The X-Men ‘97 Season 1 finale didn’t just put fans on the edge of their seats with several action-packed scenes and surprising turns of events. It also featured several Easter eggs, numerous Marvel Cameos, and major revelations, to the delight of many. However, if there’s one thing non-comic book readers haven’t noticed, Episode 10, Tolerance is Extinction – Part 3, subtly introduces Cyclops and Jean Grey’s daughter, Mother Askani / Rachel Summers.
The X-Men ‘97 Season 1 finale ended with some X-Men members being sent to different timelines. After the destruction of Asteroid M, Cyclops and Jean Grey ended up in the future of 3960 A.D., while Rogue, Nightcrawler, Beast, Professor X, and Magneto were sent to the past of 3000 BC Egypt. Morph, Wolverine, and Storm’s whereabouts are yet to be revealed.
In the distant dystopian future, Jean and the Cyclops are met by a group of warriors led by an older woman who introduces herself as Mother Askani, the leader of Clan Askani. A young Nathan Summers then appears, surprising both Jean and Cyclops. But many may not know, Mother Askani is Rachel Summers, the daughter of Cyclops and Jean from Earth-811, an alternate version of the Sacred Timeline (Earth-616), where the Days of the Future Past arc is set.
Who is Mother Askani in X-Men?
Before taking on the name of Mother Askani, she was known as Rachel Summers, born in the reality of Earth-811. In that reality, Jean’s Dark Phoenix visited her parents, John and Elaine Grey, and sister, Sara Grey-Bailey, and was welcomed back to their home. She stayed alive, married Scott Summers, and gave birth to Rachel, who inherited her mother’s mutant powers.
However, things started to turn for the worse after the assassination of Senator Kelly and Charles Xavier. The Mutant Control Act was passed, and Sentinels were deployed against mutants, resulting in deaths, forced genetic breeding, and mutants ending in concentration camps.
The notorious future timeline slaver Ahab captured Rachel, making her one of his mutant-hunting Hounds. However, she managed to escape and changed the timeline to give mutants a better world. She attracted the Phoenix Force’s attention and made her a successor host for Jean.
She then made it into the mainstream reality of Earth-616 and became a member of the X-Men and the UK team Excalibur. She continued time-traveling and found herself in an alternate future timeline that Apocalypse had dominated. There, she took the name Mother Askani and helped her brother, Nathan, to become a time-traveling messiah, later known as Cable, to stop Apocalypse from threatening the future.
By the looks of it, X-Men '97 Season 2 will adapt the 1994 comic book miniseries The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix, in which their minds were transported into the future to raise Nathan into a powerful mutant, Cable, and develop his telepath and telekinetic powers. However, fans are advised to take this assumption with a grain of salt, as nothing is confirmed yet.
All episodes of X-Men '97 Season 1 are available to stream on Disney+. X-Men '97 Season 2, on the other hand, has yet to have an official release date.
