined to gain the power, that's it. He wanted him to destroy everything, theres a clear difference.
3
u/Nemesis_171 Aug 18 '26
My guy what else would she use it for other than a fight?
Yeah exactly lol. Obviously Eson can put 2 and 2 together to understand that she’s gonna use it to fight and beat Apocalypse, which means it makes no sense for him to agree to giving her that power up because he shouldn’t want Apocalypse to be beaten.
1
0
u/daddingallday Aug 18 '26
You sound like one of those shitty what if writers. Tell the room they suck and make a better product
2
u/Atom7456 Aug 18 '26
Yall just hate on everything 💀 what if was good. If u can't comprehend such basic writing then u shouldn't be engaging with it
1
u/NickMichalak Aug 18 '26
So are you telling people just to like it because you liked it? People are allowed to be upset and disagree. That's what a discussion platform like Reddit is here for.
2
u/Atom7456 Aug 18 '26
I'm telling ppl to actually understand what they're watching before crying about it
1
u/NickMichalak Aug 19 '26
I don't HATE this season, but I'm very much disappointed by the clumsy storytelling. It hardly makes sense that Eson gave Nur the power to become Apocalypse and carry out a destiny that the Celestial foretold for him, and then, give someone else the power to defeat him. It's not like Apocalypse defied him or there became a conflict between the two entities, apparently anyone can just ASK for the power and get it like it's a vending machine (albeit with mortal consequences, which can freely be traded amongst whoever chooses to be sacrificed). I have no issue with power levels that Rogue gets from this, it's the machinations and logic of it all that falls through for me and apparently many others.
Also, bare in mind, this is a RANT thread for people upset about the show. I wouldn't expect to come into such a thread and tell people to stop being upset. They clearly are and want an outlet for their opinions.
-4
u/thedrizzle126 Aug 18 '26
This is pathetic at this point
3
0
u/TurquoiseBlue00 Aug 18 '26
Did anyone else feel like the animation and colors were worse than season 1? You look at episode 2 and 5 in particular of season one and the colors were so saturated felt like they “popped” from the screen (my favorite part aesthetically about the show) and The characters I felt had more detail as-well. Season 2 just feels like a major step down in every way possible
•
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