X-Men '97 Season 2, Episode 7 Review & Recap: "Strange Land, Savage Heart"

Warning: This nonfiction contains afloat spoilers for X-Men '97 Season 2, Episode 7!

As beardown arsenic the effect has been to X-Men '97 truthful far, I deliberation a batch of X-fans person been beauteous impatient for the bid to get to Colossus. This is simply a quality who ne'er afloat received his owed successful the archetypal series, and if Nightcrawler tin bask accrued clip successful the spotlight, wherefore not Piotr Rasputin? Those fans are apt to beryllium thrilled by "Strange Land, Savage Heart," an occurrence that masterfully explores the compassion that defines some Colossus (Robert Cait) and Nightcrawler (Adrian Hough).

Episode 7 opens by showing america what Colossus and his sister Illyana (Courtenay Taylor) were up to connected the time Genosha died. I'll assistance that it's beauteous disappointing to spot a quality with arsenic overmuch unexplored imaginable arsenic Illyana killed disconnected truthful abruptly, though my anticipation is that the bid tin inactive usage her decease arsenic an excuse to get into the Limbo of it each eventually. For now, though, her decease becomes a logical catalyst for Colossus to bash precisely what helium did backmost successful the '90s comics - crook his backmost connected Xavier's imagination and propulsion his batch successful with the Acolytes.

From there, Episode 7 establishes a caller struggle to trial the fledgling X-Corp team. Exodus (Bo Poraj) and his Acolytes person kidnapped noted scumbag bigot Graydon Creed (Ben Pronsky), forcing our heroes into enactment to halt Creed's assassination. The bid continues to marque the astir of the analyzable governmental clime it's established, with this occurrence truly demonstrating the worth of having X-Corp operating alongside the much traditional, school-focused X-Men. I lone privation Season 2 had a fewer much episodes, truthful we could proceed seeing the 2 teams carrying retired missions and dealing with this chaotic caller reality. But with 2 chapters near successful Season 2, I fishy it's each Apocalypse from present connected out.

Episode 7 could person fixed america a straightforward struggle betwixt X-Corp and the Acolytes, but I'm gladsome that's not rather the way it chooses. We've already seen the X-Men outnumbered and warring for their lives successful the Savage Land. Instead, this showdown takes a much philosophical and ideological slant, 1 that befits a storyline with Nightcrawler and Colossus astatine the helm. This is simply a warfare of words much than it is of fists and vigor blasts. Though we bash inactive get a small jungle enactment courtesy of Bishop (Isaac-Robinson Smith) and Polaris (Carolina Ravassa), a duo who are rapidly processing into a precise entertaining pair.

The proceedings series is handled nicely, with some Exodus and Nightcrawler making a beardown lawsuit for their respective points of view. The result is besides good done, with Exodus jumping the weapon to execute Creed and viewers lone learning aboriginal that, no, Nightcrawler did not successfully entreaty to Colossus' consciousness of mercy. The bid whitethorn person small involvement successful Illyana close now, but it decidedly makes the astir of Colossus here. That's wherefore it's truthful breathtaking to spot the steel-skinned mutant joining up with the Xavier Insititute astatine the end. I look guardant to seeing this bid excavation into the threeway relationship betwixt Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine.

Finally, this occurrence ends with different tease of what's to travel successful the last 2 chapters of Season 2, arsenic X-Force encounters the desicated remains of Apocalypse successful Greece. That raises immoderate intriguing caller questions for the last conflict. Is Gambit a specified Horseman, oregon has helium go the caller big for Apocalypse himself? With the adjacent occurrence being called "The Dead Man's Hand," I uncertainty we person agelong to hold earlier uncovering out.