X-Men '97 Season 2 Features The Return Of A Major MCU Villain (With A Twist)
"X-Men '97" Season 2 hasn't shied away from the ambitious storytelling of the comics, but in faithfully exploring the origins of Apocalypse (Ross Marquand), it has also heralded the return of a major villain to the Marvel-adapted media multiverse.
Around the roll out of 2023's "Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania," the MCU was positioning Kang the Conqueror as its next multi-franchise-spanning cosmic-level antagonist. Kang's deal is he's a time-traveler with virtually infinite variants scattered throughout history — or histories, to be more precise. Unfortunately, many of those variants are supervillains.
However, when Kang's actor Jonathan Majors was found guilty of assault, the studio reworked its plans around Doctor Doom (Robert Downey. Jr) and relegated Kang to a final turn in the second season of Disney+'s "Loki."
In "X-Men '97," Season 2, Episode 3, the Disney+ animated series flashes back to 3000 B.C.E. in Ancient Egypt where the young Apocalypse, En Sabah Nur, is a self-emancipated slave rebelling against the cruelty of ruler Rama-Tut. Strangely, the dictator and warlord has a technologically advanced citadel in the middle of the desert. That's because Rama-Tut is one of Kang the Conqueror's youngest selves. Majors played him one of the end-credit scenes in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," and he's the first version of Kang to appear in the comics — specifically "Fantastic Four" #19 (1963) by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
Another version of Kang the Conqueror appears in X-Men: The Animated Series
Rama-Tut's arrival marks the second time a version of Kang the Conqueror appears in the shared continuity of "X-Men '97" and "X-Men: The Animated Series." Back in "X-Men: TAS" Season 4 Episode 21, Apocalypse (James Blendick) attempted to control time by kidnapping different psychics. Bishop (Philip Akin) partnered up with a mysterious mutant called Bender (Stephen Ouimette) to help stop the villain's plan.
Following Apocalypse's defeat, Bender is left behind and remarks that they left behind "such a mess." Since he's alone, he reverts back to his true form: Immortus, wearing a green suit with a purple cloak and headdress — his typical costume in the comics.
Immortus is one of the oldest Kang variants and typically tries to make sure that no one fiddles with the timeline, and consequentially, his own power. Majors also played a version of Immortus at the end of "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," as well as several other Kang variants — including Rama-Tut, in the same shot.