X-Men '97 rocked its fandom with the tragic destruction of Genosha, and the main suspect in the attack will have you on the hunt for New X-Men #114.
Cue the "I'm not crying; you're crying" Batman meme.
Just when the X-Men were ready to relax and join the party in Genosha, complete with Rogue accepting Magneto's proposal to be his queen and help lead the mutant nation, their world crumbled. Viewers were introduced to a much scarier version of sentinels than we've ever seen. The three-headed sentinel in particular looked like he waltz straight out of a nightmare. They laid waste to Genosha, murdering quite a few famous mutants in the process, including Magneto, Gambit, and Nightcrawler.
Comic readers should find this scenario familiar, and that's exactly what has made X-Men '97 so great.
Arguably the best incarnation of the X-Men ever seen on screens big or small has leaned heavily into the drama straight from the comics. We've already seen the show's take on "The Trial of Magneto," "Inferno," and now it appears the series is moving into Grant Morrison's famed New X-Men run. That could give us a clue as to whom initiated the assault on Genosha.
CASSANDRA NOVA AND THE WILD SENTINELS
What viewers saw in X-Men '97 were the Wild Sentinels. A massive upgrade on the previous models, these robots can be created out of basically scraps, which helps explain the terrifying three-headed beast of a sentinel that killed Magneto and Gambit. They just so happened to debut in New X-Men #114 alongside Cassandra Nova. In fact, she's responsible for giving the attack order on Genosha in the comics.
Cassandra is actually an entity from the astral plane who attempted to kill Charles Xavier while he was still in his mother's womb. They even had a wild baby-versus-baby telepathic fight that could only exist in a comic book. Besides episode five's New X-Men, there's another clue that was hiding in plain sight. If you've noticed, the intro sequences have different characters each week. Professor X was featured in episode four's intro, though he is supposedly dead in X-Men '97. That could be pointing towards Cassandra entering the picture, posing as Charles as she manipulates the X-Men to her will.
NEW X-MEN #114
Ahead of episode six's premiere, the signs point toward Cassandra coming to X-Men '97. With the Wild Sentinels debuting on the show and her possible involvement, it's more incentive to get your hands on their first appearances in New X-Men #114.
As of the time of writing, the most recent 9.8 direct edition to trade hands online brought $144 on April 11. That makes its 90-day fair market value a respectable $128. Then there's the newsstand. The only 9.8 sale on record for 2024 was for $331 in February.
This issue has been hot since rumors surfaced that Cassandra would be the main antagonist in Deadpool & Wolverine. However, that doesn't limit her to only appearing in the live-action MCU. For that matter, the animated and live-action realms are linked. After all, the Professor X seen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was a version of Xavier from X-Men: The Animated Series.
