X-Men ‘97: Who is Mother Askani? – Season 1 Finale Sets Up Another Summers Family Member After Cable
WARNING: Spoilers Ahead for X-Men ’97.
The moment fans had been waiting for finally arrived as X-Men ‘97 wrapped up its first season with a finale that cannot be explained in mere words. It was the perfect end to a perfect series, to say the least.
X-Men ‘97 revived the fandom’s love for Marvel as the mutant storyline received a great revival, learning from the plot points of X-Men: The Animated Series that premiered back in the 1990s. More than culminating the first season aptly, the finale episode helped fans understand what they can expect from the upcoming seasons.
Who is Mother Askani?
An important character made their appearance in the finale episode of X-Men ‘97 titled Tolerance is Extinction Part 3. In the midst of the chaos caused by Magneto and Bastion, the X-Men were stuck between a rock and a hard place as they tried their best to protect the planet from utter destruction. Split into two teams, they covered all bases and prevented the villains from executing their menacing plans.
While many fans were busy enjoying the vast action sequences, the showrunners dropped a hint as to which character might take center stage in X-Men ‘97 season 2. Mother Askani was featured for a brief moment in the final episode, a mutant from the future who goes on to gather a clan of people dedicated to protecting the rights of mutants. The Clan Askani translates to Family of Outsiders, an apt title for a group that felt disconnected from the human world.
In reality, Mother Askani is Rachael Summers, daughter of Scott Summers and Jean Grey from the 37th century. Like her parents, Rachael is a powerful mutant character in the X-Men narrative with powers like telepathy, time manipulation, telekinesis, and astral projection. Mother Askani appears to be just one of Rachael’s identities as her origin story dictates that she was split into two realities while protecting Captain Britain from an attack.
Rachael’s Mother Askani identity is prominent in a world conquered by Apocalypse. She works with her disciples to keep the timeline in order and prevent people from straying away into different realities. While Marvel has a lot of possibilities to explore Rachael Summers’ role in the X-Men ‘97 storyline, they can also choose to mold the character a bit to better fit into the upcoming seasons.
What Happens in the X-Men ‘97 Finale Episode?
Bastion’s efforts of sowing seeds of conflict within the X-Men team become successful as Magneto and Xavier argue over their beliefs and the next course of action. Episode 9 eventually ends with the creation of Onslaught and Scott Summers and Jean Grey sending off their son Nathan to safety. We ultimately get to know that Nathan is Cable who tries to stop the Genosha attack. The final episode culminates with the X-Men sent off to different timelines where Summers and Grey unite with their son and Mother Askani.
On the other hand, mutants including Rogue, Nightcrawler, Beast, Magneto, and Xavier are sent to the past where ancient warriors and battling to remain alive. There, we are introduced to another character with a seemingly large impact in the future seasons called En Sabah Nur. He is in fact Apocalypse, the villain who wreaks havoc for the mutants in the future. Even the post-credit scene features this fierce character, leading fans to believe his burgeoning role as the central villain in X-Men ‘97 season 2.
All episodes of X-Men ’97 season 1 are streaming on Disney+.
