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X-Men ’97has been building up its threats and world swiftly, proving its intentions to start right where it left off—at the climax of its story. Characters are dying left and right, introductions of past iconic characters are frequent, and iconic comic book characters are making their animation debuts.
The most recent addition to the series was Mother Askani, who made an appearance at the very end of the tenth episode of the series, alongside Nathan Summer. While it was made evident that Nathan was the son of Jean Grey and Scott Summers, there was another character who was related to theX-Menpower couple.
Spoiler warning for those who have not seen the 10th episode ofX-Men ’97.
Who is Mother Askani?
Mother Askani, better known as Rachel Summers, made her first appearance inThe Uncanny X-Men#141. She is the daughter of Jean Grey and Scott Summers, from an alternative, post-apocalyptic Earth-811. While there have been many trials and troubles she has had to face in her journey through the multiverse, the one that led her to become Monther Askani is quite interesting.
First making an appearance inCable #6, this version of Summer came into being after she sacrificed herself for the sake of Captain Britain, who became lost in the timestream due to an anomaly. In doing so, she ended up splitting herself into two separate versions; one that was thrown into Reality-805110 where she was taken as a prisoner, and the other was forced to exist in the 37th century.
The latter of these two versions was the one who came to be known as Mother Askani, walking the lands and gaining followers as she did so. Her group, which came to be known as The Clan Askani, had a very clear purpose; they wanted to defend Mutantkind, much like most versions of Rachel.
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They eventually even made their own timeline called Reality-4935, where she would execute her missions across the multiverse. Eventually, she grew old here.
Rachel Summers—The Daughter of the Phoenix
While her story, on its own, is deeply fascinating, Rachel Summers does not disappoint when it comes to her powers and abilities. Being the daughter of one of the strongest mutants in the comics and besting her on multiple occasions, powerful is an understatement when it comes to Mother Askani.
Even on her own, Rachel is very powerful, having the ability to understand the emotions of people around her through her abilities. She also harbors telepathy, telekinesis, alters matter, manipulates time, uses astral projection, and can even project psionic force bolts. She even has the Phoenix Force at her disposal in almost every version of the comics.
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Interestingly enough, the Mother Askani version of Rachel is much stronger than the rest, making her one of the most terrifyingly overpowered characters in the comics.
Where WillX-Men ’97Take Rachel Summers’ Story?
The version of Mother Askani in X-Men ’97 seems to be a completely different one from the comics. One of the biggest reasons for this is the presence of Nathan Summers. It is quite a well-known fact that she is very protective over her brother, even though they technically have different parents and he comes from a reality where she does not exist.
If the story of the animated series decided to build on this plot, they could take the story in quite an interesting direction. Since Rachel is very protective over her brother and is known to have a complicated relationship with her parents, she could also pose a threat in the later seasons.
Ananya Godboley
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2219
Ananya Godboley is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows, with over 2,000 articles published. She has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years. Currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in psychology from K.R. Mangalam University, Ananya also likes to fangirl as a full-time job. She covers news and analyses on anything from Rick and Morty to Hannibal and even Arcane. In between these lines, she also enjoys superheroes and Taylor Swift.A philosophy enthusiast, Ananya enjoys digging deeper into the media she consumes, trying to understand the root of her favorite characters’ behavior.
