X-Men 97 Episode 9 Breakdown: Bastion's Origin Revealed, Onslaught Teased and a Huge Comic Panel Recreated

X-Men 97 episode 9 is here, and as the penultimate entry before the finale, it packs in a huge amount of setup, comic references and at least one moment that longtime readers will instantly recognize. I am going through every Easter egg, hidden detail and prediction I have for where this is heading, including what I think season 2 might explore.

This episode matters because it finally answers where Bastion came from, brings President Kelly back into the fold, and ends on an image lifted straight from a classic X-Men comic that changes the entire shape of the finale.

Professor X Has Returned After Crash Landing on Earth

One thing I did not point out last week is that Professor X has finally returned. He crash landed on Earth, and this was actually teased by his addition to the credits, even though he only appeared for a second. The show has kept doing this all season, only properly featuring a character the episode after they show up in the credits, which is why Nightcrawler did not feature in his debut episode either. We open on a new day and Professor X waking up with his wheelchair beside the bed. We learn he can no longer walk. The Shi'ar armor fixed that for him temporarily, which is why he needs the chair for the rest of the episode.

Bastion's Origin Ties Directly Into Nimrod and Bishop's Father

Magneto looks out over some ships while Bastion is shown walking through his hometown carrying his mother, shedding a tear because he views this as a necessary sacrifice. It is haunting seeing the frozen townspeople with horror on their faces. One detail missed last week is that Bastion's mother actually appeared in the original animated series episode "One Man's Worth," working at a diner, in the same episode that featured Nimrod. That episode explains that Nimrod was sent back in time alongside a villain named Fitzroy, instructed to kill Professor X. Bishop blew up Nimrod, but he pieced himself back together like the liquid metal Terminator, and we now know that reassembled Nimrod ended up programming Bishop's father, which is how Bastion was born. This is a big change from the comics, where Nimrod was reborn as a human after passing through the Siege Perilous, judged by higher powers of the universe. Here, it is Nimrod's programming affecting Bastion's subconscious that spurred his hatred of mutants. I do wonder if that original Professor X assassination mission comes back into play for the finale, since Nimrod's programming is rooted so deep within Bastion that it makes sense as a driving force.

Gambit Could Still Be Alive, Possibly as One of Apocalypse's Horsemen

The list of essential episodes for the finale also hints Gambit could still be alive, since he was only thought dead during "Sanctuary" after buying time for the X-Men to escape. Screen Crush has floated the idea he might become Death, not the literal Grim Reaper but one of Apocalypse's Four Horsemen, and Professor X did see him as a skeleton earlier in the season. I think that would be a big way to take things.

Jubilee and Roberto's Alley Chase Mirrors the Original Series

Jubilee and Roberto get chased into an alleyway by the Friends of Humanity, which is symbolic since both characters had similar moments in the original intro. In the original series it was Jubilee stopped by a chain link fence; here it is switched to Roberto, a clever way of blending both iconic moments, with regular people from all walks of life joining in to show how far the hatred has spread. Professor X literally gets up off his old chair in a pretty iconic moment, rebuilding from rubble, something Magneto also does while lifting rocks. Forge also appears in his classic costume, a character who debuted as an older man in "Days of Future Past" and only appeared younger in "Cold Comfort" when Iceman brought him to the X-Men, which is the suit he wears here.

Magneto Is Put in Charge and Cyclops Splits the Team Into Blue and Gold

Back at the mansion, Magneto being put in charge has not gone down well, and the team confronts Xavier for making him the leader. Xavier explains he wanted Scott and Jean to have a life away from the X-Men, but Scott points out that fate always pulls him back in. Storm and the gang return with Jean giving her a warm welcome, and the team relocates to Muir Island, a small base off the coast of Scotland tied to stories centered on Moira MacTaggert and the Messiah Complex storyline. Dealing with Magneto's blackout, Cyclops splits the team into blue and gold, a concept first introduced in the 90s comics. I noticed Sunspot is wearing his comic-accurate costume here, similar to his debut look, and Rogue is back in her original outfit but wearing Gambit's jacket, which shows her working through her grief.

Bastion's Childhood Connection to Professor X and the Man of Steel Influence

We learn Bastion has history with Professor X, who tried to recruit him as a kid before his mother slammed the door in Xavier's face. Bastion is described as a technopath, someone who can interact with machines, which is likely why he kept hearing things in his head as those technologies became more prevalent. Beau DeMayo has said Man of Steel was a big influence on him, which we saw with Storm's first flight and a classroom scene that reminded me a lot of the one from that film. In the basement, Forge and Beast work on a scrambler while wearing goggles, which reminded me of Tony Stark, though Storm does not want to go this route because she has seen firsthand how damaging it can be.

Magneto's Asteroid M Returns as He Turns Back to Old Plans

Magneto's asteroid descends from the sky, first seen in "Sanctuary" as the base he wanted to build as a mutant sanctuary after Genosha's enslavement. With Genosha now freed but the effort failing, Magneto is turning back to old plans, bringing up how much Leech's death affected him after he saved the boy back in episode 2 before Leech died in episode 5. He argues tolerance is extinction, and it left me with the feeling that Xavier might not be the future here. Given that Xavier can hear everyone's doubtful thoughts, including from Sunspot and Rogue, I do think we might be heading toward Storm becoming leader, with Cyclops possibly quitting.

President Kelly Returns and the Magneto Protocols Are Raised

At Muir Island we see several comic-accurate vehicles, including the red bike with Wolverine claws, which I recognized as the actual Toy Biz Wolverine bike I had as a kid. Cyclops and Cable share a father and son moment before we get some big battle shots. President Kelly finally appears in the flesh after previously showing up as a hologram, leaning into his original comic run as an anti-mutant figure whose eyes were eventually opened, a similar arc to the one seen in the original cartoon where Master Mold revealed his plan to replace world leaders' brains, mirroring what Bastion is now doing with his Prime Sentinels. Kelly brings up the Magneto protocols, appearing as a psychic connection rather than in person.

The Original Costumes Return in a Rousing Speech Scene

Xavier's rousing slow-motion speech brings back the original costumes, confirming Jean, Storm and Rogue all wear wigs. We get Marvel Girl, Wolverine's classic X-Men 139 costume, and Professor X's and Rogue's earlier looks reused from flashbacks. Everyone looks at what matters most to them here, including Nightcrawler clutching rosary beads as a Catholic character, and Jubilee looking at the Roberto keepsake card. Kelly mentions his hand being forced, tying into Operation Zero Tolerance and a false flag operation that builds off Bastion's plan.

Operation Zero Tolerance Setup Includes Rogue's Prime Sentinel Warning

Patricia Tilby is shown resting, her condition touch and go, referencing the comics where Rogue absorbed a Prime Sentinel and found nothing there, since it is very rare for anyone to come back once that programming activates. Several earlier moments feed into Operation Zero Tolerance, including Professor X's earlier capture in a Hulkbuster base alongside General Ross, and Bastion capturing Jubilee and the rest of the X-Men purely as a power play after stealing the Xavier files, contingency plans meant to take down the team. This arrogance is one of Bastion's core traits, something I think Theo James plays well in the casting.

The Battle Escalates Into Full Avengers vs. X-Men Foreshadowing

Bastion charges up in a pose that reads like a crucifixion but also plays into Antichrist imagery, mirroring how Master Mold once controlled Sentinels. The transition between his eyes and the Sentinels echoes the same eye effect used when Rogue absorbed Bastion earlier in the series, linking him to Master Mold. Storm reflects on the Phoenix during the fight, someone who rose from the ashes, mirroring her own arc. Beast and the team push into the battle, at one point knocking a Sentinel into Deo's Diner in a blink and you will miss it detail. I think this all points toward Avengers vs. X-Men eventually being the endgame, especially with Captain America, Spider-Man, the Hulk and possibly Doctor Doom or the Fantastic Four being referenced elsewhere in the show's world building.

Messiah Complex and Hope Summers Could Be the Next Big Story

I believe Messiah Complex will come next, setting up Hope Summers, something the show has been hinting at heavily with repeated lines about hope. In the comics, after the Scarlet Witch wiped out the mutants and their numbers dropped from millions to hundreds, a new mutant was eventually born and seen as the mutant messiah, sparking a war between factions including Sinister, with Cable eventually taking Hope into the future before she returned older, which led into the Phoenix Force hunting her and kickstarting Avengers vs. X-Men. I think that would be a great direction for a future season, especially since season 2 has already been written.

Sinister Arrives and Rogue Shows Signs of a Darker Side

Sinister shows up mid battle, offering to tell Jean when they switched places, though we never actually get that answer. Rogue appears in her original, darker comic costume, and I do wonder if absorbing Gambit made her slightly more twisted, since she is clearly not quite herself in this fight. Magneto sits atop a Sentinel throne while Jubilee is scorned by Roberto and Rogue fights Wolverine, with Xavier trying to talk Magneto down as the goal becomes removing his helmet. Bastion pretending to be Sinister genuinely fooled me, and Cable ends up fighting Jean after being triggered by one of Sinister's gems, tying back to the fact he did have the baby at one point.

The Finale Teases Onslaught With a Direct X-Men #25 Recreation

Magneto's helmet is finally removed and Xavier dips into his mind, but Cyclops refuses to let it happen. Magneto then puts a helmet on Xavier to stop his powers, and Wolverine stabs him in the back, leading to what I think is one of the biggest comic recreations of the season, a moment straight out of X-Men #25 that is burned into the memory of longtime readers. This teases Onslaught, the combined consciousness of Professor X and Magneto, a major 90s villain who first appeared in X-Men #53 after Magneto ripped Wolverine's adamantium skeleton out, causing Xavier to psychically blast Magneto and absorb the darkest parts of his mind, which eventually broke free as its own being. I think if the show brings Onslaught in, they might simplify the Franklin Richards side of that story, and Onslaught may honestly be too powerful to serve as an ongoing threat for a full season, though the breadcrumbs are clearly being laid here.

Could Deadpool and Wolverine Tie Into the Finale?

Next week's official synopsis only says the X-Men's dream is put to the test as mutant human relations reach a tipping point, so there is not much to go on directly. Screen Crush and a viewer named Austin Vér have both floated theories that Deadpool and Wolverine might connect into this, given the failed universe we glimpsed and the graves of the X-Men shown earlier in the season. The theory is that Wolverine reversing Genosha could have caused a canon event issue, similar to what we saw explained in the Spider-Man universe, where averting a fixed point in time has disastrous effects, and in the What If episode where Doctor Strange Supreme broke his own reality trying to save Christine. If that is what happens here, it could explain why the timeline breaks and set up live action ties to Deadpool and Wolverine, especially with the costumes looking so similar. Beau DeMayo has teased the ending of the show is massive, and I think tying it into the movies would be a big way to go, though I want to stress I will not be disappointed if that does not happen, because I am enjoying the show so much regardless.

Do you think the finale is building toward Onslaught, Messiah Complex, or a Deadpool and Wolverine tie in, or something else entirely?