Warning: Major X-Men ‘97 Season 1 Finale spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.
X-Men ‘97 Season 1 ended with a major cliffhanger, leaving the fates of several X-Men unknown. The final episode, Tolerance is Extinction - Part 3, sets up the stage for X-Men ‘97 Season 2 by introducing a new villain and putting the group of mutants in different timelines. However, three major X-Men members are missing: Storm, Morph, and Wolverine. Hence, many are wondering where these three are.
Episode 9, Tolerance is Extinction – Part 2, saw the split of X-Men into two teams to face Bastion in his headquarters and Magneto on Asteroid M. They finally reunited in X-Men ‘97 Season 1 finale after the mutant-hating machine made his way to the space station to wipe out humanity and made them extinct.
The X-Men did their best to stop Asteroid M from hitting Earth but to no avail. Fortunately, Magneto returned to his senses and helped them by stopping the former mutant sanctuary from plummeting. However, Asteroid M was gone after an explosion, and so was the X-Men.
After a six-month time jump, the X-Men were presumed dead but later revealed to end up in different timelines. Cyclops and Jean Grey found themselves in the desolate future of 3960 A.D. and met Mother Askani and a young Nathan Summers. On the other hand, Rogue, Nightcrawler, Beast, Professor X, and Magneto were sent to the past, in 3000 BC Egypt, where they encountered En Sabah Nur, the future Apocalypse. Sadly, Storm, Wolverine, and Morph's whereabouts weren’t revealed.
Where did Storm, Wolverine and Morph end up in the timeline of X-Men ‘97?
As the X-Men ‘97 Season 1 finale seems to set up Apocalypse as the new villain of X-Men ‘97 Season 2, it looks like the X-Men are about to fight him in different timelines. Cyclops and Jean are in the future, while Rogue, Nightcrawler, Beast, Professor X, and Magneto are in the past. As Apocalypse seems at present, the Episode 10 mid-credits scene showing him in the rubble of Genosha, Storm, Wolverine, and Morph may have been sent back to the present time.
Apocalypse seemingly hints that he will resurrect Gambit after holding one of his playing cards, probably making him Horseman of Death. This has happened in the comics, so it isn’t far from happening in the series. However, it’s also good to note that Wolverine has lost his adamantium after a fierce battle against Magneto. In the comics, he, too, becomes one of the Horsemen of Apocalypse, and the villain helps restore the adamantium in his skeleton.
As for Storm, she became one of the Horsemen of Apocalypse in the X-Men: Apocalypse movie. She, too, was the Horseman of Famine in the final season of X-Men: Evolution. However, in the 1995 comic book crossover Age of Apocalypse, Storm managed to escape with the help of Prelate Scott Summers after being captured by Apocalypse and wanting her to be one of his Horsemen.
Lastly, though there are theories that Morph may become the Horseman of Pestilence, he battles Apocalypse, his son Holocaust, and the Horseman of Death alongside the X-Men in Age of Apocalypse. Morph transforms into Sabretooth and gives Clarice Ferguson, aka Blink, assurance after losing her confidence in her role as an X-Man. He transports the team to the Blue Area of the Moon to fight the Horseman of Death and defeat him.
Fans are advised to take these assumptions with a grain of salt. Details about X-Men ‘97 Season 2 and the location of Storm, Wolverine, and Morph remain to be seen, so nothing is confirmed yet.
Though the animated series has been faithful to its source material, it has changed some storylines, like making Bastion responsible for the attack on Genosha instead of Cassandra Nova. So, what will happen next remains a mystery.
All episodes of X-Men ‘97 Season 1 are now available on Disney+.
