Warning: The following article contains spoilers for X-Men ā97 Season 1, Episode 5, āRemember It,ā and Episode 6, āLifedeath ā Part 2.ā
The Sentinelsā attack on Genosha is one of X-Men ā97ās most shocking developments ā so, who sent them? And was it the same person as in Marvelās X-Men comics?
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Who Is Behind the Genosha Massacre in X-Men ā97?
The X-Menās long-time adversary Mister Sinister sent the Sentinels to attack Genosha. We donāt learn this up front, though, as the finale of X-Men ā97 Season 1, Episode 5, āRemember It,ā focuses solely on the massacre itself. Not even a brief cameo by Cable ā who, as a time traveler, already knows all the details ā sheds any light on the person responsible. Instead, we have to wait until the final scene of Episode 6, āLifedeath ā Part 2,ā for the revelation that Sinister masterminded the whole affair. Here, we discover that Sinister took control of Master Mold and his killer robot āoffspringā using a DNA sample belonging to their creator, Bolivar Trask.
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Why did Sinister do it? Short answer: because heās a supervillain (his name is Sinister, after all). Long answer: because heās bent on starting a war between humanity and mutants. Framing humans for an attack that laid waste to Genosha and killed many of its inhabitants ā not to mention high-profile X-Men Magneto and Gambit ā is certainly a good way of escalating tensions between the two groups. That said, itās unclear whether a full-scale conflict will break out between humanity and mutantkind in X-Men ā97 Season 1ās four remaining episodes. Weāll just have to wait and see!
Who Is Behind the Genosha Massacre in the Comics?
X-Men ā97 Season 1ās Genosha massacre is based on a similar sequence in New X-Men #115 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. Yet there are many differences between the comic book and cartoon versions of the tragedy ā including the culpritās identity. Whereas Mister Sinister orchestrated the Sentinel attack in X-Men ā97, in New X-Menās āE is for Extinctionā story arc, Cassandra Nova is to blame. Essentially Professor Xās evil twin, Nova sent the Sentinels to Genosha as part of a wider scheme to exact revenge on her brother.
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She didnāt involve Bolivar Trask, either ā for the simple reason that he was dead at the time. Instead, Nova sourced Trask family DNA from Bolivarās cousin, Donald. Whatās more, her high-profile victims werenāt the same as Sinisterās. While Novaās assault on Genosha did seemingly kill Magneto (spoilers: he survived), Gambit wasnāt on the island when it all went down. Even so, the Genosha massacre in āE is for Extinctionā is seemingly far worse in the comics. Over 16 million mutants died at Novaās hands, compared to the thousands killed by Sinister.
X-Men ā97 is now streaming on Disney+, with new episodes dropping Wednesdays.
Published: Apr 18, 2024 2:22 PM UTC