Review: X-Men 97 “Danger.Exe”
Overview
Former X-Man member Polaris returns to Xavier’s mansion just as a new threat emerges on the campus…
Our Take
This time around, we get an episode that feels like a much stronger follow-up to the aftermath of Apocalypse’s origins compared to Wolverine’s side quest, shifting its attention toward the X-Men rebuilding, Xavier dealing with the loss of Magneto, and Polaris finally getting the spotlight she deserves. As Magneto’s daughter, Polaris has always struggled with the weight of her father’s legacy, and this episode does an excellent job exploring her journey to define herself on her own terms. Her return to the team feels natural after she conflicts with X-Factor and Valerie Cooper’s bureaucratic approach, while her interactions with Jean Grey provide some of the episode’s strongest emotional moments. Although Danger serves as the main antagonist, this is ultimately Polaris’ episode, giving her the chance to step out of Magneto’s shadow and establish herself as her own hero.
Taking inspiration from several acclaimed 2000s-era X-Men stories, including elements from both Grant Morrison’s “New X-Men” and Joss Whedon’s “Astonishing X-Men”, the episode continues expanding the series’ scope while giving the Xavier Institute a greater sense of purpose as a school for young mutants. This episode also marks the first animated appearance of Danger, the evolved artificial intelligence created from the X-Men’s Danger Room that eventually gained sentience. While the adaptation oversimplifies some of the character’s more complicated comic origins, it is still a notable addition to the series, especially with Danger recently gaining more attention through her inclusion in the upcoming fighting game “Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls”. The animation once again delivers impressive action sequences, and Xavier’s characterization strikes a satisfying balance by avoiding some of the comics’ more divisive and more recent interpretations of his character. However, the show’s biggest weakness remains its rapid pacing, with major developments and emotional beats moving so quickly that they sometimes fail to resonate fully.
Overall, “Danger.exe” is a strong showcase for Polaris while continuing to advance the season’s larger narrative, even if certain plot points feel grossly contrived, such as the X-Men no longer being able to do Superhero stuff on American soil due to some government bullshit, just so that Polaris can swoop in and kick some ass since she’s technically not an X-Men member. And although Danger feels somewhat underdeveloped and the series still has a habit of rushing through iconic comic storylines and character moments, the impressive action and bold new status quo at the end make this another enjoyable episode. The final cliffhanger, which many fans had already predicted, delivers a satisfying payoff and sets up some intriguing possibilities with only three episodes remaining in the season.
