Marvel Animated Crossover Storyline Set In Motion, X-Men ’97 Latest Episode Plants The Seeds

Based on Rogue’s conversation with Captain America in the X-Men ‘97 episode “Bright Eyes,” it looks like we’ll be getting an animated version of Rick Remender’s Uncanny Avengers comics.

What do those comics have to do with a Marvel animated crossover, and what part would X-Men ‘97 play?

In Uncanny Avengers, our not-so-merry band of mutants is dealing with several problems ranging from the death of Professor Xavier to negative public perception of the X-Men due to the actions of those recently possessed by the Phoenix Force.

When Captain America’s foe, Red Skull, steals Xavier’s brain to weaponize its telepathic abilities, Wolverine, Rogue, and Havoc take Cap’s suggestion and become part of a new team: the Avengers Unity Squad.

In the comics, one of the goals of this squad is to improve mutant/human relations, and it’s looking increasingly likely this will be the driving plot behind the inevitable Marvel animated crossover.

The X-Men ‘97 episode “Bright Eyes” showed a brief dialogue between Rogue and Captain America where he regretfully tells her that because he represents America, he has to do things “by the book” instead of chasing the villainous Henry Gyrich down in Mexico.

When he tells her such an action “sends a message,” Rogue says that the only message is that Cap and his team “stand with mutants…unless you don’t now?” 

Captain America’s refusal to help prompts an angry Rogue to throw his shield away, and that’s the last we see of Captain America in this episode.

However, the odds are good that he and his team are going to pop up again to save the day, paying off this conversation by showing that the Avengers really do still support mutants.

Thanks to the Uncanny Avengers comics, we know how easily this could lead to the Marvel animated crossover everyone has been waiting for.

While it hasn’t been a major plot point (so far, at least), X-Men ‘97 has shown the worldwide reaction to the attack on Genosha has been mixed.

Some feel like a violent clash between mutants and humans is inevitable, and even the American president (ostensibly a mutant ally) is afraid to speak up for mutants because it might hurt his re-election chances.

Now that we have seen Rogue is willing to murder humans like Bolivar Trask who threaten mutants, it’s easy to imagine the public backlash against mutants growing even worse.

That leaves us with a world very much like what we see in Uncanny Avengers, with Captain America wanting to do more to help the mutant community and the X-Men potentially needing help to rehabilitate their public image.

My prediction is that the Marvel animated crossover may occur as early as the second season of X-Men ‘97 as we get occasional crossover adventures between the mutants and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

In turn, this will let Disney test the waters and gauge fan reaction to different Avengers characters before giving the team (or some of its individual members, like Captain America and Iron Man) a solo series.

I could be wrong about this Marvel animated crossover prediction…if you want someone who can perfectly predict the future, go see if the mutant Destiny has a blog (sure, she’s blind, but talk-to-text software has come a long way).

But X-Men ‘97 sure looks like it’s hinting hard that we’ll get some crossover with the Avengers, and Rogue’s conversation with Cap strongly hints that we’ll get a cartoon incarnation of the Avengers Unity Squad.

If you’d like your own shot at predicting the future of this hit new cartoon, this is the perfect time to start reading Rick Remender’s run on Uncanny Avengers.