X-Men: Volume 1 (Marvel DVD Comic Book Collection)

2 Ratings: 4.0

First volume of animated series

X-Men, also known as X-Men: The Animated Series, is an American animated television series which debuted on October 31, 1992 in the United States on the Fox Network as part of its Fox Kids Saturday morning lineup (see 1992 in television). … see full wiki

Tags: Movies, Tv Shows, Television Shows, Animation, Marvel Comics, Comic Book And Graphic Novel Adaptations, see all

Genre: Animation

Release Date: October 31, 1992 – September 20, 1997

1 review about X-Men: Volume 1 (Marvel DVD Comic Book Collection)

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A show that I'm not too fond of when looking back.

Aug 19, 2011

by Madpenguin
posted in Speech Bubbles: Comics & Graphic Novels

Rating:

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.-summary

Well here goes what some consider to be the best comic book to animation series, or cartoon series in general to ever grace American television, The Uncanny X-Men. In truth, I do not feel the same way at all. I always thought it to be an average show, and I can think of several comic to animated series that I found much better. If X-men were to be compared with its comic book counterpart; then it would fail miserably because of its vast differences. Therefore, a fan of the comic will have a hard time adjusting to it. However, if the show is watched with no knowledge of the comic book, or even with an opened mind. X-Men can be an entertaining series when taken at face value for some. However, my problem isn't really the differences, instead, it feels too dumbed down in regards to the physical action.

The X-Men animated series made its debut on television in 1992. Like many comic book fans, I was very excited to catch the first episodes, but I was heavily disappointed at first, and didn't like the series at all. However, I did begin to enjoy it a little because there are some good moments here and there.

Very similar to the comic, the series examines several themes during its episodes. Themes such as racial bigotry, jealousy, revenge, and even acceptance, just to name a few. The stories are well written, and they also help with exploring the characters and their development. It's very easy to become emotionally attached to the characters. Especially, when learning more about certain people whose powers are far more a curse than a gift. The characters are without a doubt the strongest point of the show, this even includes the villains. They all have an ample amount of depth to them. From the innocence of the young Jubilee, to Magneto's elitist take no prisoner's attitude. I believe there's someone for everyone's enjoyment.

The animation and artwork is very good for an early 90's show. The action scenes are pretty fluid and sometimes exciting to watch. The battles that appeal to me the most are when the X-Men are up against the mutant killing robots called Sentinels. Some of these battles are just simply incredible, and they contain the absolute best action scenes you will see in the series. The action scenes aren't packed with graphic and bloody violence. They have more of a child friendly feel.

The artwork is very good as well with some nice character designs. The females are very well drawn, and could leave some guys drooling. However, the artwork does have its share of small inconsistencies, such as slight mis-coloring errors, but nothing on the level of the original Transformers series. X-Men also uses some very good voice acting and an excellent soundtrack that never gets old. There are a variety of songs, which blends very well with everything taking place in the scenes, and I never get tired of the opening theme.

Although an action series for the most part, X-Men is also a drama as well, and it can be a damn good one without coming off too cheesy at times. There are many standout episodes, and too many very good character interactions to choose from, but my favorite episodes are everything that has something to do with the Sentinels because of the great action scenes, and I also love the portrayal of Rogue, whose powers are far more a curse than a gift. How she hasn't slit her wrist by now is something I'll never know. Perhaps the blade would break into pieces.

The X-Men team made up for this series consist of Cyclops: He's the field commander and has the ability to fire energy blast from his eyes. Storm: She's second in command and her ability is to manipulate the weather. Jean Grey: She's the love interest of Cyclops and her abilities are telekinesis and mind probing. Wolverine: He possesses rapid healing, along with an unbreakable metal that is laced to his bones, with retractable claws housed in his forearms made of the same substance. Beast: A man with blue hair completely covering his body, giving him the appearance of an animal. He's the brains of the team, and also possesses super strength and agility. Gambit: He has the ability to charge any object with explosive energy, his weapon of choice are playing cards. He also has super agility. Rogue: She has the ability of flight, super strength, and can absorb the powers and memories of anyone she makes skin contact with. Jubilee: The youngest and least experienced of the team. Her ability is to shoot fireworks from her hands.

Despite my enjoyment of the series, there are things I don't really like about it at all. Although this team was a good pick for the sake of the series. I was never too crazy about it, because there are many others who are far cooler. Many other members of the original teams make appearances such as Colossus and even the Angel, but I really didn't like how they were used. Most notably would be the Angel, who was very misused and it creates plot holes later in the series. To include, some of the battles come off as major disappointments too. The battle which truly stands out is when they tangle with the Juggernaut. I found the battle between him and Colossus to be beyond horrible at best.

The romance angle between Cyclops and Jean becomes very annoying to me, because it's exploited early and way too often in some form. Also, characters such as Wolverine and his arch nemesis Sabretooth come off very weak, and the fight scenes between them aren't good at all. I understand the sheer ferocity of their battles in comic form wouldn't be appropriate for a kids show. But come on, if Batman can level all of his opponents. Then these two can at least beat each other until someone is bruised up.

I'll list the episodes that are spread across this two disk set.

Disk 1:

1) Night of the Sentinels Part 1
2) Night of the Sentinels Part 2
3) Enter Magneto
4) Deadly Reunions
5) Captive Hearts
6) Cold Vengeance
7) Slave Island
8) The Unstoppable Juggernaut

Disk 2)

9) The Cure
10) Come The Apocalypse
11) Days of Future Past Part 1
12) Days of Future Past Part 2
13) The Final Decision
14) Till Death Do Us Part Part 1
15) Till Death Do Us Part Part 2
16) Whatever It Takes

Overall, I think the stories are good, and people who aren't familiar with the comic will get the absolute most out of them. However, this is no longer a series that I could see myself coming back to. Some of these episodes are nice takes on the original stories and I'll give it that much, but they really lack with the action though, and there are too many boring moments. This is the way I look at it, if I want a true X-Men fix, then I'll dig out and dust off my old comics. If I want to watch some good American animation or if I need a superhero fix, then Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, and Justice League will always be my first picks over this. In anycase, I recommend this to anyone who loves animation in some form, or saw the X-Men films and liked them. The series does contain some animated violence, but nothing too graphic or brutal for kids to watch. This first volume has a 368 minute run time.

Pros:
-Good animation and artwork, character chemistry, memorable characters

Cons:
-Love angles can grow annoying, Wolverine growls too much, some action scenes are lackluster

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