Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for X-Men ’97 episode 10
X-Men ’97 episode 10, “Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 3”, ends the Marvel show’s first season with a litany of cameos by famous Marvel heroes and villains. The X-Men’s fight against Bastion and Magneto in X-Men ’97 episode 9 led to a chaotic yet triumphant final battle for the mutant team. However, the UN’s activation of the Magneto Protocols in X-Men ’97 episode 10’s climactic conclusion forces the X-Men to concentrate their efforts on stopping Asteroid M. As shown in X-Men ’97 episode 8, people all around the world perceive the effects of the conflict, including multiple iconic Marvel characters.
X-Men ’97 has expanded its universe with brief appearances by famous Marvel faces, both in supporting roles and in blink-and-you-miss-it cameos. Besides Spider-Man, characters such as Captain America, Hulk, and Doctor Doom have appeared in the series, confirming that X-Men ’97‘s universe is just as expansive as the MCU’s Earth-616. Before an eventual X-Men ’97 season 2 involves other Marvel characters in a bigger capacity alongside the X-Men, X-Men ’97 episode 10 pleases fans with a brief glimpse at more than fifteen heroes and villains.
Silver Samurai appears in X-Men ’97 episode 10 at his home temple, stoically looking at the sky. The mutant martial artist previously appeared in an X-Men ’97 episode 8 cameo doing exactly the same thing in reaction to Magneto’s electromagnetic pulse. Before that, Silver Samurai had a one-off antagonist role in X-Men: The Animated Series episode 58, “The Lotus and the Steel”, where his attack on a local village gets thwarted by Wolverine, who seeks peace in Japan.
Marvel Comics’ Silver Samurai is a mutant who possesses the ability to generate a force field around objects. Silver Samurai has jumped back and forth between hero and villain in the source material, attacking SHIELD and fighting Wolverine Spider-Man, but also joining the superhero team Big Hero 6 for a while. Fox’s The Wolverine featured the Silver Samurai as the main villain, with a few major changes: the aging Ichiro Yashida — a regular human — wears the Silver Samurai armor, and Kenuichi Harada works for him as one of his assassins.
Iron Man and Captain America make a shared appearance in the X-Men ’97 season 1 finale. First, Iron Man and Captain America are shown standing by President Kelly’s side as electrical energy returns. Then, the two Avengers witness a group of Prime Sentinels break in and threaten the president. But towards the end of the episode, Iron Man and Captain America seem to have taken out the Prime Sentinels effortlessly off-screen, as they’re back beside President Kelly looking at the television screens in the president’s office.
Captain America received a substantial role in X-Men episode 7, where he crossed paths with an enraged Rogue when she attacked a military base in search of Henry Gyrich. Meanwhile, Iron Man’s last appearance before X-Men ’97 was in The Avengers: United They Stand, where he revisited the titular team following his departure after founding the team. Since then, Robert Downey Jr.’s popular portrayal of Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has taken the character to A-list status, which makes Iron Man’s return alongside Captain America in future 1990s animated revivals more likely.
X-Men ’97 episode 10 shows Daredevil fighting crime in the streets as the effects of Magneto’s first electromagnetic pulse start to wane. Matt Murdock uses his billy clubs to clothesline a group of looters, and later gets blasted through a store window by a Prime Sentinel. Although Daredevil befriended Spider-Man in Spider-Man: The Animated Series and is now commonly associated with the modern street-level defenders, Matt Murdock fights alongside Cloak and Dagger in X-Men ’97.
Daredevil made his animated debut in Spider-Man: The Animated Series episode 33, “Framed”, where he represents Peter Parker in court after the wall-crawler was charged with treason. Daredevil then went on to appear in Fantastic Four, and his own animated show was put in development. However, Daredevil: The Animated Series was delayed until the 2003 Daredevil movie came out, and then the project was canceled. Charlie Cox’s popularity in the role within the MCU could revive the original ideas for the animated series more than two decades later.
Doctor Strange also returns after more than 25 years in X-Men ’97 episode 10. The X-Men ’97 finale briefly shows Doctor Strange performing surgery on a patient by candlelight with the help of a magic spell as electricity comes and goes. Curiously, Doctor Strange is wearing the Cloak of Levitation on top of his scrubs, as if he were ready to jump into battle at any moment. This is Doctor Strange’s first appearance in the Marvel Animated Universe since The Incredible Hulk, where he worked with She-Hulk to defeat Bruce Banner’s Dark Hulk identity.
Doctor Strange appeared in one episode of X-Men: The Animated Series, one episode of Spider-Man, and one episode of The Incredible Hulk. Strange’s origin story, early adventures, and fights against Baron Mordo and Dormammu were covered by his few animated appearances, and there were never solid plans for him to star in his own spinoff show. Like Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Benedict Cumberbatch’s live-action Doctor Strange has become a key piece of the MCU, making future animated appearances more likely.
King T’Chaka a.k.a. the Black Panther appears in the X-Men ’97 finale inside his palace, witnessing how an army of Prime Sentinels invade Wakanda and attempt to break through the glass that protects him. Behind T’Chaka stand several members of the Dora Milaje, also ready to fight the Prime Sentinels. Once the glass cedes, Black Panther leaps claws first into the action. Minutes later, King T’Chaka contacts President Kelly, trying to convince him not to execute the Magneto Protocols in fear that such a strategy could backfire.
In the MCU, King T’Chaka was killed in a terrorist attack organized by Helmut Zemo to frame Bucky Barnes in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and later in full Black Panther gear in flashbacks during Black Panther. T’Chaka’s son T’Challa was the MCU’s main Black Panther for four consecutive appearances until Black Panther: Wakanda Forever retired the character due to actor Chadwick Boseman’s passing. However, T’Challa’s son Toussaint might eventually take up the Black Panther mantle, honoring his father with the name T’Challa.
Cloak and Dagger help Daredevil fight the Prime Sentinels in the X-Men ’97 finale. After Daredevil is sent flying through a store window, Cloak materializes in front of the store, carrying Dagger with him. Cloak and Dagger stand their ground as a group of Prime Sentinels approach in order to gain Daredevil time to recover. X-Men ’97 episode 10, “Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 3” marks Cloak and Dagger’s first-ever appearance in the 1990s Marvel Animated Universe.
Ty Johnson and Tandy Bowen received their own live-action show, ABC’s Cloak & Dagger, in 2018. Although the live-action series isn’t part of Marvel Studios’ Disney+ original catalog, it does connect to Hulu’s Runaways and features references to Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Iron Man. With the MCU incorporating Netflix’s Defenders characters, Cloak and Dagger might join the Avengers in a future MCU movie or show. For now, Cloak and Dagger’s brief cameo in X-Men ’97 is their first full-fledged crossover within a larger universe outside the comics.
The carbonadium-enhanced villain Omega Red makes his second X-Men ’97 appearance alongside his fellow Russian supervillains Crimson Dynamo and Darkstar, seemingly defending a politician from a group of Prime Sentinels. Omega Red previously made a cameo in X-Men ’97 episode 8, where Magneto’s electromagnetic pulse freed him from his hibernation capsule. Apparently, Omega Red was held in the same facility that Crimson Dynamo and Darkstar protected, which suggests that more powerful villains may be located there.
Omega Red made his animated debut in X-Men: The Animated Series episode 4, “Deadly Reunions,” after which he appeared in three other episodes of the original animated show. Initially working with Omega Red, the Darkforce-wielding mutant Darkstar switched sides in X-Men: The Animated Series in episode 17, “Red Dawn.” Meanwhile, Crimson Dynamo only appeared in two episodes of the 1990s Iron Man animated series despite him being a famous Iron Man villain in the comics.
The Alpha Flight heroes Northstar Aurora, and Puck make an appearance in X-Men ’97 episode 10, working together as the team Alpha Flight. Alpha Flight first appeared in X-Men: The Animated Series during episode 33, “Repo Man,” and later appeared in the final episode of the series’ Phoenix Saga adaptation, episode 33, “Child of Light,” where Spider-Man made his animated debut prior to his own show. Apparently, Alpha Flight and Psylocke have joined forces permanently after their first encounted in X-Men: The Animated Series.
In the comics, Northstar is a world-class skier who possesses super-speed and flight abilities. He’s one of the main members of Alpha Flight and Marvel’s first openly gay character. Northstar’s twin sister Aurora shares the same abilities, and when they make physical contact, they can emit a blinding flash of light. Puck is another Alpha Flight hero, whose acrobatic skills and martial arts training allows him to fight beside superpowered mutants despite him being an otherwise regular human.
Psylocke also makes a brief appearance in X-Men ’97 episode 10, joining forces with Alpha Flight to fight off the Prime Sentinels. Elizabeth Braddock first came into contact with Alpha Flight in X-Men: The Animated Series episode 18, “Repo Man,” after which she fought Archangel and Magneto’s Brotherhood of Mutants. X-Men ’97 episode 2 featured Pyslocke in a brief cameo with Morph transforming into the psionic mutant, though how Morph knows who Psylocke is and what her skills are remains a mystery.