X-Men ’97 Season 2 Rewrites Apocalypse’s Origin With One of the MCU’s Most Powerful Objects

X-Men ’97 Season 2 covered the ascent of one of the most formidable foes of the X-Men through the two-part episode titled Rise of Apocalypse. The first part aired during the July 1 premiere of the series, and the second dropped hours ago. The episodes told us how an abandoned slave in ancient Egypt, En Sabah Nur, turned into Apocalypse.

For long-time fans expecting to see the comic version of the storyline play out on the screen, there was a surprising Marvel twist in how En Sabah Nur gains his power. In the episodes, the time-lost X-Men, along with Nur, are in search of a temple that could end Rama-Tut’s despotic rule. The X-Men hope that they can achieve this without Nur needing to turn into the Apocalypse.

They lead Nur right into this temple, but they are too late to discover that it was Apocalypse’s Ship from the future. Nur figures out his destiny from the ancient scriptures on the walls of the ship. Even though the X-Men try to stop him, he fights them off and draws the power in the temple. So what power in the temple changed him into Apocalypse?

In the temple, the X-Men are dealing with a Celestial named Eson the Searcher. According to this Celestial, Nur would be the end of all things. He even says in the episode as Nur becomes ready to wield the power, “All creation must crash against the eternal shore in order to thrive and grow.”

Nur then touches a gem stone offered by Eson, which gives him a Celestial armor and a new look as the Apocalypse. While the episode doesn’t mention this, MCU fans know what stone Eson wields. The Celestial makes a brief appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy when the Collector explains the origin of the Power Stone. It is a clear hint that Apocalypse’s newfound powers come from the Infinity Stone.

By tying the Power Stone to Apocalypse, X-Men ’97 links the mutant world directly to the MCU’s cosmic side. Not only does this give the show a connection to the MCU, but it also quietly rewrites Apocalypse’s origin and how mutants as a whole might exist.

How Does Apocalypse’s Origin in X-Men ’97 Differ From Comics?

In the comics, the basic story is close to what the show gives us. En Sabah Nur is abandoned as a baby because of his strange looks, sold into slavery, and later joins the Sandstormer tribe. Their leader, Baal, teaches him that only the strong deserve to survive. A Celestial named Eson then chooses him and offers a deal to become an evolution-shaping being.

The big change is the source of his power. In the comics, the Celestials use mysterious objects called Life and Death Seeds to mutate and rebuild people. Apocalypse’s true strength comes from Celestial technology, particularly that from the Ship. X-Men ’97 Season 2’s new episode keeps Ship but swaps out the Life and Death Seeds for the Power Stone.

What Does This Mean for the Live-Action X-Men Movie?

A still from X-Men ’97 Season 2 | Credits: Disney+

The Power Stone connection made in X-Men ’97 may have larger implications when the live-action X-Men enter the MCU. If an Infinity Stone can unlock a mutation, as the Power Stone did for En Sabah Nur, then the Stones could be Marvel’s key to explaining where mutants come from.

There are already storylines proving this theory in the current MCU. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Hydra used the Mind Stone to give Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver their powers. We know by now that the twins are mutants. However, it doesn’t mean that the Stones create the mutant powers from scratch. It is likely that they simply unlock something already within the mutants.

Other heroes fit the pattern too. Ms. Marvel, the MCU’s first confirmed mutant, got her powers through cosmic energy. Captain Marvel gained hers from the Tesseract, which holds the Space Stone.

The new season remains the best X-Men adaptation ever, a compliment shared by Callie Hanna of FW in our review of X-Men ’97 Season 2.

What do you think of this origin of Apocalypse in the show? Let us know in the comments below!

The fourth episode of X-Men ’97 Season 2 is now available for streaming on Disney+.