X-Men: Evolution: Season 1 - Episode 5. 'Speed And Spyke' (2000) - TV Episode Review

[caption id="attachment_330" align="alignright" width="220"] Official Score = 2 1/2 Devils[/caption]

The one thing so far that I have to say that I really don't understand about, 'X-Men: Evolution' is the fact that characters like, 'Jean Grey', 'Cyclops' and, 'Nightcrawler' are considered to be High Schoolers, but, 'Wolverine' & 'Storm' are adults? I mean they are all supposed to be roughly about the same age in just about any other form of media that has to do with the 'X-Men'...

Regardless though, this series so far is pretty good, and Season 1 - Episode 5: 'Speed And Spyke' (2000) is good example of this!

Written by: Bob Forward (The Super Mario Bros. Supershow), Rick Ungar (Mutant X) & Directed by: Gary Graham (Kung Fu Panda). Starring: Kirby Morrow (InuYasha), Scott McNeil (Conan The Adventurer), Venus Terzo (Da Vinci's Inquest), Maggie Blue O'Hara (CardCopters), Christopher Judge (Stargate: SG1), Neil Denis (RoboCop: Alpha Command), Christopher Gray (Fear), Brad Swaile (Mobile Suite Gundam 00), Kirsten Alter (Juno), David Kaye (Up), Richard Ian Cox (RV), Noel Fisher (Battle Los Angeles) & Colleen Wheeler (The Tall Man).

Now this episode is an interesting one... Not particularly good, not particularly bad... But if season 1 has been about Proffessor Xavier (David Kaye) & Magneto (Christopher Judge) recruiting for their perspective sides in the upcoming battles... Then one thing that should stand out real nicely is the fact that this episode has to do with both sides recruiting their newest members!
In the case of Professor Xavier and the, 'X-Men' their next team member is, 'Spyke'...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320"] Spyke (Neil Denis) & his arch-nemesis being recruited on to different sides of right and wrong![/caption]

Now Spyke (Neil Denis) is the nephew of Storm (Kirsten Alter), and has been trying to recruit Spyke to join the Xavier Institute for awhile... So much so that ultimately she will bring in Jean Grey (Venus Terzo) & Cyclops (Kirby Morrow) to try and talk him in to it!

What finally gets him to sign up, is when after being blamed for breaking in to lockers at his school, (something that his enemy, 'Quick Silver' (Richard Ian Cox) had been doing, and had taken off when the cops showed up, leaving Spyke as the fall guy.)

Well Quick Silver isn't exactly one to work with a team himself, but Magneto really wants him on his team and works with his minion, 'Mystique' (Colleen Wheeler) to help bring Spyke and Quick Silver together for a final confrontation (believing that Quick Silver can have this final confrontation, that he could potentially end up being happy with becoming a member of Magneto and his group...)

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480"] Quick Silver maybe down, but he surely isn't out![/caption]

In the end, this episode was just plan old fun... I mean plot wholes aside, I just have to say that this episode was just fun... Not edge of your seat fun, but if your looking for something fun to watch on a lazy afternoon, this one is worth it!

http://youtu.be/tOFRJhXsFMk

X-Men: Evolution: Season 1 - Episode 2: 'The X-Impulse' - TV Episode Review

[caption id="attachment_322" align="alignright" width="258"] Official Score = 1 1/2 Devils[/caption]

So far I have to say that I am pretty impressed with this series, I mean I haven't seen to many episodes yet, but the ones that I have seen I gotta say have been pretty awesome!

Admittedly it is true that unless you are a fan of animation then you might find this show to be a little infantile (probably almost exclusively due to the fact that it is a cartoon...) But if you are reading this review then I suspect you are like me, and are a fan of this type of stuff!) Anyway, so far this series has proven to be real nice addition to the, 'X-Men' world!

Although it is true that probably for the most part, I doubt the Hollywood would really utilize the information from this cartoon, it is cool... I mean you get a  glimpse in to the possible history of the, 'X-Men'  from their origin as Children... Which I haven't really seen in the movies (although there are elements that may slowly be coming together...) Also I have to admit that I never was able to find the X-Men origin comics, and so I never got to read about their true origins... And that is largely in my opinion what makes this show awesome!

Although I hate to say it... But as a follow up episode to the pilot, Episode 2 is pretty bland... But we will get in to that in a moment...

Written by: Greg Johnson (Planet Hulk), Rick Ungar (Mutant X) & Directed by: Gary Graham (Jungle Book 2). Starring: Kirby Morrow (Fringe), Scott McNeil (Eve Of Destruction), Venus Terzo (Adventures Of Sonic The Hedgehog), Maggie Blue O'Hara (Living With The Dead), Christopher Gray (RoboCop: Alpha Commando), Brad Sawile (Dragon Ball Z) Kirsten Alter (RV), David Kaye (Up) & Colleen Wheeler (Cabin In The Lake).

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="580"] The X-Men as they were in season... This show just keeps getting better and better![/caption]

Now I hate to say it, but this episode was not the most inventive episode there is, and frankly not the most entertaining... but it does introduce, Shadow Cat (Kitty Pryde), and Avalanche (Lance Alvers) in to the mix... both of course being important characters in both the good and evil side of the X-Men Universe...

You see Kitty Pryde (Maggie Blue O'Hara) is a young high school girl who is just learning the scary fact that she is a mutant and not particularly happy about it especially when she ends up waking up one evening having phased through the floor and in to the basement of her house...

Now the unhappy, 'Kitty' and her parents are just trying to make the best of it when Cyclops (Kirby Morrow) and Jean (Venus Terzo) are asked to go and recruit Kitty to become the latest edition of the growing (X-Men) family... Of course non of them are particularly enthused by this...

But in the end things will change... You see Kitty is being pursued by a delinquent (and fellow mutant) by the name of, 'Lance  Alvers' (Christopher Gray) who will try to win her over to the dark side of the force and get her to try and break in and steal a test that he wants to sell!

If Cyclops, Jean and and her old (and soon to be new) families can get to her in time though, she will be inducted in to a a world that will change her life in a positive way forever!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="572"] Kitty Pryde is just one happy camper to become a mutant![/caption]

Like I said, this episode is not particularly inventive, the story line is not particularly original (it has been done many times over in both TV and the movies), but in all truth the best thing that I can say about this current episode is that it does take the story line in the right direction (even the older more well drawn X- Men cartoon from the 90s didn't have Shadow Cat in it... Which is a shame because she truly was an original, 'X-Man'!)

In summation, this may not be the best episode of the series, but stick with it, I doubt you will be disappointed... I know I haven't been!

http://youtu.be/7Z7chBBJx1o

X-Men: Evolution: Season 1 - Episode 1: 'Strategy X' (Air Date: November 4th, 2000)

[caption id="attachment_322" align="alignright" width="258"] Official Score = 1 1/2 Devils[/caption]

Like most kids that were born in the last 50 years or so, one of the things that I liked to do, (and still do to some extent) is to read comics! As a matter of fact, reading comics, collecting probably is where my interests in the animated cartoons and the movies comes from!

With that in mind, one of my favorite teams from the Marvel Universe is the, 'X-Men'... The truth is, is they are an awesome collection of people from all walks of life that have come together to represent a very awesome cross section of the world community... Just slightly different!

With that in mind, one of my favorite cartoons when I was a kid was, 'X-Men: The Animated Series', this cartoon gave an amazing live action (not in person) but more of an action sided graphic representation of the comics themselves!

Unfortunately though, there has been a ton of great cartoons that have come out since then that were based on, 'The X-Men' that I hadn't taken the time to see... But that is until recently with, X-Men: Evolution (2000 - 2003)!

And you know what? I haven't seen to many episodes yet of this series, but so far the ones that I have seen, I have really enjoyed, unfortunately with the exception first episode entitled: Strategy X!

Written by: Avi Arand (Iron Man), Bob Forward (The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!) & Rick Ungar (Spider-Man). Directed by: Frank Paur (Batman: Mask Of the Phantasm). Starring: Vincent Gale (Firewall), Christopher Judge (Stargate SG 1), Scott McNeil (Cedar Cove), Kirby Morrow (Escape From Planet Earth), Brad Swaile (Black Lagoon), Venus Terzo (It). Kirsten Alter (Chaos), David Kaye (Up), Noel Fisher (Final Destination 2) & Colleen Wheeler (The Tall Man).

In the whole, this TV series tells of how Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters goes from being a small center where people with mutant powers can go to and be accepted, and safe from the rest of the world to the big school that it will later become with a large X-Men team!

but this episodes tells of how the small center for mutant kind and the even smaller 'X-Men' team (at the beginning of this episode it only comprises, Professor Xavier, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm and Wolverine...)

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320"] Cyclops (Kirby Morrow), Jean Grey (Venus Terzo), Spyke (Neil Denis), Shadowcat (Maggie Blue O'Hara)... An Early 'X-Men' team with Toad Tolansky (Noel Fisher).[/caption]

Anyway, during this time, the team is in school and all, but they are also awaiting their latest addition, 'Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner' (Swaile) to arrive from Germany... Of course that is not the only other perspective member of Xavier's growing family!  You see during a High School football game Toad Tolensky (Noel Fisher) is caught by some football players stealing some wallets...

During this time Cyclops decides to help out and gets rid of the guys, but unfortunately they knock his shades off and he ends up taking out half the School... Later on though, Professor Xavier has Toad brought in when it is discovered that Toad has special frog like abilities...

When he comes in though, this is after Nightcrawler has settled in, and after being chased up and down the halls by Nightcrawler for a little bit, he decides to take off... In the end though we come to discover that besides Professor Xavier and his team looking for fresh faced kids with mutant abilities, but Magneto (Christopher Judge) and Mystique (Colleen Wheeler) who is dressed up to look like, 'The Principal' of the school, are also recruiting for their eventual Army!

In the end this episode does a good job at getting the ball rolling, but other then that, it is not very amusing...

http://youtu.be/7Z7chBBJx1o