First Things First…
This episode originally aired as Episode 4.1.
This is the first of a two-parter, and it involves time travel. The two names mentioned in the Disney Plus description are Fitzroy, who I vaguely remember from reading the comics as a kid, and Bantam, who I don’t know.
But when X-Men are hopping through time, I’m immediately hopeful my guy Bishop will show up! (Cable wouldn’t be a bad alternative. I love him, too.)
6 Things I Like
6. Storm Cooks a Racist
“Skin color prejudice? That’s so pathetic, it’s almost quaint.”
Storm
We’re used to seeing mutants experience prejudice on this show because of their powers. But in 1959, the world wasn’t fully aware of mutants, it seems.
Racists, however, were still around.
It’s hilarious how dismissive Storm is of this racist diner owner. She can’t even fathom that someone could be so stupid as to hate or discriminate for a reason like skin color.
5. Master Mold LOATHES Professor X
“Rid me of this meddling professor, and his legacy, mutant resistance, will cease to exist.”
Master Mold
Master Mold returned for the first time since the end of Season 1 just a few episodes ago. Now he’s back again, still hellbent on destroying Professor X, who keeps foiling his plans.
Even though Fitzroy and Bantam carry out the assassination, it looks like it’s Master Mold’s plan. He’s the one who wants them to go back in time to kill Xavier in 1959, before he founded the X-Men, and seemingly before the world really understood or accepted the presence of mutants.
I’m not sure about Fitzroy and Bantam, but Master Mold is a worthy adversary. I shouldn’t be surprised he’s the brains behind this earth-changing plot.
4. Bishop Is Back!
I didn’t have to wait long!
The episode starts in 1959, with Bishop shooting at Nimrod. And he plays a major role throughout, as he and Shard travel back in time to the alternate present day, to enlist Wolverine and Storm’s help in stopping Xavier’s assassination.
Frankly, there are other characters whose roles are more compelling in this episode, but I’ll never miss an chance to praise Bishop.
3. Big Changes in the Alternate Present
“I can’t believe it. All of this destruction, all of this misery, is due to the absence of one man?”
Storm
I love how the temporal event is depicted. Professor X, Wolverine, and Storm are about to sit down for a picnic when a red glow comes over everything and basically flips a switch, instantly transforming their world into an alternate present.
Wolverine and Storm are embracing at the picnic, as they don’t know what’s happening, and they’re still embracing in the new reality. But they look different. More importantly, their relationship has changed dramatically. They’re now married and very much in love.
I love this change, and I’ll talk more about it separately. But there are some other cool differences…
Like the resistance leader is a buff, bearded Magneto. I always love seeing him fight alongside the X-Men, but in this case, it doesn’t look like it’s with any hesitation. Wolverine actually says…
“We got to help the leader. We lose Magneto, we lose the war!”
It’s fascinating to see the different path he would’ve taken if Xavier was out of the way all those years earlier.
Also, Nightcrawler, who we just met in the previous episode, fights on their side. He has no dialogue, so there’s no character development, but it’s cool that he’s back so soon.
Beast is also there as a key part of the team, wearing a lot of high-tech gadgetry.
It seems like he and Wolverine have a more strained relationship in this reality. Wolverine says to him…
“What are you doing here, McCoy? Milk and cookies run out at the officers’ tent?”
Mister Sinister appears briefly, too. I assume he’s fighting for the bad guys—but it’s not really clear, and if this is a humans vs. mutants war, maybe not?
The look of this alternate present is somewhat similar to what we’ve seen of Bishop’s home before. But now it’s their present—the 90’s—and more of the X-Men are alive, even if the team never existed.
2. Xavier’s Reluctance
“I don’t know how I came to be a mutant. I would not have chosen to be one. And I can’t imagine being the leader of anything. I want to be a doctor.”
Charles Xavier
Meeting Charles in 1959 is fascinating. Aside from the blatantly obvious—he’s walking—he has no idea who he’s destined to become. There’s no thought of the X-Men, or fighting for mutant rights. In fact, it’s unclear whether anyone at that time even knows of his telepathic powers. And he argues against the idea that evolution—specifically the development of the mutant gene—could ever happen in just one generation. He even says to his professor about such an acceleration…
“… but evolution just isn’t that quirky. We change gradually for a purpose.”
That’s why Storm, Wolverine, Bishop, and Shard’s arrival to warn and protect him dumbfounds Xavier. He has a hard time believing they’re telling the truth. He doesn’t even want the life they’re describing that he has. He just wants to be a regular old doctor. This is very much the “reluctant leader” stage of the hero’s journey.
1. Condemning the World for His Love
“My darling, would you condemn the whole world just to keep our love?”
Storm
Back to this newfangled Wolverine/Storm relationship…
When Bishop and Shard arrive and explain the situation to them—because in their new reality they’re unaware of all we’ve been watching for four seasons, because it ceased to exist when Xavier was killed—Wolverine makes a fascinating choice…
He says he doesn’t want to prevent Xavier’s assassination.
His reasoning is purely selfish. He tells Storm…
“You saw the tapes. If we find a way to save this Xavier clown, we’ll end up working together, but not being together.”
Despite his momentary selfishness, Wolverine’s choice is also completely understandable. It doesn’t matter how deplorable the world is in his new reality, he’s happier because he’s with the woman he loves. He doesn’t even know that, if they prevent the assassination, he’s dooming himself to his old reality of pining away for Jean while she and Scott are together. He just doesn’t want to give up what he has with Storm, here and now.
She even asks him if he’d condemn the whole world to preserve their love, and he says…
“You bet I would. Why would I care about anything else?”
But in the end, Storm chooses to do the right thing by helping Bishop and Shard. And Wolverine won’t abandon her, no matter what it will cost him. So he goes along with it.
0 Things I’m Mixed On
1 Thing I Don’t Like
1. Empty Villains
“Gently, master, I bruise easily.”
Bantam
We learn very little about Fitzroy and Bantam, who travel back in time to assassinate Xavier.
In their brief conversation with Master Mold, Fitzroy says after they do this, he’ll be the only mutant left. I guess he looks at that as a means of gaining immense power over the world. But why? To what end? It’s surface-level motivation. There must be something deeper motivating him to want power like that.
But there’s nothing else to him yet. He isn’t even introduced until more than halfway into the episode. Considering he’s new to the show, it would’ve been nice to know who they were dealing with earlier. It fell flat, hearing Fitzroy’s name but still not having met him or knowing anything about him.
And as for his little wiener sidekick, Bantam, I don’t see what he brings to the table yet at all.
I can only hope these guys matter more in Part 2.
Tim Matassa
1 I wonder what if Magneto did smth that made the war happen? After all it was Xavier who often was stopping his evil acts.
2. Yes, Bantam doesn’t seem to affect anything, but Fitzroy’s motivation is as simple as anything: greed/power. If he’s the only mutant, he can rule every human at his own will without worrying other mutants’ competition. It’s like when someone does smth bad because power/money are involved/promised
That’s an interesting thought about Magneto. I tend to think he didn’t start the war. Since he’s leading Wolverine, Storm, and Beast, he seems to be a firm good guy. But I also can’t explain why he’d be a good guy, especially without Xavier’s positive influence. As for Fitzroy, I get what you’re saying about greed and power. If he’s the only mutant, that makes him so much more powerful than anyone else. I’m sure that’s enticing. But it still feels surface level to me. Like, to what end does he want that power? Is he trying to do something specific? Or is there something about his past that motivates him to want so much power? I would’ve loved to have learned a little more about him, and to get a deeper “why” behind his actions. But, these episodes are short. Sadly, there’s not time for everything I want.