X-Men '97's three-part "Tolerance Is Extinction" finale kicked off today and it saw the team set out to stop Bastion's plan to destroy mutantkind.
Cable explains that, in his timeline, Bastion has created a world where the few remaining mutants are subservient to his technologically advanced humans (who have all been infected by a new strain of the techno-organic virus that led to Nathan being sent into the future as a baby).
With Rogue still comatose, the X-Men see if they can learn more about Bastion; it turns out that, after his father was infected by future technology, Bastion was conceived and mutated into a being comprised of Nimrod, the Sentinel Master Mold, and a human.
The villain has turned countless humans into Prime Sentinels and, back at his base, he converses with some familiar faces before we learn that Magneto remains in his grasp and that Valerie Cooper is very much alive.
She's in cahoots with Bastion but was unaware of his plans to attack Genosha. Clearly regretting her actions, she speaks to Magneto, though the former X-Men leader remains silent.
Plenty of action follows as Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Cable are pursued by the powerful new Sentinels and Wolverine and Nightcrawler attempt to protect Rogue back at the X-Mansion. Beast is incapacitated by his journalist friend - also a Prime Sentinel - and the team's base eventually burns to the ground (Jubilee and Sunspot, meanwhile, are captured).
However, just as it looks like the X-Men are done for, Val decides to free Magneto. Captured by Bastion, she declares, "Magneto was right."
The Master of Magnetism unleashes a magnetic shockwave across the globe which incapacitates the Sentinels, but in doing so, declares war on humanity. While Bastion and Mister Sinister are still out there, it seems the heroes now have a bigger problem!
Luckily, it's then that a spaceship crashes to Earth. Discovered by Wolverine and Morph, it opens to reveal Professor X. He calls his X-Men to arms, setting the stage for "Tolerance Is Extinction - Part 2" next week.
X-Men '97 revisits the iconic era of the 1990s as The X-Men, a band of mutants who use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them, are challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future.
Eight episodes of X-Men '97 are now streaming on Disney+ with new instalments following weekly. You can learn more about the cameos we mentioned earlier in this recap by clicking here.