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I really wish they would’ve just done Season 1 & 2 as a two-disc set, since now Season 2 is broken up across Volume 1 and 2, and Season 3 is broken up as well. It’s always a bad idea to break up seasons like that, but with the X-Men that runs on a season-long storyline, it could get confusing to hop on half-way into a season. At least these things are FINALLY on DVD. I can’t wait for the next ones.
The Main Characters
--The main cast of characters here are Wolverine, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Gambit, Storm, Professor X, Jubilee, Rogue and Beast. They are all super-powered mutants, or people born with their extraordinary abilities. Wolverine has claws made of unbreakable metal called adamantium and has a healing factor. Jean Grey is a telekinetic and a telepath, Cyclops shoots optic blasts out of his eyes, Gambit can charge objects that can explode on contact, Storm controls the weather, Professor X is the strongest telepath on the planet and Rogue can steal anyone’s power and memories and also has super-strength and flight. Finally, Beast is super-dexterous and is also blue and furry.
The Setting
The X-Men live in Xavier’s mansion Westchester, NY, but their adventures bring them everywhere.
The Collection
The episodes are numbered as they are on the box, and are continued from Volume 1 (which had 16 episodes).
---Disc One---
17) Red Dawn (21:23)
Original Airdate: 11/13/93
Magneto and Charles arrive in the Savage Land, powerless. Meanwhile, over in Russia, Omega Red escapes from his prison in some sort of Russian plot. Colossus shows up to the X-Mansion requesting help in his recently freed country. It is weird to think but the USSR broke up only a year or two before this episode aired. No one is there to help except Jubilee who brashly goes off with Colossus. Wolverine gets the note and of course he has a history with this guy and he heads over to help and he’s soon followed by the rest of the X-Men. Soon, Darkstar, who freed Omega Red, realizes that Omega Red must be stopped and helps the Avengers defeat that communist bastard. It’s interesting to watch this episode now (and I can’t believe it is 16 years old) since the fall of the USSR was such a big thing back then and now it is so far gone I hardly even remember Russia was once part of a massive Soviet conglomerate.
18) Repo Man (21:24)
Original Airdate: 11/20/93
I have a confession to make, the first thing I thought of with this episode’s title was the wrestler named Repo Man. Hey, this is written by Len Wein, famous comic creator and the guy who created Wolverine. Wolverine heads to the forests of Canada looking for Heather when he’s met by the Vindicator, who vows to take him back to Department H. He’s there with Alpha Flight (Sasquatch, Puck, Snowbird, Shaman, Northstar & Aurora). Wolvie remembers his time at Weapon X and it is pretty spot-on. Wolvie gets captured for the goal of Dept. H taking the adamantium back but Alpha Flight realizes this is wrong and helps Wolverine escape. Magneto and Xavier are still in the Savage Land and they run into a mutant there, one Magneto has a history with. Wolverine episodes are always good, and this was no exception.
19) X-Ternally Yours (21:25)
Original Airdate: 12/04/93
Gambit gets a call from home and his brother is in danger. We head down to the Bayou, and the Guild of Assassins and the Guild of Thieves making an offering a tithe to an X-Ternal and should they fail, they will die in oblivion. So Gambit shows up and saves his brother, switching places with him as a prisoner to the Guild of Assassins. Wolvie, Jean Grey and Rogue show up and help Gambit and the day is saved. This was a little bit heavy-handed and the plot kind of collapsed on itself a bit, but it summed up the mystery of Gambit as well as a 21-minute cartoon could. Magneto and Xavier show up for a minute at the end of the episode, too.
20) Time Fugitives (Part 1) (21:25)
Original Airdate: 12/11/93
We return to New York City in the year 3999 and Cable battling Terminator type creatures from Apocalypse when the timestream gets realigned (thanks to Bishop last season) and this time is starting to collapse upon itself. Speaking of Bishop, the timestream has changed but no one remembers except Bishop. Mutants weren’t put into camps but are now falling victim to a plague. So Bishop goes back to save time (again). Jubilee, meanwhile, is set up when an anti-mutant goon sprays the plague on a shop owner Jubes went to and Jubes is blamed. So mutant hysteria is at a high again and Bishop inadvertently causes a riot. One of the Friends of Humanity members gets himself stricken with the plague when his attack on Beast fails but he does lead the X-Men to his leader, Apocalypse. Well, that is awesome. The X-Men destroy his complex but that only pisses off Apocalypse. Cable sees this whole thing and realizes that to save his world he has to keep the mutant virus alive and help Apocalypse. What a quagmire for him to be in!
21) Time Fugitives (Part 2) (21:20)
Original Airdate: 12/18/93
Cable shows up in the past to stop Bishop. Bishop and Cable square off, with similar events to last episode taking place. The first riot still happens, but the X-Men end up fighting Cable, too. Events keep going as they did previously, except with Wolverine getting nabbed by Cable before the X-Men attack on Apocalypse. Cable joins the attack on Apocalypse. Anyway, Cable gets the cure for the virus by putting the virus into Wolvie so an antibody can be created. Bishop’s timeline is still messed up but Cable’s seems alright. The thing with an episode like this is that there wasn’t much more animating that had to be done, using a bunch of scenes from the previous episode to carry this one. Plus, showing the same events transpire two different ways was pretty cool.
22) A Rogue’s Tale (21:25)
Original Airdate: 01/08/94
Mr. Sinister meets with Mystique and Sinister tells her that should he defeat the Xavier-less X-Men, she can reclaim her daughter. So Mystique sends out her Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (Blob, Pyro and Avalanche) to lure the X-Men out into the open and Rogue start seeing images of a woman that is causing her to totally freak out. We see the woman in question is Carol Danvers, or Ms. Marvel. Rogue took her powers while she was with Mystique and working with the Brotherhood. It basically retells Avengers Annual #10 and does a great job of introducing both Ms. Marvel and accurately telling the origin of Rogue. There was no Xavier and Magneto, though.
23) Beauty and the Beast (21:23)
Original Airdate: 01/15/94
This isn’t the most original story you’ll ever see. Beast and his friend are helping a blind girl in an experiment that will help her see. He’s scared that she won’t feel the same about him when she can see him but you know what they say about eye of the beholder and stuff like that. Beast does have to deal with the Friends of Humanity, which gives this the X-Men twist. Xavier and Magneto are giving a bit more to do since the Beast story was pretty simple. Wolverine also infiltrates the Friends of Humanity headquarters that Beast descends upon to save his friend. This reveals that Creed is the son of Sabretooth. An enjoyable if predictable episode.
24) Mojovision (21:24)
Original Airdate: 02/05/94
This one aired on my 12th birthday. We see Longshot right away, in a filmed scene from a MojoWorld production. Eagle-eyed fans will see the Super Adaptoid and Psylocke in some scenes as well as Dazzler as one of Longshot’s make-up artists. Mojo wants new stars of his shows and he pegs the X-Men as his next acquisitions. The X-Men end up in Mojoworld and fight a bunch of Mojo’s hordes. It wasn’t really story-driven and as a result it didn’t hold my attention all that long.
---Disc Two---
25) Reunion (Part 1) (21:27)
Original Airdate: 02/12/94
This is the start of the final two-parter of Season II and it’s written by the great Len Wein. Xavier and Magneto are quickly captured by the mutates of the Savage Land and are brought to their master. Meanwhile, the X-Men receive a mysterious message from Morph. It turns out to be a ploy by Mr. Sinister to capture Jean Grey and Cyclops. Sinister wanted only Jean Grey and escapes with her to the Savage Land. Speaking of the Savage Land, Ka-Zar, resident of the Savage Land, goes against the mutates (his enemies) and frees Magneto and Xavier. Ka-Zar has previous issues with Magneto due to Mags screwing over Ka-Zar before. He hesitatingly agrees to work with Magneto to storm the Citadel and free Ka-Zar’s wife, Shanna. Magneto and Xavier end up captives of Sinister, too. Xavier ends up falling under the hypnosis of Sauron and then sends a message to the X-Men to meet him at the coordinates there and the X-Men are flying into the known trap.
26) Reunion (Part 2) (21:22)
Original Airdate: 02/19/94
The X-Men show up at the Savage Land and realize they have all lost their powers. Beast is still furry because that was a mutation that occurred later on. The X-Men seem to be just cannon fodder to the mutates but they are freakin’ heroes so they still fight against all odds. Wolverine still has his claws, because they were not part of his powers. So Wolvie escapes from the mutates as the others are captured only to run into Ka-Zar. Wolvie storms the citadel with the forces of Ka-Zar and fights against Vertigo but he frees Morph and Xavier and they break the machine that holds back their powers. The X-Men make quick work of all the villains to conclude the second season. One thing I do question, since when did Xavier’s disability become his mutant power? He’s not crippled because he’s a mutant. The main theme of Season I wasn’t here on Season II, but the solo episodes really carried the season well.
27) Out of the Past (Part 1) (21:23)
Original Airdate: 07/29/94
This would be the start of Season III. It starts with Leech being followed by Lady Deathstrike and the Reavers, a group of cybernetic freaks who only want to kill mutants. It seems that Leech brought a device that will unlock the alien ship hidden in the Morlock tunnels. Deathstrike can’t release so she lures Wolverine into a trap. Yes, it’s another character Wolverine has a mysterious history with! So Wolvie goes over there and immediately the show reveals how fake it is. Wolverine got a parking right in front of a subway station? Not in the New York City I know! So Wolverine remembers leaving Deathstrike when she was just a girl name Yuriko. Shortly afterwards he was in the Weapon X project and gained his adamantium claws. Wolverine heads into this trap and since he’s fighting people who are part robots, he’s able to slice and dice at will. Wolvie eventually finds out his old love is now a dangerous villain but he still has feelings for her and frees her from the ship’s grasp, while also freeing the monster inside. It’s interesting to see how the animation changed slightly for the start of the third season. Was a different studio used? This was a really great start to Season III, one that I fondly remember watching.
28) Out of the Past (Part 2) (21:23)
Original Airdate: 08/05/94
So the big green alien comes out of the space ship and immediately takes out the Reavers and Jubilee. There is some really interesting green backgrounds here, as full scenes are awash in green. The alien seems to take the essence of the people it absorbs. So the rest of the X-Men get in on the action with Xavier going into the ship to get some information on how to stop the being. The alien is called a spirit-drinker and I this sounds like something that I read in the Uncanny X-Men recently where Rogue had to stop it by absorbing its powers or something crazy like that. It happened right before the Messiah CompleX storyline. So the being is destroyed and Xavier sees some weird images with something called a Phoenix Saga coming soon? Hmm. The images Xavier did see are easily recognizable to long-time readers as the Shi’ar.
29) The Phoenix Saga (Part 1) – Sacrifice (21:23)
Original Airdate: 09/05/94
I think this was the X-Men’s foray into afternoon television, as these episodes all aired on five consecutive days. This starts with an intergalactic war and someone calling out to Xavier for help. All she needs to say is, “Help me Charles Xavier, you’re our only hope,” to really push forth the Star Wars reference. So to help this mystery person, Xavier tells the X-Men they must board a space shuttle heading to space. Yeah, Friends for Humanity hate mutants enough as it is so why not just have a little old hijacking of a space-ship enhance their good reputation? So the X-Men stow away on the ship but actually walk into a trap. They have been captured by Erik the Red, a Shi’ar operative. The X-Men are about to be sucked out to space when Jean saves them by over-extending her powers more than she usually does. They manage to escape with the space shuttle but it is damaged and someone needs to fly the plane in. Jean offers to fly it in with her telekinesis as a shield against the radiation and heat coming into the atmosphere. The plane starts burning up as it enters Earth with Jean’s life in dangerous peril. This changed the beginnings of the Phoenix saga slightly but kept it true to the idea of the story. The elements are still there, just executed differently.
30) The Phoenix Saga (Part 2) – The Dark Shroud (21:22)
Original Airdate: 09/06/94
The plane crashes into the Hudson (while scraping the Empire State Building) but Jean is nowhere to be found. Suddenly, a fiery Jean Grey blasts out of the water saying she is the Phoenix. She goes to the hospital as Cyclops demands to know more. Xavier says that is all he knows but he’s later accosted by something and an evil Xavier takes control. He takes out Wolverine (by channeling Sabretooth and Deadpool) and then going after Jubilee and Gambit. It’s interesting that this dark Xavier is like the Onslaught character used about 3 years later. Xavier eventually regains control of his sub-conscious and makes Cyclops in control until he can ensure he is in full control. He head to Muir Island and Moira MacTaggart and her fiancé, Sean Cassidy. If you didn’t know, Cassidy is the Banshee. The woman finally makes contact with Xavier and she reveals herself to be Lilandra, empress of the Shi’ar. She tells him of the M’Kraan Crystal (a powerful cosmic device) that her brother wants to use. Lilandra steals it and finds Xavier only to run into the Juggernaut. I was half expecting Juggy to walk in saying, “I’m the Juggernaut, bitch!” The coolest thing in this issue was Beast wearing a Howard the Duck t-shirt. This is really true to the comic so far and I am really liking it.
31) The Phoenix Saga (Part 3) – The Cry of the Banshee (21:23)
Original Airdate: 09/07/94
Lilandra and Xavier try to fight off Juggernaut until Black Tom shows up to put the final nail in Xavier’s defeat. Banshee has to save Xavier from being tossed off a ship while Lilandra is captured and taken to Erik the Red. The X-Men get on the case when Gladiator shows up. Gladiator shows how strong he is by knocking out Juggernaut but when Phoenix shows up and quickly vanquishes Gladiator we have a new big hitter in town. Lilandra’s brother shows up by the end of the episode claiming the M’Kraan Crystal is on Earth.
32) The Phoenix Saga (Part 4) – The Starjammers (21:23)
Original Airdate: 09/08/94
Phoenix flies off into the sky to help fight the interplanetary battle for the M’Kraan Crystal, an event witnessed by Capt. Britain, the Hellfire Club and Doctor Strange. I love how they stick in these other characters from the Marvel Universe in here. Phoenix even teleports the rest of the X-Men there, too. The ship they land on are attacked by the Starjammers, intergalactic pirates led by Corsair. They took the crystal, as well as Cyclops. Jean probes Corsair’s mind and finds out that Cyclops is actually Corsair’s son. A big battle ensues when Corsair visits D’Ken and offers to sell him the Crystal. The X-Men show up and team up with the Starjammers to battle the Imperial Guard and retrieve the Crystal. Unfortunately, D’Ken takes it back before the episode concludes.
33) The Phoenix Saga (Part 5) –Child of Light (21:23)
Original Airdate: 09/09/94
D’Ken becomes extremely powerful due to the M’Kraan Crystal and starts reshaping the universe to fit his mad vision and the fate of the universe itself it at stake. The Earth starts facing natural disasters caused by D’Ken and we see Sunfire helping in Japan, Spider-Man in New York City, War Machine, and Alpha Flight. See why this show was so cool to a comic book geek like myself? D’Ken is almost too powerful to be stopped, but there is only one solution. Jean Grey, as Phoenix, must go alone to defeat D’Ken and it would come at the sacrifice of herself. Jean does save the world, but is seemingly lost forever. The X-Men say farewell to Lilandra and the Starjammers (with Scott not knowing that Corsair was his father) and everyone is struggling with the loss of Jean, though Xavier tells of how a Phoenix had a way of rising from the ashes.
Collection Review
Season Two is interesting. Between the two-parters that serve as book ends for the second season, there were a bunch of one-part stories that focused on the individual characters and really helped to build their stories. All of the X-Men appeared as a team at some points during the show, but having a focus on characters like Jubilee (in Red Dawn), Wolverine (in Repo Man), and Gambit (in X-Ternally Yours) etc, really helped flesh out the characters. The season-long plot of Magneto and Xavier in the Savage Land built through each episode, too. I only wish we could’ve had the complete Season 2 in one collection instead of split apart across two DVD sets. The stuff that is here is all quality, so I can’t complain too much about that. The Phoenix Saga is the clear star of this collection with the 5-part epic staying very true to the comic book while working very well within the confines of the animated series. One thing about the having multiple seasons here at once is seeing the noticeable change in animation between Seasons 2 and 3. It’s not a bad thing, but it is probably something I wouldn’t have noticed otherwise. This is a great collection of episodes which I think trumps the episodes on Volume 1.
DVD Features
A) Extras
Barring Sneak Peaks on Disc One (which I won’t even bother with here); there were no extras at all. Maybe a little feature talking about the origins of the series, or even something about the voice-over actors would’ve been nice.
B) Audio/Video
It’s Dolby Digital and Full Screen. I was wondering how this would look, considering I still have all the 1992-1995 episodes on VHS. I have to say, it doesn’t look much better at all than what I have. A lot of the colors seem washed out and it just looks really grainy. The bright colors are non-existent. It sounds slightly better than my VHS, so we’ll give a positive to that.
C) Packaging / Liner Notes
This is about as bare-bones as DVD could get, with a standard DVD case and a lone liner note promoting Blu-Ray DVD’s.
D) Easter Eggs
None
Overall Review
We’re hit with some previews to start this off. We have G-Force (2:34), Monsters Inc (1:09), Lost Season Four (1:04) and Disney on Blu-Ray (1:13). My feelings on this and Volume 1 are EXACTLY the same. What was great about Volume 1 were having the shows finally on DVD. What wasn’t so great was that it wasn’t cleaned up, there were no extras, and it just felt like a money-grubbing effort to rush these out to us buyers.
Overall Rating
4.0
10.0 Perfect
9.0-9.5 Near Perfect, Highly Recommended
8.0-8.5 Really good disc, Recommended
7.0-7.5 Good DVD, Mildly recommended
6.0-6.5 Above Average DVD. Mildest of mild recommendations
5.0-5.5 Decent all around disc, but catch it on TV
4.0-4.5 Great Movie but horrible DVD
3.0-3.5 Horrible movie but great DVD
2.0-2.5 There’s at least some merit to this DVD, but not much.
1.0-1.5 Horrible DVD, don’t even bother
0.0-0.5 Worst DVD ever
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