2×06: Danger.exe

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

We have a confession to make here at X‑Cess Minutiae: we love Lorna Dane. From the moment this writer first met her during Peter David’s critically acclaimed X‑Factor run in 1991, she’s been a personal favourite — mainly due to her feisty personality. At Cyclops and Jean’s wedding, she famously threatened to magnetically wrap a brick around the head of the next person who suggested she and Havok were “next.” Classic Lorna.

She’s always been a complex character with a strange, winding history. Originally introduced as a pawn used against the X‑Men by Mesmero, Lorna was declared the illegitimate daughter of Magneto. That revelation was later dismissed as deception, but decades afterward — in Uncanny X‑Men #431 (2003) — her own research confirmed that she is indeed the progeny of the Master of Magnetism.

Despite her lineage, Lorna wasn’t often a main member of the X‑Men in the comics, spending most of her history on the periphery until recent years. Her role as a regular character in The Gifted, played by Emma Dumont, catapulted her into the public spotlight, and we’re delighted she’s now appearing in X‑Men ’97 — and in such a prominent role. One of the minor criticisms of the original animated series was its lack of focus on characters like Archangel, Psylocke, Polaris, Colossus, and Iceman.

It’s refreshing to see this new series expand its mandate and give the wider X‑family the attention they deserve. It makes the world feel bigger, richer, and more exciting — and with this episode’s cliff‑hanger guaranteeing an explosive final three episodes, we think we’re in for a terrific season finale…

As therapy, Xavier relives Magneto’s death at the hands of Apocalypse in the Danger Room, admitting that he may not survive in a world without his oldest friend. During the session, he discovers that the Danger Room has been quietly exceeding its safety limits. Meanwhile, Polaris leads X‑Factor in disrupting an arms deal; her excessive force creates bad publicity, prompting Cooper to dismiss her from the team. Lorna returns to the mansion, adrift and angry.

Xavier promotes Storm to headmistress and travels with Cyclops, Jean, and Beast to the ruins of Genosha. Back at the mansion, Polaris assists Bishop with an emergency in the Danger Room — which has begun attacking them and a group of students. The Danger Room declares that the X‑Men must be prepared for threats greater than ever before, taunting Polaris about her unresolved feelings toward Magneto. Overwhelmed, she loses control and injures the students before Bishop intervenes.

Taking on a humanoid form, Danger knocks Polaris out and steals a personal X‑Jet. At Genosha, she battles Xavier and the X‑Men, easily countering them thanks to her intimate knowledge of their powers and tactics. Polaris and Bishop arrive, and Xavier psychically shares his positive memories of Magneto with Lorna, stabilising her emotions and supercharging her abilities. Together, they defeat Danger.

Inspired by those memories — and by Magneto’s dream for Genosha — Xavier decides to base the X‑Men there permanently, establishing X‑Corp to circumvent US government restrictions. Cooper vows to take the organisation down. In a lab in Athens, Apocalypse resurrects Gambit as one of his Horsemen.

The credits this week feature a shot of the Sentinel as he turned to face Gambit in Remember It.

Polaris was first seen in the original series episode Cold Comfort which revealed she left Iceman for X-Factor. She briefly appeared in The Phalanx Covenant (Part 2). She was revealed to be the daughter of Magneto in Erik’s mind in Tolerance is Extinction (Part 3).

Charles is still in his past clothes from Egypt, showing his obsession with the Magneto simulation. Erik was killed in Rise of Apocalypse (Part 2) and the final scene of that episode plays several times in Charles’ opening moments.

Wolfsbane speaks for the first time in this episode, voiced by Catherine Disher.

Reverend Stryker and his Purifiers make an appearance in this episode. Former X-Cutioner Carl Denti, last seen in Mutant Liberation Begins, has joined the organisation.

Morph transforms into Mr. Fantastic while playing ball with the students.

Lorna’s room contains pictures of her with Ororo and Jean, as well as the original team with Polaris in their 1970s costumes.

The students consist of some of the mutants that escaped the X-Factor Helicarrier in A Force to Be Reckoned With. Seen in this episode are: Chamber, M, Synch, Skin, Mondo, Rockslide, Angel Salvatore, Glob Herman, Eyeboy, No-Girl, Quentin Quire, Dust, Shark Girl, Doop, Beak, Wing, Loa, Pixie, Radian, Artie, Nature Girl, Boom Boom and Cipher.

The simulation of the Sentinels attacking is taken from Astonishing X-Men #1. Danger comes from Astonishing X-Men‘s Dangerous arc.

Beast once again wears his Howard the Duck shirt, which he wore in The Dark Shroud.

The Danger Room convinced Wing to jump to his death in Astonishing X-Men #7. In the comics, he didn’t survive.

The Danger Room technologically evolved and became Danger in Astonishing X-Men #9. It attacked Xavier on Genosha in the comics also.

The X-Men uniformed, introduced in Uncanny X-Men #394 debut in this episode as X-Corp uniforms.

X-Corp was formed by Banshee in Uncanny X-Men #401, as an attempt to police the mutant population. Charles took over the corporation afterwards and reorganised it as a mutant research and outreach centre.

The Watcher can be seen towering over Athens, just as he did over Genosha in Remember It.

Gambit is resurrected at the end of the episode by Apocalypse’s technology. He now resembles his Death persona, first seen in X-Men #186.

LORNA DANE: PRODIGAL X-MAN

Polaris first appeared in X‑Men #49 (1968), created by Arnold Drake and Jim Steranko, and immediately stood out as something unusual in the X‑Men mythos. Introduced as Lorna Dane, a young woman with magnetic powers and striking green hair, she was initially positioned as a mystery — a possible new mutant, a potential ally, and, as Mesmero claimed, the daughter of Magneto. Even in her earliest stories, she carried an air of uncertainty and complexity that would follow her throughout her publication history.

Her early years with the X‑Men were sporadic. Although she fought alongside the team in several key Silver Age adventures, she never fully settled into the core roster. The revelation that Magneto was not her father — later retconned — left her in a strange limbo, often appearing as a supporting character rather than a central one. Her relationship with Havok became one of the defining threads of her early history, anchoring her to the X‑Men’s world even when she wasn’t on the front lines.

The 1980s and 1990s saw Polaris evolve dramatically. She was possessed by Malice, joined the government‑sanctioned X‑Factor, and became one of the team’s most reliable heavy hitters. It was during Peter David’s X‑Factor run that Lorna truly came into her own — confident, sharp‑tongued, emotionally layered, and capable of carrying major storylines. This era cemented her as a fan favourite, even if she still hovered at the edges of the main X‑Men narrative.

In 2003, Uncanny X‑Men #431 finally resolved one of the longest‑running mysteries in mutant history: Lorna’s lineage. Her own research confirmed that she is Magneto’s daughter, restoring the connection that had been teased since her debut. This revelation reframed decades of stories and gave Polaris a new thematic anchor — legacy, identity, and the burden of inheriting one of the most powerful mutant lineages in the Marvel Universe.

In recent years, Polaris has stepped firmly into the spotlight. Her role in The Gifted introduced her to a wider audience, and modern comics have given her leadership roles, emotional depth, and long‑overdue prominence. Now, with X‑Men ’97 embracing characters who were previously sidelined, Polaris finally feels like she’s occupying the space she always deserved: a core X‑Man, a legacy character, and one of the most compelling mutants Marvel has ever created.