Even after my blistering review of X-Men the Animated series, I was still excited for this show. I just didn't want it to be ANYTHING like the previous one that was fraught with so many issues. My feelings were relieved after the first episode, but then I thought, "Can they sustain this though?" The answer to that is an unequivocal yes. I will have specific thoughts at the last part of this review, but I wanted to give my quick thoughts on each episode.
Episode 1 - "To Me, My X-Men" - This episode went out of it's way to establish how a bitch-ass like Cyclops could lead the X-Men. He answered the call and I like how this show isn't trying to make you hate him like the previous one did. The action was top notch and did things in animation the old show could never dare to do. Peep Cyclops super hero landing and the team take downs of sentinels. The action here gives you hope that this show is not going to be playing around.
Episode 2 - "Mutant Liberation Begins" - In the first of many episodes that will hurt your soul, we have this episode. They ratcheted up the drama. This show is quickly establishing that it is not for kids. It's not afraid to tackle the theme of racism head on and it doesn't feel like it is bashing you in the face. My heart hurt for Storm, as she details her connection to the weather and how much it means when it is lost. Also, Magento was dropping bars.
Episode 3 - "Fire Made Flesh" - What I'm starting to really appreciate with this show is that each episode is self contained in that you get the beginning, middle and end of a story with no lollygagging. They took a years long plot of the Goblin Queen and condensed it down to ONE episode. I'm not a fan of that era and it really made Cyclops look like a heel. Here they humanize him. What is he supposed to do? Things get resolved and we move on. They don't draw it out for a few more episodes.
Episode 4 - "Motendo; Lifedeath Part 1" - This felt like a filler episode and in retrospect, the weakest episode of the season. I like the pairing of Roberto DiCosta and Jubilee, but I tepidly enjoyed this. They just threw away the rest of the team for a solo adventure with the youngest characters. Furthermore, they were caught in a video game created by Mojo. I would have loved to see everyone go against Mojo again, but it is what it is. Cool touch to have the original Jubilee voice actor appear. The other part of the episode let's us check in on Storm and Forge. After episode 2, I thought we wouldn't see Storm again until the finale.
Episode 5 - "Remember It" - This is the episode when shit got real. I was wrecked after this. There is so much drama and tension packed into one episode and it is masterfully done. We see the mutant dream of mutant Utopia in Genosha realized and the mounting drama in the unexpected love triangle of Gambit/Rogue/Magneto that comes to the most tragic of ends. I don't want to spoil it, but there will be tears shed. The destruction that happens is truly heartbreaking.
Episode 6 - "Lifedeath Part 2" - Interlude as we join the Shi'ar. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Mild spoiler, we find out that Professor Xavier isn't really dead. He's just been chilling with his alien girlfriend on her planet. Seeing Charles' anguish over his "children" and choosing between them and the love of his life was heartbreaking. You also find out that the Shi'ar are not as benevolent as you thought. We also get the other half of Storm's story. I'm glad they broke it up because it wasn't as interesting as I was hoping it would be.
Episode 7 - "Bright Eyes" - We finally see Rogue dealing with her grief and she is coming in hot on everyone. Her encounter with Cap was everything. It was good to see Rogue cut loose and then the moment when she lets herself feel her grief is also heartbreaking. I'm also so glad they properly brought Nightcrawler into this show.
Episode 8 - "Tolerance is Extinction, Part 1" - The start of the final three eps and it is a doozy. Once again, we get more great action and the threats are now real. The villain, Bastion, was revealed a few episodes ago and we're now seeing the fruits of his labor with his human sentinel hybrids. I was delighted by the tag team of Wolverine/Nightcrawler duo on the screen. The Wolverine POV of how Nightcrawler teleports was masterfully done. The return of a character we thought was dead makes a huge impact here. Now it's on.
Episode 9 - "Tolerance is Extinction, Part 2" - If you didn't think shit was getting real before, it is now. I read that the former showrunner referenced the Fatal Attractions storyline from the 90's in reference to this show. I knew exactly what that meant, but still wanted to see how they get there. One thing this show has that the previous one didn't? Balls. I hate that I'm trying not to be spoiler-y, but I will say that Xavier has returned (not who I mean in the previous episode that returned) and we now see a division in the team as it truly becomes Xavier vs. Magneto. This has been building all season and there is no shortage of fireworks. The battle becomes deadly.
Episode 10 - "Tolerance is Extinction, Part 3" - Thankfully, this show stuck the landing. This episode tied up a few threads from throughout the season and from the old show, while also bringing in something new. There was tension all over the place as the Xavier vs. Magneto rivalry took center stage once more. I love how complicated their relationship is and they explore that more here. Also, there were cameos aplenty! At the end of this episode, I was left wanting more. This means the show has done it's job. I finished my plate and I wanted seconds.
Now to get into my overall thoughts of the show. It exceeded all my expectations and is legitimately the best thing Marvel has put out in cartoons for years, except for one Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. Nostalgia is what pulled people like me in, but they KEPT me here with intricate, well thought out storylines that doesn't shy away from realistic issues. This show was not treated as something for kids and it was the best representation of the X-Men comics we have ever seen on TV or in the movies. I don't say this lightly.
I also want to get on my soapbox and address a few things. First off, Morph. When it was revealed that they were non-binary and using they/them pronouns, certain neckbeardy comic people took umbrage and talked about how being "woke" was ruining the X-Men. Number one, they're a shape shifter going between genders all the time, so this only makes sense if you think about it. How this was never a thing before blows my mind. Oh, I know why. Cowardice. Years ago they didn't want to offend people, but we're past that now. This only makes sense for their character and it's never an issue in the show. It's blown way out of proportion.
Another thing I want to speak on: the issue of X-Men now being too "woke." Anyone saying this has never read an X-Men comic in their lives and it shows. Since Chris Claremont began writing them, that's all they've ever been. They were a diverse teams with different backgrounds dealing with prejudice against their ethnicities and layered on top of that, being a mutant. That has only been more enriched over the years. If you're wondering why I didn't credit Stan Lee, his original creations were five white people with powers and he said he made them mutants so he didn't have to explain how someone else got doused in radioactive waste or bitten by radioactive spiders. He created the X-Men, but he's not the reason they became who they are.
Anyway, complaints about the X-Men being socially conscious is both dumb, ignorant and dumb again. Shut the hell up. Moving on to another fake controversy. Gambit. In an early episode he is seen hanging out in the kitchen in a crop top and pony tail. Again, cries rang out that they were making Gambit, "gay". I guess those people never saw how people dressed in the 90's. Also, I don't think it matters if he was gay. Doesn't diminish his character in any way. Just more fake outrage that I wanted to address.
The voice acting is top notch and I was happy for the returning voice actors that still got it after 30 years. Beast sounded older, but mostly the same. That goes for the voice actors for Rogue, Nightcrawler, Storm and Wolverine. Special shout out to Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm. She is THE definitive voice of Storm. No one brings the gravitas and compassion that she does. It's that voice acting that made what happens in episode 2 so damn sad.
Matthew Waterson as Magneto is especially fantastic and about every line he delivers carries weight. Let's say it together y'all, Magneto was right.
There were a lot of cool little things that this show did to go that extra mile in making it great. If you're paying attention, the cast in the title sequence changes almost every episode depending on who is still around and who has left us. It's a small nod, but the fact they did it is amazing. Also, I read this and didn't realize it, but if you hear one of the character's voice actors read the "Previously, on X-Men" something bad is about to happen to them. So buckle up.
When I saw the initial character designs, I thought they were too simplistic. As I read, this was done to help make the animation smoother and I have never been more wrong in my life. The style was perfect, allowing for some top notch animation while also keeping the look of the 90's version. Even when the characters don their older costumes, they look amazing as hell. The fight scenes are also top notch and inventive.
Look, we all hated Cyclops in the original series and that series is a big reason we all hated him for decades. I'm here to tell you, I've come around on Cyclops the last few years and this show almost breaks it's back making you do the same. Some will argue with me, but I think they succeed. In the original series, he was the boy scout in the worst way. That arrogance is what made you hate him. Here, they explain the heavy burden he carries as a leader and WHY he acts the way he does. He thinks that's what Xavier would want and he doesn't want to fail in carrying on the dream. Then he gets thrown a curveball with Jean Grey and Madalyn Pryor. In the books, he handled it poorly and made you hate him. Here, you feel for the guy because what in the world would you do in this case? They also give him a lot of cool fight scenes and ups his competency with them. Now you get why they would follow him.
I loved the true sisterhood we see between Jean Grey and Storm. In the original series, it's like they didn't interact at all. The fact that they confide in each other and support each other was truly beautiful to see. Also, their exchange they before their last battle is fantastic. Jean: "Make them mind your weather." Storm: "And make them weather your mind."
I was surprised at how little we see Wolverine in this show. He's my favorite X-Man, followed by Storm, so it sucked to see him used so little. I also think the show figured out that in a show full of people that have ranged powers, having one brawler with a long claws isn't very useful from long distances. I was relieved that he wasn't getting beat up all the damn time like the old show, so I can forgive this. He gets a few moments here and there, but I feel like season 2 will spend more time with him given what happened at the end of this season.
This show was an absolute emotional rollercoaster and I'm sad that it is over already. I'm also glad they stuck to 10 episodes so that they don't overstay their welcome. It also keeps the storytellers locked into their story without straying too much. It kept things tighter for sure.
I would recommend the original X-Men series to no one. I would recommend X-Men '97 to anyone. It's that great. Those high scores you may have seen with reviews are valid. This show went above and beyond and it's disheartening to know that Marvel fired the showrunner before this aired. He at least mapped out the second season, but we'll see what happens from there. I better start seeing a lot more X-Men merch and Marvel better get their asses in gear to bring them to the movie. The world is ready to embrace them again.
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