‘X-Men ‘97’ Episode Seven Recap: “Bright Eyes”

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for episode seven of X-Men ‘97. 

Many of the stories that were a part of the past three weeks or so in X-Men ‘97 have come full circle with an emotionally charged primer before its three-part finale. Titled Bright Eyes, the episode begins with Gambit’s (AJ LoCascio) funeral, with Jubilee (Holly Chou) angry at Rogue (Lenore Zann) for not showing up for her best friend/lover one last time. As Logan (Cal Dodd) tells her that everyone grieves differently, we cut to Rogue attacking Thaddeus Ross’ (Michael Patrick McGill) military base, asking for the location of both Henry Gyrich (Todd Haberkorn) and Bolivar Trask (Gavin Hammon), the two responsible for the attack on Genosha. 

As most of the X-Men clean up the rubble at Genosha, they’re contacted by Trask, who tells them to come to Madripoor if they want information on the sentinel attack. Meanwhile, Rogue obtains information on Gyrich’s whereabouts through an encounter with Captain America (Josh Keaton) while throwing his shield so far in the air that he won’t be able to accompany her on her revenge-fueled mission. While some may lament these cameos as pure key-jangling, remember that Cap himself appeared in the original series, and with the series now produced by Marvel Studios, it makes perfect sense for an Avenger to pop up, even if it’s not directly connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

As far as I’m concerned, Ross and Cap’s appearances were handled perfectly, but they are far from being the best part of the episode. No, this comes after a thrilling exchange between Rogue and Gyrich, where the mutant breaks into his lavish prison, reminiscent of where Ray Winstone’s character is held up in The Gentlemen, and extracts his memories. Badly injured from Rogue’s touch, he’s visited by a mysterious antagonist (speaking of The Gentlemen, he’s voiced by Theo James) in cahoots with Mister Sinister (Christopher Britton). 

Turns out he’s way more powerful than Sinister (more on that later), but the X-Men reunite with Rogue in Madripoor and attempt to save Trask from killing himself. After he states that his intentions for building the sentinels were to protect humans (quoting Oppenheimer, “Now I am become death…the destroyer of worlds), the X-Men find out that Sinister, Trask, and a shadowy organization named “OZT” (who have been protecting Gyrich in his luxury prison) have been developing newer, more efficient — and dangerous – sentinels to eradicate the mutant race. 

Trask jumps from the ledge, but Rogue holds him and asks if he has anything else to say. When he doesn’t, she lets him go, which kills Trask. Throughout the series (not only here but in the original animated show), we’ve seen Rogue as one of the more upbeat and charming protagonists of the X-Men. This is the first time in which we see the character in such a state, where rage overhwelms her eyes and shrouds her emotion, resulting in the audience barely recognizing the character. 

It’s also a testament to how incredible of a voice actor Lenore Zann is and the only person who can bring the character to life quite like this. Zann has a deep understanding of the character, and after losing the one thing she loved the most, her psyche immediately shifts into a far darker – and more dangerous – path than she initially envisioned. However, after Trask falls to his death, he also reawakens into a Sentinel and begins targeting the mutants. 

The battle is intense until Cable (Chris Potter) shows up and eliminates Trask once and for all, telling them that the world is at stake if they do not stop Sinister and…BASTION! That’s right, Theo James is voicing Bastion, one of the most powerful antagonists in X-Men history. And from his brief (but chilling) appearances in this episode, the final three-parter will likely be one of the greatest arcs we’ve seen in any X-Men title to date, as Magneto (Matthew Waterson) is also revealed to be alive, and in Bastion’s captivity. Now that’s one way to end your show, and I’ll definitely be seated next week for the first part of Tolerance is Extinction.