Awesome / X-Men '97

Moment pages never use spoiler tagging — so beware of unmarked spoilers

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Wolverine and Gambit get ready to cut the deck!

In General

The show near-perfectly recreates the original 90s intro while making some extra additions, with the inclusion of Morph and Bishop. It really hits the nostalgia in all the right places.

Trailer

• Gambit riding on Wolverine's back and supercharging his claws.
• At the end of the trailer, Cyclops utters four iconic words that would make Charles proud:
  Cyclops: To me, my X-Men!
  [Cue Storm, Rogue, Gambit, Wolverine, Beast, Bishop, and Morph all gathering behind their esteemed leader as the '97 music swells.]

Episodes

To Me, My X-Men

• Storm and Bishop come to rescue Roberto De Costa (who has been captured by the Friends of Humanity) and easily overpower them. It's only a stray shot that blows up a machine near them that gets the two subdued.
  • For Storm herself, the Friends of Humanity get spooked by the air suddenly chilling, the sound of thunder, and the wind blowing hard outside. They know what they’re about to be in for and immediately start arming themselves for a fight.
• And then Cyclops bursts in and reminds us why Charles made him the field leader of the X-Men, kicking the asses of the racist mooks using a combination of both his powers and good hand-to-hand combat. In particular, he uses his optic blasts to move around the room in unexpected ways, showing a creative use of his powers that isn't often seen, especially in adaptations. Like parrying one of the Friends' kicks with a blast before shooting him some more.
  • When the Friends of Humanity manage to tie him up, one of them foolishly thinks removing Scott's visor will keep him from firing his optic blast:
    Cyclops: (panickedly) Wait, no. I surrender! [beat] Heh... Not!
    [cue Scott opening his eyes with a huge grin as he unleashes a blast that lays out the rest of the members]
• Later on, a Sentinel attacks the Blackbird and grabs Cyclops. That Sentinel is immediately destroyed by his optic blasts. As the rest of the field team descends, with some needing help getting down safely, Cyclops just uses his optic blast to slow himself down in a beautiful shot.
  • And it should be noted Scott was never worried about his own safety and was more concerned with the other non flyers. Once he knows they are safe, only then does he slow himself down. A Father to His Men Cyclops is.
  • The fact that not a single member of the team screams or panics even though they're in freefall. They all trust each other and their powers enough to rectify the situation until they're all safely on the ground.
• The fight against Master Mold. Complete with the theme song playing.
  • Rogue starts off by tossing a bisected Sentinel coming after her into another Sentinel, before bringing that one down with a Bulldog, and chucking its severed head at another Sentinel:
    Rogue: Heads up!
  • Beast flips a Sentinel on its back, dives in its chassis and hacks it to take control:
    Beast: Louis, I think this is the start of a beautiful, involuntary friendship.
  • Storm demolishing a pack of Sentinels by creating a glass tornado in the Saharan Desert. The lead-up to Storm's arrival at the fight immediately establishes her power in a way that most adaptations have never truly been able to manage:
    Cyclops: (into his communicator) Give 'em the forecast.
    Sentinels: Omega-level threat detected.
    (lightning strikes the ground turning the sand to glass as Storm's feet walk across the dunes.)
    Storm: Ancient sands, heed my command and reclaim these relics of hatred!
    • This moment was being made even more awesome by the fact the BGM switches from the hyped up theme to a quiet piano solo, then joined by a chorus as the tornado comes to life, establishing why Storm was once worshipped as a Goddess.
  • Gambit, Morph, and Wolverine team up to take out Master Mold, through Gambit supercharging Wolverine's claws and Morph turning into the Blob to launch Wolverine through Master Mold's neck, decapitating it and ending the battle. The impact also syncs with the ending of the X-Men Theme.

Mutant Liberation Begins

• The opening sequence adds Magneto to the line-up.
• When the UN arrive to arrest Magneto, Dr Valerie Cooper warns Magneto to think twice before starting a fight, as the guns held by the UN troops are resistant to his magnetic abilities. Only for Magneto to control the helicopters they arrived on and Cooper having to resort to asking him nicely for him to come with them for a fair trial at the UN headquarters (to which he does).
• Storm is giving out commands to the UN security like a boss, but then one of the Judges asks who is she to bark orders to anyone. She promptly tells him to shut up, do what she says and everyone will be ok.
  Storm: Do not think. Be silent. Heed my commands and you shall survive.
• When Cyclops is overwhelmed by the X-Cutioner, Morph jumps in, first as Lady Deathstrike by slashing at his back, then turning to Colossus to block some of his attacks, then countering as Psylocke. We’d seen some of their skills last episode, but this episode proved they had Taken A Level In Badass.
• After seeing Storm be Depowered by the X-cutioner's weapon, Magneto uses his powers to juggle X-Cutioner into the ground and slam him against a metal seal from the walls of the courtroom. His monologue before using his powers is spine-chilling:
  Magneto: This is your dream. My kind splayed before you, powerless and afraid. All the X-Men have done is use their awesome power to protect a world that hates and fears them. Behold their reward. (gestures to Storm) What must we do to be good enough? Is this the high road's destination? If so, I say as I have too many times before, never again.
  • He then lifts the seal, and the entire panel of judges, out of the building and up into atmosphere. Once he's reached altitude he dangles them all over the Earth and makes it clear that he could easily let go and send them all plummeting to their deaths: but this time he won't, because he intends to honor Charles' dream of peace:
    Magneto: Bigot, ingrate, sycophant, worm. So small I could smite you with a step. (he holds his boot over the X-Cutioner's face) There was a time I would smite you all for what was done to Storm. (pulls his foot back) But today, I have saved you from your own, for an old friend has challenged me to remember this view of Earth. How vast it is versus how small we make it. Charles Xavier entrusted me with his dream, and it does not ask you to love or embrace my kind as your own, but merely to accept that this is a shared world with a common future, and that my kind, like yours, have the right to live in it. I am trying to be better. Please...do not make me let you down...

Fire Made Flesh

• Bishop saving Beast from falling into a lava pit by tossing Wolverine at him. With one hand.
• Cyclops uses his Eye Beams to supercharge Bishop, who unleashes two powerful bursts of energy to eliminate the demons surrounding them:
  Bishop: Time for an exorcism, punks!
• The original Jean saving the X-Men and lifting them (literally via uplifting the ground beneath them) from their psychic hellscape.
• The battle between Magneto and the Goblin Queen is visually stunning; Magneto shatters the windows of the church they're fighting in, but the Goblin Queen casually dodges his magnetic blasts and metal projectiles. Then she reminds him that her power isn't limited to metal like his and overwhelms him with a Flechette Storm of glass shards before sending him into the ground:
  Goblin Queen: I applaud your magnetism, but my telekinetic charm extends beyond mere metal.
• The psychic battle between Jean and the Goblin Queen, ending with the Queen being freed of Sinister's control thanks to her love for her son.
  • Back in the series premiere, Madelyne needed a boost from Cerebro to remotely access Gyrich's mind. Jean is able to reach Madelyne remotely with no assistance, despite still being physically weakened from her ordeal with Sinister:
    Jean: Beast, please. My body won't be an issue.
• Although Sinister escapes, the bastard gets a few blasts from Cyclops and Madelyne for his trouble.

Montendo/Lifedeath Pt. 1

• Real thing or not, Jubilee defeating Mojoverse's simulated Magneto.
• Jubilee teaming up with her simulated future counterpart AKA Abcissa in order to take down Mojo and escape the Mojoverse with Roberto.
• Abcissa displays better control of her powers than her present self; using her powers to skate across the ground and create sparkling, Deadly Discs ala Krillin's Destructo Disc/Kienzan.

Remember It

• Jean privately searches through her memories at a lake in an awesome display of her telekinetic power and concentration; simultaneously uplifting the water surrounding her, levitating orbs of water containing images of her past adventures with the team, talking to Logan, and giving him a lift with a plane of water beneath his feet to reach her. She does all this with no visible effort at all.
• Nightcrawler saving Gambit and Rogue from the Tri-Sentinel's energy beam.
• Gambit and Rogue on their way to save the Morlocks while fighting through the Sentinels, with Gambit keeping up with Rogue on a motorcycle. Special mention to him decapitating two Sentinels while doing a midair twist.
• Magneto's stand against the Tri-Sentinel. He manages to draw its fire away from the populace to give them a chance to evacuate.
  • Doubles as Tearjerker, but his retaliation when innocents are crushed under the statue of Charles Xavier is as epic as it is tragic. With tear-stained eyes, he launches an entire train right into the sentinel's head(s) and goes fully on the offensive:
    Magneto: THEY SHALL BE AVENGED!!
  • Also worth mentioning that he uses that train like a giant whip.
• In his last moments, Magneto uses his powers to shield and keep Rogue and Gambit back from Tri-Sentinel's beam, while also creating a shield for himself, Leech and the surrounding mutants. The level of concentration and effort must have been incredible.
• Gambit managing to destroy the Tri-Sentinel using the cable it used to impale him, charging the whole, massive robot with kinetic energy starting from the cable's contact in his wound. It cost him his life, but he did what other, more powerful mutants couldn't and saved every remaining life on Genosha:
  Tri-Sentinel: Mutant Intruder Neutralized.
  Gambit: (Smirking) The name's Gambit, mon ami.... Remember it.
  • Before heading towards the Tri-Sentinel, Gambit charges his motorbike with kinetic energy and then throws it at Rogue to push her out of the way of the Tri-Sentinel beam, and misses the disintegration beam by milli-seconds.
  • The fact that at the end of the day it wasn't an Omega level mutant like Magneto or a physical powerhouse like Rogue who was able to stop the Tri-Sentinel and save the day. It was Gambit, the Rajun Cajun using his wits and quick thinking in conjunction with his powers that finally ended the machine's rampage.

Lifedeath Pt. 2

• Trapped in a claustrophobic situation with The Adversary bearing down on her and with Forge about to die, Storm realizes that it wasn't just the X-Cutioner's power nullifying gun that was preventing her from using her powers, but her own fear and doubt. Cue a massive lightning bolt that disintegrates the demon and causes a weather event that can be seen in space. The Mistress of the Elements is back. And with her classic black costume!
• Gladiator easily subdues Deathbird's attempted rebellion with speed, strength, invulnerability, super-breath and laser eyes. To start with, he quickly places himself in front of Xavier and Lilandra to No-Sell Deathbird's attack on them, and punches her hard into a wall.
• When Professor X has had enough trying to play by the Shi'ar's rules, he effortlessly dominates everyone on the room with his psychic power and seats them all in a classroom on the astral plane. When Deathbird tries to object, he puts her back in her seat and shoves an apple in her mouth. He then proceeds to give them a very gentle, teacherly dressing down about the evils of imperialism; basically their whole culture.
• Fans of Nightcrawler were ecstatic to see him added to the opening credits as a full member of the team.
• Just the fact that Professor Xavier is coming back to Earth, even if it could hardly be in the wake of worse circumstances.

Bright Eyes

• In the wake of Gambit's death, Rogue is going on a rampage to find Henry Peter Gyrich, attacking a US Army base. This includes effortlessly demolishing soldiers and tanks, one of which she takes out with a divekick straight out of Marvel vs. Capcom.
  • Inside the base, General Thunderbolt Ross is confident in the strength of his bunker, saying it's rated to take hits from The Incredible Hulk. Rogue still breaks in.
  • The scream of agony Gyrich lets out when she uses her powers to drain information from him is both horrifying and immensely satisfying.
• The Prime Sentinel is terrifyingly effective, managing to take out the entire team of X-Men confronting it, easily shrugging off their attacks, and slamming Cyclops' head into the pavement. He then asks mockingly how it feels to be abandoned by the future. Cue an EMP grenade from Cable frying the thing.
• While looking for survivors, Jean and Scott find Emma Frost buried in the rubble. Her diamond skin abilities manifested, saving her from being crushed. Her one-liner is the cherry on top...
  "I've always performed well under pressure."
• Jean stopping the upper part of the building (and the falling debris) that Prime Sentinel Trask blew up from dropping into the city streets, and then chucking it far out of the city and into the water.
• Though ultimately ineffective, Morph further demonstrates the scope of their shapeshifting abilities by turning into Quicksilver and copying his speed.
• While she ultimately loses the fight, Jean finally gets a chance to throw down at full power, briefly matching the Prime Sentinel blow for blow in a near Dragon Ball Z-caliber aerial fight.

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