X-Men: Evolution - Is it any good?

[Silent Bob]

I haven't really seen any episodes of X-Men: Evolution. I've caught a couple clips on the weekend or late night on YTV, and nothing really grabbed my attention. I did enjoy the old X-Men series and even picked up that Disney DVD that was released a few weeks back. However, I've been reading alot of good comments on X-Men: Evolution and I was wondering - is it a show worth getting into? I see the first season is going to be released, and I'm assuming that'd be a good place to start. X2 has renewed my interest in the X-Men and this cartoon seem slike a logical expansion of my interest. Is the show any good? And pros or cons to list?

[czyznyck99]

There are many bad things to watch for in this series. While going back to the original teenage X-Men idea is good, the actual characters are like a cheesy version of Beverly Hills, 90210. Kitty is a Jewish valley girl, Jean is a prima donna, Kurt is a surfer dude slacker, Spike is a city kid hack, Forge is a hippie, Scarlet Witch is a Wicca wannabe, and Rogue is the secret goth chick. Cyclops is the only kid who closely mirrors his comic book self.

The stories are okay. Most of them settle around high school, which is a definite turn-off for anyone who has left that cesspool. Ideas like girl power, sibling rivalry, school dances, dumb jocks, "survival training," etc. But once in a while, the writers remember the mutant side of X-Men with stories like "Day of Reckoning," or the evil Mystique messing around with all of them. It's only now that they are finally getting into the good stuff, but since you haven't seen it I won't ruin it.

Later.

[Animation Otaku]

The series is a lot better than the original X-Men animated series, though that on it's own isn't saying much. They return to the X-Men's comic roots, a group of teenage mutants learning to control their powers. They also have interesting and well characterized characters on both sides, something the old series couldn't say with a straight face. The animation is also wonderful, and they have some great plots, particularily now with the Apocalypse episodes oncoming.

[The Detective]

X-Men Evolution is a great cartoon to be sure. I'll warn you though - the first season is pretty bland. But don't watch the first season and drop it, it gets better, much, much better from there. The show really has a lot of great animation and good stories. I wish it would move to Cartoon Network, CN only has one commercial break per show compared to Kids WB's four which would add a good five minutes to the show easy.

[Stu]

I was in pretty much the same boat as you Wolverine, except my interest was renewed in the first film.

As for Evo, its all right. I am a big fan of the 90's cartoon, and so far, Evos not a patch on it. It has nice animation but a lot of the stories are throw away teen fluff, with annoying characters. Again, some of them are good.

Wolverine himself doesn't do much of anything, but his spotlight episodes are usually the best the series has to offer. The best so far, IMO is The Stuff Of Heros. It has been improving greatly as the season goes, but nothing has greatly stood out to make this show great, IMO.

Aviod ALL episodes centered on The Brootherhood, best to warn you now...

[Icer]

Season 1 is extremely weak, but I started to really like it in Seasons 2 and 3.

I still think it's not even close to being as good as the 90s X-Men cartoon though.

It's the best comic book cartoon out there now (new eps being made), by a fairly large margin.

[Artemis]

Ahh, Season 1. I remeber that time. It was very bland and majorly screwed with all the characters. I'll refer to czyznyck99's post here since he covered it pretty nicely:


While going back to the original teenage X-Men idea is good, the actual characters are like a cheesy version of Beverly Hills, 90210. Kitty is a Jewish valley girl, Jean is a prima donna, Kurt is a surfer dude slacker, Spike is a city kid hack, Forge is a hippie, Scarlet Witch is a Wicca wannabe, and Rogue is the secret goth chick. Cyclops is the only kid who closely mirrors his comic book self.


Not to mention Wolverine being toned down and Storm barely being in it at all. And let's not mention Syke.....seriously, let's not mention him. :p

X-Men: Evo was bashed by the X-Fan communtiy greatly. It was nowhere near as cool as the 90's cartoon and full of teen angst shlock and kiddy fluff that would make anyone puke. Worst of all, they decided to keep their mutant side secret so they could focus on the high school stories more. One of the most appealing parts of X-Men is the whole mutant vs. humanity struggle. Take away that and what do you have? A typical superhero show that forgot it starred superheroes.

But that was Season 1.

Season 2 got a bit more interesting. Focused a bit more on mutant and toned down what made the characters annoying a bit. Still not up to par, but getting there.

Season 3 is where it started to take off, now that mutants were exposed. They finally focused on what made X-Men, X-Men. The stories got a helluva lot more interesting and it actually became fun to watch! Now with Season 4 coming with Apocalypse, X-Men has nowhere to go but up. Plus the show always had good animation and eye-candy so I always gave it that.

So the moral of the story: Stick with it. It gets better, it got better, it's good. :cool:

[StrangerAtaru]

Aviod ALL episodes centered on The Brootherhood, best to warn you now...

Oh come on, they aren't that bad.....I've seen worse.

Personally, I didn't know if I wanted to watch another X-series with the fond memories of the 90's series, but I started watching it once CN picked up the reruns. (trust me: with the crap WB does, its better this way) I definately like the idea of returning to the original idea of the "teenage mutants", even though it did hinder some things at first and did evolve into a bit too much angst, romantic turmoil and "teenage issues". But the later seasons have improved on it, keeping in some of these aspects but allowing to seep in the "bigger battles" as well as the ideas of the prejudices and problems the mutants face in a human society.

But then again, my statement is probably a clone of the other ones above, so don't take my word for it. Just watch and see....

[The Master Con]

Many series have to "set in their roots", so to speak, before their series takes off. X-Men Evo is much like that. It originally was just a camp kid show that had its characters going into battles against the villian of the week. There were certain hints here or there of it trying to break into a dark atmosphere, mainly Magneto. But I believe that after its first season and the constant critisms of the fanbase they decided to "cleanhouse". Boyd Kirkland probably took the idea of what BTAS had done and turn it into a darker more complex show. Make it enjoyable for the kids and comic fans. They took the events of what happened in The Cauldron and use it as the premise for Season 2. They began to turn the series slowly leaving little hints for their big change. About towards the end of the season they had finally left enough hints and ideas for their "new series". Magneto and Sabertooth have their own new Brotherhood. They increased Magneto's strength by making him young. They had Mystique renew her relationship with Rouge by being her "friend". They removed most of the character's sterotype "traits". They left the hint for Apocalypse. They introduced Nick Fury. Now in the words of Mystique they "had one last thing to do". The Hex Factor dealt with the final stages setting up their big finale. After that episode the series took off. I won't spoil it, but I'll just give you a hint. The series that was in season 1 is nothing like the series in season 3.

[Mister Intensity]

I have some advice, watch a few episodes. If you like it then by all means pick up the DVD's and watch the regular airings in your area. If you don't like it then don't waste your time watching. You'll either like it or you won't.

I enjoyed X-Men Evolution from the first season and thought it was a good idea to bring back the teenage mutants idea. I thought it was going to be something special from the very beginning. But that's my take on the show, watch a few episodes and formulate your own take on the show.

Mister Intensity

[creepers keeper]

my best advice is to watch it with a clear mind. The first season introduces all the characters(usually episode by episode) and then it gets better once the teams are made. Id hang on til the cualdren(season 1 season fanalie) and if you dislike it just turn it on once and a while, i garentee you youll like what you see. Yea so just forget bout the old season and think what you want.

[BlackoutCreature]

If u can get past the idea that this isnt the X-Men as there seen in the comics (which is apparently something pretty hard for a lot of people to get past), ull find that X-Men is a great show with great stories, and has a great use of characters and its own continuity. While the original X-Men:TAS was fun for what it was, it really doesnt hold up well over time, and never takes any big chances by deviating from whats established in the comics.

And yes, the first season does get a little too "Dawson's Creek with superpowers" at times, but by the end of the season, all the overly teen sap had run out and it developed into something really good.

[Mynd Hed]

Well, my personal opinion-- which incidentally happens to be pretty much the popular consensus-- is that the show started out as complete and utter crap, and then slowly improved until it was as good as almost any superhero cartoon out there. I recommend you give it a watch or two on Cartoon Network-- it's on at 10:30 pm, right before Adult Swim-- and see what you think for yourself before plopping down any cash on DVDs. Especially since the DVDs that are out right now are all first season episodes, which definitely aren't the best the show has to offer. Even the first season has some good moments, though-- it wasn't so much that the first season was just plain bad, it was just VERY uneven is all.

Although if you have any particular attachment to the characters as they're shown in the comics, movies, or 90's series, you might have trouble getting past the changes, since most of them are for the worse. (Especially if you're a big Shadowcat or Nightcrawler fan.) They tend to get Cyclops down really well, though, and Wolvie is pretty much the same as he's ever been.

[Stu]

I'm not sure what network shows Evo in Canada, but its worth a look. It can be an enjoyable show, but it can suck badly too.

[The Detective]

For you're own good, skip WALK ON THE WILD SIDE. I'm serious. It has no continuity bearings on the rest of the series and will ONLY give you NEGATIVE feelings towards the series. Seriously, skip it. It's for your own good.

And I think really it all boils down to this. No one can make you decide to like it or dislike it. Only you can decide that. So sit down, watch a few episodes and see if you like it. Though if you only intend to watch a few episodes and decide based on that, then PLEASE watch some from season 3.

[supermonkey]

It's a horrendous show and dorky. It reminds me of some of those 70s shows (the ones with bell bottom pants and everyone saying groovy and really have no point) that when we watch now are so silly. I'm sure that will happen w/ this show. They all go to a high school, live in a huge mansion together as teenage kids. Wolverine and Professor X are now babysitters (Wolverine is fine with it despite the nature of his character :rolleyes: ) , the mansion is basically tot lot, and they go on field trips fighting mostly other high school students or teacher figures (their version of team sports). They have distributed these guys across a variety of ages to help create the Brady Mutant family, and all the parents of these children are fine with the whole concept, or oblivious to the danger their children are put into. Superheroes may be a suspend-your-disbelief concept, but the characterization has to be realistic for the show to be worth your time. It's a rediculous and dumb show purely in my opinion.


But watch it and decide for yourself.

[The Master Con]

It's a horrendous show and dorky. It reminds me of some of those 70s shows (the ones with bell bottom pants and everyone saying groovy and really have no point) that when we watch now are so silly. I'm sure that will happen w/ this show. They all go to a high school, live in a huge mansion together as teenage kids. Wolverine and Professor X are now babysitters (Wolverine is fine with it despite the nature of his character :rolleyes: ) , the mansion is basically tot lot, and they go on field trips fighting mostly other high school students or teacher figures (their version of team sports). They have distributed these guys across a variety of ages to help create the Brady Mutant family, and all the parents of these children are fine with the whole concept, or oblivious to the danger their children are put into. Superheroes may be a suspend-your-disbelief concept, but the characterization has to be realistic for the show to be worth your time. It's a rediculous and dumb show purely in my opinion.


But watch it and decide for yourself.

Yeah... you obviously haven't watched this show in a while.

[The Detective]

Yeah... you obviously haven't watched this show in a while.
Something tells me he didn't make it out of the first season. :p

Supermonkey please, for you're own good watch DAY OF RECKONING. Please. Really. Do yourself a favor.

[supermonkey]

Yeah... you obviously haven't watched this show in a while.


Something tells me he didn't make it out of the first season. :p


Master Con and Detective, learn to ask people before making assumptions about them. It's natural to not do this early in life, but as you mature, it's a good lesson for life in general, not just forums. :)

BTW, It's okay to disagree on these guys, not a big deal. People watch shows and get different opinions.

Re: seeing the show recently I have a Tivo and have taped a few episodes recently. I haven't made an effort to watch specifically Day of Reckoning so I am not sure if I have seen it. I will tape it though -thanks Detective

"They increased Magneto's strength by making him young. They had Mystique renew her relationship with Rouge by being her "friend"."

- I definitely saw this stuff and it reinforced my opinions.

[screw on head]

main thing that hurts this series is that they focus on too much on the melodrama for most of one episode and cram the action in at the end. literally. watch african storm, for example, they waste most of their time focusing on storm running around in fear. a goddess in fear. they focus on these sorts of thriller scenes that just fall flat. but at the very end we finally see the xmen assemble and work toward their strengths where this show actually shines. we wanna see sweet mutant powered action. sometimes they focus on the angst too much and don't deliver the xmen showing off their powers. the key to showing off their powers is putting them in a dangerous situation. structurally on many levels this show just flops. they have their priorities as storytellers totally outta wack. most kids don't want to see these characters playing ping pong or dancing.

guest stars are done badly. yes we do see captain america in one episode. i was so excited. finally i could see captain america and maybe see red skull. but we don't. cap shines sunlight into a nazi pilot's face and carries some kids slung over his back. that's all we see. no fighting nazis, just captain america in scenes that are a slap in the character's face, simply poorly chosen scenarios. basically him just running. i just felt cheated as a marvel fan. don't have a guest star and waste my time.
and nick fury, agent of shield, has been revamped into a tooth pick chewing, turtleneck wearing, trench coated unrecognizable nick fury. take away the eye patch and show his picture to a stiranko fan like me, i wouldn't recognize him. totally unrecognizable perversion of a cool marven character. eck. yuck.

but beyond these quibbles, this show presents some nice season enders.
they're worth enduring goofy melodrama to catch the developements leading up to them and the eps shown during sweeps.

this show is a little misguided at best but they do deliver at the very end of each season, and little cool sequences here and there that are sadly buried under loads of teen angst, far too much than the series needs.

[The Master Con]

Master Con and Detective, learn to ask people before making assumptions about them. It's natural to not do this early in life, but as you mature, it's a good lesson for life in general, not just forums. :)

BTW, It's okay to disagree on these guys, not a big deal. People watch shows and get different opinions.

Re: seeing the show recently I have a Tivo and have taped a few episodes recently. I haven't made an effort to watch specifically Day of Reckoning so I am not sure if I have seen it. I will tape it though -thanks Detective

"They increased Magneto's strength by making him young. They had Mystique renew her relationship with Rouge by being her "friend"."

- I definitely saw this stuff and it reinforced my opinions.


LOL. Life is a little different than message boards. To put it more simply. When I'm on a message board about cartoons I rarely give my actual statements second thoughts but rather make sure that what I post is not offencive for the mods/admins. Trust me if you met me in life you'd now how different I am from your image of me.

[Hades]

i don't care for Evo at all. my advice, stick with the 90s cartoon or the comics. you'll find very little story telling in Evo thats above sub par. you can't have a decent show when you've messed with the origins of the X-Men and made them teenagers, it just doesn't work. the animation looks like that of Disney, which does not fit the X-Men very well at all. i don't want Nightcrawler and Wolvie to look smooth and clean. they aren't nice and friendly looking characters, but thats what they have been reduced too.

anyway, thats just my opinion. i know a lot of people enjoy Evo and thats cool, but its just not my cup of tea.

[The Detective]

i don't care for Evo at all. my advice, stick with the 90s cartoon or the comics. you'll find very little story telling in Evo thats above sub par. you can't have a decent show when you've messed with the origins of the X-Men and made them teenagers, it just doesn't work. the animation looks like that of Disney, which does not fit the X-Men very well at all. i don't want Nightcrawler and Wolvie to look smooth and clean. they aren't nice and friendly looking characters, but thats what they have been reduced too.

anyway, thats just my opinion. i know a lot of people enjoy Evo and thats cool, but its just not my cup of tea.
Messed with the origins of the X-men? hardly. Back in the sixties when the X-Men first debuted they were teenagers. Somehow when people critisize Evo for making them teenagars they always forget that.

And Supermonkey, sorry if my comments offended you but we all need to lighten up and not take things on this board so seriously. I mean, we're not debating human overpopulation we're talking about a frickin' cartoon. :D :p

[Hades]

Messed with the origins of the X-men? hardly. Back in the sixties when the X-Men first debuted they were teenagers. Somehow when people critisize Evo for making them teenagars they always forget that.

i didn't forget that. the X-Men started as teenage students of Prof. X. but it was Cyclops, Angel, Iceman, Beast and Marvel Girl, Scarlet Witch wasn't an evil goth, and so on and so forth. yes, their origins aren't terribly different from the comics but they are still different. if its not broke, don't fix it.

[Stu]

When people say the X-Men started as teens, in defence of Evo, they often forget to mention that they weren't sterotypical teenagers, who went to high school and all that. The X-Men where trained to protect a world that hates and fears them, which in Evo, they weren't.

[Animation Otaku]

When people say the X-Men started as teens, in defence of Evo, they often forget to mention that they weren't sterotypical teenagers, who went to high school and all that. The X-Men where trained to protect a world that hates and fears them, which in Evo, they weren't.

Yes they are. Them going to school is because the goal of the X-Men was to rejoin society as normal people. The X-Men are hated and feared, despite protecting people. It's just a different way of telling the story.

[Ian]

Hell, yes. The first Season and a half are pretty light on plot, although it makes up for it with character development. Once they hit "Operation Rebirth" the series started firing on all cilinders and never looked back. The animation is very good, although not the best, and the character designs are very good, for the most part (exceptions being the shoulder pads on some of the costumes, which I dislike). All of the characters, except for Spyke and season one Kitty, are likeable, well developed and the changes made to them are for the most part, pretty cool (making Rogue and Wanda goths is genius as was making Gambit and Colossus Acolytes). The Villains, who seem to share equal time with the heroes, are surprisingly developed, and LIKEABLE, especially the Brotherhood (speaking of, if you're interested in them, you MUST see "The Stuff of Villains", which focuses on them. Finally, the voices are all fine, and the music, while mostly unremarkable, has gems like the Magneto Theme song. The only cons the show currently has are spotty dialogue in some parts (although leap and bounds ahead of the earlier stuff, which could be downright horrid in parts), and the fact that it seriously lacks epicness (although that could change with Apocalypse.

[ClockStomper]

The annoying teen aspect bugs me, but later on it's a good show. They did make some unrepairable changes to some characters (Nightcrawler is no longer a devoted Catholic, and loses a lot for it.) So while the character assassination of the first season isn't fixed, the plot gets way better.

But I can't stand the Brotherhood. They deem them worthy of more attention than Mystique or Magneto's crew? Gambit, Pyro and Colosus own.

[The Detective]

The annoying teen aspect bugs me, but later on it's a good show. They did make some unrepairable changes to some characters (Nightcrawler is no longer a devoted Catholic, and loses a lot for it.) So while the character assassination of the first season isn't fixed, the plot gets way better.

But I can't stand the Brotherhood. They deem them worthy of more attention than Mystique or Magneto's crew? Gambit, Pyro and Colosus own.
Well I have no confirmation for this but I've condsidered that Kids WB might not have let him be Catholic. You know, the PC world we live in today. (case in point, the Ten Cammandments fiasco is Alabama) I could be wrong as ON ANGELS WINGS had quite a bit of Christian references includign a Bible quote. I do agree though that Nightcrawler got the worst of the character changes.

Amazing Spidey - If I recall, the fact that humans hate mutants wasn't even in the VERY early comics. And who'se to say they weren't steryotypical teenagers. I'll be more than willing to concede that point to you if you have read a ton of the early comics and are an expert in sixties youth culture in America.

[Mynd Hed]

Amazing Spidey - If I recall, the fact that humans hate mutants wasn't even in the VERY early comics.

You recall wrong. Pick up a copy of "The Essential X-Men Vol. 1" sometime. The human / mutant tension was started within the first twenty issues.

[Mister Intensity]

You recall wrong. Pick up a copy of "The Essential X-Men Vol. 1" sometime. The human / mutant tension was started within the first twenty issues.

The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 reprints the first twenty issues not The Essential X-Men which reprints the series starting with Giant Sized X-Men # 1.

Mister Intensity

[Mynd Hed]

The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 reprints the first twenty issues not The Essential X-Men which reprints the series starting with Giant Sized X-Men # 1.

Mister Intensity

I stand corrected. It was indeed the Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 that I was thinking of, not the Essential X-Men. Wouldn't want all those impressionable youngsters who are going to go out and buy up comic anthologies on my say-so to buy the wrong thing, would we? (-:

Speaking of which, any impressionable youngsters out there who buy things on my say-so should also pick up all three Spawn: TAS DVDs, South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, and oh yeah, bring home some smack and hookers for me.

[Antiyonder]

I believe in the first three or four issues, The X-Men were regarded as heroes. Heck, #2 has the government calling them to deal with The Vanisher.

Anyway, I believe when Stan first created The X-Men it was because he didn't want to have another heroes obtain powers in radioactive accident (Hulk, Spider-Man, Daredevil). The racist metaphors came a bit later.

[Graymonk]

The annoying teen aspect bugs me, but later on it's a good show. They did make some unrepairable changes to some characters (Nightcrawler is no longer a devoted Catholic, and loses a lot for it.)

Huh? When did Nightcrawler become Catholic? I don't remember any mention of his Religion being made in the X-comics I read in the 90's, or in the TPB I have that reprints his first five appearances. I find the character on the TV show quite similar to the Nightcrawler I knew from the comics, a fun loving, swash buckling Errol Flynn type of character. He was a little older and a bit more bitter in the comics, but on the whole the two versions of him seem like the same charcter.

[Mister Intensity]

I believe in the first three or four issues, The X-Men were regarded as heroes. Heck, #2 has the government calling them to deal with The Vanisher.

Anyway, I believe when Stan first created The X-Men it was because he didn't want to have another heroes obtain powers in radioactive accident (Hulk, Spider-Man, Daredevil). The racist metaphors came a bit later.

There were also several scenes where the X-Men were chased for being mutants. In one issue the Toad disguised himself as a track and field athlete and once he was revealed as a mutant people were chasing him because he was a mutant. In some issues they were regarded as heroes but in other issues they were shunned for being mutants.

Mister Intensity

[Mynd Hed]

I believe in the first three or four issues, The X-Men were regarded as heroes. Heck, #2 has the government calling them to deal with The Vanisher.

In the first three or four issues, you are correct, but very shortly after that it became common knowledge that mutation was becoming an increasingly common phenomenon and that the X-Men's super powers came from the same source as those of most of their villains. (I believe this knowledge came as a result of Magneto making a big speech about how it was the destiny of homo superior-- mutants-- to rule the world and all that nonsense, but I'd have to reread it to be sure.) That's when fear and hatred of mutants started to take hold, and the X-Men's public relations started to become a lot like Spider-Man's: some people heralded them as heroes, but a lot of others considered them dangerous menaces, while still other people reserved judgment on the matter.