X-Men: Evolution Review

I am beyond excited for this show. The last X-Men show I watched was incredible for the time it came out and I have hopes that this one will be good as well. I’m looking forward to seeing some of my favorite characters on screen again, seeing more personality in others, and hopefully some good cameos from other Marvel characters! I don’t know who the main focus of the show is though, but at least I know Wolverine will be in it. This show has four seasons and aired from 2000-2003.

Season 1: This season has a total of 13 episodes and starts off with introductions to the main characters and a few villains. Wolverine, Storm, and Professor X are all adults but the rest of the X-Men are in high school so their personalities are more juvenile. This gives them more room to grow though so I hope as the series progresses they have some strong character development. I didn’t know Mystique could transform into animals as well, though that may have only been for the benefit of this show specifically. The season had strong pacing and introduced characters slowly and logically. No one was rushed in and given proper time to develop in each episode. The season had an underlying plot that ends with a focus on Asteroid M and a proper introduction to Magneto and his motives. The X-Men leave victorious and the season comes to a finish with a strong final scene of them all together. 

Season 2: This season has the most episodes of the series at 17. The school has grown as a variety of new students are messing around with their powers on the school grounds. They are featured throughout the season as both trouble makers and growing X-Men. The plot of the season was developed well with room for other events to happen without derailing the main plot too much. The intensity of everything rose as well as the X-Men are getting older and developing as characters. Everything that felt like it could have been a loose end from the previous season was brought back and continued or wrapped up well. So far, this show has been incredible and thrilling. Each episode draws in the viewer, no character is completely intolerable, and X-Men comic fans would absolutely love this show. The amount of villains being teased should overwhelm the plot, but they are written-in well and they add to the overall struggle the mutants face on both sides. The only issue I had with the season was with one scene where Professor X was driving a car…which for obvious reasons is illogical. Other than that, the season was great and ended on an intense cliff-hanger!

Season 3: This season has a total of 13 episodes and picks up right where the cliff-hanger left off. Mutants were exposed and now they face struggles of acceptance in society, and in their high school. Their home has also been destroyed and some of their powers are becoming difficult to control or understand. Each of the characters had their own personal struggles to face as secrets were revealed, romances began to develop, and the saga of Apocalypse returning came to head. I became far more invested in this season and was excited to the introduction to new major characters, one of which being Gambit! While he is working for Magneto, I sincerely hope in the next season he falls for Rogue and joins the X-Men. The ending of the season, however, was a bit odd because there was a two part episode story that share the story of Apocalypse, his rising to power, and his return despite Magneto and Xavier’s team up to prevent it. Part two ended with everyone defeated on the ground and realizing the seriousness of what happened. However, that was not how the season ended. Episode 13 was a vacation episode where the teens and Storm went on a cruise to relax and didn’t really acknowledge what happened with Apocalypse and their plan to defeat him. I almost wonder if that episode was meant to come before and was uploaded or aired incorrectly. I’m hoping the next season is a buildup to a great battle with him where we see everyone at full power!

Season 4: This season has the least amount of episodes in the series at only 9 episodes. It starts off with a recap of everything that happened with Apocalypse and picking up where that battle left off. His immense power is not too surprising but his methods for going about everything were a bit odd and surprisingly passive for a while. Even in the end his methods didn’t seem as aggressive as I anticipated. There were a few surprising things in this season such as the deaths and reincarnations of Magneto, Mystique, Storm, and Professor X as the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse. Of course this was resolved and I was pleased to see Magneto join the X-Men. Overall the conclusion of everything was excellent and I loved how they gave glimpses into the future of everyone as adults. I would love nothing more than to have more seasons of this show and see all of that come to light, but sadly that will not happen.

The animation in this show has improved greatly since the last show I watched, but there were still odd moments where the art wasn’t the same quality as other moments. I got used to it rather quickly though as the plot of the show drew me in. This show was absolutely incredible and I believe it could have kept going. They did show hints into the future which in a way brought a sense of conclusion to everything, but I believe it could have also been a preview of what would come in the future seasons! Even if they brought this show back today I believe they could maintain the quality from before. I would highly recommend this show!

My favorite character was either Wolverine or Rogue. I of course enjoy seeing Wolverine in most things and I’ve developed a fondness for Rogue after the previous X-Men show. I really enjoyed them and their development in this show. It’s tough to say who my least favorite character was. There weren’t any characters I couldn’t stand, just a few I found tedious. That’s common in every show so I won’t specifically say which ones I found to be tedious as they weren’t always featured. Other characters featured in the show, in order of appearance, were Sabertooth, Mystique, Magneto, Avalanche, the Blob, Quicksilver, Forge, Juggernaut, Havok, Boom-Boom, IceMan, Arcade, Jubilee, Multiple, Cannonball, Berserker, Sunspot, Wolfsbane, Angel, Mesmero, Apocalypse, Magma, Nick Fury, Captain America, Agatha Harkness, Scarlet Witch, Trask, Gambit, Colossus, Pyro, Caliban, The Morlocks, Mastermind, X23, Omega Red, Gauntlet, Legion, Leech, and Mirage. 

If you enjoyed this post and would like to keep up with future posts, be sure to subscribe below and follow my official Twitter or Instagram for updates! 

This week’s post is sponsored by Podcasting Until Ragnarok, a podcast I created that was inspired by this blog. Be sure to go check it out wherever you listen to your podcasts and subscribe!