The final episode of X-Men ‘97 Season 1 was packed full of Easter eggs and character cameos. One which seemed to confuse most viewers, however, involved a mystery woman fighting alongside Alpha Flight and Psylocke. This is fitting and ironic, given the character’s powers, and her history of being retroactively recognized in the X-Men comics.
The mystery woman is Alisa Tager. She first appeared in 2008’s Young X-Men #8 and was created by writer Marc Guggenheim and artist Rafa Sandoval. She adopted the codename Cipher when she joined the team. However, most of them were unaware of her existence. This was due to the unique nature of her powers.
The Powers of Cipher Explained
Cipher’s Mutant power allows her to go completely and totally unnoticed. A virtual ghost, Cipher’s X-Gene granted her full spectrum invisibility and intangibility, like Kitty Pryde. Cipher also left no trackable scent, and was only audible to those she allowed to hear her.
Most impressively, Cipher was capable of masking her psychic imprint to all but the most powerful of telepaths. This was why only the Phoenix-empowered Jean Grey had noticed her at first. All these powers made her the perfect spy, which was how Cyclops secretly employed her.
Cipher was a Secret Member of the X-Men
Cipher was introduced in a cloud of confusion due to there being another Mutant hero called Cypher. One new student at the Xavier School, Greymalkin, made multiple references to having met another Mutant called Cipher. It was presumed Greymalkin was referencing the deceased Cypher. However, the confusion was later eliminated after Cipher’s existence was revealed.
Cyclops explained, in Young X-Men #10, that he and Jean Grey discovered Alisa Tager during a riot in Mutant Town. This occurred during the 2001 New X-Men series. They gave her Alisa the codename Cipher, and honored her request that her presence at the school be kept secret. It was here that the shy Alisa first made friends with another new student, the psychic Blindfold.
The existence of Cipher was used to explain another oddity from the earlier comics. When Blindfold was first introduced in the 2004 Astonishing X-Men series, she had a strange habit of talking to herself. This was later explained as her having been talking to Cipher, whose powers allowed her to go to class completely unnoticed.
The existence of Cipher was also used to explain multiple events throughout the Young X-Men series. Alissa had secretly helped her classmates during various crises. However, the other students were slow to trust Cipher after meeting her, fearing their privacy might have been violated.
Cipher After Young X-Men
Cipher made relatively few appearances after being “outed.” She made reference to being fearful of being found by an unnamed “he.” Cyclops assured her that “he” would have to come through the X-Men to get at her. It never was explained, however, who “he” was.
Following the 2011 Schism event, Cipher was depicted as one of the students at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning run by Wolverine. She later appeared on Krakoa during the recent run of X-Men comics. Her current whereabouts are unknown. However, due to the nature of her powers, she could be virtually anywhere.
It is unknown what role, if any, Cipher might play in the second season of X-Men ’97. Her powers could make her invaluable given the team’s need for new blood following the finale. However, it seems far more likely that she will remain reserved for cameos, given the nature of her powers and her history.
All 10 episodes of X-Men ’97 Season 1 are now streaming on Disney+.
