X-Men 97 Episode 8 Breakdown: Tolerance is Extinction Part 1

Tolerance Extinction Part 1 is jampacked with action with the X-Men chasing leads on who attacked Genosha and killed many mutants, including one of their own.

The X-Men and Cable look for Bastion’s past

According to Cable the new Sentinels cause a 300-year war in the future. Cable has tried several times to stop the war by going back and forth in time but at crucial moments, he is taken away by time.

I found that part lazy writing and I love Cable but the writers should have tried a bit harder to come up with a good reason why Cable can’t prevent a 300-year war.

mutant slavery 300 years into the future - - X-Men 97 Episode 8

There are a lot of tensions between Cyclops and Cable. The first knew he had no choice but to give up Nathan and send him into the future with Bishop but the latter doesn’t know the full story and blames Cyclops for trying to be overprotective a bit too late.

The new Sentinels consist of the same Technovirus we saw in an earlier episode when Nathan / Cable was experimented on by Mr. Sinister. So that is one part of the puzzle solved.

The story of Bastion is vague and there are many questions. It wasn’t until one of Cable’s friends found a lead in the current timeline. And that is the lead that the X-Men are chasing.

Beast notes that with the Techno Virus, the Sentinels now have a way to create an apex race that can reproduce. They will eventually replace humanity and mutants.

In Cable’s time, humanity is saved by the Techno Virus but the society has mutant slaves as their backbone. Which is a daring theme for the X-Men, slavery and I can’t help draw a parallel between the USA and Mutopia.

Bastion’s backstory consists of many Sentinels

Jean, Scott, and Cable arrive at Bastion’s parental house. Jean searches for the memories of his mother.

It turns out that Bastion is a mutant who could talk to machines and control them. A Sentinel infected his father from the future: Nimrod.

The combination of Nimrod and mankind plus the knowledge of all of the Sentinels ranging from Master Mold to Nimrod makes Bastion the biggest badass Sentinel in the history of mutants.

bastion is an apex sentinel - X-Men 97 Episode 8

This part of Bastion’s biography comes close to the comics. The comics have a longer build-up towards creating the backstory of Bastion whereas the animated show takes about a paragraph.

The background is essentially the same but workable for an animated series. The writers may revisit this part of the X-Men Animated Universe.

The Prime Sentinels are triggered

The Techno Virus is triggered and the X-Men find themselves in a jam. Not just Jean, Cyclops, and Cable but Beast and the other X-Men inside the X-Mansion but also Jubilee and Roberto Da Costa who are staying with his mother after the two reconciled.

father cyclops and son cable moment - X-Men 97 Episode 8

The X-Men are chased all over wherever they are. Jean, Scott, and Cable barely make it out alive from the town Bastion grew up in.

Meanwhile, Beast is having coffee with Trish Tilby until she gets triggered. And Wolverine is fighting the fight of his life with Nightcrawler next to him. Those were the best scenes.

Wolverine and Nightcrawler are the best of friends in the comics and watching them fight side-by-side was a great nod to the comic book fans. Especially, when Nightcrawler used three swords: one in each hand and one on his tail. This was so true to the comics, that I almost shed a tear.

But the mutants are made of flesh and blood and thus can get tired and run out of breath. But the Prime Sentinels are mostly machine and part man. And it takes a while but the X-Men run out of steam.

nightcrawler fends off prime sentinels - X-Men 97 Episode 8

At that same moment, Valerie Cooper releases Magneto who was captured after the sacking of Genosha and held prisoner.

Magneto flies to the North Pole and releases Electro Magnetic Pulses to stop the Prime Sentinels who are all deactivated at once. Unknowingly, Magneto’s EMP also frees Omega Red, the archenemy of Wolverine.

The X-Men start cleaning up the X-Mansion when an alien ship crash lands and destroys the X-Mansion even further.

An alien-like figure steps out of the ship but when he takes off his mask, it turns out to be Professor Xavier trying to save his X-Men.

professor x returns to the x-men - X-Men 97 Episode 8

The X-Men found out that their leader and mentor found out that Xavier was with the Shi’Ar Empire and got married to Lilandra. The video leak was all part of a scheme to instigate anti-mutant rhetoric.

Thoughts and Notes on Tolerance is Extinction Part 1

I stand by my theory: The big bad isn’t Bastion, nor is it Sinister. It has to be the Shadow King. Only together the X-Men can defeat him. I am pretty sure that all of the aforementioned foes are going to group up and try and take down the X-Men.

With Cable in the mix, Apocalypse can’t be far away but I don’t think that that will happen in the X-Men 97 Season 2.

Does anyone else enjoy Roberto Da Costa’s interactions with his mother? I sure did! Mama Da Costa has known that Roberto was a mutant all along but it was his secret to tell.

This kind of felt like a coming out but with the secret out, Roberto makes less effort to hide his mutant abilities. He even practiced in the Danger Room and can now fly but has trouble steering.

The cameo of the week goes to Spider-Man. Finally, we see Spider-Man in the X-Men and I hope that it is going to be a voiced cameo in the future. Spider-Man is Marvel’s Flagship so if he appears, big things happen!

Looking forward to Part 2 but I hope with more dialogues. I don’t mind watching action-packed scenes and this week sure was filled with them but storytelling is what makes the comics so great.