Marvel Studios confirms the X-Men's new villain in haunting first look

Marvel Studios is in a very unique position at the moment as it continues to expand its Multiverse Saga. Not only is it pulling in stars from the Marvel Cinematic Universe for comebacks, it's taking things all the way back to the beginning of Marvel movies through the reintroduction of characters like Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Men, and the cast of the Fox X-Men movies (including Hugh Jackman's Wolverine!).

There is very little off-limits to the Multiverse Saga, and that has allowed the studio to tell stories for classic characters using modern platforms such as Disney Plus while also having others cross over into MCU movies.

Perhaps one of the most unexpected titles in the Multiverse Saga is X-Men '97 as its a sequel to the classic '90s series X-Men: The Animated Series but it's also billed as part of the franchise's ongoing, overarching saga because it's another X-Men title - and it's clear that the team of Marvel's Mightiest Mutants are going to be a big focus for the franchise after the Multiverse Saga. Speaking of which, the studio has unveiled the first look at their next villain.

Marvel Studios unveils first look at X-Men '97's Apocalypse

Marvel Studios has officially unveiled the first look at the version of Apocalypse that will appear in X-Men '97 season 2. The villain is expected to play a major role in the animated series' sophomore outing, and this image not only confirms that, it also makes it clear that it will stay true to the version that we first met in the original X-Men: The Animated Series.

You can check the first look out here and see Apocalypse in all his mighty glory:

The first look came at New York Comic-Con, when Marvel's Head of Streaming, Animation, and Television Brad Winderbaum teased MCU fans with what they can expect from some of the studio's upcoming titles. That included first looks at Daredevil: Born Again season 2, VisionQuest, Wonder Man, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man season 2, and of course X-Men '97 season 2 as well.

As far as accuracy goes, it's clear that they have nailed Apocalypse's look. The villain looks identical to the version we know and love (and also love to hate at the same time) from X-Men: The Animated Series and it's pretty important that they pulled that off, After all, he was in many ways the primary villain of that series.

With that in mind, it was refreshing that the first season of X-Men '97 decided to do something completely different. Not only does that successfully, automatically set the spinoff sequel series apart from its '90s predecessor, it allows them to build towards the big bad's return effectively. To say that they are doing it would be an understatement.

It's important to note that this isn't the first time that any version of the Apocalypse character will appear in X-Men '97. The season 1 finale saw a bunch of the X-Men transported through time when they crossed paths with En Sabah Nur - the first mutant - or, as we know him in today's day and age, Apocalypse.

We saw a glimpse of the character's actual villain form in the post-credits scene when he visited Genosha and picked up one of Gambit's playing cards, which is leading fans to believe that the big bad will resurrect the fallen X-Men hero as one of his Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

X-Men '97 season 2 officially premieres in summer 2026.