‘X-Men ’97’ Episode 7 Recap & Review: Rogue Cuts Loose & a New Foe Appears

Warning: The following contains spoilers for X-Men ’97 Episode 7.

X-Men ’97 returns with an all-new episode that takes a hard look at some of its main characters and raises the stakes for the mutants to an entirely new level. Dealing with the aftermath of Genosha, Rogue (Lenore Zann) is on the road of revenge to avenge Gambit (A.J. LoCascio) and her fellow mutants.

Will Rogue lose herself to this destructive path? Will Professor Xavier (Ross Marquand) make it back in time to save his beloved X-Men? Will mutant kind ever be able to recover after Genosha? Find out all of this and more in our X-Men ’97 Episode 7 recap.

The X-Men Lay Gambit To Rest in ‘X-Men ’97’ Episode 7

As the X-Men attend Gambit’s funeral, Episode 7, “Bright Eyes,” begins on a somber note in a graveyard. Wolverine (Cal Dodd) comforts a distraught Jubilee (Holly Chou), who is angry that Rogue isn’t in attendance when Gambit loved her and sacrificed himself to save all of them. Wolverine tells her that grief is a lonely war and that Rogue has to figure things out on her own.

Nightcrawler (Adrian Hough) argues that Wolverine was not there to witness the horrors of Genosha and that Jubilee has a right to be scared. The episode cuts to Rogue infiltrating a secret government facility and questioning General Thaddeus Ross (Michael Patrick McGill) about the whereabouts of  Henry Gyrich (Todd Haberkorn) and Boliver Trask (Gavin Hammon).

Captain America Makes an Appearance in ‘X-Men ’97’ Episode 7

In her search for Gyrich, Rogue arrives at a cabin where she runs into none other than Captain America (Josh Keaton). Cap urges Rogue to stop her rampage for revenge and says that Genosha was a tragedy for everyone, not just mutants.

Cap tells her they have the same mission and that he is also searching for Gyrich to find Boliver Trask. The super soldier takes Rogue inside the cabin and explains that it belongs to a secret covert division of the UN called OZT that transferred Gyrich to a facility in Mexico City.

Captain America tells Rogue that his going to Mexico City without proper clearance would send the wrong message, and Rogue questions if he still stands with the mutants. Cap assures her that his hands are tied in the situation, but Rogue doesn’t see it as clearly and tosses his shield into the mountains before flying off to find Trask.

Rogue Encounters a New Enemy

Rogue arrives in Mexico City and discovers Gyrich isn’t in jail but at a fancy government compound, whose defenses she quickly makes her way through to confront Gyrich about the location of Trask and OZT.

Gyrich refuses to tell Rogue anything and begins to toy with her when she grabs him and starts using her mutant powers to drain his memories. As Gyrich screams in agony, Rogue is suddenly overwhelmed with his thoughts and the image of Nimrod, a highly advanced future Sentinel.

‘X-Men ’97’s “Bright Eyes” Gives Emma Frost an Upgrade

Back in Genosha, the cleanup effort continues while Cyclops (Ray Chase) and Jean (Jennifer Hale) clear the citadel, and Jean feels psychic echoes from the massive amount of death. The two discuss their relationship issues and how complicated things have been for them lately with Madelyn and Nathan when Jean suddenly gets a psychic signal from another telepath.

Mutants gather to see who the survivor is, and Jean pulls out Emma Frost (Martha Marion), who is covered in diamonds. Beast (George Buza) explains that diamond skin is not part of Emma’s powers and must be a latent mutation triggered by the explosion. Cyclops is distraught that it wasn’t Madelyn, and Jean comforts him before Morph (JP Karliak) calls the team back to the Black Bird with a message from Trask.

Trask tells the X-Men that he had no idea Mister Sinister (Christopher Britton) would use his DNA for the Master Mold that attacked Genosha. Cyclops and the rest of the team question why they should trust him, and he tells them to go to the UN Peace Legion in Madripoor, where he will show them the truth.

The X-Men Always Show Up for One Another

We then meet back with Rogue who wakes up to discover Nightcrawler has found her. The two see someone grieving at a gravestone, and Rogue opens up to Nightcrawler about losing Gambit. Nightcrawler assures her that both Gambit and Magneto’s deaths were not her fault and that she helped them both truly live. Rogue breaks down and turns to discover the rest of the X-Men there by her side.

Back in Gyrich’s room, a mysterious man (Theo James) comes to see him, and Gyrich congratulates him, saying the plan is just as he dreamt it. The man tells Gyrich that he has nearly ruined his surprise and proceeds to kill him before silently leaving the room.

Rogue Goes Rogue in Madripoor

The X-Men arrive in Madripoor and discover that everyone in the UN building has been knocked out with sleeping gas. The team finds a secret elevator that takes them into a secret cybernetics facility and discovers the guards are members of OZT, the same group that was protecting Gyrich.

The X-Men discover Trask standing on the edge of the building, ready to take his own life. He explains that he made the sentinels to protect people and quotes Oppenheimer’s “Now I am become death.” The team questions him about OZT and Mister Sinister, and he explains that they are a group that arose in the wake of his old sentinel program and that he and OZT are creating a new form of Sentinel.

Trask goes to jump but is caught by Rogue, who wants more answers. Trask says he has nothing more, and Rogue agrees with him before letting go and watching him fall to the street below. The rest of the team looks on in shock as Rogue tearfully rationalizes her actions with how he is responsible for Gambit and everyone else in Genosha. Immediately after, the team is struck by a Sentinel blast, and a zombie Trask appears, proclaiming himself to be the Prime Sentinel.

‘X-Men ’97’ Episode 7 Introduces a New Type of Sentinel

Sentinel Trask attacks the X-Men, destroying the UN building. The team escapes and clears the destruction, saving the innocents below, before coming face-to-face with Trask. The X-Men jump into action, attacking Trask head-on, but are quickly overwhelmed by his new Sentinel upgrades.

Jean takes the fight to the air, and the two battle it out before Trask overpowers her, and Cyclops is the only one left standing. Trask rushes Cyclops, and just before dealing the fatal blow, he is stopped by a cluster grenade that neutralizes the human Sentinel. Cyclops looks up to see Cable (Chris Potter) has come to save the day.

Cable approaches Cyclops, and Jean reads his mind, realizing that he is Scott’s son Nathan. Cyclops is stunned by this realization but is cut off by Cable, who says he is not here for a family reunion. He informs the team that Sinister is working for someone far worse than Trask and that if they fail to stop him, there will be no future for any of them.

Mister Sinister Is Revealed To Be Working With X-Men Villain Bastion

The episode cuts to Mister Sinister meeting with the mysterious man who killed Gyrich, none other than Bastion. He tells Sinister that Trask was a rough draft whose fight with the X-Men gave them crucial data for his real masterpiece and reveals to Sinister that Charles Xavier is still alive. Bastion enters an unknown location, revealing that he has Magneto (Matthew Waterson) held captive with a power collar.

‘X-Men ’97’ Delivers Another Great Episode in “Bright Eyes”

X-Men ‘97 has done it again with another phenomenal episode. After nearly 20 years of Rogue being sidelined on the big screen, it is so fun and refreshing to have her truly cut loose in this episode and explore her grief and guilt over both Gambit and Magneto.

This was not only a beautiful character-driven episode but also the most tense, with some genuinely nail-biting action sequences and jump-out-of-your-seat moments. X-Men ‘97 has been all hits and no misses, leaving no doubt that Marvel will be able to stick the landing in the remaining three episodes.

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