Sunday, June 09, 2024

X-Men '97 - Episodes 1-5 Reviews

I had been waiting for the whole first season to wrap up on Disney+ to do this and then I had other things to review. However, here's the first of two blogs that I am writing about this sequel series to the popular animated series from the 1990s.

Episode 1: To Me, My X-Men


Essentially this picked up from where the series finale of X-Men: The Animated Series left off. Charles Xavier is dead and it's Cyclops who has taken over the team. Oh and him and Jean Grey are expecting a child, Morph has settled back into being Wolverine's best friend and there's the introduction of Sunspot. On top of that, there's the return of Bolivar Trask and the Sentinels as well as the Master Mold supercomputer. Add in some horrible visions for Jean and Magneto stepping out of the woodwork to confirm he's taking over the school and you've got a great opening episode. 8/10

Episode 2: Mutant Liberation Begins


Magneto taking centre stage in this second episode only felt right after the way the first one ended. Not surprisingly, most of the X-Men aren't exactly keen on having him around as their leader and it's extra complicated for Rogue with hints of a romantic past between. Magneto's return also delayed Cyclops and Jean from leaving the team but not the birth of their son, Nathan. There was also the subplot of Magneto's trial at the UN Headquarters while Storm bore the brunt of the X-Cutioner and lost her powers. The episode did largely telegraph Storm's fate but it still came as a shock. 8/10

Episode 3: Fire Made Flesh 


Something of a spookier episode, I really loved that this one skewered fully into it's horror setting. We did the Dark Phoenix plot with Jean Grey that the next step was of course the Madelyne Pryor/Goblin Queen and at the behest of the returned Mister Sinister, its executed rather well. You've got a complicated triangle of sorts between Jean, Scott and Madelyne as well as Bishop being tasked with sending Nathan into the future in order to save. I also liked that the episode didn't pull away from Storm either. She might have left the team and gone back to her home but the arrival of Forge certainly helped with this subplot. 8/10

Episode 4: Motendo/Lifedeath - Part 1 


After three incredibly strong episodes, the season hit a bum note with this one. I didn't mind the focus on Jubilee and Sunspot but I just didn't care enough for the return of Mojo and the video game plot that nearly killed both Jubilee and Sunspot. Still though, their relationship did pick up, so it wasn't too much of a time waster. Better handled was Storm and Forge working together and the arrival of Adversary at the end. I genuinely thought that plot should've had the most focus on this one. It certainly would've improved the episode. 6/10

Episode 5: Remember It


Well, this might be one of the best episodes from any television show ever. Certainly one of the best episodes of a show airing in 2024. Gambit hadn't too much to do this season and while he wasn't a fan of Rogue and Magneto's growing connection, he certainly got one hell of a heroic sacrifice. The attack on Genosha, following the former being accepted by the UN was devastating. Rogue's pain over losing both Gambit and Magneto was heartbreaking. Then there was the Wolverine/Jean/Cyclops/Madelyne quadrangle, the return of Cable along with revealing the character's real identity (it's Nathan) and this episode didn't let up for a moment. 10/10

The next blog will cover Lifedeath - Part 2, Bright Eyes and Tolerance Is Extinction Parts 1-3.

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