tek's rating:

Wolverine and the X-Men, on Nicktoons Network
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Caution: spoilers.

This is the second X-Men animated series I've seen, after X-Men: Evolution, though there have been series I haven't seen (and this isn't directly related to any of them, as far as I know). And I haven't read any X-Men comics, but there were the movies, of course, and anyway, I'm familiar with the overarching plot of the prejudice of normal humans against all mutants in general, despite the fact that some (the X-Men) are good, while others (the Brotherhood) are evil. And the good ones will still try to protect the people who hate them for being different. But of course, stories can get more complicated than that, at times. We'll see...

As it begins, Logan (Wolverine) is about to leave the Xavier Institute for some reason, and Rogue is upset about it. But before he can go, there's a sudden, unexpected attack on the Institute in the form of a mysterious explosion, and... Professor Charles Xavier and Jean Grey disappear. Then the story flashes forward one year. The X-Men have disbanded, and mostly they're either in hiding or have been detained by the MRD (Mutant Response Division). Senator Robert Kelly is trying to pass a law which would require all mutants to register as such, and of course no mutants are happy about that. But while former X-Men are just trying to stay under the radar, members of the evil Brotherhood are fighting back.

Well, events transpire that require Wolverine to try to rebuild the old team. The first to join him is Beast, then Iceman, Shadowcat, and later Forge. Rogue, meanwhile, joins the Brotherhood. Cyclops, at first, is off brooding over the missing Jean, but eventually joins. A former member of the X-Men named Warren Worthington III (aka, Angel) helps them out with some money, and sets up a prep school for them, using his father's money. But he can't join them in an official way, or let his father know what he's doing, since his father is a friend and supporter of Senator Kelly, and apparently would rather no one know his son is a mutant. Meanwhile, a set-up by the Brotherhood makes it look like the X-Men attacked Kelly, which helps him push through the Mutant Registration act.

They X-Men are also joined by Emma Frost, who formerly ran an academy for mutants similar to the Xavier Institute, and Wolverine doesn't trust her. But she offers her help in locating Charles, who it turns out is at Genosha, an island sanctuary for mutants, which is run by the X-Men's old enemy, Magneto. The X-Men stage a raid on Genosha, which Magneto thwarts single-handedly, but then just hands over Xavier to them. Apparently, Charles had just appeared there, in a comatose state, some time ago. When they get him back home, they're contacted by a mental projection of Charles, from 20 years in the future, having just recently awoken from his current state. He shows them visions of the apocalyptic state of the world, with Sentinel robots everywhere. He tells them the X-Men will all have to work together to avert this future, despite their current divisive tendencies, with Wolverine as their (reluctant) leader....

And that's as much as I can say at this point. Um... well, more stuff must have happened since the last time I updated this review, but I don't really feel the need to detail any of it. I will say that either I missed some episodes, or the series ended without any real resolution. I need to look into that. But anyway, I liked the show well enough, even if it never became that important to me.


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