Warning: Spoilers for X-Men '97 episode 10 below!
X-Men '97 season 1 has come to a close, and the epic finale contains a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment that confirms what we've always thought to be true: Peter and Mary Jane would find each other in any universe.
Spider-Man: The Animated Series ended in 1998 on an all but satisfying cliffhanger. In season 5, Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson finally get married – but it isn't the happy ending that Peter hoped for. In season 5 episode 8, Spidey learns that the MJ he married is a clone made from a drop of Hydro-Man – engineered by mad scientist Miles Warren. After Peter saves reality in episode 13, Madame Web (the animated old lady version, not the Dakota Johnson version) promises to take him to Mary Jane – who fell into a portal during a battle with the Green Goblin in season 3.
In a quick, half-a-second moment in X-Men '97 season 1 episode 10, news spreads around the world that an apocalypse is on the horizon. We briefly cut to a cracked TV displaying a news broadcast, where Peter and Mary Jane are standing and watching.
We don't know how, we don't know when, but we know that Peter eventually found the real Mary Jane. This means that the Spider-Man we briefly saw in another episode is indeed the same Spidey from Spider-Man: The Animated Series – which makes perfect sense given that the two shows operate on the same timeline and continuity.
X-Men '97 is streaming now on Disney Plus. For more, check out our X-Men '97 finale post-credits explainer.
