‘X-Men ’97’ Season 2 Episode 4 Delivers a Death That Might Not Be Permanent
‘X-Men ’97’ has once again proven willing to shake up its core roster, and the fourth episode of season two gives fans a moment that feels genuinely seismic. The episode, titled “Rise of Apocalypse – Part II,” aired on Disney Plus and closes out the show’s Ancient Egypt arc with a gut punch that mirrors the show’s willingness to kill off major characters. The question on everyone’s mind afterward is whether this loss is permanent or another twist in a franchise built on time travel and second chances.
For a series already known for taking risks with its cast, this episode raises the stakes further. Season two finds the X-Men trapped across three different timelines, with Nightcrawler, Beast, Xavier, Magneto, and Rogue stuck in Ancient Egypt around 3000 B.C. The setup places the team directly in the path of a mutant whose destiny they cannot avoid.
A Battle in Ancient Egypt Sets the Stage for Tragedy
The episode’s central conflict revolves around a young En Sabah Nur, the mutant fated to become Apocalypse. In this timeline, the villain who hunts the X-Men in the present has not yet transformed and is still going by his birth name. Recognizing the opportunity to change history, the team attempts something bold rather than simply fleeing.
Magneto takes the lead in convincing En Sabah Nur that mutants can be treated fairly and that he does not have to use his powers for destruction. That effort collapses once fate intervenes. Xavier eventually unmasks their identities to Nur in a desperate bid to alter the future, forming an uneasy alliance to hunt down Celestial technology hidden in an ancient temple. The philosophical divide between Xavier and Magneto only deepens the young mutant’s rage rather than easing it.
A deeply hardened, post Genosha Magneto reinforces Nur’s raw survivalist instincts, unintentionally becoming the catalyst for the very radicalization the team hoped to prevent. The irony lands hard, since it is Magneto’s worldview, not Xavier’s, that pushes Nur toward the path he was always meant to walk.
Magneto’s Death Marks the Season’s Turning Point
Once Nur reads the sacred scriptures and learns his true destiny, he rejects everything the X-Men taught him and embraces a robotic, Celestial enhanced form, becoming Apocalypse in full. Furious at being deceived, he turns his full power against the very people who tried to guide him.
Apocalypse launches a devastating black hole above the city in an attempt to erase the timeline’s variables, forcing Magneto to intervene. Magneto single handedly repels the gravity weapon in a visually striking display, but the effort leaves him gravely and life threateningly wounded. Weakened and out of options, he makes a final sacrifice for the team.
A battered Magneto uses the last of his strength to send Rogue, Nightcrawler, and Beast hurtling back to the 1990s, but Apocalypse intercepts the portal before it closes, trapping Xavier in the ancient past. As Apocalypse cements his reign, Magneto makes one final stand by directly clashing with him, an act that costs him everything. In the closing moments, Apocalypse obliterates Erik with a point blank blast from his arm cannon, taking the weakened mutant by the head and ending his life in the sands of 3000 B.C. while a helpless Professor Xavier watches.
Comparisons to the Original Animated Series Offer Hope
Longtime fans of the franchise have reason to hold onto some optimism. In the classic 1990s series, Magneto faced a nearly identical fate in season four, vaporized after crashing into Earth from space, only to reassemble his own atoms using the planet’s magnetic field. That precedent gives credence to the idea that this version of the character could find his way back as well.
Even devoted readers of the comics point out that Magneto has died and returned many times over the decades, from cloned resurrections to full universe reboots. The character’s powers have always operated on a molecular level, which several observers note leaves the door open for a comeback rather than a permanent ending.
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Still, the show is not treating this as a throwaway moment. The death was accompanied by the same haunting, silent credits music that marked Gambit’s demise in the first season, signaling a genuinely significant and somber turn for the story rather than a cheap fake out. That musical cue has become a marker the series uses sparingly, reserved for losses meant to actually register with the audience.
What the Ending Means for X-Men ’97 Season 2
The fallout from this episode reshapes the emotional core of the season. Professor Xavier’s reaction in the final moments hints at a darker undercurrent, one tied to his earlier decision to strip the darker impulses out of Magneto during the previous season. That choice may carry consequences the show has only begun to explore.
There is also the looming question of Apocalypse’s Horsemen. With both Gambit and Magneto now dead within the show’s timeline, some observers speculate Apocalypse could resurrect either character as one of his enforcers, with Magneto potentially returning as War. A comeback would restore an Omega level mutant to a roster that may otherwise be outmatched against a villain who has effectively remade himself into a god.
For now, the show has five episodes left to answer these questions, and the version of Magneto fans knew this season is gone, at least in this form. One reviewer described the episode as emotionally devastating, praising its grip on the audience throughout. Whether ‘X-Men ’97’ brings him back through time travel, resurrection, or a Horseman transformation, the loss has already reshaped the direction of the season heading into its back half.
Given how many times Magneto has cheated death across both the comics and animation, do you think this version of the character stays gone for good, or does the show’s own history all but guarantee his return before the finale.
