Tag Archives: mojo

April 3, 2024

X-Men ’97 – “Motendo/Lifedeath Part 1”

By Joe

X-Men ’97 continues on into it’s fourth episode with a bit of a change-up. The first three episodes were rather weighty dealing with the fallout of Xavier’s death, Storm losing her powers, and the whole clone situation of the third episode. And that third episode did reveal a few cracks in the foundation of the show. While I still enjoyed the episode and ultimately gave it a positive review, it did feel rushed and there were some character actions and moments that were head-scratching. Cyclops refuses to abandon his child, so he walks out on his child? The clone Jean realizes what she is and decides to go make a new life for herself and pulls the name Madelyn Pryor out of thin air with no explanation? A bit bizarre.

A new scene added to the intro includes an Iceman cameo, the best X-Man.

That third episode tried to condense a fairly lengthy story from the comics into a single episode and the results were clumsy. This week’s episode is actually inserting two plots into one episode. As evidenced by the title, this episode is like two small episodes. Back in the original series, the second season did end most of its episodes with a little glimpse at a parallel story involving Magneto and Xavier, but those would occupy a minute or two of the episode runtime. This week’s isn’t quite 50:50, but the first sequence, “Motendo,” takes us to about the 18 minute mark while “Lifedeath – Part One” occupies the final 10 minutes or so. It’s also an episode that’s going to dial back the soap opera elements a bit in favor of fan service fun.

That takes me back.

The episode begins with Jubilee giving the “Previously…” line. The opening title has also dropped Bishop’s card since he went back to the future at the end of last week’s episode while the new images thrown in include shots of Mojo, the Inner Circle, and X-Factor. “Motendo” takes place on the 18th birthday of Jubilee. She would like to spend part of the day at the arcade with her fellow X-Men, but apparently headmaster Magneto has other plans. This leaves her upset, and once again, her boy Roberto is just hanging out at the mansion. He’s only somewhat sympathetic to her plight as he thinks video games are for dorks. Jubilee is defensive and insists they play something and it just so happens a mysterious console is present in her room. It looks like a bootleg Sega Genesis and the game pack inside it looks a lot like the first X-Men video game released for the console only with Apocalypse added to the background. Jubilee thinks it’s a gift from one of her teammates and sees no harm in playing it, but once turned on she and Roberto find themselves pulled into a digital world.

The video game visuals are a ton of fun.

As the title of the episode alludes, this is the work of Mojo (David Errigo Jr.). It would seem he’s swapped television for video games and he’s decided to make Jubilee the star of his game. The visuals from here on out will switch from the usual to something pixelized. It’s very reminiscent of the classic Konami arcade game and it’s pretty fun seeing how Jubilee might have looked had she been included. The two have to figure out a way out, but they’ll get help from a mysterious woman seemingly trapped in the game who is basically another bit of fan service for those who loved the original animated series. It’s a very low stakes sort of plot, but it does further Jubilee and Roberto’s relationship so it’s not as if the show is completely spinning its wheels. It does contain a message for Jubilee that she can’t avoid growing up and just live in the past, a somewhat bold declaration for a series relying on a great deal of nostalgia for success.

There’s definitely a lot going on down in Texas.

The last chunk of the episode takes us back to Texas where Storm and Forge (Gil Birmingham) are working on a way to restore her powers. We got a little taste of this pairing at the end of the third episode and if anyone is going to be able to whip up a device to cure Storm of what ails her it’s going to be Forge. It’s a bit clumsy given the time constraints placed upon it. Why is Forge in Texas? What happened to X-Factor? We see an image of the team so the show isn’t ignoring it and I guess it’s something we’ll learn in time. There is some drama inserted into this plot as Forge harbors a secret, and while it does feel a little rushed, I was relieved that this plot wasn’t as rushed as I thought it might be. There are some more horror elements at play with this story, and following some of the visuals in last week’s episode, it makes me wonder if our writers (Beau DeMayo and Charley Feldman, who was also a co-writer on last week’s episode) have an affinity for that genre.

Forge is hard at work at trying to restore Storm’s powers.

“Lifedeath” is the part of the episode meant to further the main, overarching, plot of the season and it also ends on a cliffhanger. It’s probably a confusing one for most, though this is yet another plot pulled right from the comics. It’s a plot I have not interacted with in decades so my memory is hazy on the subject which I see as a good thing for my viewing of the show. There’s not a ton to chew on this week, but I do wish to point out how Alison Sealy-Smith has established herself as the best of the returning cast from the old show. Not because her voice has been less touched by age, but just in her performance. She really gets her role. I used to find her Storm a bit wooden, but there’s a lot more depth to her this time around. It’s amazing what a better script can do for a character.

I guess the fate of X-Factor will have to wait for another day.

“Motendo/Lifedeath – Part One” is a solid piece of X-Men entertainment. When all is said and done on this first season I doubt many will be citing it as their favorite episode of the bunch. Some may feel the video game inspired visuals marked a high point on their own, but a large chunk of the episode is more disposable than others. It’s a classic come down episode, one where we get to reset a little bit before the show dives headlong into its next arc (or not, as the next episode is titled “Remember It” and the one following that is “Lifedeath – Part Two”). There was no Cyclops or Jean in this one so no fall-out at all from the third episode for them was explored, but since they weren’t present it’s not like everything went back to status quo. I’m guessing that’s being saved for either next week or later on as the final, parting, shot we had of those two was pretty heavy. The show will get back to them eventually, for now, enjoy this kind of goofy throw-back to classic video games and wonder what the future holds for Forge and Storm.

Previously…on X-Men ’97:

X-Men ’97 – “To Me, My X-Men”

It used to be that when a show got cancelled that was it. It simply ceased to exist as a new product. If there were enough episodes it could last in syndication on both broadcast and cable for a good while, but rarely was it accessible to the point where a fan could have the…

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by Joe

X-Men ’97 – “Mutant Liberation Begins”

The first episode of X-Men ’97 left me grinning from ear to ear and eager to see what would happen next. I’m happy to say, the show’s second episode left me feeling very much the same. “Mutant Liberation Begins” starts off right where the previous episode ended. Magneto, has revealed that it was the wishes…

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by Joe

X-Men ’97 – “Fire Made Flesh”

Well, that was a long wait! After the two episode premiere of X-Men ’97 on March 20th I was ready for that third episode. The week long wait felt both excruciating and exhilarating. It’s been a long time since we’ve had an X-Men show to get excited about, or really an X-Men anything, and it’s…

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by Joe

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January 19, 2018

Batman: The Animated Series – “See No Evil”

By Joe

See_No_Evil-Title_CardEpisode Number: 17

Original Air Date:  February 24, 1993

Directed by:  Dan Riba

Written by:  Martin Pasko

First Appearance(s):  Lloyd Ventrix

“See No Evil” is a relatively early production episode of Batman, but for whatever reason it was held until February of 1993. When a show receives a full 65 episode order right out of the gate, what gets to air first often is whatever is finished first. Sometimes a marquee villain or two-parter will be held until a nice ratings spot is needed, or a prime time window is available, so maybe this one just took awhile. And since it contains a no-name villain there likely wasn’t much excitement around it at Fox to get it to air.

“See No Evil” is an interesting episode because it’s both very grounded in terms of the story it’s telling, a father denied parental rights wanting to spend time with his daughter by any means necessary, while also containing some elements of the super natural in the form of an invisibility suit. Lloyd Ventrix (Michael Gross) is our antagonist and he’s a simple con-man who was formerly incarcerated, but has since been released. As a result of his run-in with the law he lost his wife and he lost all visitation rights with his kid. We’re not entirely sure, but it seems he may have tried to get his life in order. He got a job, at least, but when the episode opens he’s doing some not very legal things.

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Jimmy talking to her “imaginary” friend, Mojo.

Kimmy (Elisabeth Moss) is a seemingly regular girl being raised by her mother. As is not an uncommon trait among young children, Kimmy has an imaginary friend she calls Mojo. Her mother thinks nothing of it, but it turns out Mojo isn’t just a figment of Kimmy’s imagination. He’s seen, or unseen, bringing her physical gifts and he actually speaks to her despite seemingly having no material form. Meanwhile, jewelry stores and the like are being knocked off and our caped crusader is having trouble figuring out who’s behind it since no one is picked up on security cams.

Naturally, there’s an explanation and it turns out Mojo is actually Ventrix in disguise. When he got out of prison he landed a job at a laboratory that was working on an invisibility material and decided to knock it off. It’s unclear if he’s still working there, but he’s been able to enrich himself thanks to the suit. This allows him to at least look the part of a well-adjusted individual and basically stalks his ex-wife Helen (Jean Smart) and tries to stage a simple run-in to demonstrate he’s a changed man. Helen doesn’t by it, and since she has a restraining order out against him she wisely flees warning him to stay away from her and Kimmy. This is essentially the last straw for Ventrix, and Mojo decides to lure Kimmy out of her house in a bid to kidnap her. When Mojo successfully does so he reveals himself to Kimmy, but she’s been well coached by her mother and runs.

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Nice suit, who’s your tailor?

All this time, Batman has been slowly unraveling the mystery of Gotham’s invisible man. He’s able to figure out where the tech came from, and the ex-con on the payroll is a bit of a smoking gun. He’s able to intercept Ventrix during his abduction attempt and a fight and chase ensues. This is the episode’s strength as pitting Batman against a foe he can’t see is pretty entertaining to animate. Not only does Ventrix possess the ability to make himself invisible, he can even make the car he’s in invisible as well. When he tries to escape Batman via automobile, Batman jumps onto the roof of the car as it speeds away. Other motorists can only see what appears to be Batman flying above the road zoom past them and it’s a pretty amusing visual.

Being invisible is definitely an advantage to have over Batman, but it doesn’t make-up for the huge gap in fighting ability between Ventrix and the Dark Knight. Batman is able to foil the plans of Mojo, and a tidy little bow is placed on the whole thing. There’s also a sweet little scene to end the episode that I like, and old Ventrix is never heard from again.

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There’s some great artwork in the fight scene that climaxes the episode. Batman has never looked so bad ass.

As a kid, I probably wasn’t that interested in this episode since it doesn’t feature one of Batman’s familiar enemies, but the simple and relatable premise of the episode makes it rather endearing. The show is careful to portray Ventrix as a selfish criminal who’s quick to anger and probably possesses a violent side. As a result, we can only sympathize with him on a surface level. Yes, it’s terrible to not have even limited visitation rights with your child, but the courts typically reserve that fate for the truly bad individuals in society and Ventrix happens to be one of them. He presumably had a path to his daughter that involved getting a stable job, a place to live, and he probably had to stay out of trouble for a certain length of time and at that point he probably could have had some visitation restored. He’s impatient though and thinks he can win back his ex-wife with money, money that just so happens to be ill-gotten. Helen assumes the worst of him, but she’s also right. Batman is there to provide the action, and the scenes of him battling with Ventrix in his invisibility suit are pretty special from an animation perspective. It might not be the first episode people think of when they hear Batman: The Animated Series, but it’s a pretty good one.

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