As a Black man living in America and also existing in that cycle of trauma, my rage has taken me a lot of dark places but never to contemplating genocide.
X-Men '97 |OT| Previously On... (Disney+, two episode premiere on March 20)
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As a Black man living in America and also existing in that cycle of trauma, my rage has taken me a lot of dark places but never to contemplating genocide.
I still have the comic where magneto pulls the adamantium from Wolverine. It's not in the best of shape though. Another absolutely fantastic episode. I thought Magneto going total psycho makes complete sense after Genosha. He's wrong but it makes sense.
Another reason I'm loving the show is that me and my brother grew up watching the original series in the 90's and in the last few years we haven't been on the best of terms. We've been messaging each other after each episode and geeking out. We're reconnecting so that's cool.
Another reason I'm loving the show is that me and my brother grew up watching the original series in the 90's and in the last few years we haven't been on the best of terms. We've been messaging each other after each episode and geeking out. We're reconnecting so that's cool.
I agree.
I think being allowed self governance and a seat at the table in the UN (with all the protections that entails) was as close to Xavier's dream as you're going to get without mindwiping racism off the face of the planet.
Krakoa is a much closer analogy to militant nationalism.
Schwarzbier I think the gravity of that scene you described will probably be touched upon in the finale. In that moment Scott wholeheartedly disagrees with the notion that stopping Magneto is the #1 priority. I think attacking Xavier shows that he sees himself as the true leader of the team, and that shutting down the prime sentinels is of equal priority. Allowing the prime sentinels to awaken would've doomed the other team and thousands/millions of mutants around the world, and I think he's moved beyond sacrificing mutant lives to save humans. Martyrdom sounds good in your heart but the "death" of Xavier didn't save Genosha and the "death" of Magneto didn't stop OZT from moving forward.
This is a fascinating read, and I thank you for writing this.
It's very important to recognize that Magneto chose genocide. He became what he hated the most. It's important to recognize the horrors he faced, but he still decided to doom an entire race. There are no justifications here.
Krakoa was nationalism, but it wasn't very militant at all. It shoulda been more militant, tbh. Krakoa was Tulsa. Mutants minding their own bidness and getting money until they got bombed.
Arakko was militant.
To add another wrinkle, what about the possibility of Magneto, even if subconsciously, trying to commit suicide by X-men? He may seem collected during much of his dialogue but with him descending further into "burn it all down" mode... Which would beg the question of whether he simply wants to force an end regardless of the cost or if he wants to be stopped.
That bowling hall to the face is one of the top five most satisfying hits in both incarnations of this series.
That bowling hall to the face is one of the top five most satisfying hits in both incarnations of this series.
The X-Men would never kill him. He would know that. And if he was trying to get taken out, why recruit Rogue and put her through all of that again?
There's no telling if you'd keep that cool if you had the power of a god though.
And saw poor Leech's eyes burned out of his sockets right before your eyes
^Also, this
There's Logan, but also Xavier simply turning him off would be death enough. As for Rogue, he's shown selfish tendencies with her before, though he did do the right thing in letting her go earlier. And he's also not an entirely rational actor by this point.
This is all just spitballing though. I'm fully on Team This All Needed More Time To Breathe.
Because he's become so much more than that in the last 20 years, and I very much got that episodes 1-8 were leaning into that fact.
He's absolutely the type to do something drastic, like set off a global EMP...but actively trying to kill the planet, while technically in character, feels so reductive and lame based on what the character has become.
It being reductive is part of the theme of this season. And with Demayo suggesting to watch Star Trek Next Generation: Cause and Effect before the finale I think some fuckery is afoot.
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View: https://twitter.com/BeauDemayo/status/1788308419457556900
Eh, he was willing to parlay after Xavier's "death" but it was literally the final chance...and he got served the biggest middle finger possible - you can argue about nature vs nurture with Mangeto but I consider Magneto to be pretty high on the danger/villain scale.
If the finale can recontextualize this, then I'm all for it.
But as it stands now it's my biggest mark against the show, and honestly really disappoints me.
But as it stands now it's my biggest mark against the show, and honestly really disappoints me.
Exactly. If it just ended at the EMP and he stood on that as the only way to stop the Prime Sentinels -- it would have been a much better direction for the character and the story they've been telling.
Instead, he's hours from ending the world and bringing mass death to every living thing on it. Its like a kid whose bullied in school and decided to shoot up the whole class.
exactly this. the EMP was a violent enough act that killed thousands of innocents, but in line with Magneto's character because he was just trying to save his people.
that was enough for him to be the most wanted man on the planet. but then they took him in a direction that would make Thanos uncomfortable.
this ain't the silver age. "villain" is way too simple of a description for most comicbook antagonists of the past 40 years of so, but especially when talking about Magneto.
he wasn't even a "villain" in the OG series. these actions are more in line with his "Welcome to Die" portrayal in Pryde of the X-Men, which never made it beyond the pilot for a reason.
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I shrugged off so many going "how will Cable fix Genosha?", but now I'm full blown coping with "how will Bishop fix this?"
Magneto might have become more in the past two decades, X-Men '97 however is currently working with stories from before that era. Seeing how the show does a good job of adapting storylines, I think it's very plausible that in seasons 2 or 3 there will be time to take him in those directions.
I understand that some have trouble with how he is written this episode and the actions he has taken; however taking in consideration what I have read about Magneto (and reading up on fifty years of X-Men history when I got into comics), it does feel in character. At least, that's how I view him.
I understand that some have trouble with how he is written this episode and the actions he has taken; however taking in consideration what I have read about Magneto (and reading up on fifty years of X-Men history when I got into comics), it does feel in character. At least, that's how I view him.
Alright alright alright. So my spoiler from Wolverine getting his adamantium ripped was from the 1994 trading cards lol. That's my level of connection with the series, never read to comics just the OG cartoon and the 1994 and 1995 trading cards + a few films, fighting games, and cultural osmosis.
Really, they had to get that moment in there so forcing a bit of over the top villainy from Magneto to bring things to a head was necessary. This is still a continuation of a 90s cartoon after all, and I'm actually impressed that even as the gravity has ramped up they've kept true to the mission statement.
Actually I think Sinister is one of the MVPs of the season. I always liked him, but he feels extra slimy and more dangerous in this modern incarnation.
Really, they had to get that moment in there so forcing a bit of over the top villainy from Magneto to bring things to a head was necessary. This is still a continuation of a 90s cartoon after all, and I'm actually impressed that even as the gravity has ramped up they've kept true to the mission statement.
Actually I think Sinister is one of the MVPs of the season. I always liked him, but he feels extra slimy and more dangerous in this modern incarnation.
Neither have I, I'm just saying that I can absolutely see how Magneto could reach that point given his experiences. That doesn't mean I agree with it, or find it justifiable, only that I understand how his trauma, rage, and grief could blind him to, like Schwarzbier said below, him becoming the very thing he hated, and swore to never fall victim to again.
it's tragic
I absolutely agree, and it's a common thematic element used in storytelling, but it's also not confined to the realms of fiction, as our own world has had many a person fall prey to the same hypocrisy.
I don't believe the show, considering how deliberate it's been in laying things out, from small details to larger ones, is trying to justify it either.
My opinion is that they spent an entire season building up to Magneto breaking bad in a major, inexcusable way, starting with Storm getting depowered, and Magneto explicitly telling the UN that he had no reservations about crushing them under his heel if they pressed him, so I'm not surprised that he did what he did when they, indeed, pressed him, by attacking Genosha.
Like I said in my post, he was never truly walking the path Xavier did. He may have thought he was, by restraining himself in episode 2, but it wasn't driven by his convictions to not be the Magneto of old. The "by any means necessary" Magneto.
That's one of the many wrong steps he took that led him to the point he's at now.
He absolutely chose to act in the extreme, fueled by his failure to protect his people, and Leech in particular. There's simply no reasoning with someone who is so consumed by their grief, rage, and hatred.
It's why Logan was like, "Yeah, we need to end this dude."
The show also deliberately gave the scenario a ticking clock, instead of having his EMP immediately cause catastrophic damage. The X-Men are currently attempting to reverse as much damage as possible, while also protecting themselves and their people from the Sentinels by stopping Bastion.
People have no doubt died, both human and mutant alike from that initial pulse, so I'm suspecting they're going to attempt to walk him back from the edge at some point, he restores power, and then go into a potential redemption arc. Or, Xavier will follow through with his attempt to control Magneto's mind (or mind wipe him; i'm not familiar with the comic storyline in great detail, and this is an adaptation anyway, so there will certainly be liberties taken).
It doesn't erase that he attempted to wipe out humanity (and also mutantkind), but I think it was a choice that this latest episode didn't state that billions of people had died. From what i remember, I think they only referred to thousands, which is bad enough.
I'm very interested in seeing where they go with this. I'm not sure it will all be resolved in this upcoming season finale, so there's going to be plenty of fallout here, and season 2 will surely explore how this causes a rift between the X-Men themselves, as well as furthering the divide between humans and mutants. Magneto and Charles are both portrayed as being in the wrong, and while I don't think the show is trying to justify their actions, it is trying to create a scenario in which lines are drawn, then blurred, which forces the characters to wrestle with their own convictions and beliefs, which, in true dramatic storytelling fashion, puts them at odds with one another.
And considering the allegorical nature of the X-Men, this also leads us to feel some kind of way about the events of the show, which I think is great.
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The thing about Magneto is that no matter how much he tries to change, he will always revert back to being the X-Men's greatest enemy
He can do that without the genocide. It's not like the X-Men themselves are paragons to mutants, there can easily be conflict there. Not to mention their greatest enemy is and will always be humanity.
LOVING LOVING LOVING the show so far.... But....
My boy Wolverine has been in the background and I'm cool with that because he's gotten so much exposure. I'm enjoying seeing other characters get love and I've truly fallen in love with Nightcrawler! I used to wonder why (as a child) my friends liked him, I get it now...
This last episode kinda hurt me though lol. My boy (wolvie) is finally getting some burn, he's finally off the bench... Sure, he had to share his best scene with Kurt but whatever, I'll take what I can get... But then Magneto had to...?!?! Bruh... C'monnnnnnnnnnn......... Give me at least a season or two with the admantium. Damn.
My boy Wolverine has been in the background and I'm cool with that because he's gotten so much exposure. I'm enjoying seeing other characters get love and I've truly fallen in love with Nightcrawler! I used to wonder why (as a child) my friends liked him, I get it now...
This last episode kinda hurt me though lol. My boy (wolvie) is finally getting some burn, he's finally off the bench... Sure, he had to share his best scene with Kurt but whatever, I'll take what I can get... But then Magneto had to...?!?! Bruh... C'monnnnnnnnnnn......... Give me at least a season or two with the admantium. Damn.
Thank you for posting this thoughtful and well written rumination on the show. The fact that so much conversation can be had from a revival of a children's cartoon from the 1990's is mind boggling.
Ha ha, while I've been fascinated by the larger themes playing out, this part hit me in my fanboy gut. Wolverine just got a cool new suit and then this happens!
I'd kinda love if they brought Kitty into it, in fact I don't really understand why they didn't fill out this "school" for mutants particularly since they already introduced Sam in the original series (and Illyana had a cameo in this one). But Jubilee has long been the Kitty stand in so I doubt it happens.
I don't have a problem with Magneto wanting to kill the humans. I do think it's shortsighted to kill off the Earth, and it feels like that 12 hour timeline for irreversible damage was made just to up the stakes. I also have a problem with him picking a fight with the X-men instead of going to save all the other mutants who are being hunted down by humans and/or hurt by the EMP and offering them sanctuary, particularly if he knows about the 12 hour deadline. Like him hating the humans at this point and feeling like things are irreconcilable makes sense, even if it's horrific. Him just leaving his own people out there to suffer and die while he waits on his throne for the X-men to come? Well that's like bwah ha ha super villain time.
Also I'm sure they will pull something out and get Xavier to control Magneto to reverse the magnetic poles before he dies, but I still don't buy that they brought Wolverine, with his specific vulnerability, to do what nobody else would do. It makes sense in the comic because the Earth wasn't depending on Magneto reversing anything. Here, going for a killshot on Magneto dooms the Earth. And even Rogue mentions that Wolverine is going for the kill at the very beginning of the fight.
I don't have a problem with Magneto wanting to kill the humans. I do think it's shortsighted to kill off the Earth, and it feels like that 12 hour timeline for irreversible damage was made just to up the stakes. I also have a problem with him picking a fight with the X-men instead of going to save all the other mutants who are being hunted down by humans and/or hurt by the EMP and offering them sanctuary, particularly if he knows about the 12 hour deadline. Like him hating the humans at this point and feeling like things are irreconcilable makes sense, even if it's horrific. Him just leaving his own people out there to suffer and die while he waits on his throne for the X-men to come? Well that's like bwah ha ha super villain time.
Also I'm sure they will pull something out and get Xavier to control Magneto to reverse the magnetic poles before he dies, but I still don't buy that they brought Wolverine, with his specific vulnerability, to do what nobody else would do. It makes sense in the comic because the Earth wasn't depending on Magneto reversing anything. Here, going for a killshot on Magneto dooms the Earth. And even Rogue mentions that Wolverine is going for the kill at the very beginning of the fight.
As accelerated as these seasons are likely to be, I don't expect that to remain the status quo for more than a season at most. I'd be surprised if it lasts more than half the next season actually.
I mean major plotlines like Maddie being evil, Genosha being a country, humanoid sentinels being a threat, etc. lasted one or two episodes so I expect the same for adamantium-less wolverine.
Yeah. I also think that the show going 'THE WORLD'S GONNA END IN 12 HOURS" was a lazy narrative cheat to create stakes that the episode didn't even need.
All of a sudden everybody's talking about this shit as if it's a definite despite having MULTIPLE supergeniuses ON THE TEAM and also existing on the same planet as a Tony Stark and Reed Richards. All they needed to do was get Tony, Reed and Forge in the same room and the problem would be solved in two hours.
Magneto disabling worldwide infrastructure should've been enough of an "oh shit we gotta fix this" impetus without the ticking clock of "EARTH'S GONNA DIE FOR SOME REASON".
I definitely agree that the added doomsday clock was not needed, however, in terms of the super geniuses currently on the team, remember that they were already stretched thin working on the descrambler tech for Bastion (that was already based on the existing model from '92) whilst utilising what workable tools and knowledge they had left at Muir. Coming up with an Earth saving tech solution, within the timeframe, was not on the cards over directly confronting Magneto.
Maybe, but I could see it being more of a slow burn for next season as a background plot rather than being an episode focus. Show him getting his ass kicked a few times to give him a good reason to turn to Apocalypse to get it back.
Yeah. My point about the supergeniuses was more just that it feels like a really artificial doomsday clock. If they want to bullshit a ticking clock like that they could also bullshit a science solution vs. "force Magneto, specifically, to fix it", especially considering it didn't even seem like Mags was SUSTAINING the EMP. He just did one blast and that was it.
Hell, have Charles call Polaris and ask her to fix it. She's still around.
They had a 12 hour clock to confront Magneto, i get it, but I have two plot problems:
Why split the team up, other than that's what superhero teams always do? You absolutely need to do one (Bastion) before the other (Magneto) or you basically screw over not only every mutant on the planet but also more immediately the rest of your team who will be sitting ducks.
For all the talk of diplomacy being the way, nobody thought to just take Magneto up on his offer in order to try to talk some sense into him, like maybe hey, help us take down Bastion and maybe don't catastrophically ruin the Earth while mutants are still down there?
Shoot, we don't even see the X-men themselves helping out other mutants besides their own.
Magneto's actions this season are a logical extension of his character development. Having earnestly attempted to align with Professor X's vision, only to be met with betrayal, he now sees his genocidal deeds as a grim acknowledgment of the irreparable rift between humans and mutants. In his eyes, cleansing the Earth represents his desperate bid to shatter the ceaseless cycle of conflict.
Charles is a bad leader. It's as simple as that. Rather than trying to find a way to unite their ideologies against a threat that ISN'T DONE yet, he had to preach at Mags about respectability politics, and Mags was already at the point where that wasn't going to work anymore.
MAYBE Cyclops could've convinced him. Or Rogue. But as long as Charles is the tip of the X-Men's spear, it was never going to work.
I get that this is an iconic moment, but it seems stupid to me how it happens (not sure how it is in the comics)
Why would you send Wolverine on a team to fight Magneto?
Why would you send Wolverine on a team to fight Magneto?
Arguably because they knew he was the only one willing to take that step if it became necessary, but it's still a tactical concern.
He's the only one you can trust to not hesitate to take a life. He said as much "Been in a lot of wars bub". It was a calculated risk.
Again though, who's life is he going to take? Not the two ex X-men. If he kills Magneto, what happens to the Earth? Basically WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL MAGNETO?
Because odds are it wouldn't be JUST Logan that killed him...Charles would probably finish him by controlling him and forcing him to fix what he'd done.
I feel like there was always a gentleman agreement to not wild out when xavier and magneto were fighting each other.
There was definitely one between the X-Men and Magneto for years. Magneto could've pulled Wolverine's bones out at any time.
I'll let you in on a little secret. A lot of the 90s X-Men comics were not good at all.
Including when they reverted Magneto to be a villain and did this very story.
Depending on how you look at things, you could argue that Magneto shows restraint by just removing the metal rather than the bones with it even.
On the other hand, you could argue it was worse than death in and of itself.
I can see why and why they shouldn't have added that in, but I agree that it didn't need to be there to raise the stakes.
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Cyclops is my all-time favorite Marvel hero and is only narrowly edged out by Tim Drake and Wally West if we're talking comic characters in general. I couldn't be happier with how he's been handled in this show. Despite the show having somewhat of a rushed pace, Cyclops' character arc has felt very natural throughout this season. I know some of us are in a rush to see him become more radical, but I've personally enjoy the approach they taken thus far.