[SDCC] 'WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN' REVIEW

Wizard Staff Writer Kevin Mahadeo and I were lucky enough to attend an advance screening of the first three episodes of the upcoming Marvel animated series "Wolverine and the X-Men." After series writer Craig Kyle took the stage to introduce the film, the episodes began rolling. The introduction sported a star-studded cast of mutants including Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Storm, Nightcrawler, Beast, Iceman, Shadowcat and—of course—Wolverine.
The series is set during the Mutant Registration Act, and begins with Wolverine leaving the X-Men. We are introduced to the academy as Wolverine travels the grounds, saying goodbye to Colossus, Beast and Rogue (who takes his leaving as a very personal insult). That's about as far as we get before all hell starts to break loose. There's some kind of explosion, and the scene flashes to one year later. Troops known as the M.R.D's have begun to arrest mutants and imprison them in maximum security prisons. It's very reminiscent of the beginning of the events that spawned "Days of the Future Past." Suffice it to say, Wolverine has been traveling alone, and events transpire that inspire him to get the X-Men back together.

The series is extremely well put together, giving many different takes on some characters, while staying very true to the comic counterparts of others (Angel's costume is exactly the same, Animated Rogue is still incredibly annoying and emo). The strength of this series, though, lies in its compelling storyline. In "X-Men: Evolution," the formation of the core cast always felt forced and deliberate, while for this series, there seems to be a real reason to introduce each of the characters throughout the first few episodes.

By the end of the first three episodes, we still didn't have the entire cast as shown in the credits. In fact, for the first episode and a half, the only real X-Men that are on the team are Wolverine and Beast. However, that doesn't mean that other mutants don't appear. In those same two episodes there are cameos from Pyro, Boom Boom, Rockslide, Wolfsbane, Dust, Toad, Blob, Avalanche, Quicksilver, Jean Grey, Storm, Nightcrawler and Domino. The creative team has spared no expense putting in some of the lesser known, but still fan favorite, characters of the X-Men mythos. Nothing demonstrates this faithfulness to fans more than the inclusion of Emma Frost. Emma's character is spot on, and Kevin and I can't wait to see exactly how she's going to be manipulating the X-Men to her own will.

These days, it's difficult to find Emma in the comics without Cyclops. This series is no exception. However, this series' version of Cyclops is one like you've never seen. He's lost Jean and he lives alone, blasting his television with optic beams as he sees fit. He no longer serves as the leader of the X-Men, but is much more reminiscent of the brooding, serious Cyclops in Grant Morrison's run on New X-Men than has ever been seen in animation before. It's a change that fans will have to get used to, as it seems as though it's in the series to stay.

Overall, the series has an excellent premise, a great voice cast and fans will be excited to see where it goes.

"Wolverine and the X-Men" will air in January 2009 on the Nicktoons network.