The death toll keeps racking up on X-Men ’97. The show killed off hundreds of mutants and their human friends in Episode 5, “Remember It,” including Gambit and Magneto in dual shocking deaths. But did you know the episode also murdered its own Head Writer and Supervising Director in a cameo Easter egg?
It’s true! That’s why I’m writing this article! In a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, two non-mutants are caught in the crossfire of the Wild Sentinel‘s attack on the mutant nation of Genosha: Head Writer Beau DeMayo, and supervising director Jake Castorena.
The scene takes place just under 31 minutes into the episode, right after Magneto (Matthew Waterson) has been killed by the Master Mold. Rogue (Lenore Zann) has been knocked to relative safety by Gambit’s (A.J. LoCascio) charged-up motorcycle, and the robot turns its attention to a rooftop featuring several party guests, including Nightcrawler and Dazzler. It blasts the rooftop and as the green glow fills the screen we see two shocked partygoers, who are promptly obliterated.
Those partygoers are indeed DeMayo, who wrote the episode as well as serving as head writer for the first two seasons of the series; and Castorena, who directed the season’s first episode, “To Me, My X-Men” and serves as Supervising Director. Perhaps of note (or not), DeMayo was reportedly fired from X-Men ’97 before the show premiered, though given the timing that definitely is not related to him being killed onscreen.
That’s pretty much it, just two key figures involved behind the scenes on the show making an animated cameo in a pivotal episode. Whether they are mere humans or were secretly mutants the whole time doesn’t really matter because now they’re dead. Sorry, guys. RIP.
X-Men ’97 Season 1 Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
X-Men ’97 doesn’t have a one-a-day schedule like What If…? Season 2, or all-at-once like Echo. Instead, the series is getting a more traditional release schedule of two on premiere day, then one a week thereafter.
The release time is also typical. Versus what has now become a run-of-the-mill primetime “early” release for big movies and TV shows, new episodes of X-Men ’97 will be released on Wednesdays at 3 am ET / Midnight PT.
Here’s the full list of episodes in Marvel’s X-Men ’97 Season 1, and when they premiere:
- Wednesday, March 20, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 1 – “To Me, My X-Men”
- Wednesday, March 20, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 2 – “Mutant Liberation Begins”
- Wednesday, March 27, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 3 – “Fire Made Flesh”
- Wednesday, April 3, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 4 – “Motendo / Lifedeath – Part 1”
- Wednesday, April 10, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 5 – “Remember It”
- Wednesday, April 17, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 6 – “Lifedeath – Part 2″
- Wednesday, April 24, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 7 – “Bright Eyes”
- Wednesday, May 1, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 8 – “Tolerance Is Extinction, Part 1”
- Wednesday, May 8, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 9 – “Tolerance Is Extinction, Part 2”
- Wednesday, May 15, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 10 – “Tolerance Is Extinction, Part 3” *Season Finale*
Your article has incorrect information. The people on the rooftop including the two cameos you mentioned do not in fact get obliterated. Gambit starts running at the sentinel and gains it attention BEFORE it blasts the rooftop. That’s why nightcrawler can be seen alive at the end of the episode
So continuity-wise, they’re on the roof, the green charge builds, and washes over the screen, just as it’s previously done when the Master Mold obliterates things. Then Gambit starts running at it, and as he does, the green turns off in its eyes and it switches to red. It’s mouth, just for further clarification, where the blast comes from, has no color to it. I’m pretty sure most if not all of the folks on the roof are dead – Nightcrawler, I assume (but don’t know for sure, I guess) bamfed away with whoever he could carry.