Looking back at X-Men '97 Season 2 Episode 7, Graydon Creed's Savage Land trial and its Acolyte cameos

Episode 7 of X-Men '97 season 2 went full Law & Order: Savage Land unit, putting Graydon Creed on trial in front of Magneto's Acolytes. Going through it scene by scene turned up a lot of nods to the original series, not to mention about a billion background mutants worth knowing about.

Strange Land, Savage Heart flips an original series title and centers Nightcrawler

The episode's title plays on the original series two-parter Savage Land, Strange Heart, season 3 episodes 12 and 13. A lot went on there that has nothing to do with this episode, but basically a mutant named Garokk once ruled the Savage Land until the High Evolutionary turned him into a statue, worshipped as a sun god. Years later, Storm's elemental powers, which she'd been losing control of, woke him, and he got into a big kaiju battle with Sauron, who when he doesn't look like a green pterodactyl is a human named Karl Lykos. That skips over a lot, but the important stuff is in there.

The previously on is spoken by Rogue, "who has the most skin in the game with Gambit's inevitable return. Although honestly, this is clearly more of a Nightcrawler episode." We see Kurt fighting Prime Sentinels from Tolerance Is Extinction Part 1 over his monologue to Jean by Rogue's hospital bed, a reminder that he's a master swordsman, which matters because he faces a fellow expert here. He has a history of turning the other cheek with family members who treat him badly. Rogue means so much to him because she was the first family member who fully embraced him, even though they share no blood: Mystique is Kurt's birth mother but Rogue's adoptive mother, while Creed is his actual half-brother. His point to Jean was that family is what you make of it.

The recap also shows Jubilee and Sunspot with his mom as the anti-mutant Reverend Stryker talks about an inevitable mutant human war, over audio of Beast talking with Trish Tilby after the massacre in Bright Eyes, showing even Beast can doubt the best path to coexistence. We're reminded that Sabretooth is Creed's father. In the show, Sabretooth's real name was changed to Graydon Creed Sr. because TV executives wanted kids to understand he was Graydon Creed Jr.'s father. Then Charles announces X-Corp, and Cooper, standing with X-Factor, threatens legal action.

Polaris gets her own intro card, and old clips set up Creed's family history

Kudos to the animators for making a new intro for every single episode; that is not easy or quick work. Polaris gets her own sequence, her eyes, hair and powers glowing green against the aurora borealis. The aurora occurs when charged particles from the sun combine with gases like oxygen and nitrogen, and it's most visible near the magnetic poles because Earth's magnetic field directs them there, which is why her power often looks like this. She floats above crumpled Sentinel wreckage, which I think is on Genosha, and her name splits in half and flies at the screen like she did to the purifier ship last episode.

New clips include Lykos as the Executioner firing the blast that took Storm's powers in Mutant Liberation Begins, and Mystique holding baby Nightcrawler over a waterfall from season 4 episode 14, Bloodlines, written by my buddy Len Wein. In that one, Creed testified before Congress about hate crimes against mutants while the Friends of Humanity, which he founded, elected a council to rule instead. The council revealed that Mystique is his mother and Nightcrawler his half-brother, and he offered to deliver his whole family to win them back. Mystique also explained that Kurt's father was an Austrian count who had no idea she was a mutant. When Creed failed, they tied him up and dropped him at Sabretooth's house.

We also see Cooper restrained by Bastion after he learned she released Magneto, and Creed with a scientist who is secretly Apocalypse, from Time Fugitives parts 1 and 2, where they engineered a plague and blamed it on mutants. That comes up again at the trial.

Colossus and Magik's Genosha stand, and a theory about Illyana's age

The cold open revisits the Genosha massacre as Peter and Illyana Rasputin, dressed for the party, transform and jump in. Colossus is voiced by the same actor from the original series. I've seen comments asking me to stop naming voice actors, but the actors on this show are doing outstanding work, and I love that it casts accomplished voice performers instead of huge stars. In the original series, Colossus helped rebuild the school in The Unstoppable Juggernaut and helped defeat Omega Red in Red Dawn, where a much younger Illyana appeared, seemingly not yet Magik.

Genosha is about three years after those events, given Jubilee was 15 then and turned 18 last season. In the comics, though, the sorcerer Belasco kidnapped Illyana to Limbo, where years passed while only seconds passed on Earth. I'm not saying that's the canon the show is going with, but it would explain why she looks so much older, and why she has the Soulsword, which she created in Limbo using her own life force. Side note: I can't get over how perfectly cast Anya Taylor-Joy was as Magik in New Mutants, a super underrated movie.

Magik rescues three mutants. I think the red-haired woman with body markings is Loa. Some thought the girl from Charles's danger room speech was Loa, but she looks nothing like any comics version; Loa has more arm markings, this hairstyle, a red diamond where her forehead diamond sits, and sometimes white eyes. I'm fairly certain that other girl was confirmed as an original character. I'm not sure about the other two; the visor guy is subtitled simply as male mutant, so maybe he was created for the show. Magik teleports them via Limbo. Then Illyana dies a hero in front of her brother. She died a few times in the comics, so the question then was whether this one would stick.

Graydon Creed's campaign echoes the original Senator Kelly

Off her death, Creed announces his run for president, promising to be tougher on mutants than President Kelly, an even harder slap in the face. He's voiced by the actor who also voiced Garrison Kane a couple of episodes earlier. In the original series, then Senator Kelly announced his own anti-mutant bid in Deadly Reunions, even threatening internment camps. After the X-Men rescued him from Sentinels in The Final Decision, he did a 180 and pardoned Beast, which made Creed feel betrayed and inspired the Friends of Humanity, who first appeared when Kelly was sworn in during Till Death Do Us Part Part 1.

Creed has a new scar that Nightcrawler later identifies as a claw mark, so this is definitely thanks to Sabretooth, since Creed didn't have it when he was delivered to his father. The announcer introduces him with "Ladies and gentlemen, friends of humanity," which is despicably bold, and as Graydon Creed, not Jr., since he wants no association with Sabretooth. When someone yells that humans were here first, it recalls Master Mold telling Trask, "That is not logical. Mutants are human." In the comics, Creed also ran for president, and a time traveling Mystique assassinated him on election night.

The Acolytes who take Creed

The roof opens, and for once it isn't Sentinels but the Acolytes. A version of the group appeared in the original series Sanctuary arc, led by Fabian Cortez. Here we get Frenzy, super strong and pretty much invulnerable, delivering a flying chest kick; Unuscione, whose psionic green hand looks similar to a Green Lantern ring; Senyaka, whose psionic whips drain bioenergy; Random, who can morph his protoplasm body into pretty much any shape; Gargoyle, fast with heightened senses; and Chrome, who can reconfigure molecules, kind of like Adam Eve on Invincible.

Colossus rounds out the team to some very Omega Red sounding music, and the leader is Exodus, an Omega level mutant who was a Knight Templar in the Crusades, hence Nightcrawler calling him Templar. He's telepathic, telekinetic, can teleport, heal and create force fields, and has faith empowerment, so his powers grow when people around him believe in him. Seriously, this dude is one of the most powered up mutants ever. He's voiced by Beau Billingslea, an accomplished theater actor who brings every ounce of that training here.

The WHIH broadcast also shows Amelia Voght, Charles's ex, who can turn to mist and was helping the injured in Bright Eyes. Seeing Genosha firsthand and then the world's apathy radicalized many of these mutants. I love that Scott sighs in the bar, because these two just want a beer. Pyro and Avalanche, unseen since the original series aside from the opening, are in X-Factor custody, and Barbarus is in lockup in shadow. Cooper warns Charles to stay out, but he's already sent X-Men, and X-Corp's Genosha base frees them from US jurisdiction.

The Savage Land, Polaris and Bishop, and a memorial for Genosha

Beast's "Welcome to the Savage Land" echoes John Hammond in Jurassic Park. In the original series, Charles and Magneto were trapped there for much of season 2 after Sinister's tortured Morph lured them to Antarctica; they lost their powers, Charles could walk, and Magneto's Mutates, Savage Land natives he genetically altered, kept capturing them. In the Reunion finale, Sinister's inhibitor tower and power belts returned, both of which we see here.

Polaris lists the dangers: prehistoric wildlife, ancient evil spirits, meaning Garokk, and leftover experiments. She and Bishop keep up their flirty banter, and the series is obviously setting them up. Nightcrawler states his thesis that no one is above salvation. With the dampener up and missiles incoming, Bishop is blown out the back, and Polaris's rescue reminded me of Ward saving Simmons on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. There's a Jurassic Park homage with ripples in water, and I'm pretty sure this is the same T. rex that chased Charles and Magneto in Red Dawn. Colossus finds the others; Rogue even flirted with him in the original run: "Come on, big and pretty. Let's make tracks."

Marco Delgado, from Sanctuary, can grow bigger. The base is Magneto's old building, later taken by Sinister. Two similar Acolytes made me think of the Kleinstock triplets, but I'm pretty sure one is Projector. Inside is a memorial with photos of Marrow, Gambit, Squid Boy in his tuxedo beside a mutants matter sign, Madelyne Pryor, Magneto, and a painting of Magik by Colossus, who in the comics paints as therapy.

Nightcrawler puts Creed's childhood on trial

Creed's greeting disgusts Colossus and Rogue, while Nightcrawler just looks sad. Both quote scripture, but Kurt walks the walk while Creed just recites. Nightcrawler convinces Exodus to hold a trial with Colossus presiding, knowing he'll vote his conscience; Exodus smirks, sure Colossus won't rule against him. Pterodactyls overhead foreshadow Polaris's plan.

The trial crowd includes Tempo, who can speed herself up or slow opponents; Barnacle; Anne-Marie Cortez, sister of Fabian Cortez, who tried to kill Magneto and framed Gambit; the pacifist Neophyte; Firefist, a kid in No Mutant Is an Island and in Deadpool 2; Scanner; Skids; and Rem-Ram. Two I'm not totally sure about might be Nance Winters and an alternate Vindaloo, but I don't feel confident calling either. I'm really impressed the animators crammed in pretty much every comics Acolyte.

Exodus exploits everyone's anger; Nightcrawler looks at the why. Asked why he hates mutants, Creed says "Because you were born," the same answer he gave Jubilee in the original series. Back then that sufficed for a kids show; now the writers can explore shades of gray. Kurt uncovers that Creed was abandoned by his mother and abused by his father. As he urges Creed to "forgive yourself for thinking you weren't strong enough," he looks at Colossus, speaking to his guilt over Illyana. Sensing the room shift, Exodus forces a judgment and punishes Colossus for hesitating.

Fifteen minutes of faith, mercy for Creed, and Apocalypse's husk

Bishop catches Polaris to repay her rescue, releases his pent up power, and Colossus rejoins the X-Men. Then comes the swordsman duel I was waiting for. Man, I love Nightcrawler in this series. He mocks Exodus for clamoring for his "15 minutes of faith." Creed shoots Exodus and threatens Kurt, who teleports him into a snowstorm, since the Savage Land is in or near Antarctica, invoking Graham Greene's line from Brighton Rock about "the appalling strangeness of the mercy of God," also quoted on The West Wing. Kurt is saying that even Creed can hope for divine mercy, and he won't stand in its way, though he clearly struggles, leaving Creed mostly unharmed.

Colossus returns to the mansion, and I was hoping for a Colossus intro card next. He says Nightcrawler didn't convince him but would have convinced his sister, then changes back from metal for the first time since Genosha, letting his guard down. In Athens, X-Force finds a husk of Apocalypse and Gambit's charred Queen of Hearts. You know he's coming for Rogue. Apocalypse can use vessels, so this didn't necessarily mean he was gone, with two episodes left at the time.

Which Acolyte cameo stood out most to you?