Ascension II | |
Season Four, Episode 9 | |
Air date | October 25, 2003 |
Written by | Greg Johnson |
Directed by | Frank Paur |
Episode Guide | |
previous Ascension I |
next The Future (Event/Gallery) |
- "But steel is forged through fire and like it, we have been made stronger, we are prepared for what the future brings. I know this, because I have glimpsed it in the mind of Apocalypse. Many challenges still await us. But I have seen some who were our enemies become friends. And with a heavy heart, I saw the dearest of friends become the most terrible of enemies. I saw my X-Men grow and change. And of course, I saw that some people never change. But one thing was clear...that no matter what awaits us, terrible or wonderous... my X-Men will always be there, ready. And of that, I am proud."
- —Charles Xavier to the X-Men after beating Apocalypse.
Premise[]
In their final effort to save mankind, the X-Men ally themselves with The Brotherhood, The Acolytes, The New Mutants, S.H.I.E.L.D and others willing to help them to stop Apocalypse's plan from happening. When all seems lost, Rogue returns with more forces to save mankind once and for all.
Summary[]
As all the teams approach the respective pyramid they were assigned to target, Logan tells them that they are all the world's last hope even if it means fighting against those they love. In Egypt, Jean tries to telepathically get through to Xavier by telling him that he is being controlled and that Apocalypse is making him go against everything he once believed in but is thrown back, Jean then yells at her team to spread out. Amara starts to charge up as she slams into the ground to create multiple guizers of magma that launch upward as Tabitha creates a medium sized explosive and hands it to Colossus, the latter of which throws it to Xavier causing him to be thrown back.
In China, Evan attempts to try get through to his aunt but Storm changes the weather so that it hails ice, Hank jumps in the way to prevent Evan from getting hurt as Bobby creates a shelter of ice around his teammates. Ray steps forward and fires bolts of lightning towards Storm, the attack hits and slightly throws her back but she recovers quickly enough and attacks Ray the same way he did to her but Ray manages to avoid being struck. The latter then tries fighting back once more by firing another bolt that almost hits her, as Ray holds off Storm's lightning, he runs over to the ice shelter as Evan begs him not to harm his aunt stating that she, along with all of them are victims in the fight.
In Mexico, Wanda tries getting through to her father and questions why he is fighting against her, Erik lifts up a piece of scrap metal from the destroyed Sentinel and throws it at his daughter though Wanda remains unharmed as Kitty phases through the ground to prevent her from being hit, she tells Wanda that Erik is no longer himself as Wanda, Kitty, Roberto and Alex watch as Erik re-assembles the Sentinel to do his bidding. The four start backing away as the recently re-awakened Sentinel starts walking towards them.
At the location of the Sphinx, Logan, Scott and Kurt head down a tunnel to track down Mystique, Scott asks Logan if he has been able to lock onto Mystique's scent but the former admits that due to Apocalypse amplifying her powers, Mystique's exact location could be anywhere close to them and he wouldn't even know. Kurt steps forward and looks down into a puddle as the ground temporarily shakes, he looks away as the puddle rises and morphs into Mystique. The latter then grabs her son and throws him over her shoulder and throws him into Logan, the two land against a pillar that crumbles but does not fully crush them, Scott steps forward and fires an optic blast from his visor but Mystique morphs her body so that her stomach is gone and the blast goes through, she returns to normal as Logan and Kurt get back up and she turns into multiple bats that then swarm Scott. Scott yells for Logan to get down as he starts firing many optic blasts around the area, Logan moves out of the way as each of Scott's attacks start causing damage to the temple that alert Apocalypse, the latter checks what is happening and continues to fortify his pyramids.
In Mexico, the pyramid lights up, Erik notices and orders the Sentinel to attack the four opposing him. The Sentinel goes to fire its hand towards Wanda but Roberto, still charges up, steps in to grab it before it could harm its original target, Kitty then grabs Wanda by her shoulders and begs her to fight against her father even if she does want to and says that they cannot afford to lose, a piece of metal hits Kitty knocking her down causing Wanda to become determined enough to face her father, Wanda activates her magic and fires at Erik which throws him back. Alex and Roberto watch as the Sentinel gets closer to them but watch in surprise as it dismantles in front of them. Erik breaks out of his daughter's magic grasp and flies upward, Kitty wakes up in time to see the pyramid light up once more and fly out of sight.
The pyramid in China follows the same procedure as the pyramid in Mexico, Storm flies up alongside it. Evan wonders why it is ascending as Hank theorises it may be more beneficial to Apocalypse's plan as Hank, Evan, Bobby and Ray watch on from the ground. Xavier watches as the pyramid he was ordered to guard rises up and leaves the atmosphere, in space, the pyramid splits into smaller versions of itself and start surrounding the Earth as the other pyramids do the same much to Jean's horror as her and her team watch in horror, Jean then declares they were all too late, Apocalypse watches as his plan begins to succeed and observes three Sentinels fly towards the pyramids.
Down on Earth, a S.H.I.E.L.D operative runs over to alert Nick Fury that the final three advances Sentinels were sent out to deal with the threat, Fury silently acknowledges him and walks into his base. In space, the Sentinels start firing beams towards the pyramids though their attempts prove futile though they then begin to double their efforts. In China, Bobby freezes Storm who is still airborne, she falls to the ground as Evan goes to check on her, Hank relays information to Jean ordering her and the others to attack the ground bases to which Jean and Kitty answer him claiming they understand. Below, Storm breaks from as her eyes glow blue and she attempts to summon more dangerous weather, Ray, Hank, Bobby and Evan then become trapped in a tornado as it lifts them up.
In Mexico, Roberto flies through the chest of the Sentinel in an effort to take it down as he grabs a part of it, Erik moves it away from his enemy and them fires it back causing Roberto to be knocked down, he falls unconscious and returns to his normal self. Kitty phases Alex through the ground behind Erik and the former fires a blast towards the pyramid with the little time they have left. Over in Egypt, Xavier flinches as he is hit with multiple small explosives from Tabitha, the latter of which is arming the copies of Jamie with so the team has a better chance of fighting against their Professor. Colossus, in his metallic form, runs through the crowd and heads to the pyramid as he begins to punch into it but is stopped by Xavier who knocks him unconscious, the latter them sends a small attack over to the clones that take out some of them. Amara then starts to launch magma towards Xavier but he remains unharmed to a barrier around him, Amara attacks him once more but the barrier remains intact as Xavier fires an attack at her causing her to be knocked down. Jean then walks out of the Blackbird donning the Cerebro headgear that Xavier wore before he was converted. Jean then flies into the air to engage in a telepathic fight against her mentor claiming that Cerebro would even odds, a projection of Xavier appears and so does one of Jean as the two projections fight against each other.
As Logan, Scott and Kurt continue to run through the temple and away from the bats that Mystique remained as, Kurt grabs his allies and teleports away them to safety. The three push a large, stone door shut to keep Mystique at bay as Scott claims that time is running out, Logan orders Kurt to scout the area, Kurt does so and leaves his teammates, he teleports out of the room as Scott and Logan ready themselves to go through unaware that Apocalypse has knocked Kurt out on the other side, Logan goes to tell Scott to use his blasts on the door but turns around to see Mystique knocking him out, Scott then falls down as Logan goes to engage in a fight with Mystique. In space, the Sentinels manage to take out a few of the small pyramids as Apocalypse watches from his panels. The latter then appears to Erik and orders him to deal with the threat to his plan, on the ground, Wanda regains conscience and tries waking Kitty up seeing that the pyramid no longer has protection, Kitty starts to murmur but remains unconscious.
In Space, Erik creates a barrier around himself and locates the Sentinels, after doing so, he collides them together and watches as they explode. After doing so, he returns to Earth and goes to attack Wanda, Wanda begs him not too but he does so anyways, Pietro runs through and picks his sister up to move her to safety as Toad, Lance and Fred walk over to help out. Lance looks over and notices Kitty on the ground as Toad tries to get closer to Wanda, she throws him back but the former moves out of the way as Erik sends the plan hurtling towards them. Fred stops it by using his strength to lift it up and then crush it, Pietro then orders Lance to level the ground area them, Lance then punches the ground which rises and throws Erik back, Kitty starts to slowly wake up. After re-charging himself in order to gain more power, Apocalypse declares that evolution has begun as the pyramids around the globe activate in order to turn humans into mutants.
The plan starts to come into fruition as Logan continues his fight with Mystique, Mystique gains the upper-hand as she then kicks Logan down into a hole. Xavier and Jean continue their telepathic battle in Egypt as Xavier attacks with with a staff but Jean stops the attack by defending herself with a shield, the shield starts to shatter as Jean gains the advantage, Xavier's spirit gains scythe-like arms and goes to attack but Jean overpowers him, Xavier falls to the ground and do does Jean, Xavier's telepathic spirit then gets closer to its enemy as Jean watches in shock. In Mexico, Toad questions if they won their fight but Pietro mocks him for it as Toad realises that they never win their fights, The Brotherhood team then move out of the way as the plane's propeller swerves towards them, it chops through trees as Erik rises from where he was trapped. In China, Storm continues to attack the team there and takes down Evan, Hank and Bobby but Ray absorbs it and manages to re-direct it, Storm lands against a rock as she watches as Ray gets closer to her, she then summons rain which shocks Ray and knocks him out. Hank tells Logan that they have lost but Logan tells him that there is a back-up plan but is attacked once more by Mystique who then takes on the form of many snakes.
One final jet lands as Rogue assures Ms. Leech that Dorian does not have to leave the jet, Rogue then tells Dorian that his power to disable energy around him will save lives as she takes his power, Nick gives her and Sam the all-clear as Sam launches both himself and Rogue into the main pyramid to confront Apocalypse. Mystique continues her attack against Logan, she then takes the form of a panther and goes to attack him once more but returns to herself as Sam drops Rogue into the room, Logan then slices into the door creating a gap big enough for Rogue to get through, he orders to continue the rest of the plan as Mystique then grabs at his leg and throws him, Logan stands back up and readies himself for an easier fight knowing that Mystique can no longer morph due to Rogue's interference. In the room, Rogue notices Kurt on the floor but steps ahead and fires at the station, it powers down and wakes Apocalypse up. The pyramids around the world then start disabling one by one as Erik goes to attack, he stops and falls as The Brotherhood watch as Toad notes that they have won, Storm, Xavier and Mystique all return to their normal selves as Logan and Jean stop their former opponents from hurting themselves by hitting the ground. Rogue steps towards Apocalypse and declares that he has used them all enough times, the latter grabs at her but she overpowers him and starts sealing him back into his tomb, Logan runs in the room to help as he commands Rogue to re-activate everyone's powers, she does so as the tomb begins to vanish, Logan grabs Kurt and escapes with the two as he hopes that the pyramid vanished into the cracks of time.
As Logan helps Scott out of the tomb, Scott wonders if they won and Logan admits they did despite being low on time, Rogue helps Kurt out as Kurt then praises his adoptive sister for helping to save the world despite her original attitude to shut herself away from it, Mystique emerges from the tomb to try talk to the two and to apologise for all the things she did, Kurt tells her to stop as Rogue states not even she believed her own words, Kurt teleports himself and Rogue away. Erik wakes up in Mexico back to himself as Wanda and Pietro help him to stand up, the group then leaves as Lance helps Kitty to walk and Fred carries Warren over his shoulder. As the China team make sure everyone is okay, Evan checks on his aunt and the two are fine, as the Egypt team go to depart, Tabitha jokingly thanks for the party invite as she leaves with her other teammates as Jean stays behind to help Xavier, Jean telepathically lifts her mentor up as Xavier thanks his student for her efforts.
The next day, Xavier thanks all the teams for helping to save the world but admits that despite all their efforts, there was still more issues as he mentions he saw the future during his time serving Apocalypse. Xavier explains that despite many hardships, many enemies redeemed themselves and became allies though saw as the opposite happened, he continues to explain that the X-Men grew as a team and continues to praise all that are there, Xavier states that not everybody changes but still admits he is proud of everything that everyone, students and other allies alike, has done to keep the world safe from harm.
Future[]
After becoming one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Xavier foresaw a future in which the following occurred:
- Anti-Mutant rallies continued to happen.
- A reformed Erik trained the younger mutants with Rahne Sinclair and Jubilee returning to the Institute.
- Jean became known as The Dark Phoenix after being possessed by the Phoenix force.
- The X-Men in the future remain the same, with different changes to their uniforms, the now also included X-23 and Colossus
- The Brotherhood, along with John Allerdyce, ally themselves with S.H.I.E.L.D and become the Freedom Force.
- More Sentinels, seemingly lead by Nimrod, presumably attack.
Quotes[]
"Right, we never win"- Toad after Pietro tells him they never win their fights.
"No, Apocalypse is amplifying her powers so she could be right next to us and I wouldn't know it"-Logan after Scott asks if the former can track Mystique.
Notes[]
- Production Art - Jean Grey as Phoenix
- Tabitha was the only one out of Wanda and Spyke not to be hesitant when fighting against Xavier though this may be due to the fact Wanda and Evan fought a family member.
- Amara, Bobby and Roberto all fully turn into their fully charged up forms.
- Mystique, due to having her powers amplified, turns into multiple bats, snakes and then into a panther.
- Rogue uses Dorian Leech's powers to disable the pyramids and then re-activate everyone's powers once Apocalypse is stopped.
- Sabretooth, despite being a strong enough mutant, did not appear.
- In the future, Rogue wears a coat similar to Remy's though whether or not it belonged to the latter is unknown as Rogue had worn the same coat on two separate occasions even before she met Remy.
- Logan is the only member of the X-Men not to appear in the future, whether he was not in the frame or not in the locations is unknown, he does instead appear in the group shot.
- Xavier is the final person to speak in the entire show.
Trivia[]
- Tabitha's outfit resembles what she wore during her time as a member of the Bayville Sirens.
- Writer's notes state that had season five happened, other characters such as Emma Frost and Betsy Braddock, also known as Psylocke, would have appeared and that it would be the season in which Jean was fully possessed by the Phoenix force.
- This is the final episode to air in 2003.
Cast[]
Main Cast |
Recurring Cast
Guest Cast |