X-Men ’97 Joins Forces in Upcoming Marvel Rivals Crossover This Week

X-Men ’97 Season 2 may have wrapped up, but the nostalgic escapades of Marvel’s X-Men are set to continue in an exciting new way this week.

The Season 9.5 roadmap for Marvel Rivals was unveiled in early August, teasing some intriguing X-Men ’97 cosmetics slated for release on September 4. Developer NetEase Games kept the details of this crossover under wraps for quite some time. Now, with just hours to go until the big reveal, fans can finally see what’s in store, and it’s definitely worth the anticipation.

The official Marvel Rivals X account shared a brief video today, announcing that the X-Men ’97 Season 2 crossover will introduce two new skins. Appropriately, these skins are inspired by the Disney Plus animated series and feature everyone’s favorite mutant duo: Rogue and Gambit. Gambit’s skin draws from his final appearance in the show, where he is — spoiler alert! — possessed by Apocalypse. This design cleverly combines elements from the iconic villain, like the blue face markings, with Gambit’s previous Horseman look. Meanwhile, Rogue will don her Celestial outfit from the Season 2 finale.

As noted in the Season 9.5 roadmap, both crossover skins will drop on September 4 at 2 a.m. UTC. For those in the United States, that translates to 7 p.m. PDT or 10 p.m. EDT on September 3. However, the official announcement hasn’t specified the rarity tier for these new costumes.

Initial fan reactions to the X-Men ’97-themed skins have been lukewarm at best. Gambit’s skin, in particular, has faced criticism for resembling the Dead Man’s Hand costume released earlier this season. Many fans also find Rogue’s skin somewhat underwhelming. A common sentiment is that neither outfit truly captures the essence of the best offerings from X-Men ’97 Season 2. Some fans are leaning towards the X-Factor and New X-Men-inspired looks for Jean and Scott, or Storm’s future timeline appearance, as more appealing alternatives. Perhaps Season 3 of X-Men ’97 will deliver better skins when it arrives.

Who are Apocalypse’s new Horsemen? You might want to brace yourself…