Full spoilers follow for X-Men 97 episodes one through seven.
The season one finale of X-Men 97 is fast approaching, so it's high time that we learned which supervillain is really leading the charge to bring down Cyclops and company.
Until now, all signs have pointed towards an alliance between Mr. Sinister and Bolivar Trask, with the pair teaming up to create an upgraded Master Mold and Sentinel army to take on the X-Men. it turns out, though, that the duo are merely pawns in another villain's game to thwart the group's attempts to persuade humanity that they can co-exist alongside mutants.
So, who is the mystery mastermind? What are their ties to the show's OZT riddle? And why should you be scared for the lives of your favorite X-Men? I'm about to dive into full spoiler territory for the Marvel Phase 5 TV show's seventh episode, so this is your final spoiler warning: do not proceed past this point unless you've seen every single episode of X-Men 97, including its most recent entry 'Bright Eyes'.
Who is Bastion, the new villain introduced in X-Men 97 episode 7?
As I mentioned above, fans of the hit Disney Plus series thought that Mr. Sinister and Bolivar Trask were the brains behind the X-Men's possible downfall. The pair have failed in their individual efforts to destroy the super team in X-Men 97's first three episodes – something they also struggled to do multiple times in X-Men: The Animated Series, aka the 1990s Marvel TV show that X-Men 97 is a direct sequel to.
Not knowing when they're beaten, the duo teamed up to lay waste to Genosha – the mutant-only nation – in episode five using an upgraded Master Mold and army of sentinels. Their devastating attack killed thousands of mutants, including Gambit and presumably Magneto. True, Sinister and Trask were unsuccessful in completely destroying mutant kind, but they dealt a huge blow to humanity's superpowered cousins – some of whom, such as Rogue, are now seriously questioning whether humans and mutants can live peacefully side by side.
However, Sinister and Trask aren't the ones pulling the strings of this mutant hating plan. In the second half of episode seven, a shadowy figure emerges to finally take center stage as season one's true big bad: Bastion.
And boy, is this someone who shouldn't be messed with. Bastion proves he's not to be trifled with by murdering Henry Gyrich – Trask's right-hand man and a former US government official who opposes superhumans – to prevent him from revealing Bastion's masterplan. Not only that, but he's also revealed to be the individual who turns Trask into a human sentinel that's capable of going toe-to-toe with the most powerful X-Men members. Oh, and he's captured Magneto – yep, the potent magnetism manipulating mutant is still alive – with the likely aim of turning Magneto against his own kind. Ominous, this all most certainly is.
X-Men 97's Bastion explained: comic book origin and superpowers
Created by Scott Lobdell and Pascual Ferry, Bastion – real name Sebastion Gilberti – was introduced (albeit in a cameo role) in May 1996's X-Men #52 before making his official debut one month later in The Uncanny X-Men #333. Initially, his origins were a mystery, but fans soon learned that he was "born" when two sentient beings – the aforementioned Master Mold and Nimrod, a highly advanced sentinel from the far future – were merged together.
Since his comic book debut, he's proven to be a particularly tough thorn in the X-Men's side, with notable appearances in X-Men storylines including X-Force, Second Coming, and X-Men: Blue. It's his role in the story arc Operation: Zero Tolerance – more on this later – though, that's he most well known for.
Bastion is a supremely powerful and intelligent being who won't be easy for our merry band of mutants to defeat in X-Men 97. He may be an android but, like the superhero Vision, he possesses numerous superpowers. Not only that, but Bastion's abilities also rival the most prominent villains that the X-Men have ever faced. That includes being immune to telepaths (Jean Grey and Professor X, take note), the ability to turn people into human-like sentinels (such as Trask), energy manipulation, teleportation, chronokinesis (Cable's time-traversing powers won't be much use here, then), superhuman strength, flight, and durability.
X-Men 97's OZT explained and how Bastion fits into it
Bastion's identity is one big mystery we've solved from episode seven, but what about the other one? In the Marvel Cinematic Universe's (MCU) TV series' seventh entry, a mysterious acronym – OZT – keeps appearing. So, what does it mean?
Comic book fans already know what this alludes to but, for the uninitiated, OZT stands for the previously mentioned Operation: Zero Tolerance. An X-Men-led crossover comic story arc that ran from May to November 1997, it follows Bastion and Henry Gyrich's infiltration of the US government, and their attempts to implement their genocidal plan to eradicate mutant kind for good. In the source material, it's Bastion who assembles the international anti-mutant organization known as OZT and then leads the charge to enact it.
X-Men 97 season one, then, has slowly been building towards this pivotal storyline throughout its run so far. And, with this season's final three episodes labeled 'Tolerance is Extinction' Parts 1, 2, and 3, it's all but confirmed that this emotionally devastating storyline will play out in full – albeit with some minor tweaks to fit into the animated series' overall narrative – in the weeks ahead. If you thought X-Men 97 episode five was heart breaking, you've seen nothing yet from one of the best Disney Plus shows that I've seen in a long time.
