X-Men'97 has now revealed the origin of an important Marvel character: Here’s all to know
Packed with Easter Eggs and epic storylines that are faithful to their comic book adaptations, X-Men'97 has quickly become every comic lover's favorite. The animated series, bringing back the nostalgia of '90s superhero movies to the screen, has introduced another key character in episodes 2 and 3. This character is Nathan Summers, who is the baby of Scott and Madelyne.
The series has quickly gone on to adopt the famed Inferno storyline from the comic books, with Nathan Summers being the latest in a long list of Mr Sinister's victims. However, fans will be thrilled to realize that this character will go on to become Cable in the future.
How did Nathan Summers become important in X-Men'97?
In X-Men'97 Episode 2, it was revealed that the Jean Grey who was married to Scott Summers was not actually the Omega level mutant we have known and loved. Instead, it was Jean's clone, who was implanted with the memories of the real Jean, due to Mr Sinister's manipulative designs. Episode 3 followed in the aftermath of Episode 2, with the clone, Madelyne, embracing her evil side.
This, adhering to the Inferno storyline, led Madelyne to become the Goblin Queen, who used horrific psychological visions that played upon the protagonists' worst fears. Of course, Jean appeared and defeated Madelyne, convincing her to have a redemption. However, it was too late for their children, as Scott and Madelyne discovered that Mr Sinister had implanted Nathan with a Techno-organic virus.
There was no cure for the virus, as was revealed in X-Men'97 episode 3. However, that did not imply that the future was bleak. Bishop decided to bring Nathan to the future to cure him of the said virus.
Nathan is thus set to become Cable, a character who appeared in the X-Men animated series, where he had several well-defined arcs.
Appearances of Nathan beyond X-Men'97
The character of Cable was introduced as the leader of the X-Force, and then made an appearance in the original animated series, where he helped destroy the powerful mutant, Apocalypse. In the comic books, Cable's half-sister, Rachel, was the one who had taken her brother into the future and raised him as a warrior.
However, Rachel is one of the many characters who remains notably absent from this series (like Professor X), necessitating Bishop to fill in the aforementioned role. In the animated series, Cable and Bishop shared a complicated relationship, with Cable seemingly attempting to assassinate Bishop before he formed a temporary truce with him.
Later on, Josh Brolin was cast in the role of Cable in Deadpool 2, where the character was seen traveling to the past in order to carry out an assassination of a pyrokinetic mutant.