X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 4, “Motendo/Lifedeath – Part 1,” introduces a terrifying new villain: the Adversary. What’s more, the Adversary appears to be connected to Forge – so, what’s the deal?
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How the Adversary Is Connected to Forge in X-Men ’97
The Adversary only appears briefly in X-Men ’97 Season 1’s fourth installment, but the demonic creature still makes quite an impression. First, the Adversary effortlessly teleports Storm back to Forge’s house. Then, he – we’re assuming the Adversary’s a “he” in X-Men ’97 (like in the comics), despite him speaking with Storm’s voice in the episode itself – dispatches Forge with a cursed bite, before seemingly hauling Storm off to a diabolical dimension to feed on her despair.
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It’s a lot to take in, so much so that it’s easy to miss Forge’s apparent ties to the Adversary. Neither character says anything that explicitly connects them, however, Forge immediately identifies the Adversary as a demon. He’s also not exactly shocked to see the beaked baddie in his home. Sure, he’s not thrilled about it, but he’s not aghast in quite the same way as Storm is. So not only has Forge apparently encountered a demon before, it may even have been this demon.
How the Adversary Is Connected to Forge in the Comics
Of course, this is pure speculation on our part for now – although it tracks with the X-Men comics canon. Here, the Adversary is a demon summoned by Forge during the Vietnam War, who returns to wreak havoc on the mutant inventor’s life many years later. This includes pitting Storm and Forge against each other, banishing them to an alternate dimension, and transforming Dallas, Texas into a mishmash of time periods. Defeating the Adversary ultimately requires the X-Men to sacrifice their own lives (they don’t stay dead for long, though).
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Will any of the events cross over to X-Men ’97? It seems likely. With “Lifedeath – Part 1” (and the upcoming “Lifedeath – Part 2”), the Disney+ series has committed itself to a condensed retelling of Forge and Storm’s intertwined arc in the 80s X-Men comics. Notably, Forge has already alluded to his time as a soldier, so we could see him summon the Adversary in a future flashback. His bitter falling out with Storm in “Lifedeath – Part 1” is something the Adversary could exploit in “Lifedeath – Part 2.” This would mirror the comics, in which the Adversary tricks Storm into attacking Forge while she’s still cranky with him.
X-Men ’97 is now streaming on Disney+, with new episodes dropping Wednesdays.
