WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS AND DETAILS FOR
X-MEN 97 SEASON 2

If the season premiere was about scale, then this one is about differences — the ideological fractures between mutant teams, the moral lines they draw, and the consequences of crossing them. X‑Factor operate under the banner of government protection, yet their actions blur into persecution. Cable’s X‑Force strike first and ask questions later, driven by the belief that Apocalypse must be stopped at any cost. And caught between these extremes is Jubilee, who witnesses first-hand just how far Cable is willing to go when he executes War and tells her that in war, death is inevitable.

But the heart of the episode belongs to Jubilee herself. She’s spectacular throughout — not just in her clashes with the more lethal X‑Force, but in the remarkable growth of her powers. The animators seize the opportunity, unleashing vibrant, explosive sequences that finally present Jubilation Lee as an adult force in her own right. Psylocke and Archangel are welcome additions to the ensemble too, taking a far more active role than they ever did in the original series.

Yet it’s Jubilee and Polaris who define the emotional core. Two former X‑Men, now standing on opposite sides, both questioning whether the path they’re on is truly the right one. And that’s the enduring question at the centre of the X‑Men mythos: is there ever a single dream worth following, or only the struggle to find the one that harms the least?

In the woods surrounding the abandoned Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, a group of young mutants race toward what they believe is sanctuary. But their hope is short‑lived: they’re intercepted by X‑Factor, the government‑sponsored mutant team now operating with full authority in the X‑Men’s absence.

Elsewhere, Jubilee is restless and directionless. With Forge and Bishop gone on their mission, she’s stuck in the arcade with Sunspot, unsure of her place. That changes when Cable arrives. He’s assembling a strike team to take the fight directly to Apocalypse. When Jubilee asks what the team is called, Cable gives her the answer with a rare smile: X‑Force.

Jubilee’s first mission takes the team to Brazil, where they track down Abraham Kieros — War, one of Apocalypse’s Horsemen. X‑Force defeats him quickly, but when Psylocke attempts to read his memories, she finds them blocked. Cable declares Kieros useless and orders his execution. Jubilee objects, but the rest of the team sides with Cable, leaving her shaken.

Needing a telepath with a deeper connection to Kieros, X‑Force turns to Emma Frost. Since Genosha, Emma has been running a nightclub and refining her diamond form. She’s not thrilled to see Cable’s team in her office, but agrees to help — for a price. She leads them to a storage facility containing machinery similar to the device that once transformed Warren into Archangel, but far more advanced. Cable realises Apocalypse could use this to create or manipulate Horsemen. Before they can destroy it, X‑Factor ambushes them. Emma has betrayed them. Jubilee pleads with Polaris, but X‑Force is forced to retreat, leaving Jubilee behind.

Aboard X‑Factor’s helicarrier, Jubilee is interrogated but refuses to cooperate. She’s locked in a cell block with other teenage mutants. When Lorna visits, she quietly lowers the security field, torn between duty and conscience. Jubilee seizes the chance. In a stunning display of her improved control, she takes down the agents, frees the mutants, and signals Cable.

X‑Force arrives to extract the captives, but Jubilee remains aboard. She loses her parachute during the escape, taunting Havok and Val Cooper as she leaps from the carrier — only to be caught safely by Sunspot.

Cable is left contemplating Jubilee’s words: what’s the point of stopping Apocalypse if there’s no world left afterward? He remembers the moment he received Professor and sent the X‑Men home. Now, all he can do is hope everything falls into place.

Massive changes! This week the name of the series is changed to X-Force ’97 and sees the X-Force jet transporting our heroes rather than the Blackbird, and Sunspot and Archangel alongside. Cable, Psylocke and Archangel all get title shots for the first time: Archangel’s has Muir Island Research Complex in the background. They also have their comic book accurate logos. Jubilee is now in her Generation X uniform. There is also a new shot of X-Force running into battle.

Other news shots:
– Jubilee and her doppelganger from Motendo
– Sunspot powering up from Tolerance is Extinction
– Val releasing Magneto’s Genoshan collar
– X-Factor, taken from the cover of X-Factor #71
– Angel’s transformation into Archangel from Come the Apocalypse
– Archangel’s quest to defeat Apocalypse in Obsession
– X-Force in training, with Domino and Shatterstar’s weaponry seen in the background

Apocalypse and his Horsemen take the place of the regular villains. His Horsemen from The Fifth Horsemen are included. X-Force runs towards them. A white Project: Wideawake Sentinel chases the mutant youngsters, including Chamber and Quentin Quire, in the centre. The title card is also changed.

The swing set seen at the opening of the episode resembles the one seen on the opening pages of X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills. Two mutant children in the book are identified as Jill and Mark, and they appear here. The others are Wing, Monet and Quentin Quire.

X-Factor have the line-up that debuted in the original series episode Cold Comfort, minus Quicksilver. This particular team line-up comes from X-Factor #71.

On the news, X-Factor have captured Generation X mutant Chamber. He also cameos later in the episode.

When Psylocke looks inside War’s mind, we see a glimpse of a familiar looking coffin…

As Jubilee says, X-Men do not kill. When Cable’s order is followed, it’s a keen reminder that X-Force’s mandate was to kill the threat before it was allowed to strike.

Emma Frost now runs a nightclub and can transform back and forth into her diamond form, as established last season in Bright Eyes.

Lorna gets more to do here than ever before: she’s called Polaris for the first time onscreen. She also tells Jubilee she was a foster child until the X-Men took her in. We saw Lorna with the X-Men in flashback in Cold Comfort.

X-Factor’s base appears to be an old SHIELD Helicarrier, conveniently without a SHIELD logo in sight.

Cameo city! There are numerous identified mutants in the cells on the Helicarrier: Nature Girl, Dust, Eyeboy, Synch, Monet, Rockslide, Pixie, Mondo, Artie, Loa, the Stepford Cuckoos, Anole, Gaia and Glob Herman, all of whom make their first appearances in this episode. A really deep cut is Maggie, seen once in Alex Ross’ Marvels.

Val Cooper is also seen wearing an X-Factor uniform.

There are three Jubilee moments in this episode replicated from Slave Island: her crying in her cell, her breaking the mutants and knocking the guard to release the collars. She displays a finesse to her powers in this episode that we have barely seen from her before, in any medium!

Cable’s Professor is revealed to be Ship.

Days of Past Future | Rise of Apocalypse (Part 1)