The fourth animated adaptation of the X-Men and the second show created under Marvel Animation, Wolverine And The X-Men is a series worth the time of anyone with an interest in Marvel’s merry mutants. Sadly only lasting for one season, the series has a fair amount in common with the more familiar X-Men – The Animated Series from 1992. Having come along many years after those that watched the ’92 series have grown up and left the world of animation largely behind, and following on from the somewhat divisive X-Men – Evolution, this series had to hit the ground running. Thankfully, it manages that rather wonderfully, and manages to feel like a spiritual successor to the ’92 series while having an identity all of its own.
The series starts with Wolverine about to depart the X-Men, before an explosion occurs at the mansion, taking Professor Xavier and Jean Grey with it. Flash forward a year later, and the X-Men are no more, disbanded following the disappearance of their leader, leaving only the devastated mansion behind. The Mutant Response Division, or M.R.D. have risen up to combat the “mutant menace”, acting on the people’s fears of not only mutants among them, but also of Magneto, now the sovereign ruler of the mutant inhabited Genosha. Add to this the militant faction of the Brotherhood as led by Quicksilver, and the world is a volatile place to be, with no X-Men to fight for Xavier’s dream. After the M.R.D. imprisons a human family for helping him, Wolverine tracks down Beast in the ruins of the old mansion, knowing the X-Men are needed more than ever to quell the tides that could spell doom for everyone. It doesn’t go as smoothly as he’d like – while junior members like Iceman and Shadowcat are only too happy to return, some outright refuse, and others are battling their own personal demons. Cyclops in particular, has become withdrawn, despondent after the loss of Jean. With the addition of Emma Frost to the team, the X-Men are able to track down a comatose Xavier, only for him to appear telepathically via Cerebro bearing grim tidings – twenty years into the future, the world is a wasteland, dominated by Sentinels ruling through force and incarceration after a war between humans and mutants tore it apart. The X-Men aren’t just fallen – they’re dead and buried, because they weren’t there to stop the impending war. Xavier charges them with a heavy but necessary burden – stop the war and prevent the dystopian future from coming to pass. And that’s just the first few episodes.
The series takes a cue from the ’92 series in the sense of overarching plots, with this one being centred for the most part around the Days Of Future Past storyline from the comics. It also manages to run two stories throughout the series – while the X-Men of the present try to keep the war from occurring in the first place, Xavier and a team of future X-Men must try to find the causes of the war that lead the Sentinels to take over in order to provide the present day with the guidance they need. As opposed to other adaptations of the DOFP storyline which tend to focus on one particular instance that caused the Sentinel’s world domination, this one plays with the idea of cause and effect to great degree – hinder one side of the conflict and potentially give the other more sway, as well as straying into the territory of sometimes helping to cause the future that’s trying to be changed. It makes for interesting viewing, and definitely stands out even compared to the big screen adaptation considered by some to be the best X-Men film. Not only that, but it also manages to work in elements of other X-Men comic storylines, such as Weapon X, Gifted from Astonishing X-Men, and even the oft forgotten Eve Of Destruction to an extent.
Another point that helps the series to stand out is the line up of the X-Men, and the way they interact with each other – predating the Schism storyline in the comics, we have Wolverine leading the X-Men, which doesn’t sit well with some of the members. Rogue herself actually defects to the Brotherhood, citing that no-one can follow a leader who will disappear at a moment’s notice. Cyclops is something of a reluctant member, prioritising finding Jean over preventing the impending war, putting him at odds with Wolverine. Emma Frost who finally ascends to major character status reflecting the comics, is distrusted by Wolverine who believes her to have a hidden agenda, and so she finds herself having to constantly try and earn her place on the team. All these and further conflicts and doubts give us a team which at times seems on the verge of tearing itself apart, rather than the mostly unified teams seen in previous adaptations.
As a series that is worth the time of any Marvel and X-Men fan, it’s a shame that it never made it past the first season, especially given what the second would have entailed (Age Of Apocalypse!), but Marvel Animation cited financial problems as the reason for production to be halted. Personally it feels like it was potentially more a mandate to focus more on properties Marvel still held the film rights too, given that Marvel Animation has been able to put out two Avengers series, and one each for Iron Man, Hulk and Guardians Of The Galaxy. But with the series already in production at the time of cancellation and the power of the fanbase on the internet, it’s possible to not only see unused character designs but also the scripts for the first six episodes. Don’t let the abrupt end put you off giving this series a chance though – to do so would be to deny yourself one of the most entertaining versions of the X-Men yet.
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