Time Fugitives catapults into the fan-favourite zone, bringing a double helping of cherished characters. The episode resurrects time-travel antics and dives into the future of Bishop’s latest timeline. Then comes Cable, entangling himself in the timeline with more twists than a pretzel factory. A top-notch villain makes an entrance, dialling up the action to the max. The pace of the episode is so brisk, you might need to hit pause to catch your breath. And the cliff-hanger? It’s a stunner, sending the X-Men off with a bang. Plus, there’s a new threat in town: a designer virus with a grudge against mutants.

The Legacy Virus in the comics? It serves as a poignant reference to the HIV/AIDS crisis. This mutant affliction emerged in the ’90s, paralleling the rise of HIV/AIDS in the public eye. It replicated the effects of AIDS with a mutant spin, causing ailments ranging from dermatological issues to cold symptoms. Initially affecting only mutants, it was met with indifference by the non-mutant population, mirroring the early misconceptions surrounding HIV.

The storyline deserves applause for its ingenious parallels and bringing the HIV/AIDS discourse to the forefront. However, it’s crucial to note that the Legacy Virus is to HIV as a comic book is to a history book – they’re related but distinctly different.

As the climax unfolds, Bishop and the X-Men make a dramatic entrance at the villain’s gathering, resulting in a showdown so fiery, it leaves the heroes singed. This sets the stage for a cliff-hanger that will leave you on the edge of your seat, eagerly awaiting the next installment!

In the year 3999 AD, Cable and the Clan Chosen are locked in combat with Apocalypse and his robotic forces when a temporal storm wreaks havoc on the city. Cable’s A.I. reveals that Bishop‘s time travel to prevent a disease outbreak has inadvertently doomed mutants and threatens Cable’s own existence.

Back from the past, Bishop finds his world altered; Forge tells him of a plague decimating the population, erasing the X-Men from history. Determined, Bishop travels back to halt the plague’s origin, only to discover it’s already begun in the X-Men’s era.

At a mall, Jubilee becomes a target when a Friends of Humanity member accuses her of spreading the plague. Storm intervenes, saving Jubilee from the escalating mob. Beast confirms Jubilee’s health, but his curiosity leads him to investigate the disease further. As mutants face quarantine and public dissent, Bishop confronts a hostile crowd at a quarantine site, leading to a skirmish with the X-Men. They agree to pause and let Beast publicly share his plague research. Meanwhile, Graydon Creed and a scientist admit the plague is synthetic, aimed at tarnishing mutants’ reputation, with broader, more sinister intentions.

During a press conference, Beast attempts to address the plague issue, but is constantly interrupted by Creed’s loud heckling. The situation escalates when Bishop tackles Creed, uncovering his plan to infect Beast with the disease. Ironically, Creed contracts the disease himself and tries to shift the blame onto the mutants.

In the year 3999, Cable observes the chaos from a tunnel. In the present, Bishop and the X-Men locate Creed in a derelict mansion. Jean Grey’s attempt to telepathically locate Creed is thwarted by an unnamed scientist who believes Creed’s affliction is just. The X-Men’s investigation leads them to an underground lab where they encounter Apocalypse, who has been masquerading as the scientist.

Bishop successfully destroys the plague vials, allowing the team to flee the disintegrating lab. However, Apocalypse vaporises the X-Men and Creed as they exit. Back in the future, Cable is faced with the grim reality that he must assist Apocalypse to preserve his own timeline.

In the dystopian future where Cable takes on the tyrannical Apocalypse, he’s not alone. He’s got the Clan Chosen by his side, a ragtag team of freedom fighters who are all about disrupting the status quo. Their line-up includes the likes of Boak, Dawnsilk, Hope (no, not the one you’re thinking of), and Kane. These rebels made their comic book debut in the action-packed Cable: Blood and Metal #1, kicking off a saga of resistance and cool futuristic battles.

Kane, a blast from the past, zipped through time to lend a hand in Cable’s future shenanigans after Nathan played the hero card. Back in the now, he’s rubbing shoulders with the Weapon X crew and even snagged the ‘Weapon X’ title for himself at one point.

The Legacy Virus in the comic world was like the grim reaper at a mutant fiesta. First popping up in Uncanny X-Men #300, this nasty bug was Stryfe’s gift to the future—talk about a terrible party favour. It started with Legacy-1 and Legacy-2, but nobody likes a trilogy of terror, so along came Legacy-3. This pesky pathogen floated around looking for the mutant “X-factor,” AKA the X-Gene. No X-factor? The virus would just throw a tantrum and leave. But if it hit the jackpot, it was game over, with the mutant’s RNA going on a destructive spree, leading to a dramatic exit. And just for kicks, it made sure the mutant’s powers went on the fritz first. Eventually, it got bored and thought, “Why not humans too?” But have no fear, Colossus was here! In Uncanny X-Men #390, he pulled off the ultimate heroic act, curing the virus in a plot twist faster than you can say “deus ex machina!” He got better a few years later.

In the midst of chaos, two Morlock mutants, Scaleface and Mole, ended up in quarantine. Scaleface, with her dragon-shifting abilities, likely yearned for a bit of freedom, whereas Mole, true to his name, preferred to stay beneath the radar rather than be the centre of attention.

As Forge unveils the altered history involving the plague to Bishop, he presents an image of Rachel and Franklin from Days of Future Past (Part 1). In this version of events, they outlast the Sentinels but fall victim to the disease.

The ‘Friend of Humanity’ member’s watch contains a database with files on mutants such as Callisto and Sabretooth, in addition to the X-Men.

The episode is peppered with cameos: the Gamesmaster, SHIELD’s Nick Fury, War Machine, and Commander G.W. Bridge all make appearances during a press conference. In the comics, Bridge has a complex relationship with Cable, often finding himself at odds with him. Meanwhile, Cable’s time cube offers a glimpse into the past, revealing mutants suffering from a devastating plague. These aren’t random mutants; they’re Warpath, Feral, and Cannonball, who will eventually join Cable’s X-Force, and Illyana Rasputin, a New Mutant who succumbed to the disease, as depicted in Uncanny X-Men #303.

X-Ternally Yours | Time Fugitives (Part 2)