X-Men '97 Season 2 finale secretly set up Mystique’s most dangerous move yet
X-Men '97 Season 2 finale secretly set up Mystique’s most dangerous move yet
Ravikumar N Thu, August 13, 2026 at 2:26 PM UTC
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Val Cooper in X-Men '97 Season 1 premiere ©YouTube/Marvel Entertainment
X-Men '97 Season 2 finale, "Survival of the Fittest", sets up the return of one of the original series's major villains: Mystique/Raven Darkholme. It should be noted that despite being one of the key villains across the five seasons of the original animated series, she did not appear in the Disney+ revival until the post-credits scene of the season 2 finale.
Her return confirms that she will be a major antagonist in the upcoming third season, dropping on the streaming giant next year. Footage from X-Men '97 Season 3 was screened at San Diego Comic-Con 2026 a few weeks ago, revealing the return of a supervillain team from X-Men: The Animated Series.
In X-Men '97 Season 3, Mystique will revive the Brotherhood of Mutants:
The post-credit scene of "Survival of the Fittest" sets up tough days ahead for the mutants as Graydon Creed Jr. is elected as president. Val Cooper is watching this announcement on the news while she checks on the files of Mystique. As that happens, the door opens, and another Val Cooper walks into the room. This confusing scenario becomes clear, as the woman who entered the room is the real Val.
The one in the room before her was Mystique. She kills Val Cooper and assumes her identity. This scene sets up the next season, as Mystique, disguised as Val Cooper, would be sending the Brotherhood of Mutants after the X-Men in the next season.
Moreover, X-Men '97 Season 3 could also be adapting the Freedom Force arc from the 1980s comics. In that storyline, Mystique willingly allies herself with Cooper, who assigns her to lead the team called the "Freedom Force", the government-sanctioned mutant team consisting of former Brotherhood of Mutants members like Blob, Toad, and Pyro that arrests targets identified as "threats" to the American people.
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What can we expect from the third season?
Apart from the tussle between the "Freedom Force" and the X-Men, we can also expect the next season to bring out one of Marvel's biggest villains: Onslaught. In the comics, Onslaught is the entity formed by the negative emotions of Charles Xavier and Magneto.
Onslaught was created when Charles entered Magneto's mind, rendering him catatonic. Professor X did so because Magneto ripped out the adamantium from Wolverine's body, giving the Canadian mutant his bone claws. When Xavier's mind connected with that of Magneto, it created a new entity: Onslaught. We saw Charles shut down Magneto's mind in the penultimate episode of the first season of the revival.
Moreover, X-Men '97 Season 2 has been setting up Onslaught's arrival ever since Magneto died in the fourth episode. Charles himself has been taking a firmer stance in favor of mutant rights ever since he saw Magnus die at Apocalypse's hands. Thus, Onslaught might be arriving in the animated revival soon. As for the third season's release date, it will release next year.
Marvel Studios Head of TV and Streaming, Brad Winderbaum, confirmed the popular animated revival will follow an annual release pattern, as seasons 3 and 4 will release a year apart from each other. He told Collider:
"Season 3 is going to come out next year and Season 4 the year after that...X-Men was a constant element of my life growing up, and I just want to make as many [seasons] as fast as possible for people to see."
Two seasons of X-Men '97 are currently streaming on Disney+.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
