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X-Men '97 episode 6 was a huge one where new faces were introduced and old ones made a grand return as well. One of the new faces introduced was the infamous Deathbird from X-Men comics, and she made her stance on humans very clear in the episode, which set her up as a possible future villain.
In X-Men '97 episode 6, Deathbird is the sister of Lilandra and opposes her marriage to Charles Xavier due to her hatred of the human species. While this is a common character trait of hers from the source material, in the comics, the Shi'ar-born alien has a complicated history with her own people, which also led her to be banished from the empire.
Deathbird was banished from the Shi'ar empire after murdering her mother
Deathbird was created by Chris Claremont and Keith Pollard and was first introduced in Ms. Marvel #9 in June 1977. Her real name is Cal'syee Neramani, and she was born into royalty as a Shi'ar mutant. From birth, she was gifted with wings and was also the eldest child among her siblings, which made her a future heir to the throne.
However, since she was born with atavistic features, she got into a fit of rage and killed her mother in the process. With this being discovered by the other members of the Shi'ar empire, she was banished and sent into exile. She then dropped her birth name and took up the title of Deathbird, plotting her return to Shi'ar.
Her only goal is to be on the throne, but since her sister Lilandra resides on it, she finds it a bit hard to achieve her goal. In the comics, she has interacted with many characters, like Ms. Marvel and more, but has been a mainstay of the X-Men, where at times she has allied herself with the team too.
How does Deathbird fit into X-Men '97?
In X-Men '97 episode 6, fans find out that Charles Xavier is alive after being taken into space by Lilandra and that the Shi'ar treatment is working on him after being presumed dead at the end of X-Men: The Animated Series. It leads to Charles spending time with the Shi'ar and falling in love with Lilandra.
While the wedding bells are ringing in X-Men '97, Deathbird comes in and opposes Charles's marriage to her sister. This is because Deathbird thinks of humans as lesser life forms and doesn't trust that Charles has the best interests of the Shi'ar empire.
She then challenges Charles, saying that if he wants to marry her sister, he must prove himself by losing all the memories of Earth and even his beloved X-Men.
While originally agreeing to do so, he later changes his mind and uses his psychic abilities to communicate with the people of the Shi'ar. He shows them that humans can be kind too, but in doing so, he sees a dark vision of his X-Men dying, which prompts him to leave space and return to Earth.
Proving Deathbird right that he will never fully be a part of the Shi'ar empire creates a cosmic conflict for the future that will certainly see the villain return once again in X-Men '97. Given that she has already interacted with Professor X, it remains to be seen how she will make a return.
X-Men '97 is currently streaming on Disney+ right now.
