After an epic opening salvo, X-Males ’97 season 2 has settled into the villain-of-the-week format that the unique Animated Collection did so nicely. Finally, we’ll get again to Apocalypse and his evil schemes, however for now, why not have some enjoyable?
Final week’s episode adopted Wolverine and a workforce of Weapon X alumni (and Morph) as they returned to the laboratory that made them — solely to come across a terrifying alien risk. Episode 6, “Hazard.exe,” takes an identical strategy, introducing one other new villain from X-Males historical past for our heroes to tackle whereas the true evil simmers someplace offscreen.
However this time round, X-Males ’97’s villain of the week is especially fascinating, not simply due to the risks they pose, however due to who created them.
Spoilers forward for X-Males ’97 season 2 episode 6.
The X-Males vs. the Hazard Room
For those who’ve ever watched or learn a single piece of X-Males content material, you are probably accustomed to the Hazard Room. The shapeshifting coaching facility constructed by Charles Xavier to problem his X-Males usually performs a job in most tales concerning the mutant workforce. However do you know that the Hazard Room can be an evil sentient AI?
That is what occurs in X-Males ’97 episode 6. The Hazard Room turns in opposition to the X-Males, first by merely elevating the stakes of its coaching workout routines from powerful to lethal, and in the end by remodeling itself into a strong, flying robotic named Hazard.
Within the episode, this largely serves as motivation for Polaris to embrace her position because the daughter of Magneto and wield her powers of magnetism in opposition to Hazard, whereas additionally successfully forcing the X-Males to go away Xavier’s mansion and arrange store on the newly christened X Corp tower. By the tip of the episode, Hazard is seemingly useless. Nevertheless, the historical past of this evil AI within the Marvel universe is far more complicated.
The origins of Hazard
Whereas the Hazard Room dates again to the very first X-Males comedian, revealed in 1963, Hazard is far more latest. The character first appeared in Astonishing X-Males (Vol. 3) #9, launched in March, 2005 and written by Joss Whedon. Whedon is clearly a controversial determine in most fandom areas as a result of allegations in opposition to him concerning his habits on the set of each Justice League and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He is basically been exiled from Hollywood since 2021.
That mentioned, if you happen to can separate the artwork from the artist, Whedon’s Astonishing X-Males run a enjoyable one which goes to some fascinating locations. It additionally serves because the introduction for Hazard.
Picture: Marvel Comics
Within the comedian, it is revealed that in some unspecified time in the future earlier, Professor X was upgrading the Hazard Room when it immediately spoke to him. Seems, the room’s superior laptop system had turn into self-aware. Professor X being the shady dude that he’s, nonetheless, he selected to maintain this a secret from everybody else and basically enslave the Hazard Room AI to maintain coaching the X-Males. In fact, this quickly backfires.
When Xavier’s mansion and the Hazard Room are destroyed whereas Professor X is out of the image, Beast rebuilds it, unaware that the AI must be stored separate from the remainder of the compound. The Hazard Room shortly takes management of the complete mansion after which summons an Omega Sentinel to distract the X-Males, utilizing the chance to bully a younger mutant into killing themselves. This motion goes in opposition to the AI’s prime directive of not harming mutants, which causes it to fully go rogue and rebuild itself as a humanoid robotic referred to as Hazard.
Picture: Marvel Comics
Hazard’s important aim is to get revenge on Professor X by killing him, which it instantly tries to do however fails and is briefly destroyed. Within the years that adopted, Hazard has resurfaced a number of occasions, largely to as soon as once more attempt to kill Xavier, even teaming up with Emma Frost at one level to perform that aim.
When Hazard will return once more in a future episode of X-Males ’97 stays to be seen, however this model of the killer robotic does not appear fairly so evil — a minimum of for now.
X-Males ’97 is streaming on Disney Plus.
