First Things First…
New season, and I don’t know what to think. For one thing, this is where the episode order gets messed up. I’m going to review them in the order they’re in the Disney+ app, which is their intended order and should make the most sense. But that’s not the order in which they aired.
As for the story, they have a fresh start to go in any direction. The team is back together in full, with Professor X… Magneto has gone his own way again, so I definitely want to catch up with him at some point… Mister Sinister has been defeated, but they made it clear he’s not dead, so I assume he’ll return eventually… the Savage Land is just sitting there, ripe for a return… Apocalypse is always a threat to try to take over the world… and there are any number of other mutants to battle or team up with.
4 Things I Like
4. Incredible Power
“Power! Ahhhh! Incredible power!”
Professor X
It’s not easy to hurt Professor X. Or impress him. He’s too powerful.
So when the signal emanating from the spaceship does both, you know something badass is inside. Shit’s about to get real. And it makes me more excited about Part II of this arc.
3. First Name Basis
“Man, we gotta talk to Storm about who she gives our number to.”
Wolverine
I don’t know if the X-Men and Morlocks are throwing back beers together, but they seem to know each other.
Now, of course they knew of each other. How could anyone forget their harrowing fight in Season 1, when the Morlocks’ then-leader, Callisto, abducted Cyclops so they could make babies together?
But when Leech dials up the mansion, Wolverine, Gambit, and Jubilee all know him by name. It’s a small thing, but this makes their world feel more lived-in. These groups who we’ve seen cross paths once or twice have actually have communicated outside of what the series has shown us.
2. Hoops Break!
“Big talk. Come on. Go for the hoop, Gumbo.”
Wolverine
We don’t often get to see the X-Men’s leisure time. Watching Wolverine, Gambit (who’s deceptively jacked), and Jubilee play basketball at the mansion is fun because they interact as real people, and as friends.
(Just ignore the fact that Gambit’s “shot” looks more like a outlet pass.)
1. A Match for Wolverine
“The Yuriko you knew no longer exists. I am Lady Deathstrike now, a living weapon of revenge.”
Lady Deathstrike
If Wolverine thought getting an invitation from an old flame would lead to a good time, he’s got another thing coming.
Lady Deathstrike is formidable. She’s become his adamantium twin, not to mention a cyborg. She has a different set of claws, but they’re just as deadly. And she did it all in the name of exacting revenge on Wolverine for a murder she believes he committed.
Watching opposites fight is fun, but occasionally, I like to see an adversary who can basically do everything the hero can do. That’s what we have here. Between that, and Wolverine feeling she’s targeting him unjustly, while he still harbors feelings for her, he’s in for a hell of a fight.
1 Thing I’m Mixed On
1. Weapon X Redux
Wolverine’s Weapon X origin is always gonna be cool. But I’m not sure about recycling footage from an old episode. This is exactly what we saw in “Repo Man” last season—getting his adamantium, then breaking out of the tube with his new claws and destroying the lab.
It’s weird, though, that they don’t mention Alpha Flight or Vindicator, who I thought were a big part of the reason that happened to Wolverine.
On the plus side, it’s cool to add another piece to the puzzle that is Wolverine’s life. This is the Japanese piece, or at least part of it.
1 Thing I Don’t Like
1. Gambit’s Bad Decision
Wasting time when your friend has been captured is bad…
But strength in numbers is good, right?
So as much as Gambit wants to hustle after Wolverine and the Reavers who captured him, would it be so bad to take a few extra moments to free the Morlocks? It would give him and Jubilee a whole lot of backup.
Tim Matassa
