Who is Mother Askani in X-Men ’97? The truth behind season 2’s most important, most mysterious character

If there’s one factor the X-Men love, it is getting caught up in time-travel shenanigans. Relationship again to the formative 1981 comedian storyline Days of Future Previous by Chris Claremont, science-fiction tropes like alternate timelines and temporal displacement have been a mainstay of the franchise. X-Men ’97 season 2 isn’t any exception.

Season 1 ended with the X-Males getting cut up up and transported by time by an unknown pressure, with half the staff caught within the historical previous and the opposite within the distant future — and each eras suspiciously coinciding with essential moments within the lifetime of the iconic mutant supervillain Apocalypse. Season 2 picks up shortly afterward, with episode 1 targeted on the fortieth Century, the place Jean Grey, Cyclops, Wolverine, and Morph staff up with a bunch of rebels often called the Askani to finish Apocalypse’s tyrannical rule.

The chief of the Askani, who calls herself Mom Askani, is likely one of the most mysterious characters in X-Males ’97 season 2 to date. Despite the fact that a lot is revealed about her by the top of the three-part premiere, there are nonetheless lots of unanswered questions on her true id and objective within the Marvel multiverse. It is potential we’ll study extra later this season, however within the meantime, for any impatient X-Males followers, just a few solutions seemingly lie within the authentic comics — and within the article under.

Who’s Mom Askani in X-Males ’97 season 2?

Mom Askani exhibits up virtually instantly when the X-Males arrive within the apocalyptic fortieth Century. Voiced by Gates McFadden (Dr. Beverly Crusher on Star Trek: The Subsequent Era), she’s a wizened chief of the insurrection who wears a cloak that conceals most of her face. Her powers are additionally unspecified, although she appears to have a mixture of telekinesis and telepathy just like Jean Gray (together with a potential connection to the Phoenix Pressure).

It is later revealed that Mom Askani is the one liable for bringing the X-Males into the long run (and the previous). Sensing that they have been about to die within the season 1 finale, she saved their lives and transported them to 2 key moments the place they may assist defeat Apocalypse as soon as and for all.

By the top of the episode, Apocalypse is defeated and flees to the Nineties. Mom Askani sends the X-Males after him with some assist from Nathan Summers, aka Cable.

That is just about all we all know concerning the character to date, however in case you’re acquainted with the comics, you already know the reality about Mom Askani, and the place X-Males ’97 could also be headed subsequent.

Mom Askani’s true id in X-Males ’97, defined

Let’s minimize to the chase: Mom Askani is definitely Rachel Summers, Cyclops and Jean Gray’s superpowered daughter from the apocalyptic alternate actuality launched in Days of Future Previous.

Rachel Summers first seems within the 1981 comedian The Uncanny X-Males #141 by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, although her id as X-Males royalty wasn’t revealed till later. In Rachel’s actuality (often called Earth-811), a political assassination ramps up anti-mutant efforts, which in the end backfires for each mutants and people when it results in the Sentinels taking on North America. On this timeline, Rachel leads to a mutant focus camp the place she meets numerous X-Males together with Wolverine, Magneto, and Kitty Pryde.

Picture: Marvel Comics

Picture: Marvel Comics

Finally, Rachel makes use of her powers to ship Kitty to the previous to undo the assassination and alter the long run (within the film Days of Future Previous, it is Wolverine who goes again in time as a substitute). However although the plan works, her future does not change. As an alternative, it turns into a branching timeline of the multiverse.

Picture: Marvel Comics

So Rachel does the one smart factor: She travels again in time and joins the X-Males. After spending some time within the current as a member of varied groups, she winds up displaced within the timestream but once more, leaping ahead 2000 years right into a future the place Apocalypse has conquered the planet. So she does the one smart factor, once more: begin a insurrection.

Rachel/Mom Askani ultimately brings her “brother” Nathan Summers/Cable into the long run to assist in the struggle towards Apocalypse and makes a clone backup simply in case. She additionally brings Scott and Jean’s consciousnesses into the long run the place they enter into different host our bodies and spend a decade elevating their son. Finally, this plotline ends. Rachel and Scott return to their very own timelines, whereas Cable beats Apocalypse after which travels even additional into the long run to save lots of his sister “Rachel.”

This all resolved by the 12 months 2000 (in our personal IRL timeline), and since then, Rachel Summers has principally existed within the X-Males’s current timeline. She’s joined numerous groups and performed a task in numerous comedian ebook arcs since as just lately as 2020.

We doubt X-Males ’97 season 2 will make all of it the best way to the 12 months 2020, however based mostly on Mom Askani’s comedian ebook historical past, it appears seemingly she’ll be revealed as Rachel Summers and transported again to the Nineties by the point the season finale has aired.