Recap: Things Get Messy and X-Force and X-Factor Arrive in Season 2, Episode 2 of "X-Men '97"

After season two of X-Men '97 kicked off with a futuristic bang, we returned to the present to see Cable and his new team of mutants getting ready for a fight against Apocalypse. However, he made it clear his first step was going to be recruiting Jubilee and Sunspot to his lineup. Now, it looks like two of the X-Men have to join a fight they were not expecting.

The second episode opens with a group of mutant kids being chased and we soon see another mutant is chasing them. The man replicates himself, alerting us that he is the mutant known as Multiple Man, a character who has had a lot of history with the X-Men and another mutant team that we'll talk about in a moment. The kids run to the X-Mansion to find it in ruin. As they argue over what to do next, we can see that two of the notable members of this group are mutants known in the comics as Kid Omega and Penance. Their argument is interrupted when a spotlight shines down on them and a voice assures them they are the good guys as we see the team known as X-Factor.

This team of mutants has a lot of comic book history and seen a lot of different members come and go over the years. This particular team consists of Havok, Polaris, Strong Guy, Wolfsbane and the aforementioned Multiple Man. Two of these characters actually have very strong ties to the X-Men as Havok is the brother of Cyclops and Polaris is the daughter of Magneto.

A news report reveals to us that X-Factor has been contracted by the US government to control crises and handle mutant issues. We see that Jubilee is watching this report in an arcade. There is also a fun easter egg in this moment as we can see a menu to Jubilee's right. One of the items on this partially viewable menu reads "'THE MALL BABE' CH." We'll go ahead and assume this menu item finishes with "CHILI FRIES," which would make it a reference to Jubilee's classic line from the original animated series: "does a mall babe eat chili fries?"

Sunspot returns after playing some video games and the two debate over whether or not they're wasting their time in an arcade while the world is in chaos without the X-Men. They're interrupted by Cable who brings them to a table to discuss a new team. He explains that his target is Apocalypse and that one of his horsemen has recently resurfaced. The horseman in question is called War. And yes, Apocalypse does have four horsemen by the names of Pestilence, War, Famine and Death. He transforms mutants using futuristic technology to take on these roles and act as his slaves.

Cable plays on Jubilee's guilt toward sitting out the fight to convince her to join. Before she agrees to do so though, she asks if the team has a name. We then get the iconic title sequence, only instead of X-Men, the title reads X-Force and we see Cable, Jubilee, Sunspot, Psylocke and Archangel introduced.

X-Force tracks War to Brazil, where they chase him into an alley. Sunspot, being familiar with the location, manages to track him down first and he and Jubilee get the drop on him. Eventually, the whole team overwhelms him and the Psylocke knocks him out with her psionic abilities. With War tied up, Cable questions him. The horseman remains loyal to Apocalypse though and even taunts Archangel, who was a former horseman himself. Archangel knocks him out and Psylocke begins to read his mind. Jubilee questions whether she should be doing that but Cable tells her they won't be following the same rules as Xavier. Psylocke sees War delivering something to Apocalypse before she it blocked out by a wall of diamonds. Cable hands his gun to Archangel and orders him to kill War. Jubilee protests to Cable but Archangel pulls the trigger, killing War.

On their jet, Jubilee argues with Cable over killing an unarmed mutant. She tells him if he wants her to continue helping, she wants to limit the killing. Cable questions what she has to offer and Jubilee points out that a psychic wall made of diamond reminds her of a specific telepath. The team heads to meet Emma Frost.

In London, X-Force surprises Emma in her home. They question her on her dealings with War and she says she helped him to smuggle cargo into Switzerland. They had to a warehouse, with Emma in tow. There, they find equipment like what Apocalypse uses to transform mutants into his horsemen, but Archangel points out that this equipment is more advanced than what was used on him. Jubilee finds empty crates and points out that if Apocalypse was there, he had finished what he was working on and left.

The team is then surrounded by X-Factor and it's clear Emma set them up. The two mutant teams begin to fight until Polaris restrains all of X-Force. Jubilee tries to reason with her as a former member of the X-Men herself. Jubilee manages to free the team and they all almost escape before she is caught by Havok. Sunspot tries to go back for her but Psylocke puts him to sleep and they leave Jubilee behind.

On what appears to be a helicarrier over DC, Polaris and Havok interrogate Jubilee. She refers to Havok as "knockoff Cyclops," which seems to get to him a bit because, again, he is Cyclops' brother. Polaris asks him to get her some time and he leaves the two of them alone. She tries to reason with Jubilee to get information about Cable's mission, but she resists. Havok returns to take Jubilee to a cell and they pass other cells filled with dozens of mutant children. Among them are the group we saw at the beginning of the episode, as well as some other notable mutants like the Stepford Cuckoos and Glob.

Sunspot argues with Cable about going back to help Jubilee but the leader of X-Force refuses. Back on the helicarrier though, Polaris cuts out a security camera and sets Jubilee free. Guards swarm the area as Jubilee puts on her walkman. The result is one of the most fun action sequences this show has ever given us, set to "Volcano Girls" by Veruca Salt. Jubilee radios X-Force and tells them she has escaped and she needs them to come pick up cargo as we see she is releasing all of the children.

She continues to tear through the guards easily as X-Force lands and picks up the children. As she tries to escape by parachuting off of the helicarrier though, Havok blasts the chute out of her hand before she can jump. She turns to find that he and Val Cooper have her cornered. Remaining defiant, she jumps anyway and is eventually caught by Sunspot. Polaris arrives to ask where Jubilee is and it's clear that Val and Havok both think she had a hand in her escape.

X-Force watches a news report in which Val calls them national fugitives. Jubilee argues that they did what needed to be done. Archangel sides with her but tells Cable that Apocalypse is still out there and this fight isn't for a bunch of kids. Cable flashes back to the future, when he had to make the decision to send his parents and the rest of the X-Men away. During this moment, we see that the disembodied voice that welcomed him to Apocalypse's citadel becomes his field computer, represented by a small cube that comes from his arm. After he reluctantly sends his parents away, we come back to the present, where Cable appears ready for a fight.

This was a fun surprise and a great group of characters to pull together. An X-Force episode was certainly not something I expected to see, but it made for some great action and allowed Jubilee some much deserved time in the spotlight. This episode also gave us a fun X-Factor lineup that could play a big role in the show going forward. It will be interesting to see where these pieces wind up on the board in the end.

The second season of X-Men '97 is now streaming on Disney+.