Recap / X-Men S4 E9 "One Man's Worth, Part 1"

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This episode provides examples of:

• Adaptational Badass: Alt-Beast, who is using some sort of Powered Armor. Also alt-Magneto, who is able to completely destroy robots with magnetism while his mainstream counterpart was nearly killed while fighting against Sentinels.
• Adaptational Heroism: Sinister and even Holocaust are seen as members of the Mutant Resistance in the alternate reality. Beast is also working for La Résistance instead of Apocalypse and his cult as he was in Age of Apocalypse.
• Adaptational Villainy: The Avengers from the other timeline oppose the X-Men and fight on the side of the humans.
• Adapted Out: Even though the alternate timeline is based on the Age of Apocalypse, Apocalypse doesn't appear and the war is between mutants and humans instead of Apocalypse and his mutant supremacist followers against humans and the rest of mutants.
• Alternate Reality Episode: Most of the episode takes place in the altered timeline in which Xavier was murdered before he became an activist for peaceful mutant-human coexistence.
• Alternate Timeline: Obviously.
• Animated Adaptation: Of the Age of Apocalypse comic book series. Many characters have cameos with their AoA costumes.
• Bad Future: Bishop and Shard come from one where mutants were put into concentration camps.
• Battle Couple: Logan and Storm in the alternate reality.
• Beard of Sorrow: Alt Magneto has one.
• Berserk Button: Logan is fully prepared to kill the bartender for insulting Storm.
• Big Good: Magneto aka "the Leader."
• Big "NO!": Bishop when Xavier triggers Fitzroy's bomb.
• The Cameo: Many members of the Mutant Resistance: Blink, Mimic, Sabretooth, Wild Child, Angel, Colossus, Nigthcrawler, Sinister, Holocaust, Gambit, Tar Baby, Copycat, Frenzy, Rogue, Morph, Jean Grey, Blob, Caliban, Callisto, Pyro, Masque, Mastermind, Sunder, Sunfire, Polaris, and Banshee.
  • And on the side of the "Avengers": Captain America, Giant Man, Iron Man, Black Widow, Wonder Man, Wasp, Daredevil and Scarlet Spider.
• Continuity Nod: While explaining the timeline to the alt-Storm and alt-Wolverine, they are shown holograms that include footage from Days of Future Past
• Deliberate Values Dissonance: The bartender in the restaurant demands that Logan and Storm leave when he discovers they are an interracial couple, which were frowned upon in the 50s.
• Downer Ending: The episode ends with Bishop, Shard, Logan and Storm failing to save Xavier.
• Flashback: When reading Bishop's mind, Xavier sees clips from the "Days of Future Past" and "Time Fugitives" two-parters.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Xavier admits he never would've chosen to be a mutant and just wants to be a simple doctor rather than some visionary Big Good.
• It's a Wonderful Plot: A variant. Rather than show what it would be like if Xavier never existed, someone actually goes back and kills him before he became famous, thus creating the Bad Future.
• The Medic: Dr. Summers (clearly Cyclops) for the Resistance, with Jean as a battlefield nurse.
• Morality Chain: Storm talks Logan down from killing the bigoted bartender twice (the second time requiring more of an effort than the first). She doesn't much like having to be this when they have a more important job to do.
• Mythology Gag: The alternate Storm's outfit is the punk attire she had in the comics during the mid-1980's.
• The Quisling: Trevor Fitzroy collaborates with Master Mold hoping to become the most powerful mutant in existence.
• La Résistance: In the Alternate Timeline, the X-Men are called "the Mutant Resistance" as without Xavier there's no source for the "X".
• The Leader: Magneto, as the leader of the alt-X-Men.
• Refusal of the Call: Young Xavier is overwhelmed by the notion he'll lead the X-Men and work towards mutant-human coexistence. Logan is also reluctant to aid in a mission that will result in him and Storm being Ret-Gone.
• Ruins of the Modern Age: Particularly noticeable as the events of the episode are happening in The Present Day but another timeline.
• Stupidest Thing I've Ever Heard: Ororo thinks it's pathetic that the bartender wants them out because of their skin color, since she's been shunned for being a mutant. The bartender becomes aggressive towards her for being called pathetic, only to be threatened by her husband Logan.
• Who Are You?: Xavier's reaction to these time travelers claiming to know him and his place in history.
• Winged Humanoid: Mimic.
• World of Badass: Pretty much describes everyone in the alternate timeline, considering they're fighting a Hopeless War in the midst a ruined world. For instance Beast, who is a lot more willing to fight than his mainstream counterpart.
• You Are Worth Hell: A variant. In the alternate timeline, the X-Men never formed, and a race war has broken out between humans and mutants. Among other things, this has led to Wolverine and Storm being married and Magneto being the Big Good. When Bishop and Shard show up, they explain why the world turned out this way, along with who Xavier is and why they need to save him. Wolverine is reluctant to help at first, as he realizes that in the "normal" timeline he and Storm will just be teammates instead of married. When Storm asks if he would be fine leaving the world in its current, ruined state, he just says, "You bet I would!" Luckily, she convinces him this is a "little" selfish, and he agrees to help fix the timeline.
• You're Insane!: Xavier's reaction to Bishop claiming to be a time traveler familiar with both his mutancy and the work he will go on to do.

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