Previously On X-Men…
Remember when Saturday morning was the best time for great shows? Growing up in the 80's and 90's we had a classic lineup of Batman: TAS, Spider-Man, Power Rangers, Sonic The Hedgehog, and more…Those were the days.
With the upcoming release of the new Wolverine Movie, Disney and Marvel have decided to release one of the best (and the second longest running) comic based animated series on DVD as the first two Volumes of X-Men: The Animated Series are now available! This series ran on Fox from 1992-1997 for five seasons total and featured 76 total episodes.
Led by Professor Charles Xavier, the X-Men fight against evil and protect humanity from new threats. In this series, the X-Men are comprised of Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean Grey, Rogue, Gambit, Storm, Beast, Morph, and newcomer Jubilee! The show featured numerous cameos from characters across the X-Men universe.
Volume 1-
The first volume contains the first 16 episodes the series. This set includes all of season one as well as the first few episodes of season 2! Highlights include:
Night of the Sentinels-This two part story introduced us to the world of the X-Men through the eyes of young Jubilation Lee. Humanity has just started the Sentinel program to hunt down and track mutants who are unregistered and Jubilee has become caught in the crossfire! She is saved by some new friends and quickly learns about the super team known as the X-Men. Cyclops and the gang head out to stop the Sentinels and retrieve the files being kept on all of the known mutants, but things don't go as planned when Beast gets captured and another teammate looses his life!
Enter Magneto/Deadly Reunions– Meet Magneto. He doesn't like humans. He wants to enslave humanity and believes mutants to be the rightful rulers of the planet. Sorry Magneto…but the X-Men are going to stop you.
The Cure/Come the Apocalypse– When Rogue hears about a cure to the mutant gene she sets out to find more information and runs into a former X-Man…The high flying Angel! Angel also wants to get rid of his powers and undergoes a new treatment to remove them once and for all…but the treatment isn't exactly what it appears to be and he is transformed forever! It is revealed that Apocalypse is behind the new technology and used to to create his four horsemen…which include his new Archangel!
Days of Futures Past- Parts 1/2-A time traveler named Bishop has come back to the past to stop a traitor within the X-Men from making a deadly mistake that could change history.
Final Decision– The First season concludes with an all out battle between the X-Men, Magneto, and the Sentinels.
Till Death Do Us Part- Parts 1/2-The Second season kicks off with the wedding of Cyclops and Jean Grey…but it turns out an old friend wasn't quite as dead as we thought and has returned to seek revenge on his former teammates! We also are introduced to the man behind his resurrection, Mr. Sinister! Meanwhile, Professor X and Magneto both respond to a distress call only to find themselves trapped in the mysterious Savage Land!
Volume 2-
The second volume picks right up where one leaves off…This set contains 16 episodes and finishes the second season and goes through part of the third season as well! Highlights include:
Time Fugitives- Parts 1/2– Bishop isn't the only X-Man who wants to change the future: Meet Cable! Cable has come back from an even more distant future to stop the villain Apocalypse from enslaving humanity.
Reunion- Parts 1/2– The X-Men are reunited with Professor X and Magneto. We finally learn what Mr. Sinister has been up to this whole time in the Savage Land and the story arc with Morph draws to a close.
Out of the Past- Parts 1/2 The third season premiere of the X-Men was actually shown in prime time! These two episodes featured a different animated style than the rest of the series and changes back following this episode. What does Lady Deathstrike want with an alien space craft? Can Wolverine stop this mysterious woman from his past in time?
The Phoenix Saga- Parts 1-5– The X-Men must travel into space to stop a new evil from emerging…And what will happen now that Jean's powers have been growing exponentially? The X-Men must deal with Aliens and the mysterious Phoenix Force which threatens to consume all life in the universe!
The best part about this series was how heavily it relied on classic comic book stories for its episodes and character designs. The creators didn't try to remake the X-Men. Everything is pulled from classic comics and that fact alone makes this series stand out significantly. There is not one bad episode in this show. The characters and story quality are consistent and extremely impressive for a 90's animated series. I for one can't wait for the following two volumes of this series so I can have the complete collection!
ComicsOnline gives X-Men: The Animated Series Volumes One and Two 5 out of 5 classic cartoon series!
