Marvel TelevisionOf all the villains the X-Men have faced, Apocalypse might be the most formidable. You can’t find a more potent threat than the first-ever mutant, an ancient being who weaponizes his “Survival of the Fittest” mentality against anyone in his path. Introduced in 1986, he’s also one of the X-Men’s longest-running villains, but something always gets lost in translation when he’s brought from page to screen. Apocalypse, also known as En Sabah Nur, got the live-action treatment with the bizarre, misguided X-Men: Apocalypse, a film that served as his introduction to many fans. It also, unfortunately, bastardized his character, burying a promising Oscar Isaac performance beneath layers of clunky prosthetics. It was a far cry from anything more seasoned fans of the franchise — like, say, fans who tuned into X-Men: The Animated Series — were expecting. The animated show delivered one of the greatest depictions of Apocalypse, setting a standard that has yet to be matched. How fitting, then, that its revival is reminding us what Apocalypse is capable of.After two long years, X-Men ’97 is finally returning with a new season. The eponymous super-group finds itself scattered across space and time. In the first trailer for Season 2, the time-traveling mutant Bishop explains that some members of the X-Men are stuck in ancient Egypt at “the start of Apocalypse’s reign,” while others find themselves in the future, “at the height of his rule.” With their most powerful warriors distracted, Apocalypse schemes to wipe out the few X-Men left in the 1990s. That forces Bishop into a literal race against time, as novice X-Men like Jubilee and Sunspot join him on a quest to round up all the X-Men for a rematch against Apocalypse. X-Men ’97 is poised to deliver a major team-up, with the first season’s classic line-up fighting side-by-side with a handful of new faces. Characters like Psylocke, Polaris, Archangel, and Havok will play a major role in Season 2, and we’ll also see the formation of smaller teams like X-Factor and X-Force. The next chapter in this X-Men story is shaping up to be a big one — not only will it massively expand the scope of the series, but it will also deliver a version of Apocalypse worth fighting.X-Men ’97 Season 2 premieres July 1 on Disney+.