Marvel Studios ‘X-Men '97’ Episode 7 Review - Fury, Funeral, and Fights

The eyes are teary, the mood is gloomy, and Rogue is angry in the seventh episode of X-Men '97. It opens with the burial of Gambit, leading you to expect a sad tone throughout the 30-minute runtime. But the faux funeral-y vibes are immediately shattered by a swift pace that obliterates all the emotional feelings from the screen. Episode 7 further proves that X-Men '97 is made by people who have no genuine interest in solid storytelling. The creators think their target audiences are 12-year-old kids who get wet dreams if you show them the faces of superheroes they admire deeply. Hence, Captain America appears briefly to deviate your attention away from the flaws of this show, and this story.

After the Genosha incident, all the mutants get together to help the victims. They offer their condolences, inspect the patients, or retrieve bodies from debris. Remember Roberto? He reveals his mutant identity to his mother with the help of Jubilee. She, at first, welcomes the revelation calmly as well as enthusiastically but then asks Roberto to be discreet. Um, what else? Oh yes, Rogue furiously searches for Bolivar Trask and Henry Gyrich. She easily breaks into a facility built to withstand Hulk's fury. Don't underestimate a grieving mutant.

The X-Men finally come face-to-face with a guilt-ridden Bolivar, and you get ridiculous shades of Oppenheimer. Before you can even utter "Oppenheimer," Bolivar commits suicide and returns as Bolivar Prime (or is it Prime Bolivar?). This zombie/machine-like version of Bolivar hits the X-Men and says, "Mutant neutralized." No, none of the mutants actually die. They just receive serious injuries, making them unconscious or extremely weak. This fight scene, like all the other fight scenes, is yet another piece of badly choreographed mediocrity.

The Jean-Cyclops-Madelyne triangle was the only good thing about this X-Men series, but given how Jean mentions she understands Cyclops' situation so casually, you realize the series won't take this triangle to a complex territory. X-Men '97 is merely content with inane superhero stuff and soppy sentimentality. It's a shallow piece of work that wants to be taken seriously.