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 Volume:
X-Men Volume One
X-Men Volume Two:
After the events that took place in the episode Till Death Do Us Part. The X-Men have to continue defending themselves against one new, or old menace after the other. This wouldn't be much of a problem, but the disappearance of Charles Xavier only adds to their stress .-summary
The series gains a lot of momentum with this chapter by delivering some very good stories. The first eight episodes(17-24) are pretty much stand alone with only one two parter. This is the only consistent plot line that takes place as a side plot concerning Xavier and Magneto, and is delivered in small segments. This story is tied up during the two parter Reunion.
Many of the first eight episodes deliver more background on characters, such as Wolverine(Repo Man), Gambit(X-Ternally Yours), Beast(Beauty & The Beast), and Rogue(A Rogue's Tale). Rogue's story happens to be the best and most dramatic of the stories to me. Also the time traveler named Bishop returns in the awesome two parter Time Fugitives. These two stories deliver some of the best action scenes in this set, plus the other time traveling mutant named Cable gets in on the action. This two parter happens to be among my favorites of the entire series.
The absolute best of the set would more than likely be the five part series The Phoenix Saga. Without spoiling the plot line for those who have never heard of it. I'll just say prepare yourself for a very entertaining story packed with action, drama, and new characters. Fans of the comic book which includes myself, were a little ticked on this chapter because of the huge differences. But really, when looking back, the writers deserve a lot of credit for slicing and dicing so much of the original story, and in the process, still make it seem coherent.
The production values are simply incredible for a TV series, which are very noticable beginning with the two parter Out of the Past, which sets up The Phoenix Saga. The animation is a step up at this point with some fluid motions. The action scenes are very detailed with so much taking place at one time, and it's done without appearing crowded or even jumpy. The artwork is a step up as well with a polished and clean look. The soundtrack only gets better, and this is especially noticable for the two aforementioned arcs. The BGM is a very well orchestrated music score with an epic feel, that fits a storyline of epic proportions. At times, the series feels like a motion picture.
My only gripes happen to be the almost unwatchable episode for me, called Mojovision. I'll be honest and say, this has more to do with me never being interested in the Mojo character or his world. I just never saw the appeal of this character, and also I do have a problem with some of the writing. Most notable for me, would be characters of flesh and blood being shot by tank fire and not dying. Mutant or no mutant, somebody should have taken a long dirt nap.
I'm not exactly counting this as a "con" or blow against the series, but in The Phoenix Saga, I noticed the voice for Gladiator was indeed changed. I actually like the change, because now he sounds more menacing, instead of like a second rate Superman. Also, at least one song was changed completely, and this is during the final battles in the very last episode. These changes will only bother someone who remembers these episodes clearly after seeing them so many times. Those who don't remember, or never saw the episodes, more than likely won't even care.
This is the episode listing spread across the two disk set:
Disk 1
17) Red Dawn
18) Repo Man
19) X-Ternally Yours
20) Time Fugitives Part 1
21) Time Fugitives Part 2
22) A Rogue's Tale
23) Beauty & The Beast
24) Mojovision
Disk 2
25) Reunion Part 1
26) Reunion Part 2
27) Out of the Past Part 1
28) Out of the Past Part 2
29) The Phoenix Saga Part 1: Sacrifice
30) The Phoenix Saga Part 2: The Dark Shroud
31) The Phoenix Saga Part 3: Cry of the Banshee
32) The Phoenix Saga Part 4: The Star Jammers
33) The Phoenix Saga Part 5: Child of Light
X-Men: Volume Two is a very solid release and the longest of the five volumes. This volume contains 17 episodes with a 391 minute run time. As I mentioned in the review of the previous release. The series does contain animated violence, but it's kept under control and never becomes very violent or graphic. It's still something I think kids can see.
Pros:
-Far too many entertaining episodes
Cons:
-Some questionable writing at times, and one episode I feel is skip material
