What Would Batman Do?

Speaking of Wolverine , I’ve finally gotten around to watching the first four episodes of Wolverine and the X-Men , and I must say, I’m impressed.  I haven’t had high hopes for any comic book-based cartoon series since witnessing the travesty that is Batman: The Brave and the Bold , but trust me when I say that the X-Men are back and stronger than ever.

Of course, that’s not really the case on the show.  In the near future, Professor Xavier and Jean Grey inexplicably explode on the front lawn of the X-mansion, leaving their fellow mutants completely lost as to what to do about the nationwide furor against all mutants.  One year later, Wolverine decides to bring the X-Men back, only to be confronted with a new host of problems.  Magneto is calling for his homo superior brothers to isolate themselves on his island of Genosha, Senator Kelly (R) is hard at work producing the fiercest anti-registered-mutant weaponry available, and Rogue has gone. . . rogue.

But these are the amazing X-Men, remember, out to astonish the world with their uncanny abilities.  Ultimately.

I love the story of this show.  Wolverine’s in charge this time, which doesn’t seem very plausible (even with Cyclops being super emo), yet this works to bring an original dynamic to the X-Men mythos.  The writers seem comfortable in assuming that the audience knows about the X-Men and how they usually work (unlike some other shows ).  Things start out in media res , you could say; Magneto, the Brotherhood, and Shadow King are already established as being regular villains, and Forge and Emma Frost are already well-known in the mutant community.

What I’m trying to say is, things aren’t dumbed down.

The voice acting’s great (Steve Blum already proved he was Wolverine in the X-Men Legends video game), the animation’s great, and the music is almost as good as it was in the early 90s TV show.

But the best part is that you can watch Wolverine, Beast, Shadowcat, Iceman, Cyclops, Storm, Rogue, and Emma Frost for free on the Nickelodeon website .  It’s almost enough to forgive Nick for condoning domestic violence .

The only bad things I could really say about Wolverine and the X-Men is that Forge is too wimpy and Cyclops’ trench coat is really, really stupid.  Four adamantium claws out of five.

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