| The Cauldron - Part 1 | |
| Season One, Episode 12 | |
 | |
| Air date | May 5, 2001 |
| Written by | Simon Furman |
| Directed by | Gary Graham |
| Episode Guide | |
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next The Cauldron - Part 2 |
- "That I'm a champ, not a chump"
- —Todd Tolansky
Premise[]
When metal spherical pods appear suddenly kidnapping mutants and Cerebro detects the thought to be deceased brother of Scott, Alex Summers, the X-Men find themselves in a fight against the Brotherhood to stop Magneto from recruiting Alex. Meanwhile, Erik brings the winning fighter to Asteroid M.
Summary[]
As Scott and Jean return to the Institute after school, Scott declares it as finally the weekend and hops out of his car, Jean calls back to him stating he forgot his homework only to then believe Scott is instead choosing to ignore it. As Jean gets out, she hears a noise coming from the trees and mistakes it for Kitty, she then believes it to be Evan and steps further into the woods. She lifts a bush up with her telepathy and finds Toad, Toad then jumps up and snaps a branch from a tree, Jean questions what he is doing but Toad only states he is only getting an advantage, Toad once again goes to attack but Jean easily fends him off and eventually snaps the branch, Jean then grabs Toad with her telekinesis and throws him into the nearby well. Jean goes to check on him but becomes distracted by the arrival of a silver spherical and metal ball, she goes to investigate only to be captured and taken away by it, Toad climbs to the top of the well declaring he should have been the victorious one and that he could have still had a chance.
That evening in Hawaii, three boys are out on the beach, two remain on land while the relaxes out on the sea on his surfboard, the two boys decide Alex just wants time to himself and leave. As he lays down to relax, Alex's head starts to hurt but he does not think much about it as he is then knocked off his board and into the sea. Coming to his senses, he notices a shark nearing him and puts out his hands in an attempt to try knock it away, his mutant powers then activate and his hands glow right red causing the shark to momentarily retreat. The shark goes in for another attack but Alex puts a stop to it a second time with his newfound powers. Alex then drifts upwards and his powers fade away as he looks on at his hands in confusion.
At the Institute, Logan enters Cerebro's room and sees Xavier who had just detected Alex's X-Gene activating. Xavier explains that the young mutant known as Alex Masters was once known as Alex Summers and confirms him to be the long long and supposed deceased brother of Scott, Logan claims he thought only Scott was the only survivor of the plane crash to which Xavier admits he believed the same thing, Xavier then orders Logan to go find Scott and wait in the hangar, he then urges Logan to still be cautious under the belief someone else may go after Alex.
In Hawaii, Alex lays on the sand and tries to understand what is wrong with him only to be visited by Erik who claims he knows what it is like, Alex tells him to leave and calls Erik a creep, Erik continues to try and get through to Alex by saying he knows that the latter's bones, hands and head all hurt from his powers, Erik then states he can provide relief for the young mutant as Alex asks if he is a doctor to which Erik denies. Erik introduces himself as Magneto and offers a place of sanctuary for Alex.
Back at the Institute, Logan sits in the Blackbird and watches as Scott runs over to Xavier. Xavier confirms that Alex is alive as Scott listens on in shock. Scott then starts feeling guilty for have never been out searching for his brother as Xavier assures him, Scott questions where he has been and Xavier tells him that Alex was raised in Hawaii with adoptive parents, Scott then suggests they leave and he runs to board the Blackbird, Xavier grabs his bag and is then raised into the jet himself. As it takes off, Rogue, Kitty and Evan run into the hangar in time to see the jet take off, Kurt teleports into the hangar wearing undone Hawaiian shirt with matching shorts and a hat, as the four come to the conclusion that they were ditched at the Institute, Kurt suggests they go to a much closer beach and then suggests they go on a road trip. As Kurt drives the convertible jeep out of the garage, Evan tells Rogue to hurry up so Storm does not catch them, Rogue almost trips over a cat but then hops into her seat and mentions she could not find Jean so she instead left her a note, Kurt drives away as the cat morphs into Mystique and tells Lance that the four are on the move, Lance replies that the situation is still fine as Mystique watches as the jeep drives away.
As the Blackbird lands in Hawaii, Xavier, Scott and Logan observe the beach in search of Alex, Xavier suggests they look around the area and the three leave, Scott walks over to his brother's surfboard as Logan mentions that Erik was in the area before they showed up, Scott then questions who Erik is as Logan believes Scott will find out very soon, Xavier telepathically reaches out to Erik but is forced to stop as the Blackbird starts to creak and move around. Above, Alex looks down at his older brother as Scott calls up to him, the two brothers rush over to reunite and they hug, Alex gently punches Scott in the shoulder and mentions he waited a decade to do that, Scott then claims he still hits like a girl as Alex shows off his powers, Alex then mentions Erik which surprises Scott as he admits Erik was behind Xavier's kidnapping, the two climb over the rocks as Alex mentions Erik only wanted to show the mutants something, Alex takes his brother over to a metallic sphere as Scott mentions how suspicious the situation is, Alex continues to persuade his brother as Scott finally agrees to go but only to watch Alex as the two leave.
As the Blackbird continues to spiral out of control, Logan struggles on the outside to stay on the jet. Inside, Erik assures Xavier that he is in control and uses his magnetism to fly the jet, a small apparition of him appears as he claims that mutants will only be feared by humans once they become discovered. As Logan stabs his claws into the jet, Erik notices and uses his powers to to bend the claws, the claws then twist and then become straight again as Erik forces Logan off the jet, the latter loses his grip and falls into the sea below, the Blackbird flies on as Logan sees an island, he then starts to swim towards it.
At the Institute, Storm enters and notices how empty it is, she calls Xavier and Scott as a cat brushes past her legs, she jokes that it is not the Kitty she wished to see and continues to walk further inside as the cat follows her, it turns into Mystique and she goes to attack Storm only for the latter to defend herself with lightning. On the road, Rogue says that she cannot stand being in the heat wrapped up as Kurt says she should be blue and furry instead like him stating that it is murder having to cover up the way he does as Rogue yells for him to be wary of the the road in front of them suddenly being raised. Kurt swerves in time as a car chases them from behind , Lance begins driving the car into the X-Men's jeep as Evan leans over and aims spikes at the car, the car stops for a moment but Pietro orders Lance to continue with their plan as Lance then causes the rocks ahead of them to come loose causing the four in the jeep to be diverted off the main road only to crash into Fred who taunts the four, Pietro, Toad, Lance and Fred then approach their opponents.
Logan then arrives on the island and his nose picks up Sabretooth's scent, up on the rocks, Victor watches below as he taunts his rival about being in the water with metal bones, Logan comes to the conclusion him being in that exact location was not an accident to which Victor confirms his suspicions and jumps down to attack his rival.
As the Blackbird lands on Asteroid M, Erik welcomes Xavier and dubs the Asteroid a sanctuary as he declares that both his Brotherhood and the X-Men must go through a trial by fire if they are to be brought to the Asteroid, back at the Institute, Mystique continues to fight Storm and seemingly gains the advantage only to be thrown back by Storm using her powers, Victor and Logan continue their fight as do the Evan, Kurt, Kitty and Rogue fighting against Pietro, Toad, Fred and Lance, Fred grabs the jeep with ease and causes the four to fall out of their seats, Lance then buries them under the sand as Toad believes they were the victors, as Kurt and Rogue teleport behind them, Kurt tackles Lance and Rogue tackles Toad to the ground as Kitty safely phases herself and Evan out of the sand, Pietro then uses his speed and demands Evan prove himself in their fight as Fred charges towards Kitty who falls down but phases through Fred with ease, she claims he should shower and once again collapses as Kurt continues to fight with Lance. Kurt teleports and lands on the top of crumbling rocks to which Lance causes to fall, Kurt then once again teleports but instead takes the rocks with him and they trap him in the sand, Evan and Pietro continue their fight as Pietro rushes around his opponent taunting him as Evan tries using his spikes to stop him, Toad then goes to attack Rogue and latches his tongue to inside the jeep, he launches himself forward but is stopped after landing in the door once Rogue slammed it shut, the latter removes a glove stating she does not wish to have Toad's thoughts but Lance assures her that the fights over, Fred then tells her that the X-Men's prize has arrived as the metallic spheres appear.
On the island, Logan and Victor continue their fight as Logan demands to know where Xavier is as Victor claims that Xavier had a free pass, he refers to Asteroid M as sanctuary and states that despite having to fight to get to the Asteroid, he does not mind the idea of fighting his rival. On the Asteroid, Erik explains his plan to Xavier to which the latter, with optimism, claims that humankind would accept them if they should themselves to be allies rather than enemies. As Storm continues to look around the Institute in search of her allies, Mystique quickly finds her and the two once again engage in battle as Mystique declares she should not have to proof herself to Erik, Storm once again gains the upper-hand and summons fog around her enemy and uses the opportunity to land a punch, Mystique falls as Storm is taken away by one of the spheres.
Meanwhile, the remaining spheres arrive at their destination as Erik continues his speech about how humankind will not approve of the mutants, he then offers Xavier a chance to join him but Xavier only questions what would happen to those who do not approve the apparent salvation to which Erik mentions how it would only come to being force-fed and shows Xavier a few stasis tubes which contain Rogue, Jean and Storm, all of which won their respective fights. Erik states that persuasion may still be required as Pietro, Lance and Fred stand near him, metallic doors open as Scott and Alex walk out, Xavier looks on in horror.
Trivia[]
- Alex Summers makes his debut this episode.
- Alex and Scott were in a plane crash with their parents when they were younger, Mr and Mrs Summers were killed but Scott and Alex survived though Alex was believed to have also been killed.
- The crash caused Scott to gain brain damage which caused him to have to wear his ruby quartz glasses.
- Erik referred to Asteroid M as a sanctuary, Asteroid M also appeared in The Animated Series in season four episodes three and four titled "Sanctuary".
- The color of Scott's eyes is inconsistent throughout the show. In the flashbacks to the plane crash they are green, [1] while following his temporary enhancement in the same episode, they appear black. Earlier in the season they blue. [2] Then when Scott is shown removing his visor after Dorian Leech uses his powers for the first time, though low lighting, they appear brown. [3]
- This episode was originally titled "The Silver Sphere: Part 1".
- In the comics, Alex Summers was a frequent ally of the X-Men, but often refused to join.
- Mystique calls Storm "Wind-rider" - this was an epithet often used in the comics.
- This is the first time Mystique demonstrate her fighting skills. In comic, she is a skilled assassin who could kill a man with her bare hands.
- The Brotherhood knew beforehand what they were getting into before they attacked the X-Men.
- The other X-Men were introduced to Erik.
- Xavier refers to Erik as Magnus during this episode
Cast[]
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Main Cast |
Recurring Cast
Guest Cast |