First Things First…
The first half of this two-part finale was good, not great. I’d love for this to be even better. It’ll be interesting to see the team finally reunite with Professor X, and for them to see the Savage Land for the first time. But I’m really hoping they don’t drop the ball with their explanation for Mister Sinister’s plan. There has to be something better than wanting to steal their “essence.”
3 Things I Like
3. A Parting of the Ways
“We each have our own destiny. Only the future will prove which one of us is right.”
Magneto
Even though their time on screen in most episodes this season was limited to just a minute or two, it’s been cool to watch Professor X and Magneto work side by side. They have such a unique relationship. Their mutual respect is always apparent, even as they say goodbye and know they’ll be at odds again sooner than later. It’s bittersweet to see their partnership end.
2. Cyclops Vs Sinister
I still don’t understand why Cyclops and Jean are the focus of Sinister’s plan, but it leads to an exciting showdown near the end of the episode. Once the X-Men get their powers back, Cyclops battles Sinister one on one to a standstill until Morph joins the fray and helps defeat Sinister. It’s a good reminder that, despite his squareness, Cyclops is a badass fighter.
1. Wolverine Makes a Friend
“’Attack’ is one of my favorite words, and the name’s Wolverine. Does this leather chicken have seatbelts?”
Wolverine
Ka-Zar doesn’t feel like a Marvel character. He’s so different from most superheroes that he feels more like Tarzan, or some other pulp literary figure. So seeing him and Wolverine team up feels more like a special crossover comic book than like a typical X-Men story.
1 Thing I’m Mixed On
1. The Kiss
“Be brave, chere. Gambit never say this to anyone before, but Gambit loves you.”
Gambit
Romance? Sexual tension?
Nah, more like an afterthought.
I’ve been in favor of Gambit and Rogue as a couple since the series began, which is why I didn’t put this in the “don’t like” category. But this kiss would’ve been a massive deal if it happened in Season 1. Now, though, it kinda feels like nothing.
4 Things I Don’t Like
4. Morph’s Bad Aim
When Morph briefly goes back under Sinister’s mind control, he grabs a blaster and, from practically point blank range, shoots Professor X…
… in the shoulder.
Why even bother? This barely causes any damage at all. I mean, he’s obviously not getting a kill shot here. But at least have someone tackle him as he’s about to shoot to disrupt his aim. Otherwise, this happens, and he looks like a total goof.
3. Mister Sinister Goes to Pieces
When Cyclops and Morph team up to defeat Sinister, he shatters into a bunch of little pieces, as if he’s hard and brittle. But those pieces turn into puddles of goo.
I get that he’s not dead, so they didn’t want to have a corpse lying there. But without knowing much about Sinister, I don’t understand why this happens to him or how he survives, and it looks silly.
2. Stealing “Essence”
“You should feel honored. Your genetic material and theirs will live on in my army of super-mutants after you’re gone.”
Mister Sinister
Welp, at least we know what Sinister meant last episode when he said he wanted their very “essence.”
Unfortunately, this fails on multiple levels.
Not the machine—Sinister’s machine works. It does exactly what he says it will do, which is to “imprint portions of the genetic code from any mutant into another, increasing their powers in unpredictable but stunning ways.”
Essentially, adding the DNA of one mutant into another mutant will amplify their powers and make them even stronger. He wants to advance mutants to their next stage of evolution.
If he has the science to pull it off, and his goal is to subjugate humans, I guess I can’t argue with the logic of creating super-mutants and giving himself the biggest advantage possible. But considering mutants are already so much stronger than humans, it’s not a terribly compelling idea as a viewer.
On top of that, the demonstration of what the machine does falls totally flat.
Sinister uses the machine to imprint Magneto’s DNA into Vertigo. When it’s done, she says, “Magneto’s power flows through me,” but all she does to show off her new strength is to zap the X-Men. It’s unclear what she’s even doing to them, other than just weakening them. The fact that it doesn’t give her the power of magnetism—that doesn’t seem to be how the machine works—makes it much less fun.
And even after using the machine, how much stronger is she, really? Just consider how she plays into this final point…
1. Season-long Plans Undone by a Swiveling Office Chair
Despite being psychically attacked by the newly strengthened Vertigo, Wolverine manages to fight her off long enough to cut Morph and Professor X free from their bonds…
… then they, despite being psychically attacked by the newly strengthened Vertigo, manage to cause a huge explosion, destroy the machine, and restore the mutants’ powers…
… all by bashing the machine with an office chair and pulling out one wire.
And the brilliant Mister Sinister has ZERO failsafes in place, huh? What a lame, anticlimactic end to a season-long storyline.
Tim Matassa
