*cracks knuckles*
I tried breaking down the potential stories of season 2 a while back using all the things we'd learned so far, and then again once we had new information. Each time the narrative changed quite a lot. And since the NYCC trailer leaked a few months ago, we've had a bunch of new theories to ruminate over, so here I go again...
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-2x01- ANCIENT EGYPT - The X-men spend some time getting to know En Sabah Nur and learn about his obsessions with the strange technology the tyrannical Rama Tut (time-displaced version of Kang) uses to rule over Egypt. The team theorizes that said technology may have been what brought them to this time period - though the why of it is unclear - so allying with ESN to take Rama Tut down may be their only chance to get home. However, it may hasten the rise of Apocalypse if they do.
Magneto, feeling emboldened after saving the Earth, (from the disaster he caused) speaks with Rogue to clarify where her loyalties are now, but his true aim is to get her to change her mind about rejecting him. Rogue slams the breaks on him. She says she joined Magneto in 1x09 because she was so angry, but up on Asteroid-M, she saw that he was lying about wanting to protect mutants and really just wanted to watch the world burn. She sees through Magneto's bs now and wants nothing more to do with him politically. And as for romantically, Rogue sticks to her guns about choosing Remy; even though he's dead, it still matters to her. Rogue is adamant about this. She's done with Magneto, period, and tells him to stay the hell out of her life. Mags is left crushed and humiliated.
Rogue speaks to ESN privately and makes her Faustian deal with him. She'll help him overthrow Rama Tut, but in return, there's something she wants from him. If Rama Tut's palace is what the X-men think it is, then somewhere inside it are the Celestial Life Seeds, which Rogue believes she can use to resurrect Remy once they return to the present. Magneto overhears her making this bargain and his pride is wounded.
Left with no other options, the X-men choose to aid ESN in an attack on Rama Tut's palace. Things go badly. They manage to access the Celestial tech, (revealed to be Ship from the XTAS episode, Obsession) but as Beast is trying to figure out time travel, they're discovered and there's a huge battle. Rama Tut overpowers them. The X-men and ESN are seemingly defeated, though Beast manages to send out a temporal SOS beacon, which is how Bishop learned what happened to them.
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-2x02- FUTURE - Scott and Jean raise child Nathan together with the Askani for an undetermined amount of time (Nathan looked aged up in the trailer, so it could be quite a while).
At some point in the past, Apocalypse rose to power and took over the world. Nathan has been studying history and he has a theory that Apocalypse's rise can be traced back to a singular point; one particular event which caused that first domino to fall. And whatever it was, he believes it happens soon in the present day. In the meantime though, Apocalypse isn't the only threat to humanity out there.
Apocalypse's rivalry with the temporal warlord Kang is the cause of the devastation the world has endured, with one of their clashes across the timestream being the reason why Bishop and baby Nathan were separated back in season 1 and how Nathan ended up here. The Askani are just trying to help humanity survive the chaos.
The Askani learn that Storm, Morph and Wolverine were brought to this time period as well and have been taken prisoner by Apocalypse, though for what purpose they don't know. Scott, Jean and the Askani stage a rescue operation to save their friends. Things go badly. Kang is alerted to their presence. Kang and Apocalypse battle each other with the X-men and Askani caught in the middle.
All hope seems lost, but Nathan is able to access Apocalypse's time travel tech, discovering and locking onto the signal that Beast sent out in Ancient Egypt.
Back in the present, Forge detects the two signals from the past/future and realizes what they need to do to bring the X-men home.
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-2x03- PRESENT - Forge now knows where in time the X-men are, but lacks a time machine with enough juice to retrieve them from that far in the past/future. While he works on building something that can solve this problem, Bishop assembles a new team to help them rescue their friends made up of candidates from the peg board in Forge's office we saw in 1x10.
Making up this new team is Colossus and Magik, who join after Bishop aids them in a fight against Omega Red, (Piotr and Arkady both appeared in the trailer, so we know they're showing up) and members of Forge's old team, X-Factor. Havok and Polaris are hesitant to join at first, but Alex changes his mind when Bishop reveals that Cyclops is his long-lost brother Scott and Lorna is convinced by the possibility of finding Magneto. Bishop wants to recruit Cable as well, but Cable has gone underground and they have no way of contacting him.
Forge locks onto the temporal coordinates in the past/future. Polaris uses her power to give the time machine the boost it needed. The makeshift team attempts to travel to the future, but this new temporal incursion draws Kang's attention and he intervenes.
The three time machines in the past/present/future intersecting with each other tears a hole in the fabric of spacetime, landing everyone in the Axis of Time (seen in the XTAS crossover, Beyond Good and Evil). Kang is revealed to be the cause of all these time travel shenanigans; his future self was attempting to use the X-men as pawns in his war against Apocalypse, but Apocalypse foiled his plans and things got mixed up, which is how they wound up in the past/future.
There's a massive battle with the X-men, the makeshift team, En Sabah Nur, Apocalypse, Rama Tut, Kang and the Askani. During the fight, Rogue tries to take down Rama Tut, but is stopped by Magneto. He disingenuously claims that he's just protecting her because they can't trust Apocalypse, but his real reasons are obvious and she isn't fooled.
The good guys are slowly overwhelmed, they're close to being defeated until a switch flips in Jean's mind and she becomes the Phoenix again, turning the battle in their favor. However, her anger at Apocalypse and Kang causes her to lose control of herself. The Dark Phoenix re-emerges and starts to rage out of control.
Mother Askani mind-links with her and Jean learns that she's Rachel Summers, Jean and Scott's daughter. This revelation calms the Phoenix and the battle is won, though the strain of the ordeal costs Mother Askani her life.
The Phoenix restores the bad guys and the Askani to their proper timelines and seals the spacetime breach before returning to its dormant state once again. Jean is troubled by what the Phoenix's continued re-emergences could mean for her future.
Rogue is left heartbroken, her one chance to bring Remy back now gone. But unbeknownst to Rogue, ESN was able to defeat Rama Tut back in Ancient Egypt, which she did play a part in regardless, so her side of the deal was ultimately fulfilled.
The episode ends with ESN considering the deal he made with Rogue as he enters the chamber within Ship that contains the Life Seeds... and the Death Seeds.
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-2x04- The X-men return to the present, but the time machine spits them out in Rio de Janeiro for reasons unknown. Scott is reunited with his brother Alex.
Magneto attempts to mend his relationship with Polaris, but is shocked to learn that his daughter's real reason for wanting to find him was so she could kill him. Lorna is suffering from PTSD due to being in Genosha during the Sentinel attack and in the six months since Magneto's EMP, anti-mutant sentiment all over the world has skyrocketed. Graydon Creed is even running for president. Things are worse than ever for mutants and Lorna believes her father to be the root cause of all of it.
Flying into a rage, Polaris attacks Magneto, her powers proving to be a match for his.
Elsewhere in Rio de Janeiro, we find Jubilee and Sunspot. Since striking out on his own, Cable has formed X-Force (classic '90s lineup) with Roberto joining him. Jubilee has been working with them, but she doesn't feel at home and misses the X-men, which is causing tension between her and Roberto. It's here where they encounter Archangel and Psylocke, with Cable hoping to recruit them for X-Force.
In recent weeks, Warren has been plagued by strange dreams and hallucinations in which he's acting as the Horseman of Death again; this has lead him to believe that Apocalypse has returned. Psylocke has been trying to help him ward these visions off with her telepathy, but it's become clear that this is more than just a mental breakdown. She was able to keep Warren in check for a while, but his condition is worsening despite her efforts. Warren is reverting back to his obsessive, paranoid behavior that we saw in the XTAS episode Obsession and his hunt for Apocalypse has lead him here.
Warren is mentally unraveling. He hallucinates Apocalypse telling him that the Death persona is still inside him and he must stop denying it. Warren goes berserk, with X-Force having to fight him. They're able to subdue him, giving Psylocke the chance to telepathically enter his mind.
In Warren's mindscape, she discovers lingering threads that still mentally connect him to Apocalypse - this is how Warren could sense that he's returned... and also how he senses the re-emergence of Death.
Psylocke aids Warren as he battles the evil mental incarnation of himself as Death. It proves to be too much for her, but watching Betsy succumb to the telepathic strain spurs Warren on to fight harder and he ultimately defeats the mental phantom, though his connection to Apocalypse lingers. He knows Apocalypse is out there somewhere and this still isn't over.
Trusting Warren's intuition, Cable knows he must prepare his team for a coming battle with his old enemy. This is when X-Force notice a news broadcast of Polaris battling Magneto not far from where they are now. Jubilee sees this and realizes that the X-men have returned.
X-Force race to find the X-men, aiding them in quelling the Magneto/Polaris confrontation. The fight is ended, but things remain unresolved and Magneto is shaken by his daughter's fury.
UN forces (Quicksilver among them) arrive, having been alerted by the battle. They try to arrest Magneto, but he's not having it and attempts to leave. Rogue stops him. One last time, Magneto tries to convince Rogue to come with him. Instead, she knocks him out and hands him over to the UN. Adding insult to injury, Magneto's own son Pietro is the one who slaps the handcuffs on him. Magneto is taken into custody and Rogue flies away alone.
Scott is reunited with his son Cable, his whole family nearly back together now. Jubilee is reunited with her friends, deciding to leave X-Force (putting her relationship with Roberto in an uncertain place) and returns to the X-men. Warren and Betsy go with them as well to get Warren some help.
Unbeknownst to everyone, Apocalypse watches from a distance; him having established a base in Brazil being the reason Warren was drawn here and likely why the X-men landed here as well. A shadowy figure with glowing red eyes appears behind him; Apocalypse tells him that it's time to begin.
The return of the X-men and Magneto is worldwide news. Graydon Creed plots with his running mate, Reverend William Stryker, to weaponize this for the final leg of his anti-mutant presidential campaign.
The episode ends with Jean taking a pregnancy test. It's positive.
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-2x05- Magneto stands in front of a UN judge who pronounces him guilty of mass murder and crimes against humanity. He's thrown in prison with only Xavier there to support him as he's locked away.
In Central Park, a memorial has been built for the victims of Magneto's EMP with journalists there to cover the event. A crowd of people has gathered there, leaving flowers and pictures of the dead, etc, when they're attacked by Quentin Quire and Penance (both were seen in the trailer, so we know they'll be appearing). Quire mind controls the crowd to get them to start causing chaos and the scene descends into a violent riot with Quire screaming "Magneto was right!" as the news cameras capture every moment.
From a nearby dark alley, the shadowy figure watches, pleased. It's clear that he's the reason Quire and Penance have done this and he hints that it's just the beginning.
Meanwhile, Wolverine and Morph travel to Japan. Logan is searching for Lady Deathstrike in the hopes that she'll have a way of restoring his adamantium skeleton. He's felt useless since he lost it and feels that he's become a liability to the team. He's determined to find Deathstrike, whose father created the adamantium bonding process for Weapon-X.
Deathstrike still hates Wolverine following their encounter in the XTAS 2-parter, Out of the Past, but he did save her life, so she's compelled to help him. There's no honor in killing Logan in a weakened state after all.
The original Weapon-X facility was destroyed years ago. There was a backup facility where they might be able to recreate the experiment, but Deathstrike never knew its location. There's only one person who might know how to find it: Sabretooth.
Morph asks Wolverine if he's sure about going down this road, pointing out that Logan hasn't seemed like himself since their time travel jaunt. Logan had always hated the adamantium, so him wanting it back is... strange. Morph himself admits to feeling different since they returned to the present, but many things have changed for everyone. They've just been through some really crazy stuff, so maybe they should think about this before they make more crazy decisions that they can't take back.
Logan is sure and doesn't want to wait. If things were different, he'd be happy to be rid of the adamantium, but now he feels he needs it to help the X-men.
They track down Sabretooth, who agrees to help them, but only because he wants the adamantium for himself. They find the complex and all the equipment they need to do the procedure, at which point Sabretooth turns on them, incapacitating Morph and Deathstrike, so Logan has to fight his old rival alone in his weakest state.
Lacking his indestructible skeleton and claws, Logan has to rely on his wits and cunning. Surprising even himself, he's able to hold his own for a while, but Sabretooth ultimately overpowers him. As Sabretooth is about to finish him off, they're both shocked when Logan's bone claws erupt out of his hands, allowing him to narrowly win the fight. Caught off-guard, Sabretooth runs off and disappears.
Logan doesn't know what to make of the claws. He'd never known he had them. He'd always thought they'd been implanted by Weapon-X. Morph suggests that maybe they had been; maybe the bone claws were something his healing factor created as an adaptive reaction to the metal claws getting ripped out. It could be possible that Logan was born with the claws and simply doesn't remember, (his memories are still messed up atp) but either way, Logan is alive because of them.
Logan is left with more questions than answers, but the knowledge that perhaps the claws had been natural all along rather than something forced upon him allows Logan to somewhat make peace with what Weapon-X did to him all those years ago.
And ultimately, Logan defeated Sabretooth, saving Morph and Deathstrike, and proving to himself that it wasn't the metal, but the man who made him Wolverine. So despite the questions, Logan feels like at least one particular weight has been lifted off his shoulders.
Logan undergoes the procedure, getting the adamantium back and Deathstrike resolves to try to stop hating him after he saved her a second time.
In the B-plot, the rest of the X-men get to work rebuilding the mansion. With all their costumes having been destroyed during the time travel shenanigans, Xavier produces some new duds for them: the Morrison/Quitely suits (Scott and Jean were seen wearing them in the trailer).
Beast and Forge work on restoring the Danger Room, incorporating some of the Shi'ar tech that Xavier brought back with him from space, but something goes awry as the alien tech combines with their own hardware and Danger emerges from it.
The X-men fight Danger. She's defeated after a fierce battle with Storm finishing her off. Storm momentarily loses control of herself and really cuts loose to save Forge from their robotic adversary, leaving Forge shaken by the enormous power Storm unleashed. Ororo is disturbed herself by the intense anger she felt in that moment, not knowing where it came from, but acknowledging that since they returned from the future, she's felt different.
In the final scene, Graydon Creed debates Present Kelly live on the news, using the attack at the Central Park memorial to exacerbate the anti-mutant furor that's been growing since the EMP and his message is resonating with voters. He fear-mongers about what will happen when "the next Magneto" threatens the entire world and that the American people can't count on a president who coddles mutants like Kelly does to protect them.
The debate is suddenly interrupted when the roof is ripped off the building. Exodus has arrived! He announces that it's time for Creed to stand trial for crimes against mutantkind and flies off with him.
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-2x06- William Stryker holds a press conference, making a fiery speech and drawing a line in the sand against mutant terrorism. Anti-mutant pundits all over the country start hitting the news circuit, stating that, should the Creed/Stryker campaign win the election, William Stryker will be ready to assume the powers of the president on day one.
From X-Force's base of operations, Cable silently watches the news coverage on a monitor. The gears in Cable's head start to turn.
Polaris knows Exodus through his past association with her father and has an idea where he might have taken Creed, but in her current state of mind, she's fine with just letting Exodus have him. Nightcrawler has to convince Lorna that this is not the way. Creed will only become a martyr if he's killed by a mutant. And regardless of their differences, Graydon is still Kurt's half-brother, so he has to try to save him.
Lorna, Kurt and a few others fly off to find Exodus, who is in the Savage Land staging a mock trial for Creed with Zaladane serving as the judge and some of the Genoshan survivors there to bare witness. The whole thing is for show, with Exodus condemning Creed as a threat to all mutantkind and using the theatrics to fire up the Genoshans and get them radicalized to his (re. Magneto's) cause.
The X-men arrive and battle with Exodus and the Genoshans. Meanwhile, Polaris faces off against Zaladane, who claims to be Lorna's sister, making them both daughters of Magneto. In Lorna's shock and confusion, Zaladane takes the advantage, subduing her. She then reveals her own machinations, intending to use the technology left behind by Sinister in the XTAS 2-parter, Reunion, to transfer Lorna's magnetic powers to her, so she can finish what Magneto started with the EMP.
As his teammates keep Exodus occupied, Nightcrawler frees Graydon. Nothing has changed between them, Graydon still hates Kurt, but with no options other than letting Zaladane wreak havoc on the Earth's magnetic field, the two of them agree to a temporary truce.
Kurt engages Zaladane, distracting her while Graydon frees Polaris. Lorna is furious now; with all of her anger and PTSD getting the better of her, she declares Zaladane a fanatical extremist and executes her (filling the Magneto role in that story from the comics).
She considers killing Graydon too, but Kurt pleads with Lorna to spare him. Graydon may be a hateful monster, but he did help them in the end, even if it was only out of self-preservation, so maybe he should be given a chance.
Lorna thinks Kurt is naive and he admits that maybe he is. Kurt isn't fooling himself into thinking that Graydon will change his ways, but he believes in the goodness of people and chooses to remain hopeful that even someone like his brother can find a better path.
Lorna is unsure if Zaladane was telling the truth about them being sisters, or if she did the right thing by killing her. She's left feeling empty and desolate, realizing that she may be more like her father than she thought.
Though his plan was foiled, Exodus escapes with the Genoshans.
The X-men return Graydon to his campaign headquarters where he and Stryker waste no time in spinning the ordeal to make him look like the hero who stopped the mutants' evil plot to destroy the Earth's magnetic field, all but ensuring their victory on the eve of the election.
In the final scene, Rogue arrives at the cemetery in New Orleans. With her plan to resurrect Remy having failed, (as far as she knows) she's lost hope that she'll ever see him again and has come to visit his grave to finally say goodbye.
She finds the grave empty. The coffin has been dug up. Remy's body is gone.
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-2x07- The episode begins on the other side of the galaxy with Deathbird in prison after attempting to overthrow Lilandra in 1x06. The prison is attacked by some unseen force and it's clear from Deathbird's face that she is not surprised.
In the ensuing chaos, Deathbird frees herself and, unconcerned, she walks through what used to be the prison. It's a graveyard. There are dead bodies everywhere. Whoever did this was merciless and had enormous power. Emerging from the wreckage, she's greeted by the shadowy figure. She acknowledges him as Apocalypse's Emissary and says she's been waiting a long time for this. This is a callback to Deathbird and Apocalypse's teased alliance at the end of the XTAS 2-parter, Sanctuary.
Back on Earth, Corsair arrives at the mansion and is reunited with his sons, Scott and Alex. Scott had arranged this since the three of them hadn't been together since they were separated years ago. Also, Corsair will be giving Xavier and Jean a ride to the Shi'ar throneworld. Charles is going to visit Lilandra, but the real purpose of the trip is for Jean to be examined by Shi'ar scientists in the hopes they might be able to tell her something about the re-emerging Phoenix force.
When they arrive in Shi'ar space, it's a war zone. Shi'ar ships are battling other Shi'ar ships and they don't know which side is which.
The Summers family and the Starjammers go on a swashbuckling space adventure to discover the source of this conflict. They sneak aboard the Shi'ar flagship (now commandeered by Deathbird's forces) and free Lilandra, who tells them that her sister is in league with Apocalypse. The uprising caused by Deathbird and the Emissary has given way to civil war with all the Shi'ar choosing sides. The Imperial Guard sided with Lilandra, (they're prisoners here as well) but the Emissary is so powerful, no one has been able to stand against him.
The X-men free the other prisoners, but they're discovered by the Emissary. The Imperial Guard try to fight him, but the Emissary overwhelms and savagely kills them. Only Gladiator survives the assault, but they're forced to leave him behind. They escape by the skin of their teeth, horrified by what they just witnessed.
Back on Earth, Beast, Forge, Archangel and Psylocke gather in the War Room as they receive an emergency call from Cyclops. He informs them of the Shi'ar civil war... and as for the Emissary, Scott says they may want to sit down for this one...
Rogue bursts into the War Room just as an image of the Emissary is displayed on the monitor.
It's Gambit.
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-2x08- A news broadcast announces that Graydon Creed has won the election and will be the next President of the United States. All over the country, acts of violence are breaking out - humans attacking mutants, mutants attacking humans. The X-men and X-Factor are trying to respond and calm the hysteria, but they're spread very thin and it's only getting worse.
On the other side of the galaxy, a small ship carrying Rogue, Archangel and Psylocke emerges from hyperspace (this is the Shi'ar pod that brought Xavier back to Earth in 1x08, modified by Forge to carry more passengers). The Starjammers are there to greet them, but their ship has taken heavy damage and they're being pursued by the Shi'ar flagship.
They receive a message from Deathbird, who orders them to surrender immediately and hand over Lilandra. If they don't, Deathbit will execute Gladiator. With her sister's greatest champion felled, no one in the Imperium will dare challenge Deathbird's rule.
Rogue urges Lilandra to pretend to surrender and draw Deathbird's attention while she sneaks aboard the ship to confront Deathbit - her plan being to absorb the Death persona out of him like she once did for Archangel - but after what Deathbit did to the Imperial Guard, the others think this is too risky.
Jean thinks she could give them a better chance if she could summon the Phoenix again, but Lilandra cautions her against this. The Phoenix may have saved the X-men in times of great need, but the more Jean relies on it, the more power it has, the less control she has, and there will come a time when it won't be contained anymore like it is now. Given the risk of the Dark Phoenix re-emerging, Lilandra implores Jean to seal it away and never summon it again.
With no other options, they go with Rogue's plan.
Lilandra, Xavier and the Starjammers meet with Deathbird, but once they're restrained, Deathbird gleefully explains that she had no intention of executing Gladiator; he was just a way to get Lilandra here. She reveals how bountiful her alliance with Apocalypse has been, producing three Death Seeds delivered to her by his Emissary. Gladiator will be the first soldier in a new army she and Apocalypse will create together; a new Four Horsemen made up of Deathbit and the mightiest warriors the Shi'ar have to offer. With Gladiator on their side, the entire Imperium will come under Deathbird's boot. Then, once she controls the Shi'ar, she and Apocalypse will take the Earth as well, and after that, the rest of the galaxy.
Meanwhile, the X-men have snuck aboard the ship and are preparing to confront Deathbit. Cyclops warns Rogue to be careful; Gambit isn't like the man she remembers and Apocalypse has enhanced his powers to such a degree that they may not stand a chance against him. Rogue hears Scott, but she isn't about to let anyone stop her now.
Rogue launches herself at Deathbit, but instead of attacking, she kisses him, trying to absorb the evil out of him. The kiss lingers... and nothing happens. Finally she ends the kiss, euphoric to have Gambit back, but stunned that her absorption power had no effect.
Deathbit crushes Rogue's hopes, asking, "Who are you?"
Apocalypse has tampered with Deathbit's memories. He remembers the X-men, but not Rogue. He taunts the others with this as he battles them - the teammates who never trusted him, the friends who never respected him - all of Gambit's insecurities and fears having been twisted into a dark rage by the Death persona. Cyclops tells Deathbit he's wrong, that the X-men do need him, but he's not listening.
Deathbit easily overwhelms them. He's toying with them, enjoying watching them squirm. He has them outmatched, but he hasn't used lethal force yet unlike in his fight with the Imperial Guard, so Jean believes Remy is still in there somewhere. And since his memories of Rogue were uniquely targeted by Apocalypse, (and her absorption power specifically neutralized) Rogue must be the key to getting him back.
Warren draws Deathbit's attention; as a former Horseman himself, he has a unique connection to Deathbit. Using this as a distraction, Jean and Psylocke pool their telepathic powers to break through Deathbit's mental defenses and take Rogue inside his mind.
In Deathbit's mindscape, they're confronted by an astral avatar of Apocalypse who blocks their path. Determined to redeem herself after failing to help Warren in 2x04, Psylocke engages him in battle while Jean and Rogue dive deep into Deathbit's subconscious.
They see memories of Remy's time with the X-men, (Rogue is mysteriously absent from them) moments when he felt they didn't trust or value him and how this secretly pained him. They see the moment Apocalypse resurrected Remy and showed him the news footage of the the X-men "dying" when Asteroid-M exploded and, in his despair, he gave in to Apocalypse and became the Horseman of Death willingly. Remy accepting the Death Seed is shown abstractly as him being engulfed in shadows. His eyes close and he falls into a deep sleep in an endless pit of darkness as the Death persona emerges and takes over his mind.
They've hit a wall and, back in the physical realm, the X-men are getting torn apart, so Jean digs deep and uses a bit of Phoenix fire to send Rogue into the deepest pit of Deathbit's psyche, landing her in a mental recreation of the Genosha gala.
Gambit sits alone at the bar. He's wearing Remy's white tuxedo from 1x05, but his skin is darkly colored like Deathbit's. He tells Rogue that she shouldn't be here, showing no hostility. He remembers her, but he looks sad.
Rogue asks him to dance with her. As they dance, she pleads with him to come back, but he says it's too late for that. There's nothing for him to come back to anymore. He's done horrible things as Death, he's become the monster he always knew he was, so this hell is what he deserves. This is a Gambit that has lost all hope.
Becoming emotional and desperate, Rogue tearfully apologizes for all the mistakes she made, for hurting him, for making him think that what they had between them didn't matter to her, how wrong she was, how she'd chosen him, but didn't have a chance to tell him. She confesses that she needs him back, finally saying that she loves him.
This stirs something in Gambit and he becomes emotional as well now, but he tells Rogue that Remy Lebeau doesn't exist anymore. The man she's speaking to is just a ghost, and before long, even he will be gone too.
High above them, the walls of the gala chamber begin to crumble as the darkness from outside seeps in. Jean is trying to keep the shadows at bay, but they're running out of time. Gambit tells Rogue that she has to leave. Apocalypse's influence is too strong. Everything he was is being erased and soon there will be nothing left but Death.
Rogue isn't going anywhere. Holding Gambit close, she says she's never letting him go again. Gambit is growing desperate now. He wants Rogue to be safe, but Death's corruption in his soul feels like a tidal wave he doesn't know how to stop.
In the upper levels of Gambit's mind, Psylocke continues to battle the Apocalypse avatar. He's stronger than her, but she's not giving up.
In the physical world, Deathbit is becoming more vicious. The X-men can't hold out much longer. Warren tries to appeal to Deathbit's humanity, relating his own experiences and telling him that Remy can beat the darkness back if he just has hope. Finally, Warren realizes that Apocalypse doesn't control him anymore; his hallucinations were caused by him sensing that a new Horseman of Death had been chosen and conflating that with his unresolved issues about his own time as Death.
The Deathbird/Lilandra standoff has devolved into a firefight with the Starjammers battling Deathbird's forces.
Xavier enters Deathbit's mind, telepathically seeking out memories from Gambit's past (across both series) that might remind him who he really is and motivate him to fight against the Death persona: saving Storm and Jubilee in Slave Island, going back to aid Wolverine against the Sentinels in The Final Decision, holding off the Acolytes, so Xavier and Beast could escape Asteroid-M in Sanctuary, crashing a jet into Apocalypse to protect the X-men in Obsession, sacrificing himself to save the Genoshan mutants from the Wild Sentinel in Remember It, the last words Xavier spoke to him in Graduation Day, "Gambit, how often must the scoundrel prove himself a hero before he believes it himself?"
Xavier bombards Deathbit with all of these memories. Deathbit becomes agitated at this, but his assault on the X-men slows only momentarily.
The Apocalypse avatar senses what Xavier is trying to do and laughs, telling him that nothing can stop what's coming.
Back on Earth, Storm, Morph and Wolverine are all trying to quell anti-mutant mobs when something comes over them - some kind of dark force from deep within taking hold. Their eyes change, their skin darkens. The Horsemen Famine, Pestilence and War emerge.
In Deathbit's mindscape, there's almost nothing left of the gala now, just Gambit and Rogue under a spotlight that's growing dimmer and dimmer. They're out of time. Despite Rogue pouring her heart out, Gambit seems lost.
The battle is over. The X-men are defeated. Deathbit stands over their bodies. He raises his charged bo staff, preparing to deliver the killing blow to Archangel.
At the same time, as the Apocalypse avatar is distracted by Xavier, Psylocke finds an opening to deliver her own last, best shot with her psychic knife.
During the battle, Gladiator managed to free himself. He picks up a sword that was dropped by one of Deathbird's soldiers and hurls it at Deathbit.
The bo staff comes down. The psychic knife finds its' target. The sword flies through the air.
At the last moment, Rogue jumps in front of the sword, shielding Deathbit with her own body. The blade goes through her and through Deathbit as well, mirroring that classic panel from X-Treme X-men.
The dam breaks in Deathbit's mind. He murmurs Rogue's name as she coughs up blood. Everything goes black as the life begins to fade from both of them.
In the pit of darkness, we see Remy, still asleep, lying very still. Once again, we hear Archangel's words about hope, Cyclops' words about the X-men needing him back, Xavier's words about him being a hero, Rogue telling Remy that she loves him...
Remy's eyes open.
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-2x09- In Washington DC, a political rally is held where Creed and Stryker give their first speeches as President and Vice President Elect. Creed comes down hard against the recent riots/protests/etc gripping the country. With Stryker by his side, he promises to put an end to the scourge of mutant terrorism and extremist groups like the X-men. The crowd is loving this, eating out of his hand.
From a distance, Cable watches through binoculars. X-Force is with him, suited up and ready for action. Cannonball asks Cable if he's sure about this. Are they doing the right thing? Because the team is feeling really conflicted about it. Cable admits he isn't sure what the right thing is, but he knows what has to be done and tells X-Force to move out.
The rally ends. Creed shares his vision for the future with Stryker as they're leaving the arena: registration, mutant camps, restarting the Sentinel program, and that's just for starters. Creed's America sounds downright apocalyptic.
Suddenly, their Secret Service detail is taken down by precision (non-lethal) sniper strikes courtesy of Domino. Cable appears, gun drawn. He says he lived through one apocalyptic future and he's made it his mission to ensure it never happens again; that's what makes this so damn hard.
Cable fires... but he wasn't aiming at Creed. The shot goes passed Creed and hits Stryker point blank in the chest. Stryker crumples to the ground... but he doesn't die. His eyes glow red, his face changes, he stands back up. It's Apocalypse!
Creed is horrified. Apocalypse laughs.
Cable says he feels sick for what he's about to do... and orders X-Force to protect the President Elect.
Outside the arena, representatives of all the major news outlets are packing up when the building is rocked by explosions. X-Force is engaging Apocalypse. The President Elect is in danger and it seems this team of mutants is protecting him. The reporters pull their cameras out and start filming.
At the mansion, the Blackbird takes off. Forge and Beast send out an emergency call to anyone who's listening, telling them to get to Washington DC immediately.
X-Force are holding their own, but Apocalypse is too powerful for them. Things only get worse when Famine, Pestilence and War arrive. X-Force is completely outmatched now.
With his foes defeated, Apocalypse can't resist explaining his master stroke to them. He hadn't planned to play his cards just yet, but this was always his endgame anyway. He killed the real William Stryker months ago right after Creed had chosen Stryker as his running mate and has been pulling Creed's strings, manipulating these events ever since. Now with Creed and "Stryker" headed to the White House, all that's left to do is remove Creed. Then Apocalypse would control the country's fate, and soon after that, the world's.
The X-men and X-Factor arrive, and the battle begins again. The good guys can put up more of a fight now, but Apocalypse and his Horsemen still have the advantage. Despite their best efforts, the good guys are still losing.
Apocalypse finally has Creed. He's about to finish Graydon off, but he's stopped when he hears Xavier's voice in his mind telling him this isn't over yet. A bright light appears in the sky - it's the Shi'ar flagship and an entire fleet of ships!
The battle is joined by a legion of Shi'ar soldiers, Gladiator, the Starjammers and finally, Cyclops, Jean, Havok and Psylocke.
The fight is even now, but the X-men don't want to hurt their friends, who seem unreachable. And they don't have the time to deep dive into each of the Horsemen's minds like they did with Deathbit; this will be over before then. If Apocalypse kills Creed, this is all over. They need to end this as soon as possible. Luckily, they have an ace up their sleeve.
Xavier telepathically sends the X-men their marching orders. Nightcrawler teleports Creed out of Apocalypse's grasp. Rogue appears behind him, grabbing him by the arms and holding him in place. Above them, Archangel flies toward Apocalypse at blinding speed with Gambit riding on his back! Gambit lights up Warren's wings and he shoots kinetically charged wing feathers at his old master. They all connect.
Apocalypse is weakened now, but really pissed off. He's flanked by Famine, Pestilence and War, and they prepare for their final standoff. Despite the X-men's best efforts, this won't end easily. And their chances of winning without hurting Storm, Morph and Wolverine to do it, are slim.
Jean looks around at the devastation, at the next president of the United States in horrific danger, at her injured allies, at her friends in Apocalypse's thrall. She makes a decision.
In Jean's mindscape, she speaks to the Phoenix, which appears as an avatar of Jean engulfed in cosmic flame. The Phoenix knows what she wants to do and Jean knows what will happen if she does. She understands the risks and accepts them. If Jean wants to keep the world safe for her family, Apocalypse has to be stopped. The Phoenix holds out her hand and Jean takes it.
Jean rises above the battle and becomes the Phoenix once again. Before her appear the three Celestial Death Seeds they took from Deathbird. With the Phoenix's power of "fire and life incarnate," Jean burns the Death essence out of them, transforming them into Life Seeds. Planting one into each of the Horsemen, she changes Storm, Morph and Wolverine back to their normal selves.
Apocalypse is all alone now, weakened, against the combined forces of the X-men, X-Factor, X-Force, the Shi'ar, the Starjammers and the Phoenix. He's f*cked.
One final battle. Apocalypse is seemingly defeated, but to spit in their faces one last time, he triggers a giant explosion. The Phoenix shields everyone, but Apocalypse is gone. Whether he escaped or died in the blast, they don't know.
Gambit is reunited with the X-men and seemingly returned to normal. We see via flashback that he used his enhanced powers to heal himself and Rogue of their mortal injuries (he has healing powers in Marvel Rivals; just go with it) and restore his appearance back to his 'classic Gambit' look. He's reversed what Apocalypse did to him, his powers have returned to their normal levels, though he's not unchanged; the Death Persona is still inside him, but buried for now.
There was a price paid in the battle however. Jean has now become the Phoenix permanently. The cosmic force inside her won't be contained anymore.
In the days that follow, public sentiment quickly shifts in the mutants' favor as they're now seen as national heroes. The news cameras broadcasted Apocalypse speechifying about his grand plan to the whole world and now everyone knows the truth.
Practically overnight, Graydon Creed goes from the hero who stopped mutants from destroying the Earth's magnetic field to the fool who nearly handed the presidency to a despotic megalomaniac, "the next Magneto" who he'd vowed to protect the world from. Creed's entire house of cards collapses... but he's still the President Elect.
At the one and only press conference he holds following the attack, Creed is bombarded with questions about Apocalypse, Stryker, how he could have been fooled by the imposter, whether he'll change his anti-mutant policies like the public is demanding, new details coming to light about him having mutant parents, his response to the calls for him to resign. He ducks all the questions and quickly leaves.
On the day of Creed's inauguration, as he's taking the oath of office, he suddenly clutches his chest and falls to the ground, having been felled by a sniper bullet. He dies on the steps of the Capital.
The shooter is tracked to a nearby hotel room and identified as a member of the Friends of Humanity, (the hate group Creed himself founded) but is never caught. The shooter slips by the authorities, revealing himself to be Mystique in disguise. The Friends of Humanity are blamed for the assassination of their own leader, framed by said leader's mother.
With the President Elect and Vice President Elect both dead, the Speaker of the House (a supporter of former President Kelly) is sworn in as the new President.
The mansion is rebuilt bigger than before, with Xavier planning for the new semester. With the X-men's newfound fame and the new political landscape, it looks like they'll be admitting a LOT of new students soon. Xavier is seen looking over the applications of various Generation-X and Academy-X characters.
Storm, Morph and Wolverine have all been restored, but are psychologically scarred by the experience. Storm knows the others look to her for leadership, but now she feels like maybe they shouldn't; her confidence is shaken and she's distancing herself from Forge. For Morph, becoming a Horseman brought back traumatic memories of being controlled by Sinister. Wolverine is left to wonder if the decision to take the adamantium back was really his own or if that had been War influencing him.
Rogue and Gambit talk down at the dock we saw in 1x09. This was the place where Rogue once told Remy that she didn't want them to be an official couple, but many things have changed since then. Rogue wants them to be together now, but Remy isn't ready after everything he's been through. He died and came back to life as a monster, he's wracked with guilt over the horrible things he did as Death. He feels it isn't safe for Rogue to be with him should the Death persona re-emerge and thinks he doesn't even deserve to be with her anyway.
Remy has a lot of trauma to unpack and Rogue promises to help him. She isn't using this or anything else as an excuse to not be together anymore. She loves him too much to lose him again. Their future is uncertain, but their feelings are finally out in the open and the scene ends on a hopeful note.
Jean can no longer change back to her normal self and has come to a difficult decision. It's too risky for her to remain on Earth. If she ever loses control and the Dark Phoenix returns, everything they just fought for could be destroyed. Jean has realized that the best thing she can do is leave the Earth, so she's going to live with the Shi'ar. They know more about the Phoenix than anyone, so that's the best place for her right now.
Scott wants to go with her, but Jean insists that he stay behind. The X-men need him here and what she needs is to be away from him, so he'll be safe.
Scott refuses. He knows the X-men will be all right and he's tired of saying goodbye to the people he loves. He finally has his family back together and he's not losing it again. He doesn't know what's going to happen with the Phoenix, but whatever it is, they're going to face it together.
Scott passes leadership of the X-men to Storm, he and Jean say goodbye to their friends and leave for the Shi'ar throneworld, setting up their story for season 3.
On the other side of the galaxy, Deathbird is returned to the Shi'ar prison. She's greeted by a voice from the cell next to hers. The voice says he admired what she tried to do; her vision for the Shi'ar was glorious. "It's a damn shame the X-men had to ruin everything. But then, they have a habit of doing that."
"What do you know about the X-men?" Deathbird asks.
"A lot actually," The voice replies. "We go way back, the X-men and me."
Deathbird's interest is piqued. "I'm all ears."
We see the person in the other cell. It's Vulcan.
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In the post-credit scene, we see Magneto in prison, reading a very long list of names; the victims of his EMP. This isn't the Magneto we remember. He looks despondent and disheveled, he's lost muscle. He's become a weak, defeated shell of himself.
The roof is ripped off the building. Exodus has come to free Magneto, but Magneto says to just leave him here. This list he's reading isn't the entire body count from the EMP, it's a list of the mutants who were killed by it. Every person on this list was a mutant and they're all dead now because of him.
Since we last saw him, Magneto has realized that he killed more mutants with his EMP than the Sentinels killed in Genosha, and it broke him. His crusade was a mistake. His people and even his own children hate him for what he's done. He's lost everything. Magneto finally understands how wrong he was and just wants to be left to die.
Exodus tells Magneto that he hasn't lost everything. His people and his family still need him.
Cut to a small village in Wundagore where the (now radicalized) Genoshan survivors are caring for a mentally ill and comatose Wanda Maximoff.
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Holy shit, I really didn't mean for this to get so long.
But anyway, that's my updated (for the second time) take on X-MEN '97 season 2. I think this covers everything in the NYCC trailer and most of the popular theories fans have been mulling over lately.
If you managed to finish this, thanks for reading.
