X-Men '97 episode 8 ending explained: What is Bastion's plan? Details explored
X-Men '97 episode 8, released on May 1, 2024, kicked off the critically acclaimed show's three-parter finale "Tolerance is Extinction". After it was revealed that Bastion was behind the attacks on Genosha and that even Magneto is alive and in his captivity, a lot of the previous plot points that were set up previously come to a head this week.
X-Men '97 episode 8 finally revealed exactly what Bastion's plans were, but at the same time, Magneto also declared a war on humanity that might not spell good for what's to happen in the final two episodes. Alongside this, viewers also got a bunch of cameos from various Marvel characters in this episode.
Bastion unleashes an army of Prime Sentinels in X-Men '97 episode 8
The episode began with Bastion finally unleashing his arm of Prime Sentinels on mutant kind in X-Men '97 episode 8. The Prime Sentinels are quite different from normal Sentinels as they are more powerful and require a human host to operate. With many mutant-hating humans volunteering for Bastion's cause, the supervillain could amass his rivalry.
At the same time, Cable was seen talking to the X-Men and he revealed that he has been going back in time to try and stop the attacks on Genosha for a long time, but he hadn't been able to do so. It was eventually concluded that the attack on Genosha was an absolute point in time, a concept that originated in What If...? which means that the event is set to happen no matter what. This would also explain The Watcher's appearance in episode 5 of the show.
Ultimately, it's revealed that Bastion's ultimate plan was to make mutants a slave for humankind so that they could create a perfect utopia. However, the later events that happen in the episode might make that goal quite difficult to achieve.
Magneto is freed in X-Men '97 episode 8
While the X-Men were occupied fighting Bastion's Prime Sentinels, Val Cooper allied with the supervillain and decided to leak the information about Charles Xavier's arrival in the hopes that people would betray the X-Men's deception that their leader was dead and turn against them. However, she felt guilty about betraying mutants, and the decision started weighing on her.
She then decided to free Magneto while Bastion is busy as she believed Xavier's faith in humankind is misplaced, and that it was Erik who would be able to bring balance to the entire situation. However, as soon as Magneto was freed, the Omega-level mutant flew into the sky and emitted a magnetic pulse that helped defeat every Prime Sentinel out there, however, it also caused some huge damage to Earth in X-Men '97 episode 8.
The scene also offered various cameos as viewers got to see Spider-Man, Omega Red, and Silver Samurai's reaction to Magneto unleashing his powers. Being proven that he was right for his distrust of humankind, he declared war against them which sets up the final two episodes to come.
Charles Xavier returns to Earth in X-Men '97 episode 8
X-Men '97 episode 8 ended with Charles Xavier returning to Earth and calling his X-Men to him. This effectively set up a confrontation between him and Magneto as he saw a world that is ravaged by war right now and that his old friend had perhaps gone back to his old roots.
For the next two parts of the finale, viewers can certainly expect a showdown between Xavier and Magneto as their ideologies are once again set to clash. One can check out X-Men '97 episode 8 as it's streaming on Disney+ right now.