Weapon X, Lies and DVDs
Wolverine gathers the former Team X members for an attack on the lab where they were previously the subjects of experiments. However, he’s being less than truthful about his motivations for this mission leading to massive issues among the team.
Warning: Spoilers Below
Getting The Team Back Together
The episode picks up right where the post-credits teaser of the previous episode ended. Wolverine is on a plane with Sabretooth, Lady Deathstrike, Kane and Maverick. Logan has informed all of these mutants that Dr. Cornelius, the scientist who performed adamantium experiments on them, has resurfaced. The only other member of the X-Men to join them is Morph who is serving as pilot and emotional support for Wolverine.
Courtesy: Walt Disney Studios
As they are flying in, their plane is attacked by a flock of mutated birds. The screen goes dark and when the image comes back up, we see Morph survived. He appears to be alone and Kane has been impaled on a tree. He eventually finds Maverick and Lady Deathstrike when a genetically-altered polar bear attacks, but Wolverine and Sabretooth arrive to save the team and continue their investigation.
Alien Science
When the group reaches the facility, they discover it has already been devastated, with signs that whatever escaped turned on the scientists. It appears all the scientists have been killed by whatever was the subject of the latest experiment. The lab coats were just as expendable as the red shirts in Star Trek. Their tech lets them discover there is still a life form somewhere in the lab. They find the survivor, who is revealed to be Dr. Cornelius, and he has a secret.
Courtesy: Walt Disney Studios
Most of the group immediately wants Cornelius dead, but Morph stops them, pointing out he may be able to help them get out. Still, Sabretooth is angry about the experiments and Lady Deathstrike feels he has perverted her father’s science for his own work. Dr. Cornelius reveals what he has been doing and Wolverine and Sabretooth know that what they are dealing with isn’t from Earth. Cornelius transforms into one of The Brood, bug-like aliens that inject their DNA into other species. They have one mission: survive.
Wolverine Infected
The team is now sniping at each other as they don’t trust each other. Wolverine has always had a “will they/won’t they kill each other” relationship with Sabretooth. Lady Deathstrike is an ex-girlfriend. She definitely falls into “frenemy” territory but right now, she’s likely more enemy than friend. Maverick and Kane were the only ones who viewers could say were friendly with Logan.
Courtesy: Walt Disney Studios
The team divides into smaller groups to search the sprawling complex. Morph, Sabretooth and Lady Deathstrike go looking for a way to escape the lab when they find several DVDs. It explains where the Brood came from and how they are trying to take over the “alpha” of any group. It also explains they couldn’t survive the adamantium process. That’s when they hear Wolverine and Maverick being attacked. Logan claimed they were going to the vehicle bay but he really went to the adamantium chamber. Unfortunately, the Brood had infected him in the earlier attack and he became one of them. Now, Team X and Morph must stop their friend from attacking them.
Adamantium
The Brood version of Wolverine kills Maverick, but Sabretooth, Lady Deathstrike and Morph manage to escape. Logan’s “frenemies” are ready to leave him behind since they figured out he lied about the mission and just wanted his adamantium returned. However, Morph refuses to give up on his friend. They decide to give him what he wants, an adamantium exo-skeleton, because the Brood can’t survive that process, but Wolverine can. Morph knows Logan’s weakness, so they pretend to be Cyclops to lure the Brood Wolverine out into the open, so the remainder of the team can get him into the chamber for the adamantium bonding process
Courtesy: Walt Disney Studios
A new issue erupts in the form of Omega Red. The Russian undead mutant was shown to be in one of the chambers earlier in the episode with a very weak explanation for why he was there (Seriously, it’s one of the lamest exposition dumps I’ve ever heard). He managed to get free and now he’s trying to take over as leader of the Brood.
He’s going to use the aliens to help him take over. Team X gets Wolverine in the chamber and gives him the adamantium. They then work to fight off Omega Red and the Brood until Wolverine breaks free. Team X escapes, and Wolverine has what he wanted. But at what cost?
Character Development
As the surviving members of Team X fly away, Morph talks to Wolverine about the mission. He asks Wolverine if he only sees himself as an animal with claws and Logan tells him that’s what he’s best at being. Morph expresses his sadness over that view and goes to sit next to Lady Deathstrike. While Wolverine had the mission, Morph saw the most growth. The mutant came along as a loyal friend and companion to Logan and was left hurt by Wolverine's actions. It’s clear things aren’t the way Morph thought they were and they appear shaken by what they’ve learned.
Cameos
Morph’s shapeshifting ability allows for viewers to get a look at some other Marvel characters that wouldn’t normally appear in an X-Men story. In this episode alone, Morph impersonates Wolverine, Puck, Thing, Sasquatch, Vindicator, Deadpool, Silver Samurai, Cyclops, Jean Grey and Spider-Man. It’s a nice bit that allows members of the Avengers and even Alpha Flight to make an appearance. That’s important because in a Wolverine-focused episode, we deserve to see more of the Canadian team, Alpha Flight.
Final Thoughts
Rather than pushing the season's main conflict forward, this episode slows the pace to deepen several character arcs. Many will call these episodes “filler” but “breather” episodes often develop something important to the overarching narrative of the season. Here, it’s the returns of Wolverine’s adamantium exo-skeleton and Morph’s disillusionment with his friend. One will be a benefit in later fights. The other will cause obvious friction that may hurt the team. This episode is clearly more than just “filler.”
Was this the best episode of the series, or even just this season? No. Was this the worst episode of either? Also, no. This was a better story, in my opinion, than the X-Force episode. I came away caring more about Wolverine and Morph in this episode than I did most of X-Force in episode two, with the exception of Jubilee. It’s a good diversion when the story needed one. That’s quality storytelling.
Check out X-Men ‘97 streaming exclusively on Disney Plus.
Article Written By: Jeremy Brown for Stelmach Brown Media 2026
Add comment
Comments