X-Men ’97 has already expanded into the rest of the Marvel Universe thanks to cameos in last week’s episode, “Bright Eyes,” from Captain America (Josh Keaton) and General Ross (Michael Patrick McGill). But Episode 8, “Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 1” went all out giving us even more cameos, from — spoilers past this point — Spider-Man to Doctor Doom, and a ton more.
With that in mind, let’s run down every cameo character we caught in X-Men ’97 Episode 8. And if we missed one… Well, I’m sure you’ll let us know.
Note: this piece has been updated on May 2, 2024 to add two additional cameos, and some updated information on one of them via the showrunner.
Spider-Man
There’s our special little boy! Spider-Man himself shows up towards the end of the episode when Magneto uses his powers to take down every Sentinel on Earth. The creators of X-Men ’97 have been pretty open about how the 1994 Spider-Man animated series is canon with the events of both their show, and X-Men: The Animated Series. So assume this is the version of the character who was voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes, despite the fact that Spidey doesn’t say a word. Funnily enough, Jennifer Hale, who voices Jean Grey, was Felicia Hardy aka the Black Cat on that show. Crossover episode???
Doctor Doom
Credited as “Latverian OZT Member,” this is, of course, Doctor Doom, voiced by Ross Marquand. He’s part of the sequence where Bastion (Theo James) addresses the members of OZT (Operation Zero Tolerance), who all seem to be villains he’s been working with for a long time.
Baron Zemo
We don’t know whether this is Helmut Zemo or Heinrich Zemo, but either way this bad guy is voiced by Rama Vallury, aka Ali Abdul from Squid Game. Depending on which Zemo it is, he is either a Nazi or the leader of the Masters of Evil. Either way: not great!
Silver Samurai
Silver Samurai, the villain previously voiced for one episode of X-Men: The Animated Series by Denis Akiyama, makes a brief return here during the Magneto attacks sequence. He was last seen in the episode “The Lotus and the Steel.”
Omega Red
Len Doncheff voiced Omega Red on four episodes of X-Men: TAS. Back in his final appearance in “A Deal with the Devil,” the Russian villain was left stuck in a submarine with missiles he couldn’t launch. Clearly at some point in the intervening time he was returned to a stasis tank, so it’s possible we may see him pop up to antagonize the X-Men yet again.
Polaris
Do X-Men showing up on the X-Men show count as cameos? If so, we get a glimpse of Old Woman Polaris, aka the daughter of Magneto, during Cable’s explanation of the future.
Rachel Summers
Keeping on the “future children” bent, we also get to see Rachel Summers during Cable’s monologue. Of note for comic book/time travel fans, Rachel has her Hound markings on her face, something she gets in the books from an entirely different apocalyptic future. This is probably for visual shorthand more than anything, but I am a nerd and I have questions about the continuity of this future! Answer my dumb questions, show!
Madame Hydra?
This character is credited as “Chinese OZT Member” and is voiced by Holly Chau, who also does the voice of Jubilee. While we don’t get a clear picture of the bad guy, it’s possible this could be Madame Hydra, a leader of the villain organization. Who mind you is not Chinese in the comics, but there aren’t really any good answers for who this could be, otherwise, and the silhouette looks vaguely “Madame Hydra-esque.” Alternately, this could be “Generic Chinese OZT Member.” But that’s no fun.
Update, May 2, 2024: It’s no fun! Former X-Men ’97 showrunner Beau DeMayo has confirmed this is just a United Nations member, as the goal was to show regular humans are behind Bastion’s plan, as well.
Killmonger?
I’m only throwing this on here because the screen behind Bastion is so prominent and shown several times. Honestly, this character in shadow could be anyone, but the haircut is reminiscent of Killmonger, the baddie from Wakanda played by Michael B. Jordan in Black Panther and its sequel. So maybe Killmonger, maybe not.
Sentinels And Humans In The Opening Credits
Does this count as a cameo? Probably not, so you’re welcome for destroying the premise of this piece. Regardless, X-Men ’97 has changed up the opening credits every episode — but this is kind of a biggie, throwing Sentinels attacking humans between the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants at the end of the sequence. It definitely tees up what’s happening here, with humans finding out they might not be at the top of the food chain (and it’s also a throwback to the opening credits of X-Men: The Animated Series). Also of note, I believe all of these humans turn out to be Prime Sentinels in the episode.
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*
I still think maybe the woman in shadow is a cameo, as I’d like to see her be Elektra, because The Hand could totally have a part in this. Also, remember we saw Daredevil and Spider-Man twice, plus Cloak and Dagger, almost like they were prompting us for street level Spectacular Spider-Man style. The X-Men grew up, now its time for Peter to do the same.
That would be fun! And they can always ret-con to that, of course, if they want.