This article contains full spoilers for X-Men '97, as well as comic book-related speculation on story progression.
The first two episodes of X-Men ‘97 have debuted on Disney+, revealing what happened to our favorite animated mutants in the months after the original animated series ended. The X-Men are dealing with everything from the return of the anti-mutant terrorists known as The Friends of Humanity to the fact that Magneto is now in charge of Professor Xavier’s school. But easily the biggest development in these first two episodes is that Cyclops and Jean Grey have become parents.
Or have they? Episode 2 ends with a shocking cliffhanger, as the X-Men are greeted by another woman also claiming to be Jean Grey. The new animated series has just introduced Madelyne Pryor, Jean’s infamous clone. But who is Madelyne Pryor exactly? And which Jean is the real one? Here’s everything you need to know about Maddie’s comic book origins and how the new series is adapting this major X-Men storyline.
Who Is Madelyne Pryor?
Madelyne Pryor was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Paul Smith and originally debuted in 1983’s Uncanny X-Men #168. Claremont named her after Steeleye Span member Maddy Prior, and her appearance was partly based on that of Marvel editor Louise Simonson.
Madelyne first appears in the aftermath of the Dark Phoenix Saga and the death of Jean Grey. The fact that she’s physically identical to the late Jean is a source of great puzzlement to the X-Men and Cyclops in particular. Cyclops initially believes her to be the reincarnation of Jean, but eventually comes to accept the fact that Jean and Madelyne are two different people.
Scott and Madelyne soon marry, and Madelyne quickly becomes pregnant. After Storm bests Cyclops in combat and becomes the leader of the X-Men, Scott finds himself toying with the idea of retiring from the team and actually enjoying a normal life for a change.
However, there proved to be far more to Madelyne Pryor than met the eye. Marvel made the decision to resurrect Jean Grey for 1986’s X-Factor, a series that reunited the original five X-Men on one team. In what is easily the most controversial twist in Cyclops’ long shelf life as an X-Man, he makes the choice to abandon his wife and baby in order to reunite with Jean and resume his life as a superhero.
This loss slowly drives Madelyne insane, and a bout of demonic possession doesn’t help. Madelyne eventually learns that she’s a clone of Jean created by Mister Sinister. Sinister originally discarded her as a failed experiment, until the Phoenix itself gave Madelyne sentience. Sinister then orchestrated events so that his creation would fall in love with Cyclops and bear his child, furthering his experiments with mutant genetics.
Now calling herself The Goblin Queen, Madelyne was at the center of a 1989 crossover called Inferno, with the various X-teams trying to repel a demonic invasion of New York City. Madelyne ultimately commits suicide in an attempt to psychically destroy Jean. Jean survives by merging with both Madelyne and the Phoenix Force, gaining the memories of her clone in the process.
Though she died in Inferno, Madelyne Pryor has returned several times over the years. That’s just par for the course when you’re a clone created by Sinister. Madelyne even joined forces with fellow jilted clone Ben Reilly in 2023’s Dark Web crossover. Even now, she remains determined to find a place for herself in a world where she was only ever built to be an imitation of Jean Grey.
Nathan Summers: Cyclops and Jean Grey’s Son
Madelyne may have died in the climax of Inferno, but whatever became of her son, Nathan? That’s a question with a surprisingly convoluted answer.
For a while, Jean is happy to raise baby Nathan as her own son. Why not, given that she shares both DNA and memories with his actual mother? But tragedy strikes the newly unified Summers family in the form of Apocalypse, who senses baby Nathan will one day grow to become a great threat with incredible mutant powers. Apocalypse infects Nathan with the techno-organic virus, which neutralizes his budding psychic abilities. Scott and Jean are left with no choice but to turn Nathan over to the Askani Clan to be cured and raised in the far future, with no hope of his return.
This was far from the end of young Nathan’s story, however. Marvel eventually revealed that Cable, the time-traveling mutant soldier and enemy of Apocalypse, is actually the adult Nathan Summers. Cable has gone on to play a major role in the Marvel Universe, both alone and as the leader of the militant mutant team X-Force. Scott and Jean were then given the chance to raise their son when they were psychically pulled into the future in 1994’s The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix.
In short, Cyclops and Jean Grey have about the most bizarre family tree in the Marvel Universe, and that’s not even getting into the complications caused by Rachel Summers, their daughter from an alternate timeline. The question now is how exactly X-Men ‘97 will handle mother and son.
Madelyne Pryor in X-Men ‘97
We’ve known for a while now that Madelyne Pryor would appear in X-Men ‘97, thanks to Hasbro’s Marvel Legends toys. Episode 2 gives us our first hint of how the character fits into the series with its cliffhanger ending. The X-Men barely have time to welcome Jean and baby Nathan to the X-Mansion before another woman claiming to be Jean Grey shows up at their doorstep.
The obvious question now is which one of these women is the real Jean Grey. If the show is following the example of the comics, then this battered and weary newcomer is probably the real Jean. We may learn that the real Jean was swapped out for a clone at some point in the series’ past (possibly during the events of the Phoenix Saga or Dark Phoenix Saga in Season 3). Jean has now escaped captivity and returned, only to find a clone living out her life.
However, it’s equally likely that the animated series will subvert the source material. The newcomer may be Madelyne Pryor instead. Perhaps she escaped Sinister laboratory and sought out the X-Men, not realizing that her memories of the team are all artificially implanted.
Either way, the X-Men have a real pickle on their hands heading into Episode 3. How do they determine which Jean is the real deal? It’s not as if they can rely on Jean herself to psychically scan the newcomer’s mind. And even once the truth is established, what happens when Madelyne Pryor is exposed and she’s forced to contend with the discovery that her entire existence is a lie?
We already know that Mister Sinister is one of the returning villains in X-Men ‘97: Season 1. Could the series be building toward its own take on the Inferno crossover, as the original series did with so many adaptations? Will that be the plot of Season 1’s three-part finale arc, “Tolerance Is Extinction”? Or is the goal to tell a smaller-scale story focused on the tragedy that is Madelyne Pryor?
Whatever happens, hopefully the series will work to avoid the missteps made by the comics. We’d hate for this version of Cyke to make the same mistake and simply abandon his family to reunite with the real Jean. For however faithful the original animated series was to the source material, it also frequently worked to streamline and simplify that material as well. We’d expect no less here.
It’s also probably safe to assume that X-Men ‘97 will dig deeper into Nathan Summers and his eventual transformation into Cable (a character who already appearaed in several episodes of the original animated series). Is this young baby doomed to become a time-traveling soldier, or will Cyclops and Jean Grey somehow find the blissful family life they’ve been seeking? We don’t have high hopes for that. One thing X-Men ‘97 has already shown is that the mutant drama never ends in this animated universe.
For more on X-Men '97, read up on how the original series reshaped the X-Men franchise and flash back to a time when the X-Men comics were the biggest on Earth.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
