And that's a wrap on X-Men '97 season 2! After 9 episodes of mutant mayhem, the Age of Apocalypse is over, but not without a hero or two falling along the way.
X-Men '97 season 2 took us from ancient Egypt to the dystopian future, and back again, for an eventful second season that saw X-Force, X-Factor and X-Corps at odds. X-traordinary! This isn't the end of the road either, as X-Men '97 season 3 and 4 are already confirmed.
Below, you'll find everything there is to know about X-Men '97 season 2, including the plot, cast, what the reviews said, and more. For a full, spoiler-filled deep dive into the final episode, check out our X-Men '97 season 2 ending explained and our X-Men '97 season 2 post-credits scene guide.
X-Men '97 season 2 reviews
X-Men '97 season 2 was a hit with critics, landing a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating. This technically makes it the highest-rated Marvel project ever on the review aggregator, topping all 38 MCU movies to date!
GamesRadar+'s own 4* X-Men '97 season review said, "X-Men '97 not only continues to be the best thing to come out of the new "Golden Age" of nostalgia-based revivals and remakes, but also, season 2 does Apocalypse better than the live-action X-Men: Apocalypse movie."
X-Men '97 season 2 release date
X-Men '97 season 2 released on Disney Plus on July 1, 2026. After an initial trio, new episodes were released weekly until the final episode of the season on August 12.
Thanks to Marvel's head of streaming, television, and animation, Brad Winderbaum, we already knew that season 2 would release in 2026, which is a little later than we anticipated, but high-quality animation takes time.
X-Men '97 season 2 trailer
The first trailer for X-Men '97 season 2 was shown behind closed doors at New York Comic Con, and finally hit the internet in May 2026.
In the brief clip, which can be viewed above, we pick up right where season 1 left off with the X-Men scattered across space and time. Jean Grey and Cyclops are stuck in 3960 A.D., with Rogue, Nightcrawler, and Beast in Ancient Egypt circa 3000 B.C. Logan also appears alive and well, despite having had his adamantium skeleton ripped apart by Magneto in the season 1 finale.
X-Men '97 season 2 plot
X-Men '97 season 2 starts with Marvel's mutants scattered across space and time as a result of the cliffhanger season 1 finale.
Rogue, Storm, Xavier, Logan, Beast, Nightcrawler, and Magneto are sent to Egypt circa 3000 BC, where they meet En Sabah Nur, soon to be the world's first mutant, Apocalypse. Jean and Scott end up somewhere in the Future, circa 3960 AD, with a teenaged, pre-Cable version of their son Nathan and a woman named Mother Askani (who is Rachel Summers, their time-lost daughter, in the comics). In present day, Jubilee, Sunspot, and Cable, having survived the Blip-like season 1 ending, are marked "AWOL." Bishop returns from the future to help Forge 'rebuild' the X-Men.
In the present, X-Factor and X-Force fill the void left behind by the X-Men, with the Cable-led X-Force hunting down Apocalypse's horsemen, and X-Factor working for Val Cooper to round up mutant insurgents. Jean and Scott soon return from the future, and in ancient Egypt, Apocalypse kills Magneto in front of a helpless Professor X.
The back half of season 2 is far more episodic. Wolverine enlists a ragtag crew to restore his adamantium skeleton, and briefly becomes part of a killer alien Brood. Polaris helps defeat the Danger Room's sentient AI when it turns rogue. Professor X establishes X-Corp on the ruins of Genosha. Nightcrawler saves his half-brother Graydon Creed from Exodus' judgment. And in the two-part season finale, Gambit returns as the Horseman of Death, after seemingly sucking the life out of Apocalypse.
Turns out Apocalypse is just lying dormant inside Gambit, for some reason, so when Gambit is shot dead by Cable, Apocalypse takes back control. Fortunately, Rogue has had a Celestial upgrade and transfers Apocalypse into a gem. The upgrade came with a cost, however: a life for a life. Rogue expects to die... but doesn't. Turns out Nightcrawler struck a deal with the Celestial and offered his life up so that his adoptive sister may live.
In a post-credits scene, it's revealed that Graydon Creed has been sworn in as president, and Mystique is impersonating Val Cooper, ready to cause chaos in season 3.
X-Men '97 season 2 cast
Now that X-Men '97 season 2 is over, we know the new season's voice cast. The original voice actors from X-Men: The Animated Series make up a good percentage of the season 1 cast, though some of them are voicing different characters than they did in the original show.
Here's where the season 2 cast stands:
- Ray Chase – Scott Summers / Cyclops
- Jennifer Hale – Jean Grey / Phoenix
- Allison Sealy-Smith – Ororo Munroe / Storm
- Cal Dodd – Logan / Wolverine
- J.P. Karliak – Morph
- Lenore Zann – Rogue
- George Buza – Beast
- A.J. LoCascio – Remy LeBeau / Gambit
- Holly Chou – Jubilee
- Isaac Robinson-Smith – Bishop
- Matthew Waterson – Magneto
- Ross Marquand – Professor Charles Xavier
- Adrian Hough – Nightcrawler
- Gui Agustini – Roberto da Costa
- Chris Potter – Nathan Summers / Cable
- Adetokumbosh M'Cormack – En Sabah Nur / Apocalypse
- Gates McFadden – Rachel Summers / Mother Askani
X-Men '97 is streaming now on Disney Plus. For more, check out our guide on how to watch the X-Men movies in order.
