Warning: This article contains spoilers for X-Men ’97 episode 6.
X-Men ’97 might not be as flashy as the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine, but it’s quietly knocking it out the park every single week on Disney Plus and increasingly providing a roadmap for exactly how Marvel Studios should use these characters in live-action to help fix the MCU.
Case in point, episode 6 follows up on the utter devastation of episode 5 by taking the narrative into space, catching up with Professor X for the first time since the series finale of X-Men: The Animated Series. Although the show so far has treated Charles as if he had died, X: TAS viewers knew that he’d actually been taken into space by his alien lover, Empress Lilandra, and revived using advanced tech. In episode 6, we find out that Charles is now living among the people of the Shi’ar Empire. Not only that, but he’s getting married!
This marks a huge twist in the professor’s story, obviously, but it also presents Marvel with the perfect way to fix its confused cosmic mythology following The Marvels. But first, who exactly are the Shi’ar, anyway?
Who are the Shi’ar in X-Men ’97?
The Shi’ar, debuting in the comics in 1976’s X-Men #97, are conspicuous in their absence from the MCU at present as they are one of the three greatest empires in the galaxy in Marvel lore. Arguably, they are even more advanced and expansive than either the Kree or the Skrulls, however, as the Shi’ar comprise various planets and cultures across the cosmos. The Shi’ar people are human/avian hybrids, who appear mostly humanoid barring their feathered heads.
The most notable Shi’ar character is undoubtedly Empress Lilandra, whose unlikely romance with Charles Xavier has threatened her position of power and the safety of her empire at numerous points. Her two treacherous siblings, vicious brother D’Ken and duplicitous sister Deathbird, have often attempted to seize her throne, and on occasion have succeeded.
Lilandra and the Shi’ar played a key role in the Dark Phoenix saga, with the X-Men having to fight to protect Jean Grey from execution when Lilandra decreed she must die for her crimes. Because of this, it was heavily rumored that Jessica Chastain was going to play Lilandra in 2019’s Dark Phoenix, but the character has yet to make her live-action debut.
In recent comics, Xandra, the genetically engineered daughter of Charles and Lilandra, has been introduced and she has risen up to become the current Majestrix (aka Empress) of the Shi’ar Empire following her mother’s death.
The Shi’ar’s introduction into the MCU could undo the damage done by The Marvels
Personally, I liked The Marvels, and hopefully you did too (whether you saw it in theaters or were one of the converts who caught up on streaming), but there’s no use denying that it was the least successful MCU movie to date. Clearly, audiences are still interested in cosmic Marvel movies — hence the popularity of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 just a few months prior — but the familiar plot of the Captain Marvel sequel just turned audiences away.
The general consensus seemed to be that The Marvels came across as “just another MCU film,” and maybe that’s because it was dealing with an alien threat that has been hanging around the franchise for a full decade at this point: the Kree. Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel, a whole bunch of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episodes… The Kree have arguably worn out their welcome as Marvel’s premier cosmic baddie at this point so it’s high-time their reign was toppled.
Of course, X-Men ’97 isn’t Earth-19999 canon but episode 6 proves that the MCU needs to introduce the Shi’ar into live-action fast, with its opening scene demonstrating exactly how to do it. Deathbird, Lilandra’s aforementioned sis, is depicted as bringing the mighty Ronan the Accuser to his knees, proving how much more fearsome the Shi’ar are than the oft-used Kree.
With ties to the X-Men and a much more complex and nuanced civilization, the Shi’ar would certainly be a much-needed jolt in the arm and injection of fresh ideas into Marvel’s cosmic side, so let’s hope their X-Men ’97 appearance is just a tease for bigger things to come.
