X-Men '97 Season 2 Reminds Us Who The Marvel Team's Strongest Member Is

Spoilers for "X-Men '97" Season 2 Episode 1 follow.

In Marvel Comics' "X-Men," the strongest mutants are called "Omega-level." That name is taken from the last letter of the Greek alphabet, signifying the end of things; Omega-level mutants have no endpoints on their potential power, and the X-Men alone have a few Omegas on their roster. During Magneto's heroic moods, his Earth-moving magnetism is an unbeatable asset, and when possessed by the Phoenix Force, Jean Grey personifies the pinnacle of all life and evolution.

But one member of the X-Men still dwarfs all the others: Storm/Ororo Munroe, who can control the weather with a move of her hands. Storm feels and acts less like a typical mutant and more like an avatar of the Earth's own power. She's often called (and self-described) as a goddess and it's easy to see why. "X-Men '97" Season 2 Episode 1, "Days of Past Future," shows a new upper limit of Storm's powers.

Carrying on where Season 1 ended, Storm (Alison Sealy-Smith) is stranded in 3960 AD with some other X-Men. In this dark future, the evil and all-powerful Apocalypse rules. When Cyclops, Jean, and their son Nathan are captured by his forces and put on a slave transport, the X-Men have nary a hope of catching up — unless Storm can create a solar flare and imbue their own vehicle's engines with cosmic energy.

Storm is doubtful at first — "I control the weather, not the cosmos" — but the sun heeds her call. She pulls it off her typical theatrical declaration of power:

"Flames of the sun, source of all creation, I summon a tempest of fire and light whose flares ignite the spark of hope in darkness, and blaze our trail to end Apocalypse! For we are the dawn that breaks his night!"

The music that plays during Storm's moment in the sun will sound familiar. Composed by "X-Men '97" composers The Newton Brothers, the instrumental track (titled "Give Them the Forecast") played during Storm's hero moment in the first episode: "To Me, My X-Men." When some Sentinels were overwhelming the team, Storm swept all the automatons away with a hurricane. It's a majestic composition, from the chanting to the horns, and the perfect sound for a goddess bending the Earth to her beck and call. 

The animators of "X-Men '97" have admitted Storm's powers present a challenge, because they are so grandiose; animating and lighting a hurricane scene is no small task. They had a somewhat light workload in Season 1, when the show adapted the comic storyline of Storm losing her powers starting in Episode 2, "Mutant Liberation Begins."

But Storm regained her powers in Episode 6, "Lifedeath - Part 2," by facing her own self-doubt and claustrophobic fears. In a breathtaking sequence, the repowered Storm took flight once more and soared across the Earth, as if re-introducing herself to a lost friend. An extended "Give Them The Forecast" played, solidifying it as her character theme.

Storm hardly sits out the latest battle once the X-Men catch up to Apocalypse's forces. She unleashes a frosty gale on Apocalypse's Horsemen — "Arctic winds, freeze their icy hearts!" — softening them up for the other X-Men to defeat them. It remains to be seen what else "X-Men '97" Season 2 has awaiting Storm, but "Days of Past Future" reminded us that if there's one X-Man who can challenge Apocalypse's might, it's Storm.

"X-Men '97" is streaming on Disney+, with new episodes dropping on Wednesdays.