angelophile | Wolverine and the X-men

Finally got around to watching the final episodes of Wolverine and the X-men. Thoughts on the episodes specifically below the cut, but in general terms, a few comments:

Frankly, this series was excellent from start to finish. For what is effectively a Wolverine-centric show, they managed to balance most of the other characters with his screentime (Storm being the one character who was severely underused) as well as avoiding the pratfall of inexplicably and suddenly making Logan team leader material. One of the highlights of the show is that he's not a good team leader and has constantly messed up along the way. The series has served certain other characters well too - Kitty and Bobby didn't get a lot of face time, but what they did was great, Beast was handled excellently, the new take on Forge was a lot of fun, but most particularly Nightcrawler and Scarlet Witch got a great dynamic and individual characterisation and plenty to do.

The continuity made good use of the rich X-men mythos by bringing in elements from the comics, cartoons and movies and mixing it all up to create something fresh, whilst also hitting enough notes to be accessible to anyone who was only familiar with one of those sources. The grand over-arching story meant a mild suspension of disbelief, but nothing that those familiar with the X-men wouldn't be familiar with and it was refreshing to see something that balanced both the new and familiar.

One of the highlights, as I've said before, was seeing the X-men who were clearly familiar with each other's abilities working together as a team from the first. It's been rare that any series has really made the most of each member's abilities, but the cartoon certainly managed to do so.

Solid animation, solid character designs and voice acting that was rarely less than excellent all contributed to its success.

I'm pleased to note that the series has been officially renewed after it proved to be a strong ratings winner.

EPISODE 20: BREAKDOWN

What is effectively a flashback episode does sterling work fleshing out the characters of Emma, Jean and Scott in particular as Emma probes Scott's mind for memories of Jean. With throwing Magneto into the works, there's a strong base to build the story off, drawing on the original X-men stories as well. Although Bobby's never named, it is slightly disconcerting to see him with the other original five X-men in their younger days, however, suggesting he's older than the teen he's been depicted as in the rest of the episodes, but it's a minor quibble and I'd much rather they kept true to Stan Lee's original vision than went the movieverse route and swapped Bobby out for Storm or something.

The big reveal isn't entirely unexpected, but is a nice twist and teen Scott and Jean are adorable. It goes slightly awry when Logan enters the scene and all three protagonists come out of the storyline looking like jerks (Jean cuckolding Scott, Scott an uncontrolled jealous boyfriend type, Logan a smug asshole) but it's not something that swamps the entire story.

At the end of the day, an episode that's both fun and full of Easter Eggs for long time fans and jumps the arcing storyline on considerably.

RATING - ****

EPISODE 21: ROVER

The fact that Kyle and Yost draw from even Morrison's era of X-men stories endears me to them, after Marvel seem so keen to pretend it never happened. But here we get Rover, from Morrison's final arc, the futuristic, damaged "good guy" Sentinel who can convey a range of emotion with only one word: DESTROY. Teamed up with Marrow it's a match made in squee and a strong core for what's a rather limp episode. After last episode's revelation, this future episode feels rather like a distraction, especially since, if the X-men succeed in their current day mission, this entire timeline will be wiped out anyway.

Still, the action and betrayals do something to distract from the slight and unnecessary story, but still... it's not a story that adds much to the overall arc and just feels like a distraction. For that, it never really clicked for me, Rover aside.

RATING - **

22. ACES & EIGHTS

Bob Forward did a great job making Gambit bearable earlier in the season and as he takes central stage again, this time on a mission to Genosha.

Greg Johnson fails to do the same with the character this time around and his Gambit is almost wholly repugnant - using then discarding the naïve and sheltered Polaris, happily triggering a war between humans and mutants simply because he's paid to do so and being almost entirely smug and unrepenting about it. I challenge anyone not to cheer when he gets his comeuppance at the end of the episode and not wish it were something worse.

It's an interesting take on Polaris which sees her, for the first time, be central to a story very much as Magneto's daughter. The counterplay between her and her sister Wanda is nicely handled, but Magneto appears so gullible throughout the only way to interpret it is that he was deliberately ignoring that Gambit was clearly up to something just to teach Lorna a valuable life lesson about trusting slimy French speaking A-holes.

Rating - ***

23. SHADES OF GREY

With a title like that it's pretty obvious who makes a return this episode and the focus is on Scott and Emma as they grow closer while simultaneously trying to save the amnesiac Jean from Sinister and Archangel.

There's a few problems with this episode - notably Warren merely being used as a minor threat and not really getting much to do. That aside, there's some formidable displays of Jean's powers which establish the Phoenix as a more credible threat for the season finale and Emma's actions help to layer her character, giving the Scott/Emma worshipers something to chew on while simultaneously not forgetting her origins.

The final twist did actually surprise me, as it was supposed to, but it was also not entirely out of left field - enough that it felt organic rather than purely for shock value.

RATING - ***

24 - 26. FORESIGHT

The final three episodes build organically into a grand finale that actually feels a little limp when it comes to the very final episode. The story tries a little too hard to do a little too much, drawing together a lot of strings and adding new ones. The future cut ins add action, but feel even more unnecessary - what does it matter if Master Mold attacks all the mutants if the timeline will be wiped out by the present battle anyway? The screentime given to this angle means that Magneto's hijacking of the Sentinels and the subsequent battle butts heads with the Phoenix storyline, meaning both get wrapped up hastily and the threat of the Phoenix never feels particularly epic.

However, much better they try to pack a lot in than not and the finale certainly feels epic in scope. The battle with the sentinels is a highlight as the X-men show off their abilities and their teamwork once more, Scott and Emma worshipers get more fodder, Jean and Scott lovers do too and the only people who might feel short changed are those who expected or hoped to get both worlds and a happy ending for every character. The only problem is that it feels like the first series of Heroes - the finale's built for so long, when it comes it can't live up to expectations and there's no doubt that the Phoenix doesn't quite click in the same way as the Sentinels do.

It's a great way to go out, standing under the glittering rain and then the sudden twist, but on the other hand it also feels like a slight letdown for Jean's contribution to the story to be relegated to damsel in distress.

RATING - ***.5