An Old School Christmas Special...
X-Men 4.10 “One Man’s Worth”
I’m still not a big fan of Great Man Theory…no matter who you apply it to.
It’s not as bad in fiction. This episode is better than the first half, with a lot of time travel shenanigans…and an implication non-Mohawk Storm might get together with Logan.
(Wrestling? Really? That’s what we’re calling it now?)
Oh, and some great Sentinel-smashing action after it turns out that killing Xavier gives Master Mold full control over a future.
The future.
Whatever.
Time travel here does seem fairly linear, but…
X-Men 4.11 “Proteus Part 1”
Moira is trying to teach Kevin, a young mutant, how to control his prodigious powers…he can do almost anything, except turn back human.
When he escapes her lab, she calls Xavier for help containing him.
Turns out he’s Moira’s kid and his father is running for a major political position in Scotland, on some very familiar grounds. Yeah, Moira’s ex is a fascist. Eww. I want to punch him already. The kid probably does too.
Right now, though, Kevin’s just trying to find his dad…and doing all kinds of weird stuff on the way. The animators had a lot of fun here.
X-Men 4.12 “Proteus Part 2”
The problem with kids shows is sometimes they resolve things a bit too…well, there isn’t much space. The resolution to the thing with Kevin and his dad (who probably isn’t actually a fascist, just that great again line) is basically a Deus X(avier) Machina.
It doesn’t quite stand up to part one. Moira’s angst doesn’t ring true because you know it won’t actually happen.
But at least it’s resolved nicely.
Poor Logan…he got shaken up. He got scared for his life for the first time since his powers manifested, and he’s not handling it too well…
X-Men 4.13 “Family Ties”
Ah, the High Evolutionary. Who decides he wants Quicksilver, The Scarlet Witch, and Magneto as slaves.
And as Magneto doesn’t know his kids exist, it’s pretty easy to manipulate all three of them into turning on each other…and they don’t end the episode on good terms.
The X-Men involvement here is as backup, the story isn’t about then, it’s mostly to establish that relationship.
I always did feel sorry for those kids.
Superman & Lois 4.4 “A Perfectly Good Wedding”
The show returns to being a soap opera as Kyle and Chrissy’s wedding…well. This makes no sense.
Superhero logic is one thing. This is not superhero logic. They lose their venue…but also appear to suddenly need best man, maid of honor, and a caterer.
Not how weddings work.
Jordan quits being Superboy and tells Jonathan to take over. This won’t last too long…especially as it’s going to take all three of them to defeat Doomsday.
Clark is still weak from taking Sam’s heart. Will he stay that way? He even crashes while flying…scary!
And the wedding doesn’t happen.
I didn’t need a bad wedding ep right before attending a wedding.
X-Men 4.14 “Bloodlines”
Nightcrawler shows up asking for help to rescue his bio mom. Rogue quips that Beast being related to Nightcrawler is no more likely than her being…
Yup. This is when Nightcrawler finds out Mystique is his mother. (It’s only much later that they decide she was actually his *father*). And why she abandoned him. Yeah, Mystique’s a bitch.
And apparently dead, but we don’t believe that.
So Rogue is his adopted sister. Graydon Creed is his actual brother…oh dear.
Yeah, talk about dysfunctional families…
X-Men 4.15 “Lotus and the Steel”
Wolverine’s having issues and can’t control his temper. This time, he isn’t sure Xavier can help him, so he takes a leave of absence to go to a monastery in Japan, where the monks have helped him in the past.
(This also appears to be where he met Yuriko).
He helps the monks deal with a bully, the Silver Samurai, and Jubilee tracks him down. They really do seem to be going with bottle episodes that reveal people’s pasts this season.
X-Men 4.16 “Weapon X, Lies, And Videotape”
Logan gets back, but he’s still not sane. In fact, he’s experiencing flashbacks and delusions, including one of a romantic relationship with Silver Fox.
Turns out his Weapon X programming is activating (or malfunctioning) and he has to go back to the lab…along with the other victims…to sort it out.
Silver Fox claims nothing happened between them. She’s obviously lying…probably because she’s involved with somebody else and trying to move on.
Poor Logan. Yuriko, Silver Fox, Storm. Why is it always Logan?
X-Men 4.17 “Have Yourself A Morlock Little X-Mas”
Because there has to be an X-Mas special. With the X.
Oh man. I had completely repressed 90s Christmas specials. This is a classic example of the type down to trite lessons about the Christmas spirit, casting Wolverine as the Grinch, and…
…yeah. It’s pretty awful. Even the art style isn’t up to the normal quality, as if they got the B team (or as if the artists hated this too).
I hate old school Christmas specials. Especially in kids’ shows. Sorry. Maybe I’m the Grinch…