‘X-Men ’97’ Just Used an MCU Infinity Stone to Rewrite Apocalypse’s Entire Origin Story
‘X-Men ’97’ has spent its second season methodically building toward a reveal that changes how fans understand one of Marvel’s oldest villains. Episode four of the season closes out the “Rise of Apocalypse” arc, and it does so by pulling a piece of cosmic MCU lore into a story that nobody expected to touch it.
The time lost X-Men traveled back to ancient Egypt hoping to stop Apocalypse from ever coming into existence, only to discover that the man responsible for his creation was Eson the Searcher, a Celestial who still possessed the Power Stone in this timeline. That detail alone reshapes what fans thought they knew about ‘X-Men ’97’ and where Apocalypse actually fits inside the larger Marvel universe.
Apocalypse’s Origin Story Gets a Cosmic Rewrite
Eson used the Power Stone to transform an enslaved Egyptian man named En Sabah Nur into Apocalypse, giving him a mission framed as cosmic necessity rather than simple conquest. According to Eson, all creation must crash against the eternal shore in order to thrive and grow, and En Sabah Nur was chosen to serve as the instrument of that culling.
The comics have long hinted that the Celestials selected Apocalypse for exactly this purpose, which is why his body has always relied on Celestial armor and bionic technology to sustain itself over long stretches of time. What changes here is the mechanism. Marvel’s comics traditionally credit mysterious forces called Life and Death Seeds for how the Celestials mutate and resurrect their chosen agents.
‘X-Men ’97’ swaps that concept out for the Power Stone directly, with the show leaving open the possibility that other Infinity Stones could be involved in Apocalypse’s ongoing power as well. It is a significant departure from print continuity, and it ties a mutant legend directly into hardware audiences already recognize from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy.’
The Infinity Stone Connection Reframes the MCU’s Mutant Question
Eson’s role in this episode lines up closely with how he was first introduced in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ where he was shown using the Power Stone to devastate entire civilizations long before the modern MCU began. That flashback already established him as a being capable of channeling raw creation energy through the stone, and this episode leans directly into that same idea.
What makes the reveal resonate beyond a single episode is the timing. Marvel has spent years teasing that Infinity Stones can unlock mutations within its cinematic timeline, and this arc gives that theory its most direct support yet. Fans have pointed back to ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron,’ where Hydra used the Mind Stone to activate latent abilities in Wanda Maximoff and Pietro Maximoff rather than create their powers from nothing.
That framing suggests the stones function less as a source of new powers and more as a key that unlocks something already present in a person’s genetic makeup. If that logic extends to Apocalypse in ‘X-Men ’97,’ it raises the question of how many other MCU figures who gained abilities through cosmic exposure might also be mutants who simply never had the chance to find out.
Magneto’s Death Adds Weight to Apocalypse’s Rise
The same episode that reveals Apocalypse’s true origin also delivers one of the show’s most devastating moments to date. Magneto forms an alliance with En Sabah Nur before his transformation is complete, hoping to prevent the villain from ever rising, and the plan fails in brutal fashion. Apocalypse lifts Magneto into the air and uses his newly awakened Celestial power to vaporize him in front of Professor Xavier, leaving nothing behind but his helmet.
The scene lands with unusual weight because of how much time the show gives to Xavier’s reaction, his anguish carrying a tragedy that arguably surpasses even Rogue’s grief over Gambit’s death in the previous season. It is also a pointed reversal of Marvel Comics history, where Magneto famously tears Apocalypse apart during the Age of Apocalypse storyline rather than the other way around.
Do you think Magneto is really dead?
There is an irony built into the moment as well, since Magneto effectively dies fighting a being who represents a distilled, uncompromising version of the mutant supremacy he has spent decades espousing himself. Whether this death sticks is an open question given the show’s history with time travel and past fake outs involving the character, but the emotional impact of the scene has already made it one of the most discussed moments of the season.
Where X-Men ’97 Season 2 Goes From Here
With Magneto seemingly gone and Apocalypse now operating with a scale of power the comics rarely gave him, the back half of ‘X-Men ’97’ Season 2 has a lot to resolve. Kang remains a looming presence in the background of the timeline altering plot, and the show has already demonstrated a willingness to kill major characters without much warning.
The first four episodes are streaming now, with new installments continuing on a weekly schedule. Given how directly this arc has tied Apocalypse to Infinity Stone mythology, there is reason to expect the connections between mutants and cosmic power in the MCU to keep expanding as the season progresses.
For a show built on reworking familiar X-Men history, this may be the boldest swing yet, and it leaves plenty of room for the story to keep growing stranger from here. How far do you think ‘X-Men ’97’ is willing to push Apocalypse’s new cosmic backstory before Magneto’s fate is finally settled for good.
