In the Axis of Time, Bishop sees a glimpse of Cable and his son, Tyler. In their time, Cable and the resistance are looking to get to the last remaining time machine. The resistance blow up a nearby power plant, but Tyler is overpowered by the security robots. Despite Cable's fear, his son tells him to go and get rid of Apocalypse.
However, the immortal Mutant is well aware of Cable's efforts, and redirects him to the 1990s. They fill Cable in on what's been happening, but he doesn't give a damn about any of that; all he wants is Apocalypse. Elsewhere, Logan's managed to "question" the captive Sabretooth, and gets a reluctant Professor to probe deeper. Seeing the connection between the abductions and Apocalypse, backed up by Archangel's own research during his hunt, both parties decide to go back to when Apocalypse first built his Lazarus Chamber and destroy it.
The pyramid proves to be more guarded than they thought, as the Horsemen of Apocalypse are waiting for them. Fighting their way past, the X-Men reach the central chamber, only for Wolverine to smell something off; Mystique is waiting for them, and in a bright light the X-Men are knocked out. Cable catches up to find that Professor X and Wolverine are missing, and in the Axis Apocalypse triumphs, as he has now completed his most important goal.
This episode provides examples of:
- Achilles' Heel: Cable reveals Apocalypse actually does have one, his Lazarus chamber, which extends his life. Without it, he can at least die of old age.
- Balance Between Good and Evil: In light of Cable describing Apocalypse as pure evil, Beast doubts he can be destroyed. Beast explains that good and evil just can't exist without each other, so Apocalypse either cannot truly die or another evil will simply rise up to take his place. Cable says he'll get rid of Apocalypse now and worry about the next threat when it comes.
- Batman Grabs a Gun: Normally, Charles would never read a person's mind without express permission, but the situation is so dire Wolverine persuades him to do so.
- Bring It: Wolverine interrogates Sabretooth one-on-one with a simple, "Let's talk."
- Call-Back: Numerous ones to past episodes, including previous encounters with Apocalypse, including Archangel's research into Apocalypse, which lead him to discovering a false weakness. Here, it turns out there is a real weakness the X-Men can exploit to stop the madman.
- Chekhov's Classroom: In discussing the Balance Between Good and Evil, Beast says it is ingrained in the very fabric of existence. The next part reveals the whole purpose of Apocalypse's plan is to change existence itself so that there is no balance to worry about.
- Chess Motifs: Subtle, but in the end, Apocalypse reveals his gambit was to capture Xavier. Or as he dubs him, the King piece.
- "Eureka!" Moment: After Cable explains the purpose of the Lazarus Chamber, Archangel says it explains consistent periods of dormancy he found out about when researching Apocalypse.
- Foreshadowing:
- After Wolverine explains what he got out of Sabretooth, Xavier says it still doesn't make sense for why Magneto would be involved in all this. The next part reveals Magneto is not as loyal to Apocalypse as it would appear.
- In the immediate aftermath of Xavier's abduction, viewers may notice that Wolverine is also not amongst the battered X-Men.
- From Bad to Worse: At the end, Apocalypse reveals they have the final piece they need:Apocalypse: The capture of the king... Professor Charles Xavier.
- Good Cop/Bad Cop: When interrogating Sabretooth, Cyclops gets nowhere with his straightforward questions. Wolverine steps in and undoes Sabretooth's restraints for a little sparring. After an hour of that, Wolverine has a little bit to go on, and Sabretooth is knocked out.
- Heroic Vow: After being urged to go on, Cable promises to be back for Tyler when this is all over.
- Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Turns out Apocalypse always wanted four horsemen to serve him, and in the past already had a Pestilence, War, Famine and Death protecting his sanctuary.
- No Ontological Inertia: The hopes of the X-Men is that in destroying the ancient Lazarus chamber, the Apocalypse of the future won't exist. Their entire plan hinges on it.
- Oh, Crap!: Xavier, after reading Sabretooth's mind and getting a good idea of what Apocalypse is up to.
- Out of the Inferno: After Tyler blows up one security robot, he turns away, not noticing another striding through the smoking remains of its comrade.
- Shout-Out: Some of the security robots are giant yellow things driven by people with mechanized claws, like the power lifters from Aliens.
- Tempting Fate: As they enter Apocalypse's pyramid, Cable confidently states he knows where all the booby traps are, and then immediately triggers one. Beast postulates Apocalypse might renovate his lair over the next five thousand years.
- The World Is Just Awesome: In Ancient Egypt, Storm takes a moment to admire the scenery, noting why her parents moved there. Even the giant pyramid with Apocalypse's face on it doesn't detract from the beauty.
- Timey-Wimey Ball: Destroying the Lazarus Chamber in the past is treated as a big game over for Apocalypse everywhere. What, exactly, would prevent him from just rebuilding it after they leave is unsaid.
- Unwitting Pawn: Cable manages to do Apocalypse's work for him through the whole episode.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Mystique impersonates Apocalypse of the distant past, but no explanation is given for where the real deal is during all this.
