X-Men '97 Creator Explains Episode 5's Impact On The Rest Of Season 1

Few fans were ready for the events of X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 5, “Remember It,” which thrust the entire series into a much darker direction. The story took its cues from the “E For Extinction” storyline from Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely’s 2001 run on New X-Men, which depicted the fall of the mutant nation of Genosha to a genocidal attack from the Sentinels. The show took that story several steps further and seemingly depicted the death of two members of the X-Men and several of their friends and allies.

Warning: the following contains spoilers from the latest episode of X-Men ’97 on Disney+. If you haven’t seen the installment or don’t want to know what happens, stop reading now.

In response to the episode’s debut, former X-Men ’97 showrunner and series creator Beau DeMayo broke his silence for the first time since he was fired by Marvel last month. Although DeMayo didn’t elaborate on his dismissal, he explained that this episode in particular was important to the pitch he made to Marvel.

“Episode 5 was the centerpiece of my pitch to Marvel in November 2020,” wrote DeMayo. “The idea being to have the X-Men mirror the journey that any of us who grew up on the original show have experienced since being kids in the ’90s. The world was safe for us… Then 9/11 happened, and the world turned against itself. Things weren’t so safe anymore… But if events like 9/11, Tulsa, Charlottesville, or Pulse Nightclub teach us anything, it’s that too many stories are often cut far too short.”

“Like many of us who grew up on the OG cartoon, the X-Men have now been hit hard by the realities of an adult and unsafe world.” continued DeMayo. “Life’s happened to them. And they, like we did, will have to decide which parts of themselves they will cling to and which parts they’ll let go of in order to do what they’ve been telling humanity to do: face an uncertain future they never saw coming… they’ll have to weigh whether this is a time for social justice–or as Magneto preached at his trial–is it a time for social healing.”

Disney+ has also released a new sizzle reel for the remaining five episodes of the season. Although there isn’t much new footage, the video seems to indicate that Nightcrawler will be sticking around and Storm will return to the team with or without her powers.