X-Men '97 Episode 5 Combines Some of Marvel's Darkest Storylines Into One Tragic Event

X-Men '97 Episode 5 "Remember It" has left viewers reeling, after the X-Men's animated world took a seriously dark and tragic turn. 

(SPOILERS) Magneto was called back to his mutant nation of Genosha after it is admitted into the UN, to serve as leader of the Genoshan Council that governs the nation. Magneto chooses Rogue to be his co-ruler, giving the X-Men a presence in the country and providing a heroic example to the world to balance out Magneto's image as a terrorist. Magneto's reign is kicked off with an inaugural gala, which is suddenly interrupted by the arrival of a "Wild Sentinel," a massive Sentinel robot made from composite parts of other Sentinels. The Wild Sentinel annihilates the gala and most of Genosha; Magneto and Gambit both sacrifice their own lives to stop the Wild Sentinel and save their fellow mutants, leaving Rogue battered and emotionally broken sitting on the ashes of the once-happy mutant nation. 

X-Men '97 Episode 5 Comic References Explained

At this point it's clear that X-Men '97 is distilling many X-Men comic storylines into single episodes – and Episode 5 is no different. Writer Beau DeMayo and Director Emi Yonemura pull together at least three of the most horrific mass-killing moments from years of X-Men Comics: 

The Mutant Massacre

The infamous 1980s storyline saw the Morlocks (a group of mutants that could not blend into society as "normal looking" people) having their subterranean home invaded by Mister Sinister's Mauraders (led by Sabertooth), and their people wholesale slaughtered. The X-Men, X-Factor, Thor, and the Power Pack eventually got into the Morlock tunnels and stopped the genocide – but not without heavy losses to the X-Men, including Angel (Warren Worthington) being crucified by the villains. It was eventually revealed that Gambit helped the Marauders find the Morlocks and aid in the massacre.

X-Men '97 gives a small but important nod to the Mutant Massacre, by singling out a group of Morlocks (including the childlike Leech) that Magneto gives his life to protect during the Wild Sentinel attack – as well as a more heroic role for Gambit. The Morlocks represent the most marginalized communities around (like the homeless) and the Morlock Mutant Massacre became a transformative part of X-Men, giving their world the deepest of stakes: survival in a world of fear and hatred. 

On a dark note, The Mutant Massacre also set the benchmark for a tragic tradition in X-Men storytelling...

E is for Extinction

In 2001, writer Grant Morrison launched the New X-Men volume of X-Men comics with the jaw-dropping storyline "E is For Extinction." That story built off of the 1990s X-Men storyline "X-Tinction Agenda", which saw the Genoshean nation's barbaric system of artificially creating "mutates" and then enslaving them as mindless workers finally overthrown by the X-Men, X-Factor, and the New Mutants – as well as the 1999 Magneto Rex limited series, which saw the UN hand over Genosha to Magneto as ruler of a sovereign mutant nation. 

In "E is For Extinction" Charles Xavier's twin sister Cassandra Nova unleashes the Wild Sentinel on an unsuspecting Genosha, catching Magneto as he's seated on his throne. The Wild Sentinel annihilates 16 million mutants in the attack – an exponential leap in the level of death and genocide that Marvel mutants had suffered. 

Morrison and artist Frank Quitely's execution of the Genoshan Massacre (no pun) was so fast and matter-of-fact that it was hard to feel deep emotional resonance with it. Well, X-Men '97 Episode 5 clearly takes its heaviest inspiration from "E is For Extinction" and its Wild Sentinel attack on Genosha – but this time, we get to see the horror, fear, and death suffered by all the mutants in the path of annihilation, and it certainly leaves a much different impression than the comic. 

Hellfire Gala Massacre

The last few years of X-Men comics have seen Marvel's heroic mutants build a whole new sovereign nation – alongside Magneto and other "Evil Mutants" – on the sentient mutant island of Krakoa. The X-Men and Krakoa's governing body, The Quiet Council, threw a major party event called "The Hellfire Gala", which was hosted by the White Queen, Emma Frost. The event was used as an annual reboot of the X-Men team, with a new team roster revealed during each gala event. The Hellfire Gala gues list included likenesses of major celebrities from sports, music, and entertainment – as well as various Marvel characters like The Avengers (Tony Stark, Steve Rogers) or Wilson Fisk/Kingpin. The Hellfire Gala was quickly becoming a major annual event for Marvel – until it was shattered by a dark twist.

The 2023 Hellfire Gala debuted its new X-Men team as planned – only to have them instantly slaughtered in an ambush by future Sentinel Nimrod and his partner Omega Sentinel, who were working with anti-mutant organization Orchis. The Hellfire Gala became the scene of a mass killing, while Prof. X was coerced into psychically commanding nearly every mutant on Earth into walking through portals that transported them into another dimension. Orchis took Iron Man's technology and created a new line of Stark Sentinels, which took control of Krakoa and sent the surviving X-Men into hiding. Thus began the "Fall of X" storyline that is now about to wrap up in X-Men comics (at the time of writing this). 

X-Men '97 Episode 5 kept things current with its head nod parallels between Genosha and Krakoa – including the ruling council of Genosha, and an Inaugural Gala that's a clear ode to the Hellfire Gala. Unfortunately, the X-Men animated series gala ended just as tragically, with a mutant nation falling. 

X-Men '97 is streaming on Disney+.