X-men '97 Season 2 Adapted A Beloved Marvel Comic By A Controversial Creator

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Spoilers ahead for "X-Men '97" Season 2, Episode 6, "Danger.exe."

"X-Men '97" hasn't limited itself to adapting only Marvel comics published before 1997. Season 1's most acclaimed episode, "Remember It," adapted the Genosha genocide from Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's 2001 arc "E is for Extinction."

The Morrison/Quitely influence continues in Season 2; this latest episode saw Professor Xavier (Ross Marquand) revamp the X-Men into an international nonprofit, X-Corp, and the team get new black-and-yellow uniforms. Both of these happened in the Morrison/Quitely run. But otherwise, the episode looks to the 2004-2008 "Astonishing X-Men" run by Joss Whedon and the late John Cassaday.

"Danger.exe" adapts the second "Astonishing" arc, "Dangerous." The Danger Room, the X-Men's hologram-generating, AI-powered training room comes to life to finally fulfill its prime directive: kill the X-Men. "Dangerous" proves how Whedon left his mark on old "X-Men" characters while creating new ones.

Now that several "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" cast members have accused Whedon of toxic behavior, he's currently persona non grata. Before this, Whedon built a reputation as a progressive and feminist champion; the hypocrisy of it all might be why he hasn't managed a comeback yet. But in the 2000s, Whedon was beloved, so him writing an "X-Men" comic was a geek's dream come true.

Writer Chris Claremont's titanic "X-Men" run from 1975-1991 was a childhood favorite of Whedon's and one of his biggest influences; Buffy Summers is named after Cyclops (Scott Summers), while Buffy's personality is modeled on Kitty Pryde. Whedon diving into the Marvel sandbox also foreshadowed how he'd reach the height of his cultural power by writing and directing 2012's "The Avengers."

"X-Men: The Animated Series" always heavily featured the Danger Room, so adapting "Dangerous" makes sense. "X-Men '97" makes the story its own with a whole new protagonist.

Marvel Comics

In chapter 1 of "Dangerous," the Danger Room uses holographic trickery to push depowered mutant student Edward Tancredi/Wing into suicide. When Wing dies inside the Danger Room, that removes its safety protocols.

"Danger.exe" keeps this inciting incident (though what happened to Wing is vaguer, and he's resuscitated). The episode then proceeds much like the comic; Danger (Rachel Kimsey) traps several students inside her, builds herself a humanoid body, and jets off to the ruined Genosha to find the X-Man she hates the most: her "father." In the comic, Danger reanimates the giant Sentinel that destroyed Genosha; since it got completely vaporized in "Remember It," that's understandably left out.

What's impressive is how "Danger.exe" weaves itself into Professor X's arc. When we last saw him, he watched Apocalypse (Ross Marquand) brutally murder his oldest friend Magneto (Matthew Waterson). When "Danger.exe" begins, he's running constant replays of this scene in the Danger Room. "I should have had [Magneto's] strength, to fight harder," says Charles.

In "Dangerous," Danger hated Xavier because he'd known the Danger Room was sentient yet kept it enslaved. Here, Danger's protocols instead mutate in response to Charles' lament that he's too weak. To prepare the X-Men for survival, Danger has to genuinely threaten them.

In "Astonishing X-Men" #1, the cynical Emma Frost uses the Danger Room's holograms to create the illusion of Sentinels ripping open the ceiling. She's terrifying her students to teach them that humans will never stop trying to kill mutants.

Marvel Comics

"Danger.exe" has Professor X, the dreamer and the optimist, do this instead. If that doesn't underline how much his encounter with Apocalypse and Magneto's death darkened his vision, nothing will. And that's not the only way Magneto's legacy endures in this episode.

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"X-Men: The Animated Series" never featured Kitty Pryde. "Danger.exe" instead puts Polaris/Lorna Dane (Carolina Ravassa) in Kitty's role from "Astonishing X-Men" — a former X-Man returning to the school to train a new student generation.

Polaris is Magneto's biological daughter, something she's self-conscious about, especially since she shares his powers. As we saw earlier this season, Polaris is working with the government-sanctioned team X-Factor to contain mutant threats, but Jubilee (Holly Chou) reminded her what being an X-Man is all about. In "Danger.exe," Polaris is let go from X-Factor after almost killing a cargo ship full of anti-mutant "Purifiers," which would make her old man proud!

So, Polaris returns to the X-Men, and like Kitty was in "Dangerous," she's trapped inside the Danger Room with the new students. Danger taunts Polaris that she is destined to walk her father's path, even conjuring a red-eyed image of Magneto in his red super-villain costume. "X-Men '97" recontextualizes "Dangerous" into a clash of Magneto's daughter against Professor X's, and how each breaks from their father's path.

Polaris, opening her mind up to Xavier and his memories of Magneto, uses her electromagnetic powers to tear Danger apart. As she does, we hear the same music that played when Magneto saved Earth back in Season 1 finale "Tolerance Is Extinction." Thanks to their mind meld, Polaris finally knows her father, while Charles — who sought to  rediscover a piece of his best friend — has found that piece living on in Lorna.

Polaris says in "Danger.exe" that she's Magneto's daughter but Professor X actually raised her. That makes her a synthesis of mutants' two frenemy leaders, and it could be why Lorna is the light to lead her kind through the dark days ahead.

"X-Men '97" is streaming on Disney+.