X-Men '97: Cyclops & Jean's Son May Be In The MCU (& Has A Weird Thanos Connection)

The mysterious arrival at the end of "X-Men '97" Episode 2 could change everything given that it spells extremely strange news for Cyclops (Ray Chase) and Jean Grey (Jennifer Hale). But the seemingly identical version of Jean who knocks on the mansion door might not even be the episode's most important entrance. While Cyclops is out dealing with Magneto's (Matthew Waterson) trial and the X-Cutioner's (Lawrence Bayne) attack, Jean goes into labor, leading to the delivery of the happy couple's son in typically dramatic X-Men fashion.

As comic book lovers may already know, young Nathan Summers grows up to become none other than Cable, a powerful, gruff, trigger-happy mutant who, thanks to time travel shenanigans, is usually depicted as far older than his parents. As it happens, the character already has a live-action appearance under his belt in the form of a central role in 2018's "Deadpool 2." Here, he's played by Josh Brolin, whose most famous role is, of course, Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is where things get really interesting.

On the whole, the Multiverse Saga has been good for mutants. It's enabled both Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Beast (Kelsey Grammer) to appear in MCU films, and many small details in the "Deadpool & Wolverine" trailer suggest that the titular characters will follow suit — but things may get more than a little confusing when it comes to Cable.

Josh Brolin's dual roles may not have been an issue when "Deadpool 2" was an irreverent, non-canon film, but they're a bit more of a concern now that "Deadpool & Wolverine" is slated to retroactively make it MCU canon ... at least without all the established MCU characters having to heavily lean on the fourth wall by noting that Cable seems familiar somehow.

Then again, it would be extremely on-brand for a "Deadpool" movie to pull such a stunt, so who knows? Not only does Nathan Summers have a weird Thanos connection through Brolin, but there's also a chance that Cable will become an official part of the MCU well before his mommy and daddy — unless they too appear in "Deadpool & Wolverine."