Looking Back: X-Men Cartoons, Part 3
In this third and final installment of our X-Men cartoon retrospective, we’ll look at Wolverine & The X-Men — a program that is still on the air and producing new episodes.
I admit that when Wolverine & The X-Men was first announced, I was skeptical. I didn’t like the name; it sounded like an attempt to simply capitalize off of Wolverine’s enormous popularity. The show’s creators, though, came up with a very interesting storyline that brings Wolverine to the forefront of the character lineup in a believable (rather than merely exploitative) way. Also, upon watching the initial preview trailer, I realized that the cartoon’s creators were obviously fans of the X-Men comics, and not just people who were brought in to help the network make a quick buck. The trailer was full of so many different (and sometimes lesser-known) characters that it was clear the writers knew what they were doing.
Like both X-Men and X-Men: Evolution before it, Wolverine & The X-Men is a very fun, exciting show. My only problem with it is that it airs on a somewhat obscure cable network and is difficult to find online. Consequently, I’ve only seen about half of the first season, despite the fact that it’s a cartoon that I would very much like to be watching on a regular basis.
Wolverine & The X-Men
Debuting on January 23, 2009, Wolverine & The X-Men hasn’t been around that long. In fact, only one complete season (26 episodes) has aired so far. Nicktoons Network is its home channel — unfortunate, since it’s not a station that most standard cable packages include; it usually comes as part of the next tier up, or with satellite subscription. Regardless, the show has been well-received, and is apparently doing well enough to warrant all the branded merchandise tie-ins that I’ve seen in stores over the summer.
As you may notice from the trailer, the show opens with an apparent attack on the Xavier Institute. Jean Grey and Professor Xavier are then unable to be found. The X-Men disband, leaving the mansion in ruins. In the year that follows, the government begins to take action against mutants with the creation of the MRD, or Mutant Response Division, as well as the activation of the Sentinel program. Wolverine begins to gather the scattered X-Men back together to find the Professor and Jean and combat whatever other threats stand in their way.
Wolverine & The X-Men features what is possibly the largest group of X-Men yet. Although not all of them rejoin the team right away, we see Wolverine and Beast, Emma Frost, Shadowcat, Iceman, Forge, Cyclops, Rogue, Angel, Nightcrawler, Storm, and many others. The cast of villains is equally large and diverse, with Magneto and his Acolytes, the Hellfire Club’s Inner Circle, Mr. Sinister and the Marauders, and others. There are a lot of other appearances by characters who don’t fit either category of “hero” or “villain,” and these many cameos are part of what makes this show so much fun.
Like both of the other X-Men series before it, Wolverine & The X-Men consists of episodes that can stand on their own but that also build on each other in serial format as part of a large story arc. Though not taken directly from comic book storylines, the plot of this cartoon is often inspired by stories and events in the comics, and while it doesn’t mirror them perfectly it certainly reflects a large portion of the ever-changing character lineup as well as the general feel of the current X-Men mythos in the comics.
The visual style of Wolverine & The X-Men is much closer to that seen in X-Men: Evolution than X-Men in the early ’90s. The animation is, I think, the best we’ve seen so far in an X-Men cartoon. The character designs are similar to those in Evolution, retaining a similar stylized appearance while naturally depicting most of the X-Men as being older than their X-Men: Evolution counterparts. In addition, the costumes seem to owe a lot to John Cassaday’s designs from his comic book run on Astonishing X-Men with Joss Whedon (see below). With great visuals and some of the best voice talent of any of the series, Wolverine & The X-Men‘s high production values make it that much easier to enjoy it.
Cool fact. With the series just warming up, there’s plenty of ground to cover and nearly limitless potential for future stories. While season one revolved around the X-Men searching for Professor Xavier, fighting Sentinels, looking for who initially attacked the mansion, and ultimately trying to prevent a “Days of Future Past” event from occurring, it sounds like the show’s creators are planning to (somehow) up the ante in season two. They revealed at this summer’s San Diego Comic Con that the next 26 episodes are currently in production and that they’ll deal with the Age of Apocalypse storyline from the comics. There will also be more new mutants featured, including Deadpool and Havok.
Watch it! As I mentioned earlier, it’s a bit tricky to find this one online. Nicktoons Network has a page where you can stream episodes for free, but for some reason, they stopped posting them after the first eight. Marvel.com has the show (and actually has a decent page and interface for it), but they also only have the first eight episodes. So far, only the first half of season one has been released on DVD in the US, but there are rumors that a full-season release is on the way (if you live in Canada, you can already get it). Wolverine & The X-Men is also available on iTunes, but here again, it’s only the first eight episodes.
The end. That wraps up this three-part retrospective on X-Men cartoons. I hope it’s been a fun trip down memory lane, and maybe even helped you discover some new favorites. One thing is for sure, though: the X-Men aren’t going away any time soon.
