First Things First…
The Juggernaut is another cool villain, so I’m excited for him to enter the show. And with last episode ending with the team finding the X-Mansion destroyed, I assume he’s responsible.
That said, I’m hoping the quality picks up a bit. I didn’t love “Slave Island,” and I was surprised to find out it’s largely a beloved episode. Not only that, but my favorite part of the episode was Cable’s debut—which is the one thing some other reviews I looked at disliked and thought was weird.
6 Things I Like
6. Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
The team is finally starting to gel.
It may be Xavier’s insistence… or it might be Cyclops’ annoying persistence… but it’s happening. Teamwork is the only way they’re able to beat Juggernaut. They need to work together to get his helmet off so Jean can probe his mind and give him a hypnotic suggestion so he forgets who he is. Even Wolverine says to Cyclops afterward…
“Maybe there’s something to that wimpy ‘teamwork’ garbage of yours after all.”
And if Wolverine is on board, it’s all systems go.
5. Checking in with Beast
Beast has been sidelined for much of this first season because of his imprisonment.
Although I’m a big fan of his, I love that kind of serialization. This show was definitely ahead of its time in that regard. That said, this is a good time to check in with him.
Beast forms a quick bond with Colossus after Colossus gets arrested. It’s his word that allows Colossus to trust the X-Men and join them when they spring him from jail. But Beast still won’t go because it’s important to him to await his day in court. He’s content to hang upside down and read Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience.
This is a quick scene, but it’s good to be with our guy again, and it’s a good reminder that his trial is coming—and with it, advancement in the anti-mutant agenda storyline.
4. Is AI the New Cheap Mutant Labor?
“Your building is crushed. Any more today?”
Colossus
I couldn’t help but think about AI and all the industries it’s disrupting—including writing—when I saw Colossus demolish a building in about five seconds.
We’re meant to sympathize with Colossus—and he has good intentions. He’s just trying to do the work he was hired to do as quickly and efficiently as possible.
But the workers deserve consideration, too.
Don’t get me wrong, they’re not portrayed sympathetically at all. Their anti-mutant sentiments are bigoted. They attack Colossus, call him a “mutant scab,” and one guy even tries to run him down with a cement mixer. But if one mutant can do the work of 20 men, in a fraction of the time, and potentially put them all out of work, that’s a significant issue. I hope they explore it further.
3. A Big New Friend
Obviously, the episode title gives away the fact that we’d meet Juggernaut. But I wasn’t expecting to meet such an important X-Man like Colossus, too. He makes a good impression (especially on Rogue) and is a formidable adversary for Juggernaut, considering both their size and strength. He declines Wolverine’s invitation to stay with the team at the end of the episode, as he helps them rebuild the mansion. But I hope he comes back for an extended stay down the road.
2. The Unstoppable Juggernaut
“Agony. Evil thoughts. They love my brother, not me. They love my brother. Must destroy.”
Rogue (channeling Juggernaut’s thoughts)
As I said in the intro, Juggernaut is a cool villain. He says he’s not a mutant and claims his powers are magical. That alone is fascinating, if true.
On top of that, he’s Professor X’s brother. When Rogue absorbs some of his power, we get a sense that he’s always felt inferior to his brilliant brother. She channels some of his thoughts, including…
“Charles, you had it easy. You were the good one! But now I’m the strongest, and I will destroy you and your pathetic X-Men!”
Again, fascinating.
And I like that the team—Wolverine particularly—already know who he is. These are the early days of the X-Men, so they haven’t been fighting all these villains for years or decades, like in the comics. But it seems they’ve crossed paths with Juggernaut before. Storm even says, “Nothing we know of can kill him.” Maybe it’s because of his family ties that they’re familiar with his game.
1. Wolverine’s Softer Side
Wolverine’s Canadian getaway did him some good. Even though he still acts impulsively and sets off on his own at first, he finally starts warming up to working as part of the team.
But more than that, we see attachments forming (beyond his obsession with Jean). He says about the mansion…
“I never realized how much this dump meant to me till somebody wiped it out.”
We also see his attachment to the professor when he’s searching for him. He says, “Come on, Professor. Stop playing around. Tell us you’re all right.” Despite them butting heads over Sabretooth earlier this season, it’s clear Xavier means a lot to him.
And on top of that, it looks like Wolverine is becoming attached to Jubilee (and she to him). The others care about her, too, but he really looks out for her and protects her.
0 Things I’m Mixed On
2 Things I Don’t Like
2. Why Now, Juggernaut?
“So where’s Xavier? I knocked on his door, but I don’t think he was home. So I decided to do a little banking to get his attention.”
The Juggernaut
As much as I liked our introduction to Juggernaut, I found it annoying that there’s no indication why he attacks the mansion now. He says he wanted to get his brother’s attention. But again, why now?
1. Where’s Gambit?
I like that the show doesn’t cram every team member into every episode. Sometimes only two or three X-Men go on a mission, and they get the spotlight that episode. Wolverine even got an episode almost entirely to himself.
So if this was just a matter of Gambit not being picked for this mission, I’d be totally fine with it. But he was with them when they were returning from Genosha last episode. So he should be right there as they discover the mansion has been wrecked.
But where is he?
We don’t see him exit the Blackbird with the others. And he doesn’t help them search the rubble for Professor X, yet it’s not mentioned that he’s missing.
That’s what makes me think this is a goof, or an unintended inconsistency.
The unfortunate thing is they actually have a storyline reason why he might bail. He was feeling very unappreciated on Genosha, and he planted seeds of doubt about his own trustworthiness. But that doesn’t seem to be what happens here.
Either way, the fact that Gambit was with them and is just suddenly gone, at a time when they’re in distress, makes him extremely conspicuous by his absence. And I hate that they don’t address it.
Tim Matassa
