SOLID EPISODE! Like many, I was unfamiliar with Bastion but from reading some stuff online, it sounds like the X-Men are in for a hell of a fight!
This show is so great. We’re just immersed in the Marvel Universe now. Its incorporation of Captain America, Thunderbolt Ross, the mention of Hulk AND the tease of the Avengers making an eventual run in, and we got Madripoor! This series can set sail many animated ships, if Disney/Marvel put in the same care in storytelling with every other franchise.
The way the writing has blasted us ever closer to present day X-Men in stakes and philosophical challenges is impressive! Can’t wait for the next one!
Dc jermaine from Chicago. Welcome back wh you have a Roman reigns like schedule. Who would have had thought that this would be the best content that the mcu has produced in yrs? This show always gives you a good watch like a dynamite or a aew ppv. It’s a gift each week. I’m very happy they didn’t take the Netflix marvel approach and drop the whole season at once like an iron fist. Because a week gives you time to appreciate an episode better. We saw Spider-Man, so cool. The whole we need to out evolution mutants angle has intrigued and the night crawler/wolverine fight was outstanding. Magneto sending a world wide electro magnetic pulse shows why he is omega level….but how did Logan just assume that was magneto when the world thinks he is dead? To see a dad supporting his son as cable and Scott hadn’t made me feel this way sense the nfl network took a peek in the jaguars draft room….rich and Nate Milton will get that reference. Awesome show! I can only hope creature commandos can be good as this show and invincible. if you guys listening are fans of the multiverse and things like multiverse of madness. See where marvel got its inspiration.if you love animation like X-men. Crisis on infinite earth part one and two are out on streaming and blue ray Have a great week
The three-part season finale deftly combines Operation: Zero Tolerance and E is for Extinction into a rather compelling whole. Bastion got some added nuance and the addition of Prime Sentinels cranked up the tension even higher. It was hilarious to hear Jubie say that she’s done with malls during the third act in a throwback to the pilot of XTAS. The action was top-notch and seeing Wolverine/Nightcrawler team up was ill
The ending was especially excellent. Magneto tried to do right by Charles’ ethos, but he’s had enough. The silent cameos had Spidey (!!!), Silver Samurai and a shot of Omega Red in his science-based slumber and Prof. X returning home by saying the iconic call to arms
Shit, my friends, has gotten so real!
NB: My first exposure to Bastion was this old PS2 game. The story was billed as a follow up to Operation: Zero Tolerance.
Let’s start with the shiny things that caught my attention: Dr. Doom, Baron Zemo, Omega Red, Silver Samurai and Spider-Man cameos all in the same episode?! What a way to get my fan boy gears into motion! (P.S. A shout out to Rich for his refined taste. I marked out hard at him mentioning Scarlet-Spider last week. Maybe he’s #notmyspiderman but the 90’s Ben Reilley slaps hard!)
Diversions aside, part one of Tolerance Is Extinction threw the gauntlet down big time. Magneto’s declaration of war echoed Ultimate Comics’ god awful Ultimatum but also the far less awful 1993 Fatal Attractions storyline. Could Rogue join Magneto like Colossus did after losing his sister Illyana in the comics? Might Logan soon be parting ways with his adamantium? I also wondered last week if Onslaught could be coming as a throw away possibility. Now it seems somewhat plausible for next season at least? (I’m not saying it’s something I need to “see,” Onslaught is just a VERY 90’s X-Men thing.)
Night of the Living Prime Sentinels was a nightmare. Even though I didn’t want it to happen, I knew Trish was a lost cause when everyone started transforming. Having Bastion’s mom become a sentinel was terrifying because creepy old ladies are always terrifying when they become monsters. I did enjoy the Stark Expo easter egg in Bastion’s room since his procedure was similar to the extremus process from the comics though. Cyclops came off like a boss driving that Porsche on family vacation with Jean and Cable. Their dysfunctional dynamic pulled me in a lot more than I thought it would too.
Wolverine and Nightcrawler just wrecking house (literally) with claws and swords was awesome. Nightcrawler’s teleportation powers were handled so well and Wolverine got to do what he does best. I won’t lie and say I wasn’t wishing Morph would’ve said “I’m the Juggernaut bitch!” after transforming though. We were robbed!
Finally, Magneto’s detention was really dark. Showing the concentration camp tattoo and drawing the parallels of how his experience allow him to see how human nature repeats itself was very powerful. Also revealing that humans allowed themselves to be given the prime sentinel procedure because they ultimately feel threatened is a great analog for today’s immigration issues. X-Men started as an analog for teenage awkwardness, became a bigger message about civil rights for minorities and its relevance continues to evolve. Magneto’s actions at the end of the episode will just lead to more humans getting behind the prime sentinel program though, which is ultimately what Bastion wanted. Also, some people have theorized that Val Cooper is actually Mystique – what say you?
I’m interested to see how things escalate with the return of Professor X. Beyond that, Storm will also have to join the fray before things reach a conclusion. With so much to unpack, these next two weeks can’t come soon enough.
Until next time, chill out with another round of crisp cold Canada Dry and make mine MCU L8r! Brap brap!
I enjoyed the little easter eggs that I got from today’s episode. From Jublie wearing her Vampire “Bloodlust” black outfit, to Cyclops lamenting “not again” as a reference to when he lost his family in that plane crash as a child (with his current family) to the overt ones such as the first X-Men 97 appearances of Spider-Man, Doctor Doom and Helmut Zemo. This was an episode that foreshadowed the major battle that soon approaches.
When Bastion mentioned how humans will be non existent in the future shadows an U.S Census years ago projecting that “The US will become ‘minority white’ in 2045” and how it will always frighten a certain demographic who most likely would agree to Bastion’s ideologies.
War is coming ladies and gentlemen. They are no winners. Great show as always!
Dc jermaine from Chicago before I start my review one question can the power that be get wai on next weeks finale? The man has deep thoughts we would all appreciate. With the recent news that marvel saying they will go to a lighter movies scheduled per yr. I said that I wish fox sold X-men to apple or Amazon just so it could get more content out I’ll say this….jermaine was right. On to my review. Magneto was tired and fed up. He did the thing to wh fellow Canadian that wh hated in the comics. Welcome to bone claw wolverine. This new updated show does so much more to give everyone shine and I love it. So many stories that they combine pretty well. We have astroid m now. Such a treat from Disney plus and to be honest a great reason to justify having Disney plus… on the way out I have to get you guys thoughts on the new Superman suit from James Gunn. I like it. It looks battled worn and not super clean. Fellas we have a new Batman show coming from Bruce Timm and James tucker of Batman brave and the bold. Animation wise we are all wh park, we are eating good folks .One more week of this show makes me sad. Now dynamite is the only thing to look forward to on weds thank you
How can a series make me feel this way despite knowing what’s coming. Unfortunately though, Wolverine had to learn the hard way that you always go for the head. While I knew that his adamantium was coming out this episode, I was still unprepared for just how uncomfortable and tense the fight on Asteroid M would be. From Xavier preparing to mindjack Magneto, Scott turning on the professor, Magneto readying to crush Chuck’s skull and Logan stabbing Erik from behind, it felt like a deadly game of dominos that were ready to fall at a moment’s notice. Now I’m wondering if Cyclops shooting the Professor was this series’ way of saying they’re not doing Onslaught or just a fake out before next week. It seems like an easier plan would be convincing Rogue to steal Magneto’s powers for a quick sec. Dude seems pretty far gone and on the verge of dying at this point.
The rest of the episode had a little bit of everything. As I predicted, Rogue joined Magneto and took the place of Colossus from the Fatal Attractions storyline. I absolutely loved the moments between Storm and Jean… even though Ororoe doesn’t actually know this is not the Jean she talked to before losing her powers and leaving… ah well! Storm’s reunion with Jubilee was also great as it bookended their first encounter in Night of the Sentinels. Loved Beast and Forge working together and talking shop too. I’d never understood Forge’s appeal before but actually connected with the character this time around.
Now for the biggest piece of trash of this entire series, Professor Xavier. Dude flakes off to be with his alien hussy for a year and then comes back expecting everyone to fall in line? Scott was 100% right to blast his bald A double dollar signs. If it weren’t for Professor X leaving the school to Magneto and not keeping track of a technopath with a mutant hating mother, we wouldn’t even be in this mess! Now he comes back and assumes leadership from everyone else who spent all this time picking up the pieces? Nah-uh! Charles deserves whatever calamity is bestowed upon him at this point. You don’t get to leave everyone hanging, peace out on the mutant equivalent of the holocaust and preach about doing the right thing afterwards.
Finally, I was very surprised to see how powerful Mr. Sinister was in this episode. Although he’s generally depicted as a more cerebral villain, I’m not used to him being such a physical threat. Holding his own against Jean has me wondering if her Phoenix powers will somehow reawaken to save the day in a final sacrifice. Also, the swerve of Cable seemingly being his clone Stryfe was incredibly well done – at least I’m assuming this is what the implication was.
This three part finale has been phenomenal so far. If this week was their Empire Strikes Back, I sure hope they nail the landing next week. I’m honestly not sure what happens from here but I’m definitely excited to learn how they pay off everything that’s been put into motion so far. It’s nice to know the show has been renewed for another two seasons already so this won’t be the end.
Get ready to break out some crisp cold Canada Drys for next week. Until next time, make mine MCU L8r! Brap brap!
I geeked out greatly when the team came out in their retro costumes, complete with the quip from Cyclops in reference to the black leather outfits from the X-Men film.
This episode also demonstrates how much more they can get away with on Disney+, with Wolverine bloodily impaling Magneto before whatever it was that happened in the cliffhanger (would it be too much for Magneto to rip out Wolverine’s entire adamantium skeleton?)
Incredible penultimate episode, gentlemen. There’s a lot in this to digest and ponder over, even if you are a seasoned X-Men reader. I think the way the series’ writers have tackled multiple arcs across the years and blended them in is exceptional. Everyone involved should be proud of their accomplishments. X-Men SHOULD BE THE FOCUS OF FUTURE MARVEL PROJECTS, there I said it. Give WH his Fantastic Four and Doctor Doom, but give the rest of us the X-MEN.
Too little too late for good ol’ Chuck, he missed the metal laced football once again and landed on his ass. Damn. It doesn’t help that Scott turned on him by… DOING EXACTLY WHAT XAVIER TOLD HIM HE SHOULD DO. He graduated a long time ago, and this was his call. Womp womp to Slim for letting a mad master of magnetism get the upper hand.
Anywho, the Cable heel turn legit caught me off guard and that was great! I’m expecting the Phoenix Force to somehow re-emerge in her in some way but that’s just my mind going deep into the inner sanctum of nerdom. What a great fight between she and Sinister though.
Forge and Storm taking on a fleet of Sentinels: LOVE. What more can I say?
Going back a bit, a tear was shed when Storm and Jean part onboard the jet. High marks for the writing and for making a middle aged man cry.
Speaking about emotionally unstable responses to animated characters: LOGAN!!! OH DEAR GOD NO!!! Why didn’t he aim for the head? Have we not learned from Thor’s blunder with Thanos? Oh wait, different universe. At the very least, he died wearing a classic fit and throwing Magneto’s own line from Season 1 back at him… I’ll take the consolations where I can get them.
With only one episode left I believe a lot of these storylines won’t be resolved for a while and we will all be looking forward to a Season 2 full of great stuff. I guess AvX will have to wait for now.
QUESTION: Did the attack on Asteroid M have you feeling the roster was a bit thin on both sides for a world saving event? I probably could have waited an episode if it meant building up the teams and the stakes, good and bad, for a showdown. Pardon a nerd for nerding.
The 90s show established the comic wolverine’s claws were implanted by weapon x. In the flashback, he got those weird itchy hands when the claws came out the first time and he was horrified by it.
And in the last season of the 90s, one whole episode was about when Logan met Captain America (and red skull) and both of them used strapped claws to their hands to scale walls, and Logan started fighting with them.
I’m pretty sure the claws will be gone.
That scene of the adamantium coming out makes me think it would show up /r/popping.
Part 2 of Tolerance is Extinction has cranked up the tension past 11. Humanity kept screwing around with Magneto and turned him back to the old him as he’s finally back on his bullshit with his war on humankind.
Rogue taking his side was the culmination of her season-long fall from grace that it makes killing Trask feel like kindergarten. These heel turns aren’t done for shock, the work was done to see it pay off.
The show’s less is more approach to Wolverine was a great move to allow the rest of the mutants to shine. It looks like season 2 will make up for it as Magneto ripped the adamantium out of his skeleton (shades of Fatal Attractions) to send him on a potentially feral path.
It’s not all bleakness with some killer action throughout
the half hour. Morph going all Hulk on the sentinels was ILL. Seeing the teams (blue and gold!) wear some classic duds (brown n tan!) was delightful. They sure do beat black leather.
How bleaker can this get as we head towards the final act. Who will survive? What will be left of them?
This episode gave me Game of Thrones vibes as the penultimate episodes were usually balls to the wall with a big event that would have lasting ramifications, not only for the next episode but for the next season.
Logan getting that Adamantium ripped out of him was so metal(pardon the pun).
One of the annoying things I’ve personally experienced the last few weeks has been this “Magneto was right” campaign that everyone’s on.
Specifically because, and I say this without hyperbole or any kind of facetious tone, has any X-Men fan ever not been on board with Magneto? He’s the only one that ever seems to really care about Mutants and the way they’re treated.
He’s never lost his faith in humanity like Doctor Manhattan, but he’s also not a pushover and knows when to stand his ground.
Xavier on the other hand is constantly trying to compromise with everyone who’s killing his kind and his family to an annoying degree.
People are people so they’re going to harass and be bigots towards those who are different, but when those people you’re being hateful to are literal gods then I have no sympathy towards the aggressors.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
How many more Sentinel variations need to be made or students need to die or Genosha’s need to be destroyed before Xavier just grows a pair?
Steve Grows Weed
That last episode was crazy!! So many splash page moments!! Them going old school was a cool touch. Think they’ll find a way to bring Gambit back?
Love this show so far. Save for a couple weird club moments that didn’t fit to me.
Like what you guys said in a past episode of jumping a few years ahead after this season. Can’t wait to see where this goes. Not looking forward to bone claws.
Make mine Marvel
Dc jermaine from Chicago. They definitely landed the ending. As Vince McMahon said this show doesn’t just give me a job each week it has given me a life. To go from the marvels a movie so bad that it changes Kevin feige mindset about marvel movie releases. To something of this quality says don’t give up on marvel so quickly. I think introducing the ideal that anyone could die at anytime gave each fight more stakes. You get nervous that your favorite might die. This episode gave us an overload of things. We got to see the bad uncle black panther. Ironman in his 90s armor. Dr strange and daredevil wow.we even got to see a premarital Peter Parker and Mary Jane Then they gave us an ideal that colossus iceman havok dust Emma frost and shadow cat. May be in season 2 next yr can’t come fast enough. I had a debate with my nephew about having X-men and avengers in the same world and he thinks it brings up problems as where are the avengers in these world level events? Why do people accept avengers with powers but look down on mutants? It’s just an interesting way of thinking. This show has reminded people that the X-men is marvels A team and has place it where they belong. So happy to see apocalypse is coming back which leads me to this question who is the most arrogant villain between en sabah nur, victor doom, ego the living planet or wh? Well this feedback has went long and I don’t want you guys to turn on me as quickly as people will turn on this upcoming Roman reings babyface run. Great show, great season on mcu later. Booster gold shoots next month so excited…Dc and marvel forever
After all we’ve been through, it turns out the real Onslaught was the Bastion we made along the way… or something.
What can I say about that finale that hasn’t already been said? Cameos galore, including the revelation that the Peter from his 90’s animated show DID find his MJ somewhere in the multiverse! (Some have tried to poo poo on this by saying that show finished in '98, but X-Men '97’s former show runner has said it’s cannon so I’m sticking with that!)
Anyway, this finale featured a lot. The nearly episode-long battle with Bastion was epic. Seeing how heroes around the world were responding was a nice touch and made this feel like a major event ripped straight from the comics. The scope of Bastion’s powers were fleshed out well enough to make it feel like the X-Men accomplished something upon his defeat. Working together in order to stop Asteroid M from crashing into earth showcased what makes them a team, something that goes a long way in my books. Also: Magneto lives! I wonder how Wolverine will feel about that when he’s back on his feet. With the different teases at the end, I wonder if the boneman cometh or if Logan will just skip to his membership in the four horsemen. (maybe he can get a fourth claw so he can hold them in the air instead of his fingers… don’t want to upset the WWE after all.)
So it looks like some form of Age Of Apocalypse is on its way. I love how the show has the benefit of hindsight to know which 90’s stories to adapt. The crappy bits that didn’t go over well get left behind and now we get pure gold! As if the cliffhanger didn’t get me excited enough, the post credits scene built the anticipation for next season even more. Hopefully we don’t have to wait too long either: Rogue’s voice actress revealed earlier this week that she’s already finished recording her lines for season 2.
After gushing, I did have a couple of nitpicks. having Phoenix rise out of nowhere was cool and all but just hand waving it away afterwards was oddly lazy for this series. I get that she felt it rise to protect her son, but it felt too convenient. Hopefully it’s something they explore a bit further next season. They also made such a big deal of Rogue joining Magneto in the last episode, but she just rejoins the team with no real explanation. I realize they had a lot to cram in, but the show is so good at giving reasons for things that it stands out when they don’t.
This is getting long so a few more highlights/questions:
I thought they did a great job of making you feel like any character could die at any moment on Asteroid M. When Kurt started teleporting around Bastion though, I thought he was a goner.
Storm just laughing when Phoenix arrived was great. She just knew that Jean was about to totally wreck house and Sinister was toast. Why in the world did she just let him get away though? It seems like that might come back to haunt them.
Do you think we see Apocalypse’s origins with the inclusion of Rama Tut next season?
How do you think the different storylines will intersect with the timelines and what characters do you want to see on an X-Men '98 team? Who do you want in the horsemen besides Gambit and Logan?
Anyway, sorry for all of my long posts here. You guys are champions and I’m looking forward to your X-Men film series (I actually saw the first one before going blind.) Make sure to sooth your vocal cords with a crisp ice cold Canada Dry. Until next time, make mine MCU L8r! Brap brap!
