Marvel Just Brought Back a Powerful Guardians Villain & Most Fans Missed It

Marvel quietly revived a forgotten cosmic villain in X-Men ’97. The surprise return could hint at much bigger MCU plans ahead. The latest episode of X-Men ’97 slipped in a major Marvel callback that many viewers may have overlooked. The unexpected return connects the animated series to the wider MCU and brings back a powerful cosmic figure first introduced more than a decade ago.

Eson the Searcher shows up in X-Men ’97 Season 2

X-Men ’97 Season 2 debuted on Disney+ on July 1 with the mutants scattered across different timelines. One storyline follows Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto in ancient Egypt, where they encounter a young En Sabah Nur before he becomes Apocalypse. Their journey also puts them on a collision course with Rama-Tut, a Kang variant ruling Egypt with advanced future technology (via The Direct).

The biggest surprise arrives during Episode 3. While searching the mind of captured general Logos, Xavier hears a mysterious voice say, “He is where the end begins.” The episode’s end credits identify the unseen speaker as Eson the Searcher, the Celestial voiced by Matthew Waterson. It’s the character’s first appearance in a Marvel Studios project since Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014.

Marvel fans first met Eson during the Collector’s explanation of the Infinity Stones. In that brief but memorable scene, the towering Celestial used the Power Stone to wipe out an entire planet in seconds, demonstrating the artifact’s incredible power. Beyond the films, Eson also serves as the main antagonist in EPCOT’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction.

The new episode also builds on earlier Celestial teases. A figure resembling Arishem appeared in the Legends special released before the season, suggesting these cosmic beings would play a larger role. In Marvel Comics, Apocalypse gains much of his incredible power through Celestial technology hidden in Egypt.

If X-Men ’97 follows that origin, Eson’s return is likely more than a clever Easter egg. It could be laying the groundwork for bigger Celestial stories in the MCU, especially with Avengers: Secret Wars and future X-Men projects on the horizon.

Originally reported by Rishabh Shandilya on SuperHeroHype.