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X-Men 97's emotional season 2 reunion is even more heartbreaking than casual fans realise
Meet Mother Askani...
Photo courtesy of Marvel.
- David Opie
Published: Friday, 3 July 2026 at 10:05 am
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With the return of X-Men 97, the X-Men family is bigger than it's ever been. Between the introduction of X-Force and X-Factor, Marvel's merry band of mutants continue to grow in number throughout the first three episodes of season two. Not even the Multiple Man could keep up at this point.
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But as the cast expands, family connections are being forged here that many people watching might not even realise are happening right before their eyes. For those who do know, however, the emotional toil that comes with all these time travel shenanigans is even harder to bear.
Following on from season 1’s finale, the X-Men have been split in half, sent to two separate time periods by an unknown force. While Professor Xavier and his group encounter Apocalypse in the distant past, Cyclops, Jean Grey and a few more teammates wind up in the 40th century, where they team up with Askani rebels to end Apocalypse's future reign.
It's no coincidence that Scott and Jean end up there because this just so happens to be where they sent baby Nathan last season. That's because the offspring of Scott and Jean's clone could only survive in the future, thanks to the incurable techno-organic virus that ravages his body.
When we meet Nathan again in the 40th century, the Askani cult has been training him in the hope that he will free them of Apocalypse's tyranny. Oh, and Nathan also grows up to be the time-travelling warrior Cable, who we see assemble the X-Force team this season.
Nathan Summers stands with Jean Grey behind him in X-Men 97 season 2. Photo courtesy of Marvel.
But never mind that. What's important is that Cyclops and Jean decide to help this young version of Nathan push his mutant abilities to their limit, training him the best they can while keeping the truth of their family connection a secret.
It's not until they're captured by enemy forces that Scott finally reveals himself to be Nathan's father. Jean kind of takes credit as his mother, too, even though his actual mum is Madelyne Pryor, Jean's clone. Still, the connection they've forged during this time in the future is a strong one, which will make it hard for Scott and Jean to say goodbye when the time comes for them to leave.
Will young Nathan return to 1997 with them? It's doubtful, given that there's already an adult version of him running around in the ‘90s as well. Timelines need to be preserved and all that jazz.
But whatever happens with Nathan, Cyclops and Jean will still leave a child behind in the future, regardless, because there are not one but two Summers children in that timeline. Except that one is hardly a child now.
Yep, the mysterious Mother Askani, the one who pulled the X-Men through time in the first place, is actually Rachel Summers, the daughter of Scott and Jean from an alternate timeline.
Madelyne Pryor and Cable in X-Men '97. Marvel/Disney+
The Summers family resemblance might not be so obvious at first, not with that cloak hiding her face, but hints are revealed via Rachel's power set, similar to Jean's, and a brief glimpse of the Phoenix Force is seen in her eyes.
All the focus is on Nathan's reunion with his parents and the emotional ties that will be severed even more harshly now that this trio have bonded. But the old lady who's been raising him until now is actually his sister, which adds a whole new layer to this increasingly complicated family dynamic.
Revealing that there's another long-lost child in the mix, one who Scott and Jean don't even know exists, would be too much at this stage. X-Men 97 likes to cram a lot into each episode, but that's a step too far, at least this early on in the season.
Askani's true identity might be revealed later down the road, however. This episode already hints at this when Rachel tells Storm that the timeline she hails from is even worse than this one.
Said timeline is how we were first introduced to Rachel in Chris Claremont and John Byrne's now-classic story, Days of Future Past. The Earth-811 timeline is hell for mutants, and Rachel, especially, who was brainwashed into hunting mutants and rounding them up in internment camps.
Mother Askani floats with energy around her and Forge looking on in the background in X-Men 97 season 2. Photo courtesy of Marvel.
Comic-book Rachel eventually wound up joining the X-Men in Marvel's main timeline, fighting for several teams until she was eventually thrown into the 40th century, where she started a rebellion against Apocalypse. Yep, that's how Rachel winds up becoming Mother Askani, the sage old leader we've just met at the start of X-Men 97 season two.
While this Rachel isn't technically the daughter of our Scott and Jean, these X-Men stalwarts are still her parents, which means it must have been heartbreaking to spend all this time together without revealing who she really is. Scott's even quite against her at points, refusing to trust this mythic Mother Askani figure with his son's future.
If only he knew the truth…
What's worse, though, is that Rachel has spent even longer with Nathan, her sibling, but only in the role of mentor and leader. It must pain her a great deal to be with him yet not really be with him in the way that matters most.
Or perhaps this time together is still a blessing of sorts, better than the hellish timeline she was born into. Either way, Rachel must be using considerable psychic power to mask her identity, given that Nathan and Jean possess considerable telepathic abilities of their own.
Will Rachel's scheme to defeat Apocalypse pay off? Photo courtesy of Marvel.
We don't know how she feels for certain, though, not with so much else to contend with in these early episodes. There's a chance that Rachel's true identity might never be revealed at all, to either her parents or us as viewers.
Perhaps it would be too hard to bear that truth, given that Rachel is now much older and has built a life for herself in this rebel future. Or maybe it's just one truth too many for the show to handle with such a large extended family to deal with now.
Either way, that doesn't take away from how heartbreaking these connections are, even if they haven't yet hit quite as hard as Gambit's loss in season 1.
X-Men '97 is available to stream on Disney+. Sign-up to Disney+ from £5.99 a month.
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Authors
David OpieFreelance Writer
David Opie is a freelance entertainment journalist who writes about TV and film across a range of sites including Radio Times, Indiewire, Empire, Yahoo, Paste, and more. He's spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and strives to champion LGBTQ+ storytelling as much as possible. Other passions include comics, animation, and horror, which is why David longs to see a Buffy-themed Rusical on RuPaul's Drag Race. He previously worked at Digital Spy as a Deputy TV Editor and has a degree in Psychology.
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