X-Men 97: Episode 5 Review: Remember it

In Remember It, The X-Men celebrate the joys of Mutant Genosha—a place where mutants can live in peace and prosper.

The X-Men have just joined the United Nations and celebrate the fact. However, the fun does not last very long when an old enemy shows up to spoil it. And that is an understatement.

The X-Men Documentary reveals pain and loneliness

The X-Men are part of a documentary made by none other than Trish Tilby. She is reporting on the X-Men as a prelude to the Mutant Nation of Genosha being admitted to the United Nations.

And there is a plethora of cameos during the festivities. I saw Dazzler, Leech, Nightcrawler, and Valerie Cooper, the liaison between the UN and mutant-kind.

Back at the mansion. Trish Tilby comments that all of the mutants who live in the late Xavier’s mansion are people who were largely ignored by the outside world and that they were taken in by Xavier to find a home.

This is the core of the X-Men. They are the people who are overlooked and have trouble being accepted by others. Because of their mutant powers but also what their mutant gene can do with their body, like Beast. He is blue and furry.

Speaking of Beast, in the comics he is a couple with Trish Tilby. They were for a very long time during his tenure with X-Factor. I would be very happy to see that happen in the animated series as well. Beast deserves someone to love and be loved and in this case, Trish Tilby is the perfect partner.

The first X-Men to speak about pain is Cyclops, he has relationship troubles with Jean. Jean likes to pull off his ruby quartz glasses. He is afraid that he will end up killing her if he opens his eyes.

Cyclops is so powerful that he can shoot a hole in a mountain if he goes all out according to Marvel’s Handbook. So I understand his worries but it is Jean. With her telepathy and telekinetic powers she can help him control his powers for a small duration. So his fears are mostly about control and losing control.

Then there is Jean Grey, who refuses to be interviewed simply because her memories are not all there. While she meditates in the basement of the complex, she tries to make sense of her memories.

She is visited by Wolverine and during the conversation, she kisses Wolverine passionately. This is also reminiscent of the comics where Jean and Wolverine have strong feelings for one another, you could say the feral kind, but never act upon it. The animated series does.

So I guess this makes it for yet another plot twist because, at the same time of the kiss, Trish Tilby asks Cyclops about him and Jean being THE power couple of the X-Men.

The Hellfire Club make their entry

The Hellfire Club make their debut in X-Men 97. The Hellfire Club is a club that consists of the richest people in the world. Their only goal is to rule the world and they will kill anyone who gets in their way, including the X-Men. Their inner circle consists of mutants like Emma Frost and Sebastian Shaw but also mutant haters like Donald Pierce.

They participate in the festivities on Genosha but in the back of their room, we see Madelyne Pryor aka Fake Jean or The Goblin Queen. It is like they are trying to brainwash Madelyne. And I speculate here that we will have a second Dark Phoenix story.

Madelyne may either lead the Hellfire Club to the X-Men or to Jean Grey, who is influenceable because of her jogged memory. They could also be brainwashing Madelyne and turn her into the Dark Phoenix. Stranger things have happened in the X-Men series.

The Hellfire Club is there to negotiate with Valerie Cooper to see who can be the spokesperson of the mutants for the UN. Magneto joined the negotiations but only on 1 condition: Rogue is the liaison.

During the festivities, Jean is standing outside on the balcony when a time travel portal opens. Cable runs out and tries to save Genosha and mumbles something about “He is coming…” Jean recognizes him and so does he: “I love you Mother” is what he says before he slides back in time. Who is this “he” that Cable is referring it? Could it be Apocalypse? Or is it Stryfe?

The Tri-Sentinel enters Genosha

The people of Genosha are having a great time until the Sentinels come in to execute them all.

The Sentinels have one big weapon and that is the Tri-Sentinel. It consists of 3 Sentinels molded together. And it is a real killing machine. On top of that an airship drops in and releases multiple Sentinels all over Genosha. The country is on fire within no time and there are no reports of the amount of casualties but we do know there are a lot of them.

Magneto tries to save the Morlocks who were stuck in the bay when the attack happened and are shut in. Rogue and Gambit take on the Tri-Sentinel. While other mutants try to get to safety.

The fight is rough and Magneto’s shield barely holds versus the Tri-Sentinel and just when you think he has them, the Tri-Sentinel shoots, and Magneto is presumed dead. Is he though?

The moment the Tri-Sentinel shoots, Magneto is holding Leech. His mutant power is to suppress the mutant gene so the mutants become humans. It is possible that he used his power while they fled through the Morlock tunnels. As they say in the comics: A character is not dead until you see his body.

Then there are Gambit and Rogue. They also take on the Tri-Sentinel and barely succeed and when they do it is at the expense of Gambit’s life. The ragin’ Cajun is no more after he dies in the explosion of the Tri-Sentinel.

This episode was quite hefty with the death of Gambit and the presumed death of Magneto. These are 2 core characters and the X-Men are already thinned out.

I will miss Gambit. He is a scoundrel who is an excellent thief, an amazing hand-to-hand combatant, and a heartthrob. Also, the first male character in the Marvel Universe who made pink look good.

In the previous episode, The X-Men destroyed Master Mould to stop the production of Sentinels. But where do these Sentinels come from? Were they produced before Master Mould was destroyed? Or is there yet another facility where these robots are manufactured?

The Tri-Sentinel was reminiscent of the comic book story “Acts of Vengeance”. In a last-ditch effort to rule the world, a bunch of mutants band together with Doctor Doom to create chaos in the world and then take it over.

The Tri-Sentinel was a project from Hellfire Club leader, Sebastian Shaw. But he lost control over it after Loki altered it with Magic.

The superhero Spider-Man was chosen by the Enigma force and turned into Captain Universe to stop the threat and he did so with success. Acts of Vengeance ran from December 1989 to February 1990 and was a crossover event all over the Marvel comics.

What will be next for the X-Men without their leader Magneto and their teammate and friend Gambit? And what is the Hellfire Club up to? I guess we will have to keep watching!