Time to take a look at the last part of season 3 of X-Men.  Season 3 goes out on an uneven note, though at the time  no one really knew the season was over.  Really, no one knew when it began as new episodes were aired some-what randomly.

Sanctuary (Parts 1 and 2)

“Sanctuary” marks the return of one of comics’ greatest villains; Magneto.  In true Magneto fashion, his motives aren’t particularly villainous as he seeks to create a haven for mutants where they will be free from human persecution.  Feeling no place on earth would suit his needs, he creates his haven on an orbiting asteroid he dubs Asteroid M.  This attracts the attention of all the world’s nations as Magneto had to abduct a Soviet shuttle crew to aid in the construction.  There’s also the small matter of the nuclear weapons he possesses as well.  Magneto crashes a UN meeting and interrupts a discussion surround him.  There’s a piece of dialogue where the Genoshan rep rejects the term slavery as it applies to Genosha and refers to mutant powers as natural resources.  An interesting take.

You will hate this man by episode's end.

The plot is a condensed version of the one from the comics that began in X-Men 1 and concluded in the Fatal Attractions mini-series.  Though what took place over years takes place over two episodes here.  Magneto finds himself placing much trust in his new acolytes and a young mutant named Fabian Cortez in particular.  Cortez betrays him and attempts to kill Magneto by ejecting his quarters from the asteroid and in doing so frames the X-Men.  In their escape, Gambit gets left behind and Wolverine, Beast, Rogue, and Xavier (in Shi’Ar battle-suit, though he doesn’t use it to walk for some reason) go after him.  From there it’s a fairly predictable plot as Magneto returns and rights what is wrong, only to see Asteroid M get destroyed in the end, but the ride is a fun one.

A side plot between Xavier and Acolyte Amelia Voght sheds some light on Xavier’s past and how he became paralyzed.  The two were lovers whose differing views on how mutants fit into society eventually drove them apart, and Voght to Magneto.  She’s not a love interest or anything for Magneto (he’s not interested in Chuck’s sloppy seconds) but serves him loyally as one of his Acolytes.  She plays a role in uncovering Cortez’s treason and ends up helping the X-Men.

The end of the episode contains a teaser (apparently for the “Beyond Good and Evil” mini series to come) where Apocalypse finds Cortez drifting through space.  Deathbird is also pictured with him.

Xavier Remembers

“Sanctuary” contained some interesting back story on Charles Xavier and an episode implying an origin story for him was a welcome development.  Unfortunately, that’s not what this episode contains.  Instead we’re “treated” to the return of the Shadow King, the worst villain the show would know.

If you have been keeping with up this feature, you will know that the season 2 episode “Whatever It Takes” is one of my least favorite episodes.  In fact, it’s in the running for first episode of X-Men.  “Xavier Remember” might be even worse, though it’s so close it matters little.  This one serves as the origin for the Shadow King and how he came to be imprisoned in the Astral Plain.  Xavier defeated him there when encountering him in Cairo, and he’s used a piece of his own mental capacity to keep him there for decades.  A concussion causes Xavier to lose his hold and it’s up to Jean to enter the Astral Plain, find Xavier, and secure the Shadow King.

The Astral Plain is incredibly boring, both visually and thematically.  It’s also just too “out there” for me to take seriously.  The only plus I can give this episode is that it’s the last we see of the Shadow King.  Stay away Shadow King, forever.

Courage

Morph sporting his new dye job.

What’s a good way to rebound from one the series’ worst episodes?  Bring back a fan-favorite who’s been missing from television for over a year and half!  I don’t know why Morph became such a popular character.  Maybe it’s because we all collectively just felt bad for him because he died so quickly into the series.  I do know that I love him, and his episodes were among the best.

“Courage” is the much teased and long-awaited comeback for Morph (now sporting brown hair for some reason) as he finally rejoins the X-Men.  Morph can’t catch a break though, for his return to the X-Men just happens to coincide with the return of the Sentinels, the mutant hunting robots responsible for his “death.”  Morph reacts predictably when confronted by his killers, which is to cower in fear and cry.  That’s okay though, he’s Morph so we forgive him and the X-Men don’t seem that upset his cowardice caused them to lose Xavier.

Turns out, Master Mold survived Xavier’s kamikaze attack in “The Final Decision.”  Sure he’s just a head now, but he’s also crazy and wants revenge.  After his Sentinels capture Xavier, the X-Men track him down but leave Morph behind.  Morph though won’t stay put and arrives in time to save the day doing awesome Morph things.

The only negative about this episode is that, in the end, it turns out to be one big tease as Morph decides he’s just not quite ready to return full-time.  Wolverine is understandably upset, as we all are, and Morph goes back into hiding until the final episode of the series.

Secrets, Not Long Buried

“Whatever It Takes” and “Xavier Remembers” are both bad episodes, but “Secrets, Not Long Buried” gets my vote as worst of the worst.  This episode is just boring.  Cyclops goes off to some mutant town in the middle of no where to give a present to his former headmaster and finds him missing.  Cyclops is the dullest member of the X-Men, and his solo adventures just don’t work very well.  I actually hate this episode, I hate everything about it.  I can’t even think of one good thing to say about it.  It sucks, don’t watch it.  Just pretend season 3 ends with “Courage.”

Season 3 continues on.  Again, this is in episode order and not broadcast order (FYI – the DVD’s released by Buena Vista are in broadcast order).  We’ve got the Dark Phoenix to contend with, another Cyclops episode, and the return of Omega Red, but first…

Savage Land, Strange Heart (Parts 1 and 2)

Sauron, in human form, having a "snack."

We’ve got another Storm episode, a two-parter at that.  Storm has not been a big player up this point in season 3.  She was basically the lone member of the X-Men who didn’t have much involvement with the Phoenix saga, and following that arc’s completion, she remained on the sidelines.  Storm is an all right secondary character with some cool powers, but as a lead actress she’s pretty boring.

“Savage Land, Strange Heart” does little to dispel that sentiment.  Just like with Storm’s other episode, “Whatever It Takes,” she’s going to find herself possessed by a powerful being that wants her for her body (because of her powers, perverts).  This time it’s some god named Garokk who has a nice cult following going on in the Savage Land.

The other big player in this two-parter is the dinosaur-like mutant Sauron.  Now in his human form, he flees the Savage Land in hopes of never becoming Sauron again.  He’s sort of a vampire in that he feeds on the energy of other humans to sustain him.  If he feeds off of a human, no problem, but once he gets a taste of mutant energy he becomes Sauron.  He falls in with this Garokk cult, and ends up encountering the X-Men on the mainland and drags Storm back to the Savage Land where all Hell breaks loose.

I’m going off of memory, but I believe it’s Wolverine, Beast, Jubilee, and Rogue that give chase.  Once in the Savage Land, Storm’s powers awaken Garokk so that he can free himself from his idol form and take on more of a humanoid one.  Sauron ends up coming around and helps the X-Men put a stop to him once he realizes that the entire Savage Land is in danger.  Doing so helps Storm regain control of herself, and everyone is happy.  We also get a reminder about what’s going on with Jean at Muir Island, in case we forgot, which actually would have been pretty easy since the whole plot has basically been ignored, which is what I like to do with these two episodes.  For some reason, this episode has two titles, the other being “Savage Land, Savage Heart.”

The Dark Phoenix Saga (Parts 1-4)

Dark Phoenix looking pretty pissed.

The precursor, “The Phoenix Saga,” was basically the necessary evil we had to get through in order to get to the seminal “Dark Phoenix Saga.”  “The Dark Phoenix Saga” is one the most well known comic book stories and certainly the most well-known involving the X-Men.  The television adaptation ended up being pretty faithful to the comic book version, but with one rather significant alteration that I’ll get to when the time comes.  The timing of it would harm the initial broadcast though as few episodes separated it from the original Phoenix plot-line and since both have a weighted, dramatic feel to them it does lessen the impact a bit.

The general plot of the saga is that Jean is back on earth and apparently healthy, but the Phoenix force still dwells inside of her.  It refuses to leave, claiming it hungers to experience more human emotions.  The Phoenix force now speaks independently of Jean (with its own voice actor as well) and battles for control of Jean’s body.

A new group of foes has entered the mix as well, The Hellfire Club (referred to as the Inner Circle club for TV).  Lead by Sebastian Shaw, these wealthy figures clad in old english attire seek the power of the Phoenix for their own use.  Their own telepath, the White Queen Emma Frost, felt the presence of the Phoenix on earth and retells her story to the rest of the Inner Circle members.  They hatch a plan to utilize her powers along with Jason Wyngarde (known as Mastermind in the comics) and his power of illusion to seduce Jean Grey and bring her under their control.

Meanwhile, Jean Grey fights to control her own mind as she is assaulted by Wyngarde and Frost telepathically.  The mutant Dazzler is introduced as a night club singer, and when Gambit drags Cyclops out for a little fun an overzealous Dazzler (after being rescued by Cyclops from a back alley beat down) plants a kiss on his lips.  Of course, Jean happens to witness this which is the trigger that pushes her to Wyngarde and the Inner Circle, where they make her their Black Queen.

The X-Men assemble and go after Jean by locating the Inner Circle’s mansion.  All of the X-Men soon find themselves incapacitated, all except Wolverine.  What was a bit more violent in the comics turns into kind of a slapstick routine as Wolverine single-handedly makes his way through the mansion to locate and rescue his comrades.  It’s still pretty amusing though.  By now, the Phoenix has experienced too much and has beaten down Jean’s psychic defenses and sees through the illusions of Wyngarde.  She takes off but Wyngarde gives chase and Phoenix exposes him for the fraud he is by bringing down the illusions he cast upon himself to reveal a plain looking old man.  Cyclops tries to reason with her, but she proclaims herself the Dark Phoenix, dons a red costume, and takes off.

Thus ends the Inner Circle’s role in this tale after two episodes.  They were interesting, but we all wanted to see Phoenix in action.  Jean is able to regain some control of her own mind, but she’s been reduced to a child-like state and has returned to her childhood home.  Beast and Xavier devise a helmet of sorts that they believe will be able to subdue Jean.  They set up a trap for her when Xavier is able to pick up on where she’s going, and the X-Men go toe to toe with Phoenix.  Beast is able to get the device on Phoenix, allowing Jean some momentary control where she begs Wolverine to kill her.  He can’t, and Phoenix breaks free.  Xavier does some silly psychic stuff, and Jean once again has control of her body and mind, but all is not well.

During the time when the X-Men were trying to sort out how to approach Phoenix, the entity left earth to feed on a star which destroyed an entire solar system.  This got the attention of the Shi’Ar and at the end of episode 3 Lilandra and her royal guard show up to proclaim Phoenix must die.  Xavier invokes the right of mortal combat sacred to the Shi’Ar, and the X-Men leave with them to battle for Jean’s freedom.

Leading up to the climactic battle, we get some good dialogue between characters regarding the morality of destroying an innocent to vanquish and evil entity.  Lilandra and Xavier struggle being on opposite sides of the debate and even Jean shows some reluctance in continuing to live not knowing how she could hope to contain Phoenix.  She puts on her old X-Men costume, a nice touch, and the X-Men are sent to the moon to do battle with the Shi’Ar Imperial Guard.

The X-Men hold their own for a time, but eventually they’re over-matched against the Shi’Ar.  Jean and Cyclops find themselves alone and resign to the fact that their situation looks bleak.  They, more or less, say their goodbyes and make one final run.  When Cyclops goes down, Phoenix awakens.

The Phoenix seems to always rise from the ashes.

Seeing the immediate danger Phoenix poses, and knowing his X-Men will surely perish if they continue this folly, Xavier realizes the Shi’ar way is their only option and urges his X-Men to rise and take out Phoenix.  Wolverine finds himself in position to deliver the killing blow, and once again, says he can’t.  Cyclops coordinates an attack where he delivers the killing blow, but it isn’t enough.  Jean regains control after the attempt and begs Cyclops to end it while she has control.  He can’t (sense a theme?) and she blasts him away in frustration and takes off to where the Shi’Ar cannon is targeting.  Lilandra senses what Jean is doing, and fires the cannon vanquishing her once and for all.

This is where the story ended in the comics, but for Saturday morning television the writers apparently decided they couldn’t kill off Jean.  The Phoenix force cannot die, but is now removed from Jean.  It apologizes for the damage it has done and tells the X-Men one may give up their “flame” in order to restore Jean.  After Cyclops and Wolverine argue over who gets to die for Jean, the Phoenix informs them it can take a smaller portion from many to restore her to life.  The X-Men join hands and Jean is restored, everyone is happy, the end.

As I said in the lead in, the adaptation for TV is actually quite faithful to the comics.  The big difference being Jean’s survival in the end.  The saga does start a bit slow but the final two episodes are good entertainment.  It’s just too bad the writers repeat themselves so much.  We already find it hard to believe that any member of the X-Men, especially Wolverine, would kill Jean but they try to tease it over and over and it just doesn’t work.  The dramatic plot comes across as a bit too much at times especially considering we just dealt with Jean’s “death” at the conclusion of the first Phoenix Saga.  Still, as a whole, it’s pretty enjoyable.  While I would have preferred to see a little more boldness out of the writing staff I can understand what kind of restraints they must have been under.

Orphan’s End

Son and father.

After the big ensemble it required to do The Dark Phoenix Saga, we get a much smaller one here with “Orphan’s End.”  As the title implies, it’s about Cyclops once again and the only other X-Men member featured is Storm (sporting a pony tail, just to change things up I guess).  Corsair of the Starjammers arrives on earth at the mansion of the X-Men fleeing from someone.  Cyclops and Storm agree to help him in his escape though they’re a bit unsure of what’s going on.

They soon find out Corsair is fleeing the Shi’Ar, and when Cyclops sees a picture of himself and his brother in Corsair’s locket, they soon realize how they relate to one another.  Cyclops tells the Shi’Ar pursuers to “back off” basically and continues to help Corsair wanting an explanation for what happened.  We’re filled in on Cyclops’ back story, as well as Corsair’s, and all seems well for a moment between father and son until Cyclops learns Corsair is wanted for kidnapping.  Thus begins the first swerve.

As the plot moves along, Cyclops and Storm will change sides multiple times.  First they’re helping Corsair, then the Shi’Ar, then Corsair, and so on.  Corsair ends up being in the right, and the pursuers are phonies.  He’s trying to protect a girl, a political thing, and the pursuers want her dead because she witnessed some crime they’re trying to cover-up.  The X-Men and Starjammers prevail in the end, and the crooked cops get their due.  Unfortunately, by this point the episode is nearly over so we just get a quick scene of Cyclops inviting Corsair into the mansion to talk for a while before he takes off, to which Corsair accepts.  The story-line of Cyclops and Corsair finding out their relation to one another is far more interesting than the rest of the plot.  It’s too bad it gets kind of pushed to the background.  Still, not a bad episode.  It’s too bad Havok never gets an episode to find out Cyclops is his brother.

Love in Vain

This is another one of those episodes where the less said, the better.  This is one of the worst episodes of the show, maybe even worse than “Whatever It Takes” and definitely worse than the two Mojo episodes.  Rogue’s old boyfriend, Cody, returns seeking to rekindle their romance from when Rogue put him in a coma with a kiss.  Now he’s immune to her powers and Rogue is positively delighted.  It turns out, there’s a good reason for this.

Cody has been infected by some parasitic alien colony that washed up on earth.  I think they’re supposed to be a take on the Brood, from the comics, but do not resemble them at all.  They’re just green and kind of resemble the aliens from Alien.  They try to infect all the X-Men and succeed in infecting Wolverine but his healing factor saves him.  Why am I even going into this much detail?  The X-Men win, Cody turns into a bug, and Rogue is sad but still has Gambit.  It’s a bad episode, don’t bother.

A Deal With the Devil

This is another episode that would get dropped from season 3 and moved to season 5.  It’s the return story for Omega Red.  The current Soviet government needs Red’s help in recovering a nuclear armed submarine.  Red knows the access codes and can also survive in the radioactive environment.  Red agrees to help them, but only if he can be accompanied by two X-Men he seeks vengeance against; Wolverine and Storm.

Trapped on a submarine with Omega Red, good luck with that!

Xavier reluctantly allows Wolverine and Storm to participate in this ridiculous premise (once Red is within the sub, he’ll have access to nuclear weapons, great idea!) though neither Wolverine and Storm seem particularly thrilled by this.  Red is supposed to be armed with a fail-safe device, but once aboard the sub he effortlessly removes it and takes control of the operation.  We get a game of cat and mouse from here, where Red holds all the power but is also trapped under water.  While Storm and Wolverine contend with Omega Red on the sub, Xavier and Rogue coordinate how to stop it from below.  Rogue is able to ruin the sub, causing it to sink even further into a chasm, while Storm and Wolverine make their escape.  They disarm the nuclear warheads, and Omega Red is left stranded miles below sea level never to be seen again.

Aside from the absurd premise, the episode is all right and I always thought Omega Red made for a good visual on television.  It’s not a great episode by any stretch, which makes it easy to understand why there was no rush to get it to television.

Season 3 of X-Men is where things started to get murky in regards to what constitutes a season.  Many episodes were aired out of order, and some didn’t appear on television until season 4 started airing.  There was also more of a focus on mini series and two-parters with one-shot episodes mixed in.  There was less obvious continuity for these one-shots and most functioned as stand alone tales, with some referencing older episodes (such as the return of Morph in “Courage,” for example).  I personally felt a drop-off in terms of quality as there seemed to be less focus among the writing team.  Some episodes were character driven, some action, and some just served to show us an animated take on a comic book plot.  That said, on to the episodes!

Out of the Past (Part 1 and 2)

Season 3 began with a bang on prime time television with this episode.  I’m unsure of how much the episode draws from the comic books as the main villain here is an alien entity called the Spirit Drinker.  Whether he first appeared in the comics or was made up for the show, I cannot say.  I’m not even certain it has a gender, or a body.  It looks like it’s made up of light and is mostly transparent.  Kind of a bizarre villain.

The main attraction for viewers was the television debut of Lady Deathstrike.  Her origin was altered slightly to give her and Wolverine a romantic past (as if the guy didn’t have enough heart ache) but for the most part she’s the same as her comic counterpart, just with less cleavage (this is a kid’s show, after all).

Lady Deathstrike. The censors forced the animators to give her a white shirt to cover up that plunging v-neck.

The animation is different, though it did not pose a preview of things to come as this animation house was used sparingly by the series.  The colors are richer and there’s more motion from the characters, some needless, but overall it’s an improvement over the usual stiff animation present in the rest of the series.  Some coloring errors are made, such as Gambit’s cowl in the first part.  Wolverine looks especially bad ass and is practically a Jim Lee picture come to life.  It’s too bad the majority of the series couldn’t have a similar look.

Plot wise, the episodes are just okay.  As I mentioned, the Spirit Drinker is the main foe so while Deathstrike wants Wolverine’s head they have to do the classic unlikely allies routine to save the Morlocks.  The Spirit Drinker is freed from an alien spaceship by Wolverine and proceeds to eat the souls of the Morlocks and Deathstrike’s Reavers, before getting Jubilee as well.  Xavier has some sort of psychic meltdown that leads to him being able to read the alien writing on the ship to discover it’s actually a prison ship.  There’s a rather humorous scene where Xavier screams and just sounds rather odd doing so.

In the end, the X-Men work together and find a way to both hurt and kill the Spirit Drinker, while Xavier warns of the visions he received from the space craft and we’re left with an image of a burning earth with the phrase “Coming Soon – The Phoenix Saga!”

The Phoenix Saga (Parts 1 through 5)

A month after part 2 of “Out of the Past” aired, the promised Phoenix Saga debuted on week day afternoon television.  This was much appreciated as the saga is 5 episodes long, and waiting a week between episodes would have proved torturous.  That is, they would have if the saga was any good.

I never really liked the stories where the X-Men go cosmic.  Writer Cris Claremont on the other hand, loved that stuff and he was responsible for the arc in the comics.  “The Phoenix Saga” has always been less celebrated than it’s follow-up, “The Dark Phoenix Saga,” and with good reason.  This one is just less interesting.  We see the power of The Phoenix inhabit Jean early on after the X-Men return from a space mission (the sequence of the X-Men breaking into NASA is very reminiscent from their adventure in “Night of the Sentinels”) that Xavier sent them on for an unknown reason (even to him).  Phoenix seems pretty cool, but Jean soon passes out and we have to wait until the end of episode 3 to see her do anything again.

The TV audience gets introduced to some new faces from the comics in this series, mainly the Shi’ar.  Xavier meets his soul mate of sorts, Lilandra, and we also get to meet Banshee who’s now dating Moira.  Other cameos include Black Tom and the Shi’ar Imperial Guard, of which only Gladiator stands out.  He’s his usual mohawked, Superman knock-off self and is basically there to show us how powerful he is (by throwing the Juggernaut across the Atlantic) and then to show us how powerful Phoenix is (when she tosses him into orbit).

Probably the most interesting part of the arc occurs when the X-Men meet the Starjammers.  The space pirates are lead by Corsair, whom Jean discovers is actually Christopher Summers, the father of Cyclops.  Corsair is an interesting character because he’s easy to relate to.  The Shi’ar emperor murdered his wife, and he’ll risk the whole fate of the universe for revenge.

Cyclops is rounding first and heading for second!

Shi’ar Emperor D’Ken is the main antogonist.  He wants the sacred M’Kraan Crystal to unlock its powers and grant him immortality.  The Crystal, once unlocked, will destroy the universe but like most villains, D’Ken doesn’t seem to care about that minor technicality.  In atypical fashion though, D’Ken succeeds and gets all that he wanted and more.  In order to stop the Crystal from sucking the whole universe into its being, the Phoenix must seal it and bury it within the heart of the sun so that no mortal may ever reach it.  Doing so will apparently destroy Jean (even though Phoenix appears to be the embodiment of flame, but whatever), so we get a very teary farewell that also feels rather rushed.  It’s kind of odd that the conclusion of a plot that took up 5 episodes would be rushed, but just watch it.  Cyclops proves inconsolable back on earth once everything is wrapped up, and Lilandra is set to be crowned empress now that her brother D’Ken is gone, trapped within the M’Kraan Crystal for all eternity.  Xavier gives us a piece of foreshadowing when he reminds Cyclops that the Phoenix is known for rising from the ashes anew.  Wolverine says “Jean!” and cries, by now we’re all sick of hearing him say that.

Basically, I don’t care much for this saga.  The plot is just too “out there” for me and what could have been a great moment for the show (the death of Jean) was botched.  It didn’t help that hardly any of the future episodes dealt with Jean’s absence.  One would think losing someone like her would cast a black cloud over the team for at least a few episodes, but no.  And the one that dealt with this the most, “No Mutant is an Island,” was delayed until season 4!

No Mutant is an Island

This is that episode that was meant to deal with the fall out from The Phoenix Saga, but as I also mentioned, it wasn’t shown until season 4.  I don’t really know why, production delays are the given excuse, but it’s too bad as by the time it hit television it was both confusing and without impact.

Remember how I mentioned Cyclops, who didn’t get his own origin tale in season 2 like a lot of the X-Men did, would get his due in later seasons?  This is one of them.  In this episode Cyclops returns to the orphanage he was adopted from after leaving the X-Men.  His grief over Jean’s death has left him unfit to command (in his eyes) and this is where his heart takes him.  He reconnects with an old friend, Sarah, who is now in charge of the orphanage.  Sarah is teased as a potential love interest for Cyke, and if this show were made for adults it’s likely the two would have had at least a one-night stand where Cyclops seeks the comfort of an old friend in his time of need.

Sarah informs him that a wealthy local man has adopted all of the mutant children, and Cyclops meets the last of them, Rusty.  Cyclops doesn’t trust the motives of this gentleman, and of course, he’s proven right when it’s discovered the kids are being programmed to hate all humans by some crazed purple-skinned guy.

The plot kind of loses me once the kids take over.  It seems the episode would have been stronger had it focused solely on Cyclops but I understand the writers needed to put him in danger to prove the character could still function as a leader.  It works to some degree, though the main foe was pretty lame and seemed like a pretty weak threat.  At the end of the episode Cyclops, predictably, returns to the X-Men where he finds out that Xavier has found Jean, alive and on earth.

Obsession

Archangel will even risk destruction of the Statue of Liberty to get at Apocalypse.

Archangel returns for this one-shot.  We hadn’t heard from Warren Worthington since season 1 when Rogue freed him from Apocalypse’s control by sucking the evil out of him with her powers.  Here, as the title implies, we see an obsessive Archangel franticly searching for a way to destroy Apocalypse.  His researchers discover a lone scroll that indicates Apocalypse has a point of weakness on his back that Archangel eagerly sets out to exploit.  His tangles with Apocalypse gets the attention of the X-Men, who step in and prevent Apocalypse from destroying the blue-skinned mutant and take him back to the mansion.

Archangel is something less than grascious and he soon takes off to resume his fight, with Rogue in tow.  Rogue understands his pain because of the experiences she felt when touching him, and decides she has to help.  The four boys of the X-Men take off in pursuit as well, and the plot takes them to the ship of Apocalypse.  Beast establishes some weird bond with the ship’s AI, who assists him in setting a trap for Apocalypse.

Such a thing is impossible though, as Apocalypse proves he’s one step ahead by issuing an override command that forces the ship to abandon the trap.  He also reveals he planted that scroll for Archangel’s researchers to find, apparently just to screw with him.  Archangel goes ballistic, and the only casualty ends up being the ship leaving Beast in an odd state of mourning.  Archangel is still consumed with rage, and once Rogue insists it’s not the way for him to live, he feels abandoned and takes off.  The episode offers a welcome glimpse into the mind of the Archangel character.  At the end it made me wish we saw more from him, but alas, he goes into hiding until season 5.

Longshot

Another episode that got pushed to season 4, this was also another done by the Philippines animation studio that handled “Out of the Past.”  As a result, it looks great (though Wolverine’s hair is a bit outlandish), but the episode is a true dud.  Mojo’s episode in season 2 was one of my least favorites, and this one is no better.  Longshot, trying to escape from Mojo, ends up on earth.  He encounters Wolverine and Jubilee, who develops a crush on him (apparently she digs mullets) and gets herself involved in the conflict between he and Mojo.

The rest of the episode plays out like some bad reality TV game show, where the X-Men once again have to tangle with Mojo’s men in order to win the game and save the girl.  The predictable happens, and the less said the better.  Thankfully, this is the last we see of both Longshot and Mojo.

Cold Comfort

More awesome animation from the Philippines, and this time they get to animate for a story worth seeing.  I’ll admit, I’m biased towards this episode because Iceman was my favorite member of the X-Men growing up, so when the title of this episode displayed on the screen I geeked out like crazy.  It just had to refer to Iceman, and sure enough, within moments he makes his presence felt.

Here's Bobby!

Iceman is faithfully portrayed as a cocksure prick, and that’s why us Iceman fans love him.  He attacks some government base, which attracts the attention of the X-Men due to his mutant signature.  Xavier, Cyclops, Wolverine, and Beast go off to confront him, which leads to Iceman’s capture.  We get a nice piece of backstory, and the show acknowledges for the first time that the original X-Men consisted of Cyclops, Jean, Angel, Beast, and Iceman.  They also throw in Lorna Dane, aka Polaris, for the sake of the plot as we learn she and Iceman left the team to be together.  They also left because Iceman couldn’t get along with Cyclops and Xavier as their respective personalities clashed in a big way.  Iceman was the youngest and most chid-like of the group, and Xavier was unable to reach him.

Jubilee learns all of this, and then overhears Iceman telling Beast he’s just trying to find Lorna, who disappeared not long ago leaving behind a trashed house.  Iceman fears the worst, but Beast and the X-Men won’t let him go until they know more.  Jubilee is sympathetic and springs him loose, she also has a crush on him (probably a good thing that this episode and “Longshot” aired out of order given the overlap in plot) and tags along as they go after another government building.

Here they meet X-Factor; Havok, Strong Guy, Wolfsbane, Quicksilver, and Multiple Man.  The boys show up and we get a little X-Men vs X-Factor action where the X-Men demonstrate their superior tactical abilities.  Forge soon shows himself and explains to Xavier that he set this whole thing up as a means of testing his new team.  X-Factor is a mutant super group formed by the government to deal with mutant issues.  Lorna also shows up and we find out she left Iceman of her own will, and has also fallen in love with Havok.  The writers also teased the audience by showing how Havok and Cyclops are immune to each other’s powers.  That’s a trait common to mutant siblings, but apparently the two of them are unable to put two and two together.

In the end, like most cameo characters, Iceman is offered a place on the team but declines.  At least his reasons are mostly logical when he remarks he’d just piss everyone off within an hour (not his actual words).  Jubilee is bummed, and so am I, as Iceman rides off into the sunset.  Unfortunately, “Cold Comfort” would be the only episode to feature the arctic mutant but it’s one more than Thunderbird got!

In the previous entry I said I was in no rush to finish these, but I’m feeling inspired today so I’m posting this just one day after the last.  This also is the final entry for season 2.  After this season, the show becomes a little less focused and some production delays screw up the continuity, but that’s all stuff reserved for future posts.

Beauty and The Beast

Beast with his beloved Carly.

This is the last episode for season 2 that deals specifically with one character.  While the other episodes in this format mostly gave us origin tales, this one chooses to focus on how difficult it is to be a mutant with a physical abnormality.  This one, as the titles alludes, is about Beast.  At this time in the series, Beast was still kind of an unknown character for a lot of viewers due to his incarceration for the majority of season 1.  He had some lines in previous season 2 episodes but was always more of a background character.  This episode shows that Beast is more than just the smart, fuzzy one.  His mutant powers made him one of the more boring X-Men, but this episode proves there’s a lot of depth hidden under that blue exterior.

Beast is also the only member of the team who has a job beyond being a member of the X-Men.  He’s a doctor, and a surgeon apparently, and he’s been working on a cure for a type of blindness at a local hospital.  The patient about to undergo his experimental procedure is a woman by the name of Carly.  The show is not so subtle in showing us that there’s a mutual affection shared between the two characters and we worry for Beast and how Carly may receive him once her vision is restored.

The Friends of Humanity, finding out a mutant works at the hospital, stage a violent protest outside forcing Beast to intervene and save Carly.  This gets the attention of the X-Men and Wolverine, in particular.  He lets Cyclops know that he’ll handle the FoH “delicately” and takes off.  Meanwhile, back at the hospital, we find out Carly’s father is a bigot and demands Beast be kept away from his daughter.  Beast reluctantly agrees though Carly is heart-broken.  If the episode has one fault, it’s that Carly’s father is portrayed a little too over the top.  We could empathize with him since Beast’s mere presence does put Carly in danger, but his complaints to the hospital staff are more of the “he’s a filthy mutant” variety.

Following Beast’s removal from the surgery, we get a look at him in a vulnerable state.  Jean tries to console him, but he can’t be reached.  Throughout the series Beast is portrayed as a good-natured and easy-going individual.  The insults his appearance attracts are always brushed aside and even in combat he appears rather gentle.  Here he’s down and laments the unfairness his appearance brings and is even moved to tears.  He confirms his love for Carly to Jean and the viewing audience, and vows to protect her by staying away, to which Jean responds “Maybe you should let her decide.”

After his self-confidence returns, Beast shows up at the hospital to see the results of Carly’s surgery.  It was a success, and she is delighted to finally see her beloved Hank but her father soon ruins everything.  As Beast takes his leave, the FoH strike and abduct Carly sending Beast into a rage.  He leaves, not before scolding Carly’s father, and tells him he’s going after her and he better come with him if he wants to see her alive again.

Creed's a jerk.

Meanwhile, Wolverine has gone undercover as John Logan to infiltrate the FoH base we saw back in the first episode of season 2.  Sporting an A’s cap (I’m not sure if this means Wolverine is a fan of the A’s or that A’s fans hate mutants), Wolverine makes it look like a mutant beat him up and left him for dead outside the building.  The FoH, naturally, take him in where he plays up his hatred of mutants for their leader, Graydon Creed.  Wolverine apparently feels like he knows Creed, and says he may have worked with his old man mining in Kentucky, to which Creed responds by informing him his family all lived in Canada.  “So was I, bub,” is Wolverine’s remark to himself as the scene changes.

The X-Men have been summoned by Beast to help him deal with the FoH, Wolverine also requests they bring the portable Cerebro projector.  Wolverine reveals himself to Creed and frees Carly, while Beast arrives and goes on a rampage that leaves him in a sad state, forcing Wolverine to haul him out in a visually amusing way.  Just as things look bleak, Cyclops, Jean, and Jubilee arrive with the projector that projects a holographic image of Sabretooth with a narrated biography.  Creed loses it, as everyone is informed of Sabretooth’s birth name; Graydon Creed Senior (I can forgive the writers for changing Sabretooth’s name from Victor to Graydon for the ease of simplicity).  Upon hearing this stunning news, the FoH back off and leave Creed to his own madness.

Beast and Carly then have a teary farewell.  Despite Jean’s suggestion to let Carly decide what to do, Beast takes it upon himself to inform her it’s too dangerous for them to be together, and reluctantly, she goes along with it.  Her father shows up again but this time to shake Beast’s hand and thank him for all that he’s done for his daughter.  This, in a way, closes the book on the mutants rights angle of the show as the FoH would only reappear one more time in a much later season.  It’s too bad, because I always felt that was a strength of the program but maybe the writers felt they could never top this episode, and there’s a good chance they were right.  “Beauty and The Beast” may be a bit melodramatic, but it’s very good at what it does.  One of the show’s best.

Mojovision

Perhaps the writers felt the last two episodes were a bit too weighty and needed to lighten the mood.  Enter Mojo, the X-Men’s outer-dimensional slapstick villain.  Mojo is a television producer from another world with a grotesque appearance and a thirst for ratings.  Feeling his current show starring Longshot (with an odd cameo from Psylocke) is slipping, Mojo seeks new stars which leads him to earth and the X-Men.

The bulbous one himself, Mojo.

While shopping for a new TV, the X-Men are soon graced by Mojo’s appearance who offers them a show on his network.  The X-Men are appropriately confused and uninterested, which just pisses Mojo off and he sends the six-armed Spiral to retrieve the mutants.  Six X-Men are brought to Mojo’s universe:  Cyclops, Jean, Wolverine, Beast, Rogue, and Storm.  Jubilee is shown in at least one shot but that appears to be just a continuity error.  The X-Men are then inserted into Mojo’s television products where they battle with some androids in a danger room like arena.  Cyclops and Storm are up first as they find themselves in a Miami Vice type setting, only without the pastels.  They get overwhelmed and then Beast and Rogue are tossed into a spaceship that ends up getting sent into the sun.  Jean and Wolverine are thrown into a city battling with more droids where Jean uses her telekinetic powers to overtake the controls and free the X-Men.  Mojo throws a tantrum, and the X-Men escape.  We get a couple of lessons about how violence should not be a form of entertainment, but it sounds rather hollow coming from a super hero action cartoon that certainly makes use of some violence to stay popular.

I’ve never liked Mojo, so I’m biased going into this episode.  I prefer the real world setting for the X-Men, and this is anything but that.  I’m just glad it was only a one-shot, but it does derail some of season 2’s momentum, even though another Xavier/Magneto snippet is included at the end as the two witness the power of Sauron.  At least it’s more entertaining than “Whatever It Takes.”

Reunion (Parts 1 and 2)

After giving us bits and pieces of Xavier and Magneto in the Savage Land and teasing more encounters with Sinister, everything comes to a head in this two-part season finale.  Magneto and Xavier did well to avoid the mutates for this long, but eventually find themselves captured when they team up with a local named Ka-Zar to free his people.  Ka-Zar does not have any love for Magneto, and blames him for the Savage Land’s state as we learn he created the mutates long ago.  They raid his former citadel, but Xavier and Magneto get captured and Ka-Zar is forced to flee.

Meet Ka-Zar, he's anything but bashful.

Meanwhile, the Cyclops, Jean, and Wolverine are off looking for Morph following a distressful sounding voice message from the shape-shifter.  Wolverine vows to bring him home and hurt whomever is after Morph.  They find him working in a one-man play of Jekyll and Hyde where his mutant powers create a stirring performance.  The X-Men confront him after the show, and after playing dumb a moment, he warns them to stay away because “He” is always watching.  Morph’s warnings end up being not without merit, as Sinister and the Nasty Boys strike leading to the capture of Jean Grey.  Morph slips into his evil Morph persona and departs with Sinister.

Back at the Savage Land, it’s revealed that Sinister is whom the mutates have been referring to as Master.  This comes as something less than a shock but it’s appropriate.  He reveals his machine that enhances mutant powers by taking from others.  He uses the machine to amplify Vertigo’s powers via Magneto.  Sauron then shows up and uses his hypnotic powers to coerce Xavier into sending a false distress call to the X-Men to lure them into a trap.  The X-Men aren’t dumb though, and can tell something is wrong, but they head off anyway, all except Jubilee.

As part 2 begins, the X-Men arrive in the Savage Land and find that they’re without powers.  The mutates attack almost immediately along with the Nasty Boys and are able to overwhelm the powerless X-Men rather easily.  Only Wolverine is able to escape, as he is quick to point out there’s nothing mutant about his adamantium claws, though how he survives a tumble down a waterfall is anyone’s guess.

Much to no one's surprise, it turns out that the Master is actually Mr. Sinister.

As a result of the confrontation, it falls on Wolverine to same his comrades and he soon comes in contact with Ka-Zar.  The two decide to team up, after fighting a little, and head for the citadel.  The predictable happens and in a way it mirrors the conclusion of “Till Death Do Us Part 2” in that the X-Men tangle with the bad guys, and Morph overcomes Sinister’s control when someone tells him he’s still a member of the X-Men.  Sinister gets blown into a million pieces and tossed into the sea.  This isn’t enough to kill him, but it should keep him out of commission for a while.

Magneto and Charles bid farewell, and we find out that Xavier intends to remove the device Sinister implanted within Morph though he warns that the psychological damage could take years to undo.  This is code for “don’t expect to see Morph a member of the team going forward” much to everyone’s chagrin.

In the end, it’s a satisfying way to wrap up a season-long plot, though some of it did feel a little too similar to the previous season finale and the events of the season’s opening plot.  It’s a good action packed finale though, and following it we would see very little of both Magneto and Mr. Sinister going forward.  This makes sense with Magneto considering the human/mutant conflict would be de-emphasized making his character unnecessary as a villain.  The writers must have just felt burnt out with Sinister, as his future appearances are mostly of the henchman variety.

I’ve said it a few times now, but I’ll say it once more:  season 2 is either the best season for the show or the runner-up to season 1.  It’s quite good as a character study.  It’s less action oriented than other seasons but there’s a lot of depth here that’s uncommon for a kid’s show.  Even today when I watch these episodes I’m left with a sense of satisfaction at their conclusion.  Since the show was so limited in what it could in regards to fight scenes, it made a lot of sense for the writers to focus on character development over intense battles.  There’s a lot of good stuff in later seasons, but this was undeniably the show’s peak and one of the best comic to TV adaptations ever.

Hopefully there aren’t people out there eagerly anticipating my reviews for the X-Men animated series because I’m sure taking my time in making these entries.  It’s been almost a month since my last entry on the subject, but I’m in no rush.  This entry continues on with the next few episodes of season 2, one of the shows strongest seasons it would have.  The further into the season the show travels, the more character specific the episodes get.  This next one deals with everyone’s favorite Canadian:

Repo Man

Vindicator (also known as Guardian in the comics) and Alpha Flight make their first and only appearance of the series in "Repo Man."

Wolverine’s past catches up with him a lot, as it did in the previous episode “Red Dawn,” but here the show gives the viewers its first glimpse into Wolverine’s origin.  Early in the episode, Wolverine is set up in the Canadian wilderness into thinking he’s to meet a friend named Heather only to be ambushed by Alpha Flight.  Alpha Flight was never a popular comic for Marvel, so to put it simply, Alpha Flight is the Canadian version of the Avengers.  We find out Wolverine was once a member and that the team seeks to bring him back.  Lead by Vindicator, the team attacks Wolverine only to find him a more than formidable match.  Once the word “lab” is mentioned, a flashback is triggered showing us how Wolverine came to possess his adamantium skeleton.

The flashback gives us as much detail as can be permitted on a Saturday morning cartoon.  Anyone who read the “Weapon X” one-shot knows that it was originally filled with a brutal and bloody rampage by Wolverine that obviously can’t be depicted here.  Wolverine was also naked and feral and here he’s shown a little more aware of what’s going on, though still pretty pissed off.  It accomplishes the same goal.

Wolverine is eventually subdued by Alpha Flight (not even Wolverine can take on a whole squad of super heroes) and we find out Department H (the organization behind Alpha Flight) is after Wolverine’s skeleton.  We then get introduced to the Heather character, wife of Vindicator (James), and treated to another flashback from when Wolverine came upon the couple after escaping the lab.  While the two tag a deer, Wolverine attacks but gets a couple of rounds of tranquilizers (Fox wasn’t going to permit shotguns for obvious reasons) imbedded in his shoulder and as he goes down we get a montage of Wolverine gaining his sanity.  We then see him putting on the yellow and blue for the first time and taking the name Wolverine.

Apparently everyone at Department H is still sore about Wolverine’s defection.  The rest of the team is well-meaning and was lead to believe Wolverine was going to re-join the team.  The man in charge though, Jason,  intends to extract his skeleton by any means necessary in order to find out how the procedure could be duplicated.  Obviously, this would mean the end for old Wolverine and most everyone comes to their senses and helps Wolverine off the carving station.  Vindicator never comes around, but when Wolverine has him pinned and readies a killing blow he relents as a favor to Heather.  He closes by letting everyone else know they’re not friends and that he’s never coming back.  Hard to blame the guy for being rubbed the wrong way.

Overall, this is an effective way to tell Wolverine’s tale.  It also keeps the other X-Men out of the story so that they continue to remain in the dark about what he’s been through in his past.  As a result, we don’t see much of the others save for one brief scene and a little snippet of Magneto and Xavier as they escape from the mutate Vertigo.  This is also a good Wolverine episode as he’s portrayed in a manner I think most people prefer.  That is as a gruff and tough fighter with a couple of good one-liners.  This would also be Alpha Flight’s only appearance on the show, which is probably a good thing.

X-Ternally Yours

It’s kind of surprising that the creators of the show would give the two biggest fan favorites back to back episodes.  I’m of course referring to Wolverine and Gambit, and after getting Wolverine’s back story in the previous episode we’re treated to Gambit’s here.  Though I’m not sure treated is the right word.

The inspiration for this episode undoubtedly came from the plot contained in this book but was altered severely to fit the Saturday morning guidelines.

The episode begins well enough with Gambit getting a cryptic phone call that spooks him so much he accidentally lets Cyclops get wasted in the Danger Room.  He informs the team he has to leave because someone is going to kill his brother.  Rogue, Jean, and Wolverine end up giving chase and Gambit’s trail leads them down into the Louisiana bayou.  Here a battle has been waging for years between the Thieves and Assassins guilds.  Apparently, Gambit is a former member of the Thieves Guild and at one time was engaged to the assassin, Bella Donna.  Bella Donna trades Gambit’s brother Bobby for Gambit’s hand in marriage, which of course is not what it seems.  When Gambit places the wedding band on his finger, he finds that Bella Donna holds some power over it that’s able to subdue him.  The members of the X-Men that went after him arrive and tangle with some thieves and we get a cool shot of Wolverine wedging a thief’s head between two claws in a threatening manner.

Unfortunately, from here things get kind of silly.  The assassins and thieves pay tribute to some god-like entity by presenting it with a tithe every ten years.  This being bestows powers on the guild that honors it in the most appropriate way.  Break the covenant, and lose your life.  Bella Donna sets up the thieves with a fake tithe and intends to get the thieves exterminated.  The X-Men are able to foil the plot when Jean reveals the double cross to the External using her telepathic powers and Bella Donna is stripped of her powers, her life spared at the request of Gambit.

I rarely like it when the X-Men goes too sci-fi with its plots, and this is a case of that.  This plot with the being the External, to my knowledge, has no basis in the comic canon and I’m not certain where the idea sprung from.  The writers clearly felt the guild wars as they appeared in the comic were too violent for Saturday morning and needed a new plot device, but I think they could have done better.  It’s not season two’s worst episode, but it’s in the conversation.

Time Fugitives (Parts 1 and 2)

“Time Fugitives” brings back everyone’s favorite time traveling mutant from season one, Bishop, and also gives us a more comic accurate depiction of the mutant Cable.  It’s a two-parter (come to think of it, I don’t think Bishop has any one-shots) where the first part is Cable watching the events of the first episode, and in the second he tries to rectify it.

The basic plot is that Bishop returned to the future following “Days of Future Past” to find it unchanged.  The Sentinels were no longer in power, but a mutant plague is affecting the population and killing millions.  Forge sends Bishop back to find out its origins and put a stop to it.

The plague is depicted in a similar visual fashion to Apocalypse's techno-organic virus from the comics, though its properties are different.

In the present, the plague is just starting to show itself and the Friends of Humanity are claiming mutants carry the plague and must be quarantined.  The X-Men’s resident chemist Beast, is asked to speak on the subject at a hearing where Graydon Creed intends to infect Beast with the plague, only to get stopped by Bishop.  In order to put on a spectacle for the television cameras, Creed infects himself and flees the scene.  The X-Men are able to pick up on this while watching a taping of the event, and follow Creed to a hideout where the true cause of the plague is revealed:  Apocalypse.

His motives are not entirely clear, but Apocalypse has long sought the destruction of all humankind so a fatal disease is within the realm of plausibility for the character.  Creed is disheartened to learn he was duped by a mutant, to which Apocalypse gives us this great quote, “I am as far beyond mutants, as they are beyond you!”

The X-Men destroy his plague, but an angry Apocalypse ends up destroying the X-Men.  This causes a temporal storm, which is displayed as a bunch of tornadoes in Cable’s time that will re-write history.  Cable possesses some kind of omniscient computer that looks like a piece of quartz that tells him all of this, and episode one ends with him struggling with the notion that in order to save his world, he has to help Apocalypse destroy a past one.

"The name's Cable - remember it!"

Episode two takes Cable and inserts him into the events of episode one.  Initially, it is suggested by his computer that killing Bishop will accomplish his goal, but Cable is reluctant to kill someone he considers a good man.  He tries reasoning, but Bishop isn’t buying it, and soon shows up at the hearing where Beast is attacked.  Before this, he’s shown going through some files on the X-Men (he notes that he’s familiar with Cyclops and Jean Grey), and has the computer stop on Wolverine for an unannounced reason.  At the hearing, he makes a B-line for Wolverine and teleports the two out of there.  The same events unfold as the previous episode with the X-Men stumbling upon Apocalypse’s lab.  This time Cable and Wolverine show up and Cable allows Wolverine to get infected with the plague virus.  Bishop is shown enraged, thinking Cable just killed him, but Wolverine’s healing powers soon cure him.  Cable informs Apocalypse that they now have the anti-bodies to cure his plague, frustrated, Apocalypse leaves as the X-Men destroy the lab.

As I mentioned in the first paragraph, I like that this episode gives us a more comic accurate portrait of Cable.  He’s first shown fighting Apocalypse in the distant future, and while in the past it’s revealed the Cable is the son of Cyclops and Jean.  The show never explains how Cable came to exist, in this episode or any future ones, but at least it is no longer ignoring the character’s back story like it did in season one.  Bishop proves once again to be a fun character, he’s a well-meaning hot head whose a little bit of a screw up.  I’m in favor of any episode that works in the Friends of Humanity, and the writers prove once again that they have a good grasp on the Apocalypse character.  If I have one complaint, it’s that Apocalypse just kind of gives up and leaves at the end of part 2 with no explanation put forth as to why he wouldn’t simply take out the X-Men as he had in part 1.  Regardless, this is another good time travel tale that rivals the first.

A Rogue’s Tale

After taking a few episodes off, Sinister once again makes his presence felt by setting up the events in "A Rogue's Tale."

After taking a bit of a diversion with the “Time Fugitives” two-parter, season 2 returns to the character study format and gives us this episode which details Rogue’s back story.  Mystique is seen early on meeting with a shadowed Mr. Sinister who reveals to her Xavier’s absence allowing her an opening to take back her daughter.  This leads to a confrontation between the X-Men and Mystique’s New Brotherhood, where a chance encounter with a blond girl sends Rogue into a frenzy.

Tormented by visions of this girl, Rogue goes berserk back at the mansion.  The specter claims she took her life and informs Rogue where she can find her and silence her.  Rogue soon ends up at a hospital and finds the girl in a coma.  No one knows her identity.  Mystique is there to torment Rogue further, and at her encouragement, Rogue absorbs her powers and memories triggering a flashback.

Poor Ms. Marvel...

In the flashback, we find out how Rogue came to know Mystique.  After taking in the runaway, Mystique exploited Rogue’s powers in a confrontation with the heroine Ms. Marvel.  The flying and seemingly indestructible Ms. Marvel found herself locked in Rogue’s energy draining grasp.  At Mystique’s command, Rogue was ordered not to let go despite her pleas to do otherwise, and the end result left Ms. Marvel in a coma and Rogue with her powers permanently.  Ms. Marvel’s persona was also trapped in Rogue’s mind, and seeing that Mystique could not help her, she fled and soon found Charles Xavier who would help seal away Ms. Marvel and put an end to Rogue’s torment.

Now, as a result of Mystique’s mind games, Ms. Marvel’s persona was free and with Mystique’s shape-changing powers now absorbed by Rogue, her persona is able to take full control of body and mind.  Jean intervenes, and together the two battle in Rogue’s mind.  The viewer is left with a series of conflicted emotions.  The heroine Ms. Marvel was only doing her duty when she first encountered a young Rogue, and the fate that befell her was unfortunate and unjust.  However, we’ve come to know Rogue to be a hero herself and it’s tough to root against her.  Ms. Marvel (revealed to be Carol Danvers), is shown as both angry and sad as she screams at Rogue “You stole my life!” with tears streaming down her face.  She wants revenge, and justifiably so, and when Jean’s attempts to calm her spirit prove ineffective, she and Rogue find a way to seal her away once again.

Rogue is understandably torn up, and tells Mystique she’ll never be her daughter again.  Despite her villainous ways, it’s hard not to feel some sympathy for Mystique as Rogue flies off and leaves her behind once more.  In the end, Rogue is shown visiting the still comatose Ms. Marvel at the hospital and informs a nurse that her name is Carol Danvers.  As Rogue departs, a tiny smile creases the face of Ms. Danvers just before the credits roll on an extremely satisfying episode of X-Men.

Season one of the animated series X-Men was a great success for both Marvel and Fox Kids.  It was the highest rated program on Saturday Morning in its target demographic and thus was renewed for a second season.  Its reign as a rating’s top dog would be short-lived, thanks to a new kid’s show called Power Rangers, but its new-found status of second place had nothing to do with a dip in quality.  Far from it, actually, as season 2 would prove to be every bit as good as season 1, if not better.

Season 1 had a narrative structure that involved linking all of the episodes together, rather than having them all be stand-alone in nature.  This may have made it a little challenging for viewers to jump right in mid-season, but was rewarding for those who latched on from episode one.  Season 2 kept this format, but augmented it slightly.  Season 1 chose to introduce villains every few episodes, where as season 2 opts to focus more on the X-Men individually.  Most of the characters get their own episode that details their back story.  In Rogue’s episode we learn how she joined the X-Men, with Gambit we learn about his involvement with the thieves’ guild, and so on.  Cyclops and Jean are the only two who do not get this treatment.  Jean ends up being a big player in subsequent seasons while Cyclops will have a few episodes dedicated to him down the road.

The one narrative piece linking all of the episodes together involves Xavier and Magneto’s trials in the Savage Land, a place time forgot located in Antarctica.  They would receive a few minutes either at the end or beginning of an episode as they tangle with dinosaurs and try to avoid the Savage Land’s mutates, all while trying to uncover who the mysterious Leader is.  The villain Mr. Sinister would also play a large role in season 2 as he shows up in several episodes.  Sinister was still a some-what new villain for the comics and his inclusion would really benefit the character.  The other major villain would be the Friends of Humanity.  With Senator Kelly now president, the mutants needed a new human villain.  This organization would prove to be the KKK of mutant hating.  Lead by the merciless Graydon Creed, the FoH made life miserable for the X-Men in season 2 and were a big part of several episodes.  Their inclusion helped keep the civil rights aspect of the show in the forefront.

Till Death Do Us Part (Parts 1 and 2)

Evil Morph

For weeks before season 2 began airing, Fox teased fans with commercials featuring the big return of Morph, and this two-part story did not disappoint.  Morph was back and revealed right away to the viewing audience, but not to the X-Men.  The once cheerful mutant was now bitter.  It was soon revealed that Morph had developed two personalities; the happy-go-lucky persona we saw in “Night of the Sentinels” and a new, evil one.  This new one was depicted as having yellowish skin and black circles around his eyes.  He looked a little more gaunt as well, making him a sort-of zombie Morph.  He’s angry with the X-Men for leaving him to die at the Mutant Registration Compound, and he’s going to use his shape-shifting powers to get back at each member of the X-Men.  He first tricks Cyclops and Jean into thinking they’ve been married by a legitimate priest before sending them off on a honeymoon.  He sends Xavier to Antarctica by posing as a dying Magneto.  Jubilee is sent off to the Friends of Humanity headquarters (“That’s for thinking you could replace me!”), Gambit is duped into kissing Rogue (and being knocked unconscious by her energy draining powers), Storm ends up getting shot by police, and Rogue is pissed at Beast (they got off easy) for thinking he was going to back Storm up.

All the while the Friends of Humanity try to make life bad for mutants.  Creed hires someone to pose as a mutant and wreck up the place where President Kelly is giving a speech.  They’re able to provoke Wolverine, Gambit, and Beast into a fight and capture some unflattering images of the recently pardoned Beast for inclusion on the evening news.  This results in Wolverine storming off to take care of them on his own, which leads him to the FoH headquarters where Jubilee is being held and the two bust out.

The main baddie of season 2, Mr. Sinister.

Morph, of course, is eventually outed as the perpetrator of all of this mischief when Wolverine’s nose picks up his scent while he’s masquerading as Xavier.  He escapes the mansion and the X-Men follow him to a secluded island, a base for Mr. Sinister, and we see just what happened the night Morph died.  Cyclops and Jean are being held prisoner, and the X-Men show up to tangle with Sinister’s Nasty Boys.  We get some good action here, as the Nasty Boys possess some unique powers (and some not unique) that give the X-Men some trouble.  Of course, Morph comes to his senses and ends up saving the day by (inadvertently) freeing Cyclops from his restraints, who takes care of the rest.

The episode ends with the bad guys getting away and Morph taking off as well, much to Wolverine’s disappointment.  The episode does a good job of introducing Sinister as a puppet master who is both formidable in combat and behind the scenes.  The inclusion of Morph is pulled off in a respectable way as well.  Most of the time I despise it when writers bring characters back from the dead, but this one works, especially when one considers it was always kind of odd that a Sentinel blast could kill an X-Man.  The episode also concludes with Xavier and Magneto’s reunion and the two, thinking each had been invited by the other, are soon caught in an avalanche.  Xavier’s premonition of “I sense something sinister,” kind of ruins the whole mystery of who’s behind the Savage Land mutates that the writers try to perpetuate throughout the season, but it’s easily forgiven.  As a kid, I was disappointed Morph did not rejoin the X-Men at the episode’s conclusion.  As an adult,  I’m disappointed he was, more or less, freed from Sinister’s control as evil Morph was a very entertaining villain throughout the two episodes.

Whatever It Takes

The Shadow King, quite possibly the worse X-Men villain to appear in the animated series.

The first character to get their own special episode is Storm.  We learn that Storm has a foster son in Africa, and a disturbance in the astral plane discovered by Cerebro sends Storm and Rogue off to investigate.  The episode also introduces the Savage Land, a tropical oasis in Antarctica where many prehistoric creatures still roam.  Magneto and Xavier find themselves trapped here and strangely their mutant powers have vanished.  Along with that, Xavier is also able to walk again.  Magneto informs Xavier he is familiar with this land, but it never had such properties before.  They tangle with some dinosaurs and basically set the stage for what will end up being a season’s long adventure.

Wolverine has a side-story where he’s chasing after Morph through the jungles of South America.  He finds Morph, who has used his shape-shifting powers to assimilate himself with the locals, and the two tangle in a mine shaft.  Morph delights the audience with a couple of cameo transformations including Maverick and Deadpool as he attempts to harm Wolverine psychologically.  Eventually, Morph backs off and slips into his “good Morph” persona pleading with Wolverine to let him get through this by himself.  Wolverine, begrudgingly, acquiesces  to his friend’s wishes.

Sadly, the minor side story is the most compelling, as Storm and Rogue’s exploits in Africa are not.  The Shadow King is the one behind the rip in the astral plane, and he has targeted Storm’s surrogate son Mjnari in order to lure her back to Africa.  It is revealed that Storm once served the Shadow King in her youth as a pick pocket.  Xavier sealed the Shadow King away in the astral plane, a realm the most powerful psychics are able to access, destroying his physical body.  He possesses Mjnari, and then eventually Storm as she offers herself to him in order to spare her son.  Rogue is kind of just along for the ride as her brawn is not able to touch the Shadow King’s corporeal form.  Mjanri ends up finding a way to lure the Shadow King back into the astral plane, and the portal between the two worlds closes, sealing him away once more.  The whole thing is kind of silly and predictable, the end result being season 2’s worst episode.  At least they got it out of the way early.

Red Dawn

A new villain for the '90's: Omega Red

Season 2’s fourth episode is one of the few not to feature significant back-story or character details about one of the X-Men, and that’s because it chooses to introduce a new villain:  Omega Red.  Omega Red was a very new villain to the comics and one that caught on with audiences pretty quickly, mostly because of his look and because he was a new villain for Wolverine.  Red was born from the Soviet equivalent of the Weapon X project.  His back-story isn’t explained in great detail, just that he was the Soviet’s ultimate weapon and Wolverine lead a team that helped, in his words, put Omega Red back on ice.  Armed with retractable carbonadium coils (an indestructible metal similar to adamantium) that drain the life from his victims, Red is unfrozen by a corrupt Soviet regime looking to take back the country.

Naturally, this presents an opportunity to bring Colossus back into the fold.  Colossus helps Jubilee deal with some Friends of Humanity goons who are harassing a convenience store owner.  He tells Jubilee he has come seeking the X-Men’s help in dealing with Omega Red.  The X-Men aren’t home, so Jubilee leaves a note and the two head off to Russia to combat Omega Red.  Wolverine arrives home soon after from his exploits in South America, and promptly crushes the note while growling “Omega Red” and bad ass music plays as he stalks off to the hangar.

Back in Russia, Colossus and Omega Red face-off, with Wolverine soon joining the party.  We learn about their back-story, while Omega Red handles the threat effortlessly.  The battle is broken up, and the rest of the X-Men soon arrive.  Together, they battle Red and Storm’s mastery of the cold freezes Omega Red once more.  The character Dark Star, once an ally of the old regime, assists in taking down Red and she also apprehends those responsible for bringing him back.  Colossus once again is offered a place with the team, but he declines saying his place is with his family.  Unfortunately, this episode is the last to feature the brawny metal mutant.  A good almost one-shot for Omega Red (I say almost because he does get a return episode) and a way to keep the series topical with the comic books.

The Cure

Rogue takes center stage in "The Cure."

I talked about this plot in my review of X-Men: The Last Stand.  It’s an excellent story line for the X-Men and works especially well with X-Men the animated series because of its focus on the Rogue character.  The cure refers to a cure for mutants and raises all kinds of social issues when extended to the real world.  If there was a “cure,” for example, for homosexuality would some homosexuals want to take it?  Never mind the outrage from certain parties if anything like that was ever referred to as a cure.

For the X-Men, the existence of such a cure brings about a mixed response.  There’s the outraged part displayed by Wolverine, while Cyclops is more empathetic.  These reactions make sense considering the characters.  Wolverine’s mutant healing ability and sharp senses only give him an advantage over other individuals.  Cyclops, on the other hand, can’t open his eyes unless they’re protected by ruby lenses.  It must suck only seeing the world in shades of red, plus imagine the expense of having to replace a pair of busted glasses!

Rogue, rather predictably, ends up being the member of the team most interested in a cure as her powers prevent her from having skin to skin contact with another person.  Her sexual frustration must be unmatched, considering she surrounds herself with beautiful people who prefer to wear skin-tight spandex.

Xavier is the one who relays the message from Muir Island, which is the reason for his presence there.  A Dr. Adler is the one claiming to have a cure, and Xavier wanted to investigate though his psychic powers warn him of a great danger.  Rogue takes off to investigate on her own, where she ends up tangling with the villains Pyro (given an accurate Australian accent) and Avalanche, who both previously had made cameos in the episode “Slave Island.”  Cable also gets involved, and Angel has a small part as well.  He is depicted in his X-Men red and white uniform, but makes no mention of ever being a member of the team.  The episode forces Rogue to consider her life and what she would be giving up if she did not have her powers.  As with most of the season one episodes, the main plot is wrapped up but a teaser ending is inserted, this one featuring the menacing Apocalypse.  All in all, this is one of the better episodes from season one from a writing standpoint and ends up being far more successful in its handling of the cure plot device than the film.  If it has one failing, it’s with the Angel character who is revealed to be funding Dr. Adler’s project as he wishes to be normal.  His mutation grants him flight through the presence of two feathered wings on his back, it seems like if he wished to be normal he could just have them amputated.  I feel like this could have easily been resolved if someone just asked him and he said they always grow back or something, but I suppose I’m being nit-picky.

Come the Apocalypse

Apocalypse as he appeared in the animated series.

Given how the previous episode ended, it’s no surprise this one would properly introduce Apocalypse to the animated universe.  This episode marks the first time the X-Men tangle with Apocalypse, both on and off-screen.  Apocalypse is referred to by Xavier as a mutant driven completely mad by his own powers, where as Apocalypse is quick to point out to a human that he is “as far beyond mutants as they are beyond you.”

Apocalypse was revealed to be the one behind Dr. Adler’s cure.  Adler was revealed in the last episode to be the shape-shifting mutant Mystique, and we find out in this episode the machine that supposedly cures mutants actually turns them into slaves of Apocalypse.  After first using the machine on Angel, Mystique disguises herself as his alter ego Warren Worthington to convince some locals the cure works, which leads to three no-named characters submitting to the process giving Apocalypse his four horsemen: War, Pestilence, Plague, and Death.  Angel is now Death, and referred to as Archangel, and Apocalypse unleashes his horsemen on Washington.

The X-Men are forced to respond and the episode is a fairly action oriented one.  They’re able to drive Apocalypse off when Rogue absorbs Archangel’s powers and, in her words, takes the evil away that Apocalypse created.  Archangel thanks the X-Men but sets off on his own at the episode’s conclusion.

The Four Horsemen of Apocalypse.

Apocalypse is portrayed well, and the plot allowed the writers to work in the Archangel character through Apocalypse even though the character’s motivations were the opposite of his comic book counterpart (who sought out Apocalypse’s help to regain his wings).  Apocalypse is portrayed faithfully, though for some reason the creative minds behind the show chose to give him a purple and blue color scheme instead of the black and blue one from the comics.  I definitely find this color scheme off-putting but I suppose the complaint is superficial.  The only real hole with the episode, and most episodes dealing with Apocalypse, is the resolution.  Apocalypse is shown as being indestructible in many scenes, and whenever he flees it seems superficial.  He appears capable of completely annihilating the X-Men but never does.

Days of Future Past (Parts 1 and 2)

Bishop

Season one’s second two-parter takes the popular story from the comic book and attempts to adapt it for the television cartoon.  The end result is a story that has the same basic premise, but differs pretty drastically from the original.  In the comic, the central character was Kitty Pryde which obviously presents an instant obstacle since she isn’t a part of this version of the X-Men.  Kitty mentally travels back in time and inhabits her younger counterpart, here the character Bishop is used in her place and he literally travels back in time.  We’re shown his future world where the Sentinels are in charge of everything.  Bishop is a mutant working as a tracker for the Sentinels who hunts down renegade mutants.  Wolverine, the sole remaining X-Man, is his most recent capture.  When the Sentinels inform him he is of no more use to them, Bishop is forced to team-up with Wolverine and two unnamed mutants to allude the Sentinels capture.  It is then that they meet-up with Forge and Bishop learns of their plans to travel back in time to prevent an assassination they believe is the root cause for this bleak world.  Bishop ends up convincing Forge that he should go instead of this older version of Wolverine and winds up back in the 90’s, but with no recollection of why he’s there.

It’s here the episode gets going as Bishop knows he has to stop an assassination attempt on Senator Kelly, but can’t remember who the assassin is.  He only knows that it is a member of the X-Men.  He tries taking them all out, but is understandably over-matched.  The X-Men confirm his story, or at least confirm he believes he’s telling the truth, when Xavier scans his mind with Cerebro.  Bishop ends up being pursued by the futuristic super Sentinel Nimrod, and we get to see the X-Men tangle with him.

It is revealed that Mystique was actually the assassin Bishop was after.

Part 1 ends with Bishop declaring Gambit is the assassin.  Bishop is convinced and Gambit is understandably outraged.  Once again, the writers are calling into question Gambit’s loyalty to the X-Men’s cause and do so effectively.  The X-Men leave Gambit, Bishop, and Wolverine behind to go and try to prevent this assassination attempt.  We discover that Mystique and her crew are behind the attempt with Apocalypse pulling the strings (though he’s mentioned in name only).  Rogue and Mystique have a confrontation where Mystique drops a proverbial bombshell on her, and we learn it was her shape-shifting into Gambit that lead Bishop to believe he was the assassin.

In the end, Bishop is sent back to his time where we see nothing has changed even though the assassination attempt is thwarted.  Senator Kelly is kidnapped in the closing moments, and it is revealed in a chilling way that Magneto is the culprit.  This two-parter is the first time the writers explore the concept of time travel and it’s done in a fun and amusing way.  The episodes have great build-up and the conclusion is satisfying.  The scenes between Wolverine, Bishop, and Gambit interject some nice humor to the mix and we get to see the entire team of X-Men in action as well.  So while the story-line wasn’t exactly faithfully adapted from the source material, it doesn’t offend the purists either.

The Final Decision

The season one finale pits the X-Men against the Sentinels as they try to save a senator who distrusts all mutants in the face of insurmountable odds.  We see early on in the episode that Magneto was indeed behind Kelly’s abduction and that he intends to kill him in an attempt to bring about war between mutants and humans.  The Sentinels, composed entirely of plastics to better equip them against Magneto, rescue Kelly and leave Magneto broken and bloodied (a rare sight for a Saturday morning cartoon) for the X-Men to find.  We then find out that the Sentinels have plans for Kelly.  Their creator, Bolivar Trask, had sent them to rescue Kelly in an effort to get his backing for more funding, but the massive Sentinel factory that is Master Mold overrides Trask’s commands.  Declaring that mutants are humans, Master Mold aims to rid the world of all life to protect humanity from itself and Trask is powerless to stop him.  He wishes to replace Kelly’s brain with a robotic one.  Kelly points out the insanity of such a plan that Master Mold dismisses, for he is quick to point out that he (it) is incapable of being insane as that is a human failing.

How do you stop a gigantic robot? Fly a plane into him.

The X-Men track down Henry Gyrich to learn where Trask has hidden Master Mold and the Sentinels.  At the same time, Trask calls Gyrich to let him know what has transpired.  Now that the Sentinels are no longer a threat limited to mutants, Gyrich tells the X-Men Trask’s location but warns them that going there is a veritable suicide mission as Trask has created thousands of the mutant hunting robots.  This leads to a scene back at the mansion where the X-Men argue amongst themselves if they should go after Kelly, with Cyclops being the major voice for it and Gambit the one most opposed.  Magneto emerges, battered, to inform them they’re fools to go after Kelly.  Xavier declares this must be done and heads for the Blackbird.  The others soon follow, including Jubilee, who initially is intercepted by Wolverine.  Declaring she has to go because she’s an X-Man and it means more to her than anything else, Wolverine relents and agrees with her sentiment.  Gambit is the last to rise from his seat and head for the Blackbird.  Magneto watches the X-Men leave, remarking rather ominously to himself, “The brave are always the first to die.”

The scene is emotionally heavy, and the mood is lightened some when the X-Men storm Trask’s mountain compound.  Some comedic relief takes place as the Sentinels inspect a present left behind by Gambit, and while Cyclops, Wolverine, and he enter.  I particularly enjoy the scene where Wolverine attempts to save Gambit by sacrificing himself and Gambit’s reaction to Wolverine’s intention.  The major uplifting scene occurs when Magneto rescues Xavier, and we see the X-Men’s nemesis join in.

The X-Men are victorious in the end, and Magneto departs without incident.  This proves to be their ultimate victory in more ways than one.  The Sentinels are seemingly vanquished, and they gain a new ally in Senator Kelly.  In the closing moments we see Kelly’s mutant acceptance platform vaults him into the White House, where his first act as president is to issue a full pardon to Dr. Henry McCoy, aka, Beast.  This presents a huge pay-off for viewers as the X-Men routinely dealt with failure throughout the show’s first season and rarely experienced so complete a victory.  A cliff-hanger teasing the villain Mr. Sinister is included at the end effectively giving viewers something to look forward to.

Season one proved a great success, both creatively and commercially for Fox Kids and Marvel Entertainment.  X-Men ended up being more than just the usual action hero spectacle as it had a very strong emotional core.  The civil rights premise of the show was the main focal point for many of the season’s plots.  This direction would be de-emphasized in later episodes, probably because the writer’s felt they had done all they could there.  When those issues are at the forefront is when X-Men is at its best.  Season one also did a wonderful job of giving a lot of face-time to each member and wasn’t nearly as Wolverine-heavy as a lot of other adaptations.

Season One is probably the overall best, but Season Two is every bit as good.  I plan on going through them all so be sure to check back in the coming weeks for more thoughts on X-Men.

Captive Hearts

Episode 5 of the inaugural season of X-Men introduced the audience to everyone’s favorite love triangle:  Cyclops, Jean, and Wolverine.  Cyclops and Jean are romantically linked and by all accounts are very much in love.  Wolverine lusts for Jean, and while she comes across as sympathetic to his feelings, her heart lies with Cyclops.

The meat of the episode involves Jean and Cyclops getting kidnapped by The Morlocks while out on a date.  The Morlocks’ leader, Callisto, views Cyclops as a weapon and wishes to make him her husband to strengthen her position as leader of The Morlocks.  Xavier has Storm lead a team of X-Men (Wolverine, Gambit, and Rogue) into the sewers where The Morlocks reside to rescue their comrades.  This brings in another conflict for the plot as Storm is forced to face her claustrophobia.

This episode is often derided as Season 1’s worst.  The Morlocks are an uninteresting villain and it seems like even a small team of X-Men should be able to handle them with relative ease.  The whole claustrophobia angle was definitely uninteresting for me as a younger viewer and as an adult it still feels kind of forced.  And as good as the writer’s for this show were, they never were able to appropriately handle Wolverine’s affection for Jean.  He comes across like a teenager who can’t get the girl he wants and the whole angle would become way over-played throughout the show.

And ultimately, kids didn’t want to see Wolverine like this, they just want to see the bad ass side.  Though I do like his tough love approach for Storm and her claustrophobia.  In the end though, a rare dud for the early seasons of X-Men.

Cold Vengeance

After not wanting to deal with Jean’s adoration of Cyclops, Wolverine flees to the arctic region of Northern Canada for some solitude.  In his quest for inner peace, he is confronted by his old nemesis Sabretooth who puts a tribe of local eskimos in between their feud.

This was the show’s first Wolverine centered episode, and while he would end up with more solo episodes than any other character, the writers never over did it (which is something the people over at Fox could learn to understand).  This episode depicts a vulnerable Wolverine once again.  As a man who’s life is plagued by violence and tragedy, he just wants to get away but his past is always there to haunt him.  Sabretooth is a good villain for Wolverine and serves to remind the viewer what Wolverine could have become had he given into his more primal nature.

The tribe gives Wolverine an outlet to be at ease and we’re able to understand what it is about them Wolverine so admires.  The young tribesman who views Wolverine as a threat is perhaps over done but serves a purpose.  Really, the only downer about this episode is there isn’t much of a payoff.  Plus, we see Wolverine act a little too wimpy when he tells Sabretooth, “I don’t want to fight you.  I don’t care who started it.”  That’s not the Wolverine anyone wants to see, plus it’s too much of a role reversal from the blood thirsty Wolverine we saw just two episodes ago in “Deadly Reunions.”

In the end, their fight is slightly more interesting this time around, but it is still obvious the censors prevented it from being anything worthwhile (there’s one really odd exchange with Sabretooth throwing snow in Wolverine’s eyes that just screams “edit!” all over it).  Thankfully, the episode doesn’t leave Wolverine as some shamanistic man of peace and he is pretty much back to his old self soon after.

Slave Island

This episode contains several cameos of other mutants, some of which would become major players in future episode plots.

Throughout the previous episode there were a couple of scenes showing the X-Men receiving information about the island nation of Genosha and its apparent acceptance of mutants.  Cyclops selects Storm, Gambit, and Jubilee to go check it out.  At the episode’s conclusion, they’re shown being gassed in their hotel room and captured by a Sentinel and a small band of solders.

This episode picks up right where that one left off, and Storm, Gambit, and Jubilee are imprisoned in a mutant work camp.  This episode introduces the mutant power suppressing collars.  All of the mutants wear them and a controller deactivates them during the day so the mutants can use their powers to construct a dam.  It is said if the mutants tamper with the collars they’ll explode though later episodes would prove that to be an empty threat.  Storm tries to rally the mutants into a rebellion and the controller reactivates the collar forcing her capture.  As punishment, she is placed in “the box” where her claustrophobia pretty much drives her mad.

This episode features numerous cameos from other mutants.  It also introduces Cable, who’s past is apparently different from his comic book past.  Here he’s after The Leader, who is apparently behind the whole operation on Genosha, and who he supposedly served under as a marine.  Cable will go on to display little knowledge of the X-Men in both this episode and the following.  Similar to the situation with Magneto, in future seasons Cable will be portrayed more faithfully as the time-traveling son of Cyclops and Jean.  He is given this really cool gun though that seemingly turns anything it hits into a bomb.

What helps keep this episode interesting is the seed it plants in the viewer’s head regarding the Gambit character.  How much of a team player is he?  The swerve is nicely set-up, and in the end we find out he’s an X-Man through and through, but there is a moment of doubt.  Jubilee gets her first taste of action and she’s actually used effectively.  It’s no secret most fans have a strong dislike of the Jubilee character.  This is actually one of the few episodes that doesn’t feature much from Wolverine.  His role is reduced to just a brief cameo showing his return from his trip in the previous episode.  Xavier also takes off unannounced to visit his old friend Moira MacTaggert  and to investigate a future plot device.

The Sentinel creation process is also shown for the first time, introducing the character Master Mold, a giant Sentinel that manufactures the rest and the reason for the dam’s construction.  The Sentinels continue to be de-powered by the writers since their original appearance, and the X-Men are able to dispatch them with relative ease.  The dam gets destroyed calling into question if Master Mold was destroyed as well, while Trask and Gyrich make their escape to show up in a later episode.

The Unstoppable Juggernaut

The X-Men will need all the help they can get to stop the Juggernaut.

At the end of “Slave Island,” the victorious X-Men return to find their mansion destroyed and the Professor missing.  They immediately set out to try and find the individuals responsible which leads Wolverine and Jubilee to a construction yard where a young mutant from Russia makes his debut.  Colossus, depicted in street clothes as opposed to his costume from the comics, is suspect number 1 for the X-Men.  We the viewers, of course, know Colossus is a good guy and wouldn’t smash a mansion just for the fun of it.  Wolverine determines the same, and Colossus is cleared.

Not for long though, as he’s shown getting arrested later on for an apparent bank robbery.  The case of mistaken identity leads Wolverine and Jubilee to another robbery, where they find their real mansion-masher, the Juggernaut.

Unlike Magneto, the X-Men are shown as being all too familiar with the Professor’s jealous step-brother.  All of the X-Men, and Colossus, are forced to take him on in the city streets where they use team work to win the day.  Beast also makes a cameo during a jail break scene where Rogue and Storm free Colossus.

In the end, the X-Men are successful and subdue the Juggernaut.  Colossus helps in the rebuilding of the mansion but declines an invite to join the team.  The episode works as a fun way to show all of the X-Men in battle against a worthy foe.  Juggernaut is an amusing villain who is well written and also well-voiced.  A solid, action-packed episode.

When I was a kid it sometimes felt like my whole life was spent waiting for Saturday morning, because once 11 AM hit I was locked onto the television for that is when my beloved X-Men graced the set.  From 1992-1997, 76 episodes were produced and aired.  The creators of the show took a modern cast of X-Men and found a way to work them into both classic and current stories.  It must have been a writer’s dream to have 20+ years of comic book plot-lines already written to pick and choose from.  Sure some would necessitate re-working, but there were lots of interchangeable parts throughout the years and finding a replacement on the current X-Men for someone like Kitty Pryde proved relatively simple.

X-Men was my favorite cartoon and nostalgia demands that it still is.  When the series ended its run in ’97 it all but vanished from television.  At some point, Disney acquired the rights for the program and the show started popping up on their channels but in odd time slots.  By then I was in my teens or early twenties and not willing to commit to watching much of anything on TV.  For awhile it seemed like the show would never get a proper DVD release, even during the rise of retro television releases it seemed like the X-Men were forgotten.  This lead me to eventually purchase a bootleg set off of eBay.  The episodes were recorded off of television and probably transferred from a VHS.  The quality was terrible and the DVD’s often crashed.  Disney had a poor track record with their cartoon releases, most notably with the series Gargoyles in which they released only the first two seasons, so optimism for a true release was not very high.

X-men: Volume 1 (2009)

Finally in 2009 things changed.  Presumably to capitalize on the upcoming X-Men Origins: Wolverine film, Buena Vista Home Entertainment began releasing the series on DVD.  By May of 2010, the entire run has seen release across 5 two disc volumes.  The sets themselves are pretty bare bones.  There’s no special features, commentary, or anything added.  The only notable aspect of each release is the original cover art for each set.  The studio also chose to release the episodes in air date order.  For long time fans, this came as a disappointment because a few episodes from seasons 3 and 4 ended up getting passed over initially and bumped to later seasons (the most obvious being “No Mutant is an Island”).  Beggars can’t be choosers, and I’m just happy to finally have the episodes in a watchable format.

Which brings me to the review portion of this post.  I want to review the whole series, just for the fun of it and because I can.  Some basic info before diving in must be explained first.  The X-Men that exist in this show consist of Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Rogue, Gambit, Beast, Jean Grey, and Jubilee.  Professor Charles Xavier oversees everything and the team remains stable through out the show’s run (much to my ire as a child).  Season 1 kicks off with one additional member of the X-Men, Morph, who was made for TV but adapted from the old comic book villain/sometimes hero Changeling.  The audience is lead to believe these X-Men are a little green when it comes to the covert mission they undertake in the season’s first 2 episodes.  It’s later shown these X-Men are not familiar with Magneto and the other villains they end up facing, with the only exception being the Juggernaut.  This ignoring of the history of the characters would be corrected in later seasons when flashbacks would depict the original X-Men (Cyclops, Jean, Iceman, Angel, and a human looking Beast) battling Magneto.  Who knows why the change was made but it does make some scenes in the first season a bit off for longtime fans of the comic.

That said, season 1 is probably the show’s best.  The writers took a continuous approach with each episode picking up where the previous one left off.  Season 2 would follow a similar format but as the show went along more self-contained episodes would be featured with two-parters and mini series popping up.  I enjoy the format of the first two seasons the most as it makes for a much more rewarding experience.  In the end, it matters little so long as the quality is there.

The animation should be mentioned as well, before I delve into the plots of each episode.  The X-Men are brightly colored and take their looks from the works of Jim Lee.  The characters are obviously not as detailed and the sex appeal of the female members is toned down slightly but the influence is obvious.  The backgrounds are a bit drab in comparison with the characters but there is at least some variety thrown in as the X-Men battle at night, during the day, in the sewers, caves, industrial parks, and so on.  The animation is a bit stiff though, and the animators were limited in how they could depict violence.  Wolverine’s claws are reserved for attacking machinery only, all weapons seem to always be set for stun, and getting hit by a bolt of lightning from Storm apparently isn’t all that bad.  The characters were however able to freely use the word “death” which is actually kind of a big deal for a kid’s program.  This, in part, allowed the writers to create a mature and dramatic atmosphere even with the PG level of violence.

Night of the Sentinels (Parts 1 and 2)

The show begins with a two part episode.  The first episode focuses on introducing the audience to the X-Men and the conflict that exists between mutants and humans.  The opening shot depicts Sabretooth wreaking havoc on a downtown locale through a news broadcast on the television of two concerned foster parents.  They begin talking about a mutant, who needs help, and we soon learn they’re speaking of their foster child Jubilee.  Jubilee is a young girl (who’s supposed to be Chinese, but looks American in the show) coping with being a mutant.  She overhears her parents and, hurt, she decides to run off to the mall.

Here is where the X-Men are introduced.  Not long after Jubilee’s arrival she is attacked by a giant, mutant-hunting robot.  It just so happened that Rogue and Storm were both shopping that day and jump to assist.  Gambit, shown flirting with a cashier as he buys stacks of playing cards, soon joins the fun.  He’s wise-cracking and ends up being an instant hit for most young boys watching the show.  Cyclops finishes the job as Jubilee runs into him and passes out.  She wakes to find herself in the mansion of the X-Men.  She sneaks out of bed and looks in on the remaining X-Men that have yet to be introduced.  Wolverine is saved for last as Jubilee finds herself in the Danger Room where Gambit and Wolverine are sparring against each other.  Thinking her hero Gambit is in real danger, she unleashes a blast of fireworks from her hands and subdues Wolverine, eliciting laughter from the other X-Men.

X-Men don't cut and run, or do they?

It is soon revealed the Jubilee was attacked because her name was obtained by the robot, soon revealed to be a Sentinel, via the Mutant Registration Center.  Professor X deduces that this program, supposedly designed to help mutants, has ulterior motives and the X-Men are deployed to check our their headquarters.  Before doing so we’re given a look at the inherit conflict that exists between Wolverine and his peers.  Going by the motto of “I go where I wanna go,” Wolverine intends to set off by himself to find Jubilee, who has run away, where as Cyclops has him slated as part of the infiltration team.  They argue, and eventually Wolverine does what he wants and the X-Men set off without him.

It ends up mattering little as Wolverine soon rejoins them after he was unable to pick up Jubilee’s trail (he got bit by a dog, too).  The X-Men chat as they make their way in about their individual pasts in a casual tone, which helps give a little more back story.  Beast, Morph, Wolverine, and Storm enter the compound and some of the show’s more memorable lines are featured (“So I’ll buy him a new door!”) and everything appears to be going smoothly.

Then the army shows up, and the X-Men find themselves with a fight on their hands.  As they’re running for their jet, the Blackbird, Morph utters the fateful line of “Smooth sailing all the way,” which seems to only provoke the Sentinels into attacking.  This memorable exchange then takes place:

Wolverine: “Hey tin woodsman, I’m sending you back to Oz!  In pieces…”

Morph: “Wolverine! Fall back!”

"Wolverine! Fall back!"

This is actually shown later on in a flashback, and it is revealed that Morph bites the dust.  This, to me, is a really effective way to get viewers attached to a new show.  Up to this point, Morph was depicted as an extremely likable piece of comedic relief.  It is assumed that most of the viewers liked him right away, so when he gets killed off it has weight even though we’re only in the show’s second episode.  Wolverine is profoundly affected, and we get a shot of him punching Cyclops about as violently as one can right in the gut over his anger that the team left Morph and Beast behind.  Beast was captured, and would spend the remainder of season 1 incarcerated.  It’s interesting to see these characters cope with not only the loss of a teammate, but failure.  Their first mission was a disaster, and Jubilee is still missing and probably in danger.

The X-Men are able to locate the Sentinels’ base and launch an attack.  Jubilee was being held captive and is obviously delighted to be rescued.  The X-Men have an easier time with the Sentinels this time out and are able to force their handlers, Bolivar Trask, and Henry Guyrich, to flee.

Jubilee ends up joining the team in the end, while Cyclops is left to wrestle with the fact that he ordered the team to retreat and leave behind some of their own.  In just two episodes, the show proves it will have an emotional weight that will separate it from the usual kid’s programming.  I still think these two episodes represent the best debut episodes for any show and it is easy to see why the show was a ratings behemoth early on.

Enter Magneto

The third episode gives longtime fans exactly what they want and newcomers are introduced to what they suspect will be the main villain of the series.  Magneto has long been at odds with Xavier.  Xavier wishes for peace between mutants and humans while Magneto views that as an impossibility and believes a war is brewing.  As I mentioned in my lead-in, the X-Men will exhibit little to no knowledge of who Magneto is.  Xavier explains their past but not in great detail.

Awesome VHS box art.

This episode also introduces the conflict that is Wolverine and Sabretooth.  An early scene shows Beast at a hearing for his involvement in the raid of the Mutant Registration head quarters (now defunct, thanks to the X-Men’s efforts) where he is denied bail.  Sabretooth bursts through the wall, apparently outraged by the judge’s decision.  Sabretooth finds himself getting blasted by cops, and when Cyclops calls on Wolverine to assist he refuses.  It isn’t revealed why Wolverine hates him, and he doesn’t enjoy the fact that Cyclops brings him to the mansion for care.  Comatose, Sabretooth lies in the infirmary when Wolverine shows up.  A stand-off ensues where Xavier tells Wolverine if he removes Sabretooth from the premises he’s no longer welcome.  The confrontation is broken up when Magneto attacks a military base, prompting Wolverine to ask of Xavier, “How come we’re supposed to trash your old enemy, but we gotta go easy on mine?”

Magneto was earlier introduced trying to free Beast from prison as the episode opened.  Beast, stating he and Xavier believe it is better for their cause if he goes through the courts, declined.  Now at the military base, Cyclops, Storm, and Wolverine are tasked with bringing him down.  Magneto initiates a launch sequence of nuclear missiles and leaves the X-Men nearly incapacitated.  Storm, initially planning to sacrifice herself by detonating the warheads overseas, is telepathically given insight from Xavier on how to use her powers to disarm them.  She does so, and all is well as the X-Men save the day.

Deadly Reunions

More awesome VHS box art!

Episode 4 picks up right where 3 left-off, with the conflict of Wolverine and Sabretooth left very much unresolved.  Wolverine gives some insight in regards to their past when he mentions that Sabretooth wasted (take that to mean whatever you want, I suppose) some friends of his for no reason.  He takes off, and Magneto soon attacks a chemical plant prompting Cyclops, Storm, and Rogue into action (Jean and Gambit are apparently occupied elsewhere) leaving Jubilee behind with Sabretooth.  Predictably, Sabretooth is able to dupe Jubilee into releasing his restraints and proving Wolverine right.

The conflict at the chemical plant is resolved somewhat quickly and in an unsatisfactory manner.  As Magneto takes out the X-Men, Xavier shows up and uses his telepathy to traumatize Magneto into fleeing after making him relieve some violent moments of his childhood.  Fans of the comic know that Magneto was imprisoned for being a Jew during World War 2, though the cartoon does not make that entirely clear.  We just see images of Magneto as a child in a war-torn environment.

Cyclops ends up getting poisoned by some sort of radioactive smoke, forcing Rogue to give him mouth to mouth.  This ends up being kind of a fun way to show the audience Rogue’s mutant power stealing abilities as she’s soon uncontrollably firing blasts from her eyes.  Storm’s claustrophobia is also shown as she’s paralyzed with fear when a wall comes down on her.  The wall is made of brick but her injuries are strangely superficial.

Back at the mansion, Wolverine shows up just in time to save Jubilee from Sabretooth.  It is revealed that Sabretooth was working for Magneto and was tasked with sneaking into the mansion to get a look at the place.  Wolverine and Sabretooth duke it out in a very kid’s show kind of way as the two just trade-off pinning each other down with Sabretooth grasping Wolverine’s wrists to prevent his claws from doing any damage.  Wolverine gets the upper hand before the X-Men storm in.  Xavier, assuming Wolverine initiated the conflict, begins to scold him granting Sabretooth an opening to take a swipe at Wolverine’s abdomen.  Jubilee blasts him through a wall and Sabretooth chooses to flee once outside the mansion while the X-Men get Wolverine to the infirmary.  In the closing moments, Xavier is shown realizing his willingness to trust any and all mutants is not always the wise course of action.  He apologizes to an unconscious Wolverine as the show closes with Magneto vowing revenge to no one.  The episode ends up being emotionally captivating, but with little pay-off.  Magneto’s seemingly easy defeat by Xavier undermines the character and, strangely, he is not shown again until the season’s final episode.