X-Men '97 Episode 8 Reveals Big MCU Easter Egg

The last episode of X-Men '97 made mention of a popular concept from What If…? and other MCU favorite projects. Episode 8 of the Disney+ series brought back "Absolute Points" in a huge way. Basically, when Cable is explaining why he couldn't go back and stop the massacre of Genosha from happening, he talks about not being pulled back to his present. Beast supposes that this is due to what Kamar-Taj mystics refer to as an "absolute point." Introduced in What If…?'s first season, the idea of an absolute point is an event in a universe that cannot be undone without tearing the very fabric of that reality.

Even though X-Men '97 is reported to be in its own corner of the Marvel multiverse, it's fun to see other concepts from other shows and properties bleed into the picture. What If…? Has been the flagship Marvel Animation show until X-Men '97 came around. Now, the landscape is growing more by the day. Still, it begs the question if the absolute point phenomenon exists and The Watcher is around, are other MCU elements going to start creeping around in the background as well? There's two more episodes from this season before we find out for sure!

What If…? Invented Absolute Points

Of course, the idea of an Absolute Point didn't spring out of the aether fully formed. What If…?'s creative team had been dreaming things up for a while. However, head writer A.C. Bradley talked about the concept during The GOAT Movie Podcast and shared the feeling that she wished there was some more overlap between that concept, the Nexus Event naming in Loki and possibly the whole Canon Event deal from the Spider-Verse franchise. They're all effectively the same thing, but with different names!

"When you're writing animation, you're writing so far into the future that you can't think four years down the line," Bradley explained on The GOAT Movie Podcast. "That Doctor Strange episode, I wrote in February of 2019. I think I should've called it a Nexus Point instead of an Absolute Point. The Loki scripts weren't even written yet, so that animatic locked before Loki even finished their scripts because you're always writing about two years ahead of animation. It's kind of intense and insane."

Want To Learn Where Absolute Points Come From?

Season 2 of Marvel's What If…? , is currently streaming on Disney+. The show continues the journey as The Watcher guides viewers through the vast multiverse, introducing brand new and familiar faces throughout the MCU. The series questions, revisits and twists classic Marvel Cinematic moments with an incredible voice cast that includes a host of stars who reprise their iconic roles.

The series is led by Jeffrey Wright as The Watcher, with returning appearances that include Hayley Atwell as Captain Carter, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk, and Cate Blanchett as Hela. Devery Jacobs joins the cast as Kahhori, a new Native American character created specifically for the show. What If...? Season 2 is directed by Bryan Andrews, and executive produced by Andrews and AC Bradley.

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