The gripping two-part X-Men ‘97 storyline, “Rise of Apocalypse,” follows our displaced heroes as they find themselves marooned in ancient Egypt. Their mission: navigate the past and secure a return to the 1990s while covertly guiding En Sabah Nur—the primordial mutant destined to become Apocalypse—toward a benevolent path. Magneto’s hope is that by swaying Nur away from villainy, they can avert the catastrophic tragedy at Genosha. However, this gamble spirals out of control in the third episode when Nur uncovers their true identities as time-travelers and finds himself under siege by Pharaoh Rama-Tut. Tensions reach a boiling point in the series’ fourth installment, which debuted on July 8.
[Editorial Note: This breakdown contains significant spoilers for X-Men ‘97, episode 4.]In “Rise of Apocalypse Part 2,” the conflict with Rama-Tut intensifies. After stumbling upon ancient murals depicting his own transformation into the god-like Apocalypse using Celestial technology, Nur finally embraces his dark destiny. As most of the X-Men successfully retreat through time, Magneto remains behind to neutralize a devastating black hole unleashed by Apocalypse over Rama-Tut’s domain. It’s a sacrificial move that leaves the Master of Magnetism severely compromised; upon his return to Earth, he is seemingly obliterated by Apocalypse, with only his iconic helmet left in the wreckage. Meanwhile, Forge successfully recovers a traumatized Charles Xavier to ferry him back to the present day.
Could Magneto actually be gone for good?
Image: Disney PlusIt is highly improbable. Death in the X-Men mythos is frequently a revolving door. Consider the original X-Men: The Animated Series: Morph was seemingly slain by Sentinels, only to resurface later as a brainwashed puppet for Mister Sinister. Jean Grey has mastered the art of returning from the beyond, and even Professor X, who was left near-death at the end of the original run, eventually found healing through the Shi’ar Empire.
Furthermore, Magneto is a prime candidate for Apocalypse’s “recruitment” drive. Apocalypse is known for harvesting powerful mutants, molding them into his lethal Horsemen rather than simply discarding them. While he dismissed Xavier as “spineless,” he offered no such verdict on Magneto. Given that the post-credits sequence of season 1 heavily teased the resurrection of Gambit, it is clear that fallen mutants—like Banshee, Magik, or Madelyne Pryor—remain on the table. Transforming a broken, vengeful Magneto into one of his elite warriors would provide an existential threat that the remaining X-Men are ill-equipped to handle.
Source: Polygon
