X-Men ’97 just dropped a huge teaser for an upcoming storyline

X-Men ‘97’s Lifedeath adapts one of the most iconic X-Men stories ever told, but it also hints at an upcoming adaption of the 1997 event Operation: Zero Tolerance. 

Fans were surprised by the plethora of Easter eggs in its latest X-Men ’97 episode, Motendo/Lifedeath Part 1. However, the biggest surprise may have been hidden in Forge’s photos, which hint at an adaption of another popular X-Men story–Operation: Zero Tolerance. 

The picture in question has Forge standing next to scientist Gottfried Adler, who designed the X-Men ‘97’s mutant power-negating collars. There’s a third man in the image, covered by a piece of paper, but his costume is a dead-on match for Bastion, a notorious X-Men villain behind one of the team’s darkest periods. 

Bastion first debuted in X-Men #52 as a man offering to rid the world of mutants, capitalizing on the growing fear surrounding the arrival of Onslaught. Years later, Bastion is revealed to be the result of the future sentinel Nimrod and the Master Mold being sent through the Siege Perilous, a gateway that offers anyone who goes through a new life. 

The Siege Perilous merges Master Mold and Nimrod into one being, the android Bastion. It is the ongoing mutant propaganda that re-enables Bastion’s programming, leading him to begin a crusade against all mutants. 

Bastion rises to power as it is revealed Onslaught is actually Professor X and Magneto’s merged psyches, which create a new being who nearly destroys the world. To stop Onslaught, the Avengers and Fantastic Four seemingly sacrifice their lives (they’re actually shunted to an alternate world created by Reed and Sue Richards’ son, Franklin). 

With the public hating the X-Men more than ever, Bastion convinces the government to allow him to enact Zero Tolerance. The story sees Bastion, along with the Forge-led X-Factor and an army of Prime Sentinels, frame the X-Men as enemies of the government and assume control of the Xavier Institute. 

The X-Men spend most of Zero Tolerance on the run, striking back against Bastion and his sentinels. Original X-Man Iceman is able to lead a small resistance consisting of new and old X-Men characters, eventually exposing Bastion as an android and opening the door for S.H.I.E.L.D. to step in and end the endeavor. 

Will X-Men ‘97 adapt Operation: Zero Tolerance? 

It’s not known at this time what the future holds for X-Men ‘97. Currently, the series is still airing its first season, though we do know it has been renewed for a second and third season already. 

The original X-Men: The Animated Series had a habit of similarly adapting and updating the best X-Men stories from the decade previous, with riffs on The Dark Phoenix Saga, Days of Future Past, and Proteus. 

The new series touches on more recent tales, including Inferno, Trial of Magneto, and Lifedeath. Given the pacing, it definitely would not be surprising to see Bastion, and perhaps even Operation: Zero Tolerance, make an appearance or become a running plot thread in future seasons.