The following contains major spoilers from X-Men '97 Season 1, Episode 10, "Tolerance Is Extinction - Part 3," now streaming on Disney+.

Season 1 of X-Men '97 has come to an end, with the series leaving behind a few cliffhangers. Bastion and Sinister seem to be out of commission, but they look like they're building blocks for something bigger. It's a very intriguing way of kicking the action up a couple of notches, despite the main villains losing.

It's not just about adding an inquisitive air to the heroes, however. There are many threads left hanging regarding which other villains will be returning or coming to the fore for the first time. With that in mind, here are some directions X-Men '97 Season 2 can follow.

X-Men '97 Season 2 Teases A Time War

When the X-Men stop Asteroid M from crushing parts of America, it disappears. But the X-Men on board aren't killed. Cyclops and Jean Grey are tossed to the future where they meet a teenage Cable, Mother Askani (the older Rachel Summers) and her Clan Askani. It suggests Scott and Jean are going to follow the Marvel arc from the 1990s where they were taken to the future to act as Slym and Red. They raised Nathan, helping make him the Dayspring warrior, before being sent home.

They ran into many threats, like Apocalypse wanting Nathan dead and the clan's Cable clone, Stryfe, turned evil. Their story will coincide with the past, where Magneto, Xavier, Beast, Rogue and Nightcrawler have been transported. Season 1 has them meeting En Sabah Nur, the first form of Apocalypse. They're trying to be allies, hopefully to stop him from becoming a villain. Season 2 will look at if this crew has to aid him against Rama-Tut (a Kang variant). They will have to be careful they don't undo the Sacred Timeline.

This sets up both eras to collide. It looks like Clan Askani from the past and Apocalypse's Clan Akkaba from the future may come into conflict. They need each other to exist, so if the X-Men on either side tamper with history, a temporal war will evolve. There's no telling who'll switch sides, who'll try to change the timeline (even accidentally), and who could be sacrificed. What's clear is, X-Men '97 is going to test the heroes with the threats of butterfly effects across space and time.

X-Men '97 Is Set to Unleash Apocalypse's New Horsemen

Apocalypse is seen in the X-Men '97 post-credits. He's rummaging through the debris after the Genosha massacre in the present. He hints he will be resurrecting Gambit as his Horseman. In the comics, he turned Gambit into Death, albeit under various circumstances as Gambit just wanted his powers back. Here, Gambit can become more unhinged, wanting to murder humans who took his species out. He might even be angrier knowing Rogue had an affair with Magneto.

Apocalypse can even recruit other Horsemen who served him in different mediums. Psylocke and Sunfire are a couple of those who pop to mind. The series hasn't revealed what happened to the Brotherhood of Mutants seen in the X-Men '97 opening credits. Juggernaut, Mystique, Pyro, etc. are other candidates to join Gambit. Apocalypse has ample motivation to seek retribution. He views mutants as his Children of the Atom. If the "first mutant" thinks more mutants are going to be targeted, it makes sense he'd want to upgrade his army.

With most of the X-Men missing, the UN and various governments not protecting mutants, and the Friends of Humanity spreading more anti-mutant sentiment, the landscape is there for Apocalypse to finally enact his purge, and possibly, remix the Age of Apocalypse event. What's certain is that he will be using Gambit as his chief weapon of mass destruction. This can allow Remy to become the omega-level threat and powerhouse the comics teased he could be someday.

X-Men '97 Could Create a More Aggressive New Mutants Unit

When Cable came to the present in the source material, he worked with the New Mutants as a strike force to better protect his kind. The cartoon can reinterpret Cable's vision and the New Mutants squad that preceded it. He already has Sunspot, while the likes of Domino, Shatterstar and Warpath can be recruited. He has Jubilee, too. He can even seek out the likes of Magik, Cannonball, Mirage, etc. With X-Factor and Alpha Flight also around, there's no telling if he will hire only youngsters or a mix of seasoned veterans.

He definitely won't be following the X-Men's path, as he's more militant. This can influence how he shapes the unit. Cable will have to tread lightly after losing his robotic arm, time-travel technology and getting stuck in the past. He has to be careful about trusting Valerie Cooper after she betrayed mutants to Bastion. It's uncertain if Captain America, Iron Man and the Avengers will want to exert more control as well on behalf of the US government. X-Men '97's Thunderbolt Ross already has reason to hate mutants after a dark version of Rogue attacked his crew.

The point is an autonomous mutant haven will be needed. Krakoa could come into play. With the shady Gradyon Creed poised to beat Robert Kelly in the elections and become America's president, the writing is on the wall. Mutants may well be outlawed, nodding to the Days of Future Past storyline with Sentinels hunting them. Cable's group, however, can be that response and first line of defense. In this case, they'd have a more aggressive mission and the need to be proactive, not reactive. That can intimidate and drum up more conflict with the media and the public, but it will be a sympathetic tragedy. The mutants must look after themselves, by all means necessary.

X-Men '97 Season 2 Has to Rescue Storm, Morph & Wolverine

The X-Men '97 Season 1 finale didn't reveal where Storm, Morph and Wolverine went. The missing heroes will have drama to deal with. Wolverine still loves Jean, but he'll have to adapt to his feral form and bone claws after Magneto removed his adamantium. The show will have to address Morph telling Logan he loves him, too. It's unpredictable if Wolverine will want a queer romance, especially with someone that young.

In Storm's case, the cartoon could reinterpret her and Forge's doomed romance. Forge left her when he thought she didn't want to get married. In time, the comics had him jealous of her and Black Panther. X-Men '97 doesn't have Storm in a relationship with Black Panther, but it could, according to where she has been sent. The show has King T'Chaka as Wakanda's masked hero, but there's a chance Storm went to a future where she and T'Challa are meant to rule over the sovereign African nation as husband and wife.

This would be a clever way of moving away from 1990s nostalgia and more towards modern arcs from the 2000s. Bishop has recruited Forge to time-hop and find them, teasing they are part of a larger narrative. If Bishop needs more help, Forge's wall has pictures of potential allies. Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are off-world, and may be with the Inhumans. If available, they might want to undo the mistakes of their father, Magneto. Polaris (Magneto's other daughter) and Havok (Cyclops' brother) are options as well. Dust, Kitty Pryde and Exodus are people that Forge has been tracking, too.

While Cable is making his team, Bishop could be using his own to hide secrets from when he took baby Cable to the future. Season 2 will have to fully address if Bishop is letting everything play out as a Nexus Event. Fans will be keen to see if Bishop is genuinely interested in rescuing Wolverine, Storm and Morph, or if he has ulterior motives, that may require sacrifices, resulting in a mutant civil war.

X-Men '97 Season 2 Has to Address the Shi'ar Empire & the Phoenix

X-Men '97 shocked fans by introducing Cyclops' other brother, Vulcan, in space. Vulcan (aka Gabriel Summers) could launch his coup, take over the Shi'ar empire, and then continue to take out other species like the Kree, Skrulls and the Brood. Corsair (Cyclops' father) and the Starjammers could become collateral damage, too. Once Earth is vulnerable, Deathbird (Lilandra's sister) will want to crush it. It would drive a wedge in the empire, as Lilandra still loves Charles, while Gladiator and the Imperial Guard are still loyal towards their empress.

This can further tie into if the Phoenix is in the M'krann crystal in the empire, how much of this powerful entity is still in Jean, if Rachel has any of the cosmic force in her, and if Cable can be a host, too. The Phoenix has strong ties to all the timelines, so it won't be surprising to see it revived to fend off the invading Shi'ar enemies on Earth. But, as is usual in this cartoon, the heroes and governments down below may see the Phoenix as yet another reason to distrust the X-Men and whoever the new vessel could be.

Ultimately, another war could be brewing, with Vulcan and the Phoenix making it seem like mutants will forever be a curse to the planet. It would justify the Avengers and governments' sanctions on Earth. This new saga can further show what happened to the Avengers who went to space to look into this war. Ex-showrunner, Beau DeMayo, confirmed some of Earth's Mightiest Heroes acted as galactic police officers. So, that can allow Vulcan to take out the likes of Thor and Captain Marvel to compound that he is a deadly threat and someone all audiences should be taking note of.

All 10 episodes of X-Men '97 Season 1 are streaming on Disney+.