{"id":42239,"date":"2026-08-13T03:14:50","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T22:14:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=42239"},"modified":"2026-08-13T03:14:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T22:14:50","slug":"x-men-97-crowns-its-next-villain-the-heir-of-apocalypse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=42239","title":{"rendered":"X-Men &#8217;97 Crowns Its Next Villain the &#8216;Heir of Apocalypse\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span class=\"article-alert\">Warning: SPOILERS for the X-Men \u201997 season 2 finale and X-Men \u201997: Season Two #3 are ahead!<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/db\/tv-show\/x-men-97\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em>X-Men \u201997<\/em><\/strong><\/a> has been going on two fronts over the last several months. While season 2 of the TV show just wrapped its run on Disney+ after premiering at the beginning of July, <a href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/marvel-x-men-97-prequel-comic-details\/\" target=\"_blank\">the comic book series <em>X-Men \u201997: Season Two<\/em><\/a> began being published the month prior. However, rather than the comic book\u2019s events running concurrent to the TV show, it instead depicts what happened between seasons 1 and 2.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/x-men-97-season-2-ending-explained\/\" target=\"_blank\">The <em>X-Men \u201997<\/em> season 2 finale ended<\/a> with Apocalypse being defeated and imprisoned by Rogue inside a crystal. The villain has officially been taken off the board, though with at least two more <em>X-Men \u201997<\/em> seasons confirmed, it\u2019s possible he could someday be freed from his cosmic confinement. In the meantime, <em>X-Men \u201997: Season Two<\/em> #3 has revealed that there\u2019s an \u201cheir of Apocalypse\u201d in the mix as well, which could have big implications for the show.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"apocalypse-rsquo-s-heir-is-a-baby\">\n                        Apocalypse\u2019s Heir Is A Baby<br \/>\n               <\/h2>\n<div class=\"body-img portrait \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img  image-expandable  img-article-item-portrait\" style=\"padding-bottom:153.75%\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/x-men-97-season-two-3-final-page.png\" data-modal-id=\"single-image-modal\" data-modal-container-id=\"single-image-modal-container\" data-img-caption=\"&quot;Marvel Comics&quot;\">\n<figure><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/x-men-97-season-two-3-final-page.png?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=360&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/x-men-97-season-two-3-final-page.png?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=360&amp;dpr=2\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/x-men-97-season-two-3-final-page.png?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=600&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/x-men-97-season-two-3-final-page.png?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=600&amp;dpr=2\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 1023px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/x-men-97-season-two-3-final-page.png?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=750&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/x-men-97-season-two-3-final-page.png?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=750&amp;dpr=2\"\/><img width=\"1500\" height=\"2306\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"X-Men 97 Season Two #3 final page, revealing that there's an infant &quot;heir of Apocalypse&quot;\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/x-men-97-season-two-3-final-page.png?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=750&amp;dpr=2\" src=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/x-men-97-season-two-3-final-page.png?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=750&amp;dpr=2\"\/>\n        <\/picture><figcaption style=\"display: none;\">X-Men 97 Season Two #3 final page, revealing that there&#8217;s an infant &#8220;heir of Apocalypse&#8221;<\/figcaption><small class=\"body-img-caption\">Marvel Comics<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Along with checking in on the X-Men trapped in the past and future, <em>X-Men \u201997: Season Two<\/em> follows X-Force\u2019s exploits in the 1990s, showing how Jubilee and Sunspot joined Cable, Archangel, and Psylocke\u2019s crusade to kill Apocalypse. <em>X-Men \u201997: Season Two<\/em> #3 sees the team traveling to Madripoor to apprehend Pestilence, one of Apocalypse&#8217;s Four Horsemen. They then learn that there\u2019s turmoil between Pestilence and fellow Horseman Famine, with the latter determined to ensure the former doesn\u2019t win over their <em>\u201cdread lord\u2019s favor.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately for Pestilence, Famine succeeds in her goal of obtaining the aforementioned heir of Apocalypse, who\u2019s just an infant. Cable and Psylocke learn about this through one of the visions Psylocke has been experiencing of the past and present, in contrast with visions of the future bequeathed by the opal of Ozymandias that Pestilence wants. Since Famine took great steps to acquire the <em>\u201cheir,\u201d<\/em> Cable is right that X-Force needs to <em>\u201cworry\u201d<\/em> about this infant.<\/p>\n<p> Since the baby isn\u2019t shown, it\u2019s unclear who this heir is, as well as whether Apocalypse was involved in their selection, or if it\u2019s someone Famine believes would meet with her master\u2019s approval. In the comics, that title belongs to Cypher, one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/new-mutants-first-members-chronological-order\/\" target=\"_blank\">earliest members of the New Mutants<\/a>. In the 2024 miniseries <em>X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse<\/em>, he won the tournament to become Apocalypse\u2019s successor and was transformed by Celestial technology. Cypher now goes by Revelation, and resolves to evolve Apocalypse\u2019s legacy and protect mutantkind with his new powers.<\/p>\n<p>It remains to be seen if Cypher will fill a similar role in the <em>X-Men \u201997<\/em> universe, or if another character has been selected as the heir instead. It\u2019s also unclear if this storyline will be resolved in <em>X-Men \u201997: Season Two<\/em>\u2019s final two issues, or if it could be picked back up in <a href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/xmen-97-season-3-release-marvel-studios-update\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>X-Men \u201997<\/em> season 3<\/a>. The season 2 finale\u2019s post-credits scene saw Mystique, who served Apocalypse in <em>X-Men: The Animated Series<\/em>, assuming Valerie Cooper\u2019s identity after killing her.<\/p>\n<p><em>X-Men: Season Two<\/em> #3 is now available from Marvel Comics. <strong><em>X-Men \u201997<\/em><\/strong> season 3 is expected to premiere in 2027.<\/p>\n<div class=\"display-card type-screen large\" data-show-streamrentbuy-links=\"true\" data-include-community-rating=\"true\" id=\"4541-4052-90b1f4f3d572\">\n<div class=\"display-card-main-content-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"display-card-main-content\">\n<div class=\"display-card-content image-column\">\n<p>                        <!--    Rating block community and brand ratings --><br \/>\n                        <!--  Image --><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-img \" data-stnl-group-once=\"1lrNDozKCB\">\n<div class=\"body-img portrait \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img  img-article-square\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/x-men-97-poster.jpg\" data-modal-id=\"single-image-modal\" data-modal-container-id=\"single-image-modal-container\" data-img-caption=\"&quot;&quot;\">\n                                                                                                                                                            <picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/x-men-97-poster.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=300&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/x-men-97-poster.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=300&amp;dpr=2\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/x-men-97-poster.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=400&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/x-men-97-poster.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=400&amp;dpr=2\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 1023px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/x-men-97-poster.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=320&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/x-men-97-poster.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=320&amp;dpr=2\"\/><img width=\"960\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"x-men-97-poster.jpg\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/x-men-97-poster.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=480&amp;dpr=2\" src=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/x-men-97-poster.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=480&amp;dpr=2\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>                        <!-- User Rating widget --><\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"display-card-content info-column\">\n                                                                                                                            <!--  Display card tags widget --><\/p>\n<p>                                                <!--  Display card community and brand rating widget --><br \/>\n                                                                <!--  Display card main info widget --><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-display-card-info main-info\">\n<dl>\n<p><dt>\n                                            <strong>Release Date<\/strong>\n                                        <\/dt>\n<dd>\n                                            <span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMarch 20, 2024<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n                                        <\/dd>\n<\/p>\n<p><dt>\n                                            <strong>Network<\/strong>\n                                        <\/dt>\n<dd>\n                                            <span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDisney+<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/span>\n                                        <\/dd>\n<\/p>\n<p><dt>\n                                            <strong>Directors<\/strong>\n                                        <\/dt>\n<dd>\n                                            <span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJake Castorena, Emi Yonemura, Chase Conley<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/span>\n                                        <\/dd>\n<\/p>\n<\/dl><\/div>\n<p>                                        <!--  Display card main info widget end --><\/p>\n<p>                    <!--  Display card media widget start --><\/p>\n<p>                                        <!--  Display card media widget end --><\/p>\n<p>                    <!-- Cast widget start --><\/p>\n<p>                                        <!-- Cast widget end 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--><\/p>\n<p>            <!-- PROS and CONS section --><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Warning: SPOILERS for the X-Men \u201997 season 2 finale and X-Men \u201997: Season Two #3 are ahead!X-Men \u201997 has been going on two fronts over the last several months. While season 2 of the TV show just wrapped its run on Disney+ after premiering at the beginning of July, the comic book series X-Men \u201997:&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/apocalypse-in-x-men-97.jpg?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsweek-trending"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/42240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}