Normal humans live in constant fear of a race called mutants, and sometimes with very good reasons. Mutants are people who are born with special powers ranging from telekinesis, to manipulation of the weather. Humanity's fear causes them to act out in very negative and violent ways.

A mutant by the name of Charles Xavier has a dream. He believes that one day humans and mutants can coexist in peace, and to help see his dream realized, Xavier created the X-Men. A team of mutants who are every bit as determined to see the dream come to reality. But, there are humans and mutants who don't share the same beliefs, and they're every bit as determined to see their own dream realized.

Previous Volumes:

X-Men Volume One
X-Men Volume Two
X-Men Volume Three


X-Men Volume Four:


Life never seems to get any better for the X-Men. After barely surviving the conflict with The Dark Phoenix, which took place during The Dark Phoenix Saga. They soon find themselves locked in battle with a young, and very powerful mutant named Proteus. Later, Magneto returns with a plan to segregate all mutants from the human race, by offering all mutants haven on his base, and things only get worst when the immortal mutant Apocalypse returns in an attempt to reshape time. -summary


I'm not at all surprised that the series still some how managed to remain interesting up to this point. Normally, when series run past a certain number of episodes they begin to over stay their welcome, due to redundancy or lacking of good ideas. However, X-Men had been running for so many years by this time. One would have to believe it impossible for the writers to actually run out of fresh material, with so many stories they can pull from the comic.

This volume opens up by introducing Proteus, who happens to be a young, yet very powerful and dangerous mutant, whose powers are only limited by his imagination. This young boy has the ability to completely transform and reshape reality with only a mere thought. The action scenes against this out of control mutant are simply amazing. Words can't really do this two parter justice because it has to be seen to really understand where I'm getting at, but what makes this character interesting is his very realistic and down to earth motive, which has nothing to do with world domination or even genocide.

The next two story arcs are clearly the best, and are the biggest reasons to see this volume. The two parter called Sanctuary begins when Magneto invades a conference, and forces the members to hear him out. Magneto truly sounds as if he has finally had enough of mutant oppression, and mutant liberation truly begins now. Those who are familiar with the comic, will quickly see where this one's headed once another mutant by the name of Fabian Cortez is introduced.

The best of the volume is the four part series Beyond Good and Evil. Apocalypse travels from the time of 3999 to the present, with the intention of capturing all existing mutant psychics, in order to obtain his final victory. This chapter contains the best action scenes and many character appearances, most notably the return of the time travelers Bishop and Cable. Wolverine even mentions that it seems as if every mutant on earth is involved. This is a very good chapter complete with betrayals.

The voice acting deserves a lot of credit this time around. Most notably in regards to Magneto who is voiced by David Hemblem. I feel his character was very well acted during the Sanctuary chapter. Overall, there are quite a few good and very fun performances as always.

The animation is airtight for the most part, but the first two episodes don't appear to be of the same quality. The artwork is still very good with the female psychic Psylocke being the standout of the female characters, and appearing almost as sexy as she does in the comic. The soundtrack is still strong but it doesn't really give off that epic feel, which was so well done during The Phoenix Saga.

This volume does have its problems. One stands out in regards to the Beyond Good and Evil arc, and it's the character development. Several of the characters but most notably Psylocke, happens to be poorly developed, and unless the viewer has extensive comic book knowledge of the villains gallery, in this case, the Fantastic Four or Avengers. They won't understand the purpose of a certain character who makes a brief cameo at the end of the arc.

Another problem that I have is with the second disk, which I actually do believe is more a matter of taste. These episodes for me were hard to get through. The entire second disk is packed with uninteresting stand alone episodes. Perhaps these episodes didn't appeal to me because the entire first half was so good. In any case, I didn't care for them and they felt too much like filler, but don't take this comment the wrong way, the episodes aren't really bad.

This is the episode listing spread across the two disk set:

Disk 1

49) Proteus Part 1
50) Proteus Part 2
51) Sanctuary Part 1
52) Sanctuary Part 2
53) Beyond Good and Evil Part 1: The End of Time
54) Beyond Good and Evil Part 2: Promise of Apocalypse
55) Beyond Good and Evil Part 3: The Lazarus Chamber
56) Beyond Good and Evil Part 4: End and Beginning

Disk 2

57) Have Yourself a Morlock Little X-Mas
58) The Lotus and the Steel
59) Love in Vain
60) Secrets, Not Long Buried
61) Xavier Remembers
62) Family Ties

Although this volume isn't on the same level as the second and third volumes. This is still a solid set, with the first disk being worth the price tag alone. Like the previous volumes, the series is still fine for kids to watch. It can also be enjoyed by non fans of the comic. In fact, to my experience, non fans seem to enjoy the series more.

Fans of the comic book, as I mentioned many times before. It's better to come in with an opened mind, and try to enjoy the series. This volume has a 322 minute run time.

Pros:
-Still entertaining with the first half being the best

Cons:
-Second half lacking the style of the first