In the finale of X-Men 97's first season, there are many questions left unanswered, but I'm here to break down the ending and provide some answers. One of the biggest questions is where the X-Men are in relation to Apocalypse.
If you look at where they are in the past and where they are in the future, it becomes clear that the X-Men are at the Alpha and Omega of Apocalypse's life. In the future, the X-Men are in a world ruled by Apocalypse, and in the distant past, they are before Apocalypse becomes the villain we all know.
When Beast walks over a hillside and sees a massive dome in the distance, it is revealed to be Ramut, which ties into the origin of Apocalypse. In the Marvel Comics, there are two different origins for Apocalypse, but it appears that X-Men 97 is focusing on the old school origin.
The old school origin of Apocalypse goes like this: King the Conqueror traveled back in time to ancient Egypt and took on the moniker of Ramut. He did this because he knew of Apocalypse's power and wanted to take him as his heir, using his vast powers to destroy all superheroes on Earth.
However, things didn't go as planned for King the Conqueror. The Fantastic Four helped to defeat him, and Apocalypse ended up falling in love with a girl named Nefty. When she saw what he actually looked like, she freaked out, causing Apocalypse's powers to activate.
Apocalypse's original powers were immortality, size alteration, and physical enhancements such as super strength and speed. However, when his powers were activated, he lost control and attacked Ramut's Kingdom, causing King the Conqueror to flee back to his time as Kane the Conqueror.
Now, let's fast forward to the far-flung future where we meet Mother Esani and the Ascanian Clan. Mother Esani is Rachel Summers, the daughter of Gan Gray and Cyclops from Days of Future Past. Rachel Summers is from a future where the assassination of Senator Robert Kelly, Moira MacTaggert, and Professor Xavier takes place by Mystique and her Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
Rachel Summers was raised in a camp where mutants and humans are confined by Sentinels. She, alongside Kitty Pryde, Colossus, Franklin Richards, Magneto, Wolverine, and Storm, engineered an escape to get rid of the inhibitor collars. Rachel Summers was sent back to the present day to prevent Days of Future Past from happening.
However, because she was now in an alternate reality, she ended up stranded in the 37th century and became Mother Asanci, the leader of the tribe.
This all ties into the character of Cable. In the Marvel Comics, it was not Sinister who infected Cable with a technorganic virus, but Apocalypse. Apocalypse infected Cable to test him and see whether or not he could withstand his powers.
In X-Men 97, Bishop took Cable to the Days of Future Past timeline under the idea that Forge could cure him. However, Forge was unable to do anything with the technology, so they took Cable to a time and place where the technology was advanced enough to cure him.
In conclusion, the X-Men are at the Alpha and Omega of Apocalypse's life, and it's possible that Roma or King the Conqueror time-displaced the X-Men. There are many possibilities for season 2, and I can't wait to see where the story goes.