The X-Men come to terms with the contents of Charles Xavier's will. Magneto submits himself to a trial at the UN which brings consequences for the team and mutant-human relations as a whole.
Some among the X-Men are slow to trust Erik, but others are willing to give him a chance to prove the sincerity of his desire to carry on Xavier's dream. One of Erik's first actions as leader of the X-Men is to give the Morlocks sanctuary in the mutant nation of Genosha. Scott, in particular, is unwilling to trust Erik, and unwilling to cede leadership to him — thus, he states his intent to stay with the X-Men. Jean still hopes to leave the X-Men to raise her and Scott's son. She confides in Ororo her fears of the future and a lingering desire for him to be born human, something Ororo can relate to. At the same time, lingering feelings between Erik and Rogue begin to surface: Rogue, who has a checkered past of her own, is willing to give Erik a chance; and Erik is the only person who can safely touch Rogue. Rogue, however, insists that they keep a respectable distance from one another.
One night, UN armed forces converge on Xavier Mansion to arrest Magneto. Magneto's powers are such that he could easily make mincemeat of the soldiers present, but as a demonstration of sincerity, Magneto willingly stands down and submits himself into the UN's custody to stand trial.
The trial of Magneto is the highly contentious, with demonstrations outside of the UN's headquarters railing against Magneto and the UN for deigning to give him a trial. The Friends of Humanity are present to stir up the crowd into a frenzy while their leader, Carl Denti — the X-Cutioner, prepares a specially-designed energy rifle just for Magneto.
At his trial, Magneto speaks of how he has been persecuted throughout his life, if not for his people's religious practices, then for his mutant nature. He states that he has acted in the defense of mutants against a people that would build robots to hunt them and collars to bind them by suppressing their powers. Unfortunately, the Friends of Humanity start a riot and storm the UN headquarters, forcing the X-Men present to mobilize in order to contain the sitation.
At the same time, Jean goes into labor. Logan takes Jean to a hospital, and Cyclops and Rogue are forced to leave the UN headquarters to take care of her. On arriving, they discover that the doctor is refusing to treat Jean because she's a mutant. Cyclops asks Rogue to absorb the doctor's knowledge and perform the delivery herself.
As the X-Cutioner and the protestors storm the courtroom, Magneto's power-suppressing collar is disabled so that he can protect the judges and stop the protestors, doing so without any casualties.
Just as the situation seems to be in hand, however, the X-Cutioner takes advantage of the calm to take aim at Magneto. Storm notices this and puts herself between Magneto and the X-Cutioner as he fires his weapon. The energy bolt from the X-Cutioner's rifle strikes Storm and leaves her divested of her powers: the elements are no longer hers to command!
Enraged, Magneto apprehends the X-Cutioner and the UN judges, and carries them into the upper atmosphere. He chastises the judges and X-Cutioner — and humanity, by extension — for their actions that have led to Storm's loss of powers, which he states was humanity's goal all along: to see mutants forced to kneel by robbing them of their powers. He feels as though he would be justified killing them all in revenge for what happened to Storm. Instead, however, he makes the decision to stay his hand, speaking of Xavier's dream and the fact that humanity and mankind share a world. Magneto does not expect humanity to accept mutantkind, merely to grant them the right to live.
As Jean gives birth to her and Scott's son, Nathan Charles Summers, Magneto's demonstration of mercy earns him a pardon from the UN, which also admits Genosha into the United Nations. With this, Scott makes the decision to trust in Xavier's wishes and allow Erik to lead the X-Men, while Erik gives Scott honest and frank advice to always be cautious, as the road to peace is already lined with casualties — namely, Ororo. Storm decides with a heavy heart to leave the X-Men after Beast provides a grim prognosis that states her loss of power is, potentially, permanent.
As the X-Men reel from losing Storm, and Gambit discovers that Erik and Rogue have re-kindled their relationship, the Xavier Mansion receives a new visitor...Jean Grey?!
But if this is Jean Grey, then who is the woman who just gave birth to baby Nathan?!
This episode contains examples of:
- Adaptation Distillation: The episode involves events from Uncanny X-Men #185 (where Storm is depowered) and #200 (The Trial of Magneto).
- Adapted Out: In the original stories, Forge had created the power-stealing gun and Henry Peter Gyrich had fired it while the Strucker Twins were the threats attacking the Trial of Magneto. Here, all of them are condensed into the X-Cutioner.
- Book Ends: In the beginning of the episode, Storm confesses to Jean that she's always thought about being human, but she embraces her mutant heritage by saying it brought her to the X-Men. At the end of the episode, after being told that she has lost her powers permanently, Storm leaves the mansion to parts unknown.
- Call-Back: While talking to Storm, Jean is shown holding her Marvel Girl costume and mentions the events of the Dark Phoenix Saga.
- The Cameo: Morph takes the form of Lady Deathstrike, then Colossus, and then Psylocke at the battle.
- Category Traitor: When the Friends of Humanity make it clear they want Magneto and the judges, one of the judges is shocked and doesn't understand why. Magneto points out that it's because they gave him, a mutant and "monster", a fair trial.
- Cliffhanger: The mansion's doorbell rings and when Morph answers they find a distressed woman who looks like Jean asking for the X-Men.
- Comically Missing the Point: As Logan goes to help the other X-Men, Jean appears, having gone into labor, and groans out "He's... he's here." Wolverine's response? Unsheathe his claws and ask "Who? Apocalypse?"
- Dead Guy Junior: Jean and Scott give their baby the middle name "Charles" in honor of Xavier (which is a slight Adaptation Name Change from Nathan Christopher Charles Summers to just Nathan Charles Summers; the "Christopher" in the comics had been in honor of Scott's father)
- Delivery Guy: When a doctor refuses to handle Jean's delivery due to her being a mutant, Cyclops asks Rogue to absorb his knowledge and perform the delivery herself.
- Depower: Storm gets hit by a weapon that strips her of her powers.
- Didn't See That Coming: X-Cutioner is shocked when it turns out he hit Storm instead of Magneto.
- Didn't Think This Through: Val Cooper was smart enough to equip the UN's forces with weapons that were immune to Magneto's powers. The helicopters they arrived in, on the other hand, weren't as safe.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?:
- While pummeling Cyclops, X-Cutioner claims that he hates mutants because humans like him have to deal with things that he believes mutants can do more easily and can't stand their whining. It also makes him come off as a Hypocrite.
- The Friends of Humanity and their supporters storm and break into United Nations headquarters in a manner similar to the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol. The event is even referred to as an insurrection.
- Drives Like Crazy: Wolverine ends up driving on the sidewalk to get Jean to the hospital in time to deliver her baby. Good thing she has telekinesis and can move people out of the way.
- Evolving Credits: First of all, Magneto is given a greater presence in the opening sequence, starting with having his own title card before Cyclops to reflect his new designation as leader of the X-Men (replacing Professor X who is removed from the credits following his presumed death).
- Feeling Oppressed by Their Existence: A female member of the Friends of Humanity has the gall to tell the Morlocks that they're the ones mistreating humans by living in the sewers, as it's a place where humans can picture them being in their heads. Magneto points out that if mutants can't even be allowed the indignity of living in the filthy sewers where no one has to see them, then it's clear there's no place that the Friends of Humanity will leave them alone.
- Foreshadowing: When talking with Jean, Storm tells her about how she has wondered what it be like to be human. She is later turned into a human, when X-Cutioner makes her lose her powers while she was protecting Magneto.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus:
- During Logan and Jean's wild drive to the hospital, the town has a "Wein's
Cafe and Diner", a "Romita's Salon", and a street named after a "Roy Thomas". - The totems on the mobile above baby Nathan include a figure of an Acanti space-whale from the original series "Love in Vain" episode, and a triangular Phoenix insignia.
- During Logan and Jean's wild drive to the hospital, the town has a "Wein's
- From Bad to Worse: When the X-Cutioner is able to get the rest of the Friends of Humanity into the UN, the X-Men have to jump in to protect everyone. However, at the same time, Jean ends up going into labor, which not only prevents Wolverine from joining the fight, but also forces Cyclops and Rogue to pull out to help Jean.
- Heel–Face Turn: Although he doesn't apologize for his past, even if he seems to regret it, Magneto is dedicated to staying true to Xavier's dream to justify his old friend's faith in him, even sparing the lives of X-Cutioner and the judges at his trial.
- Heroic BSoD: After learning that her power loss is likely permanent, Storm just stands in shock, increasingly oblivious to everything Jean and Beast are saying. She snaps out of the shock when she later hears a thunderstorm outside of her room, and is scared by the sound for the first time since she got her powers, something that solidifies her decision to leave.
- Hypocrite: X-Cutioner rants about how much he hates mutant "whining" while pummeling a silent Cyclops.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: After Jean reads Storm’s letter, Morph isn’t convinced and is sure she’ll come back after a day. The doorbell rings and Morph answers it… for another Jean to drop into their arms.
- It Only Works Once: The gun X-Cutioner builds only has one shot and he intends on hitting Magneto with it.
- It's All My Fault: Cyclops is a bit guilt ridden by Storm's depowering, feeling he should have stayed to help. However, it's pointed out that X-Cutioner had waylayed Gambit and Bishop, thus he wouldn't have made a difference.
- Jerkass Has a Point: The prejudiced doctor who refuses to treat Jean claims he won't deliver her baby because as a mutant, she might lose control over her powers during the procedure. While that specific possibility doesn't come to pass, Jean's labor pains caused her to accidentally rip the roof off of Wolverine's jeep, which gives the doctor's fears some weight. Also, subtly, you can see during the actual delivery that Jean is telekinetically grabbing onto everything in the room while in pain, giving even further credence to his fears even if he was being a insensitive dick about it.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Mixed with Call-Back to episode 2 of the original series. While Logan is driving Jean to the hospital in his Jeep, she rips off the top entirely with her powers due to the labor pains. In other words, she made him a convertible.
- Maternity Crisis: Jean goes into labor just as Magneto's trial is overrun by the Friends of Humanity. With the rest of the team caught in a battle, it falls to Logan to get her to the hospital. Not helping matters is a prejudiced doctor who refuses to help for fear of Jean's powers going out of control, forcing Rogue to use her powers to borrow his knowledge of how to deliver a baby.
- Mythology Gag:
- The episode's title comes from a statement Magneto made during the original series episode "Sanctuary".
- Magneto's new costume and the trial are based on a similar story from the 1985 Uncanny X-Men comics.
- Nathan Summers being born during the trial and while it's attacked is also from the previous.
- Magneto's "The Reason You Suck" Speech to the UN council quotes one of the X-Men's classic mottos; that they use their awesome powers "to protect a world that hates and fears them".
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished:
- Magneto's deeds of helping humans and mutants alike have taken notice, but said deeds remind authorities of how powerful he is and has him stand trial for his schemes.
- Storm takes a specially-crafted laser shot from the X-Cutioner aimed at Magneto, resulting in the negation of her powers. When later examined, Beast believes this is a permanent form as the radiation is concentrated, unlike the inhibitor collars.
- Oh, Crap!: Wolverine says this, eyes wide, as he realizes Jean's gone into labor at the worst possible time.
- Pet the Dog: Magneto goes to the trouble of saving humans from accidents, as well as interfering on behalf of mutants, saving a little girl and a firefighter from a collapsing Ferris wheel. He also takes a moment to comfort Leech after saving the Morlocks from the Friends of Humanity, even arranging for them to travel Genosha where they can be safe.
- Playing Card Motifs: When Rogue walks out of Magneto's office after a Ship Tease moment between them, the camera pans over to Gambit who drops a Queen of Hearts card as he watches her walk away.
- Power Incontinence: The labor pains cause Jean to rip the roof off Wolverine's car with her powers. The doctor cites her possibly losing control as a reason he doesn't want mutants as patients, forcing Rogue to take over when requested by Scott and Jean.
- Precision F-Strike: Wolverine gets the series' second and third uses of profanity; a comment on how pissed the protesters are over Magneto being given a fair trial, and later a delightfully understated Oh, Crap!, when Jean goes into labor.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: After Storm loses her powers, Dr. Cooper begs Magneto that they didn’t want it to happen, but he calls them out on their bigotry and how the X-Men lay down their lives to protect the world that fears and hates them. And points to a crying Storm as their “thanks” from that world.
- Reformed, but Not Tamed: Magneto is determined to walk Xavier's path, but his arrogant, pro-mutant attitude remains, even if he's trying to temper it with mercy and compassion for all.Magneto: Bigot. Ingrate. Sycophant. Worm. So small I could smite you with a step. There was a time, I would smite you all for what was done to Storm. But today... I have saved you from your own, for an old friend has challenged me to remember this view of Earth: how vast it is, versus how small we make it. Charles Xavier entrusted me with his dream, and it does not ask you to love or embrace my kind as your own. But merely to accept that this is a shared world with a common future, and that my kind, like yours, have the right to live in it. I... am trying to be better. Please... do not make me let you down.
- The Reveal: Rogue and Magneto had some kind of relationship in the past, and apparently she can safely touch him without her draining power activating. She prefers to keep this a secret, but Gambit is becoming suspicious.
- Screaming Birth: While the audio for the actual delivery is absent (due to the focus being on Magneto's speech) Jean is seen screaming her guts out as she's giving birth to Nathan.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Magneto may genuinely be trying to redeem himself in honour of Charles, but he is still an internationally wanted fugitive, and the UN immediately move to apprehend him once they know he's with the X-Men.
- Taking the Bullet: Storm puts herself between Magneto and the X-Cutioner's weapon, a sacrifice that costs her her powers.
- Tempting Fate: Early in the episode, Storm tells Jean how she once wished that she could be human but let that dream go. Near the end of the episode, she gets to experience that "dream", but not the way she would ever want it.
- Thou Shalt Not Kill: Despite Cyclops' fears to the contrary, Magneto doesn't kill the Friends of Humanity he stops from harassing the Morlocks, nor does he kill X-Cutioner after Storm is depowered. His dedication to proving worthy of Xavier's faith is strong enough that, although he admits such people likely deserve to die, he nevertheless won't kill them.
- Took a Level in Badass: Morph was mostly in the background in the first episode, but in this one they actually hold their own against the X-Cutioner—who had just defeated Bishop and Cyclops—using their shapeshifting powers to imitate the physical properties of Lady Deathstrike, Colossus, and Psylocke (including showing off some swordsmanship and martial arts skills).
- Tranquil Fury: After seeing Storm injured after taking a bullet for him, Magneto makes it clear he has had enough and takes the panel of judges and X-Cutioner into the sky. While he's clearly boiling with rage as he dresses everyone down due to their complicity in violence against mutants, he remains composed and that he wants what's best for everyone even if humanity hates and fears him.
- Wham Line:
- Storm realizing she can no longer sense the forces of nature after taking a laser shot meant for Magneto.
- Beast later examines a sample of Storm's blood that was affected by the X-Cutioner's laser while they fended off the protesters during Magneto's trial. While the inhibitor collars uses radiation that disables a mutant's powers as long as they are on, the laser has a more concentrated dose that hits a mutant's genetics on a cellular level. When asked how long the effect will last, Hank assumes that it is seemingly permanent thanks to this.
- Wham Shot: The final shot of the episode is another Jean arriving at the Mansion's doorstep asking for the X-Men's help, and the Jean who just delivered baby Nathan standing inside, watching everything unfold...
- You Should Have Died Instead: Being depowered rather than dying, but Gambit makes pretty clear that he felt Storm shouldn't have taken a shot meant for Magneto. The fact that he saw Rogue getting closer with Magneto probably fed this sentiment.
