Warning: This post contains spoilers for Marvel Animation’s X-Men ’97 Season 2.
The death of Nightcrawler in X-Men ’97 Season 2 appears to be permanent. Eric Lewald, an executive producer on the series and the original showrunner of X-Men: The Animated Series, has addressed the possibility of Kurt Wagner returning.
In a recent interview with The Direct at MultiCon, Lewald was asked whether he thought Nightcrawler’s death would stick. Without hesitation, he answered: “Oh yeah!”
In the X-Men ’97 Season 2 finale, “Survival of the Fittest,” Kurt Wagner sacrificed himself after Rogue struck a deal with the Celestial Eson the Searcher. Rogue agreed to give up her life in exchange for the power to free Gambit from Apocalypse’s control.
However, Nightcrawler secretly made a deal with Eson of his own. Kurt offered his life in exchange for Rogue’s, ensuring that she would survive after saving Gambit.
Nightcrawler’s death had been planned for a while, as Kurt was originally supposed to die in Season 1 instead of Gambit. However, the creative team changed the story and gave Nightcrawler a more fitting ending in Season 2. He now joins Madelyne Pryor and Magneto as some of the major X-Men ’97 characters who have died.
According to Julia Lewald, Eric’s wife and fellow executive producer, the Season 2 finale is “very emotional,” which makes the impact of Nightcrawler’s sacrifice and the difficult choices made by the characters even stronger. The emotional weight comes from the fact that audiences have “spent 30 years” getting to know, thinking about, and loving the X-Men characters.
Julia Lewald said, “But the finale of Season 2 is very emotional and it’s earned. It is earned because those are the characters that we’ve all spent 30 years marinating in, and thinking of and loving.”
Eric Lewald added, “And because of the personal relationships among the ones that are in jeopardy, and the one that ends up having to pay the price, it just it fits. It fits, and again, we can’t take credit for that story twist. The guys, you know, Matt Chauncey and the people doing the writing made that choice, but we think it’s a perfect choice.“
X-Men ’97 Season 2 continues the story of the heroic mutant team, the X-Men, who are divided and scattered across different eras as they struggle to find their way home. Meanwhile, back in the 1990s, suspicious foes and new forms of mutant intolerance are on the rise in the wake of the X-Men’s absence.
All episodes of X-Men ’97 Season 2 are now streaming on Disney+.
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