30 Years Later, X-Men Just Rebooted One of Marvel's Most Important Heroes
— Disney/Marvel
As X-Men ‘97 Season 1 speeds toward its finale, the nostalgic punches keep coming. Following a surprising appearance from Captain America in Episode 7, “Bright Eyes,” Episode 8 has come out swinging. After a massive battle with Bastion, and Magento unleashing his full powers, thanks to the North Pole, some very famous Marvel cameos are unleashed, well outside of the world of mutants. And one of those superheroes is, arguably, one of the most famous Marvel characters of all time.
Here’s who just (briefly) crashed X-Men ‘97, which version of the character we’re looking at, and what it might mean for the Marvel multiverse.
Spoilers ahead for X-Men ‘97, “Tolerance is Extinction Part 1.”
Toward the end of Episode 8, when Magento sends out waves and waves of magnetic energy, the entire world notices the effect. This includes the Marvel Comics characters Omega Red, Baron Zemo, Doctor Doom, Silver Samurai, and yes, Spider-Man.
Spider-Man ‘94 — explained
But, which Spider-Man is this? It appears that this is the same version of Peter Parker from Spider-Man: The Animated Series, which launched in 1994, a few years after X-Men: The Animated Series. Previously, X-Men ‘97 showrunner Beau De Mayo had teased on Twitter that this series took place in that same continuity.
In the 1990s, this version of Peter Parker crossed over with the X-Men a fact which X-Men ‘97 producer Brad Winderbaum talked about with ScreenRant back in March, saying: “X-Men ’97 fits directly into the continuity of the ‘90s animated shows, and as you know, there were some awesome crossovers, most notably with Spider Man[: The Animated Series.]”
So, this means that the Spidey we briefly see in the cameo here is not part of the MCU. This isn’t Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield or Tom Holland’s take on Spidey. This is Peter Parker was played by Christopher Daniel Barnes, though at this point in X-Men ‘97, he doesn’t actually speak.
Will the X-Men ‘97 finale continue the crossovers?
After “Tolerance is Extinction Part 1,” there are two more episodes left in Season 1 of X-Men ‘97. And with the return of Professor X at the end of this episode, it seems like the series will continue to pile on more and more cameos from superheroes from outside the regular line-up of X-Men.
But, it’s worth noting that this isn’t really for nostalgia points or publicity stunts. Prior to the MCU, having various comic book characters crossover from one title to another — whether on TV or in the actual comics — wasn’t that uncommon. In a sense, this is what a big shared comic book universe looks like. So, by showing us Spider-Man, X-Men ‘97 isn’t jumping the cameo shark. It’s just presenting a realistic depiction of the Marvel world.
That said, with two episodes left in Season 1, it’s totally possible for Iron Man, or other members of the Avengers to pop up, too. After all, it’s their world, too.