Episode Discussion: X-Men '97 Episode 7

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6UoqOmwUvGaJ7SxJfIheaE

My biggest problem with this episode is not something that inherently harms enjoyment, it's just a recurring issue that has occurred within the wider Marvel canon since the inception of the X-Men. It is difficult to grapple with the difference between how the public perceives the people who create their powers, the people who receive their powers after birth, and the mutants who are born with it. Beyond that, there is the issue of how non-X-Men characters get handled in these X-Men comics and shows because a lot of time they are mischaracterized in an effort to make the X-Men characters look better.

This brings us to the way Captain America was portrayed this week on X-Men '97. Within the full context of the clip, it's not quite as bad as the way it looks from just the payoff (Rogue grabbing Cap's shield and chucking it several miles into a mountain range) but it still does illustrate this problem. Considering what happened in Genosha two episodes prior, I don't think it is outlandish to think that Steve would actively help Rogue instead of acting as a minor inconvenience. Using Captain America here is good to get attention (let's be honest, that's the biggest point we are addressing here) but this would have been a better role for USAgent or Patriot or Nuke. That said, the episode is still good and Rogue getting revenge on Trask as brutally as she does was a great character moment for her.