Wolverine and the X-Men is an American cartoon series by Marvel Animation. It is the fourth animated adaptation of the X-Men characters, the other three being Pryde of the X-Men, X-Men: The Animated Series, and X-Men: Evolution.
Plot
The story begins with Rogue and Wolverine having an argument about him leaving. When Wolverine goes to Charles, Charles and Jean get headaches. An explosion occurs, and Charles and Jean disappear. The resulting trauma caused the X-Men team to disband and go their separate ways, leaving Xavier's once highly revered league of mutant peace preservers out of commission.
<p>Due to the loss of the Professor, Jean, and severe damage to the mansion, many of the X-Men have withered in their faith towards the stability of their former team and have since detached themselves from their former community. Some examples include Cyclops' subsequent isolation resulting from Jean's disappearance, Storm's relocation back to her home continent of Africa, and Iceman's move back into his parents' home in the quiet suburbs.One year later, the MRD (short for the Mutant Response Division), a government-supported organization created for the detainment and subsequent registration of existing mutants, begins capturing mutants from all over the country in response to the countless human protesters determined to protect the safety of humankind. This course of action causes Wolverine and Beast to ally and resolve to bring the once defunct X-Men team back together again.
Meanwhile, Rogue is in the street and attacked by the Brotherhood of Mutants. They trick her into joining them, and she later smiles devilishly as she enters their base, appearing to have switched allegiance to become an evil mutant. Thanks to the generosity, wealth, and resourcefulness of Angel, the slowly reforming X-Men team begins to see a promising return to its former glory with the rejoining of junior members Iceman, Shadowcat and Forge along with the reconstruction of the previously demolished Xavier Institute. Unfortunately, without the necessary capabilities of a competent telepath to operate Cerebro, the possibility of locating some of the more globally scattered X-Men members along with the missing Charles Xavier and Jean seems all but a pipe dream.
Fortunately, this problem does not last for very long when Emma Frost, the beautiful former Headmistress of a now inactive mutant school of her own in Massachusetts, makes a surprising appearance on the doorstep of the Mansion with an interesting proposal: membership with the X-Men in exchange for utilizing her telepathy to pinpoint the missing Xavier's whereabouts. Upon the team's - and particularly Wolverine's - reluctant acceptance of the offer, Emma's efforts prove successful as she is able to locate a comatose Charles on the shores of Genosha in the care of Magneto. After their arrival on Genosha and a short confrontation with the Master of Magnetism himself, Magneto eventually permits the X-Men to take his old friend's body back to the sanctity of the Mansion where he is certain that Xavier will be placed in proper care. Upon their return, Xavier telepathically contacts the X-Men twenty years from the present in an alternate dystopian future and informs Wolverine that he is to lead and reunite the X-Men if they wish to successfully prevent the inevitable war that will cause the world to fall under the domination of Master Mold and the Sentinels.
Throughout the course of the entire season, Emma's role as the X-Men's primary acting telepath enables the team to relocate the rest of the other members in the hopes of reforming once again and assisting in Xavier's cause. While some were met with initial hesitancy such as with Nightcrawler, others such as Storm were more than willing to accept the offer once Xavier's vision had been put into perspective. The X-Men overcome many hardships and obstacles along the way upon achieving their ultimate goal of relocating Jean and finally revealing the truth surrounding the mystery of the Mansion's cause for explosion along with Xavier and Jean's subsequent disappearances.
It is later revealed in the three-part first season finale "Foresight" that the previously assumed attack on the Mansion was not from the efforts of a third party, but rather from the result of Jean who unwittingly releases the immense and highly destructive strength and power of the Phoenix Force, that originally lay dormant deep within her subconscious, in an attempt to halt an oncoming telepathic attack led by Emma (who was secretly working as a double agent for the Inner Circle and the Stepford Cuckoos). Along with Sebastian Shaw, Selene, Harry Leland, and Donald Pierce, it was the Inner Circle's utmost duty to not only obtain the power of the Phoenix Force by abducting Jean from the protection of Xavier and the Mansion, but to also obliterate the ancient being's existence before it could fully mature and consequently bring forth unparalleled destruction onto the world as it had done numerous times in the past throughout Earth's history. However, in a move that was completely unknown to Emma at the time, the rest of the Inner Circle members all shared an entirely different and more sinister vision than Frost had initially believed: to control and manipulate the power of the Phoenix Force and have it cater to their own hidden agenda. Upon realizing the error of her ways, Emma betrays the Inner Circle and attempts to redeem herself in the eyes of the X-Men by not only rescuing Jean but, by also following through with her original plan of destroying the cosmic entity before it could mature. Unfortunately, her actions result in her apparent death. Rogue apologizes to Wolverine, and finally rejoins the X-Men for good. The now fully reformed X-Men are praised for their actions by Professor Xavier, but are warned of a new danger approaching: the Age of Apocalypse.
Characters
The overall situations and the look of the series and character designs were inspired by the Astonishing X-Men comic series.
X-Men
Future X-Men
Brotherhood of Mutants
Acolytes
Marauders
Inner Circle
MRD/Project: Wideawake
Weapon X
Other mutants
- DJ
- Washout
- Trance
- M-Twins
- M
- Synch
Other characters
Cast
Main cast
- Steven Blum - Wolverine, Vanisher, Vindaloo, Fever Pitch
- Kieren van den Blink - Rogue
- Susan Dalian - Storm, Dr. Kavita Rao, Jean's Nurse
- Jennifer Hale - Jean Grey
- Danielle Judovits - Shadowcat, Tildie Soames
- Tom Kane - Magneto, Professor Thorton
- Yuri Lowenthal - Iceman
- Nolan North - Cyclops, Pyro, Berzerker
- Liam O'Brien - Angel/Archangel, Nightcrawler, Nitro
- Roger Craig Smith - Forge, Hellion, Kamal
- Fred Tatasciore - Beast, Hulk, Blockbuster, Juggernaut, Harpoon
- Kari Wahlgren - Emma Frost, Magma, Dr. Sybil Zane, Christy Nord
- Jim Ward - Professor X, Warren Worthington II, Abraham Cornelius, Sentinels, Rover the Sentinel
Additional voices
- Charlie Adler - Mojo, Reavers
- Tamara Bernier - Mystique
- Clancy Brown - Mister Sinister
- Benjamin Bryan - Young Scott
- A.J. Buckley - Toad
- Corey Burton - John Grey
- Grey DeLisle - Psylocke, Spiral, Network
- Alex Désert - Nick Fury
- Richard Doyle - Senator Robert Kelly
- Chris Edgerly - Agent Haskett
- Crispin Freeman - Multiple Man, Maverick
- Kate Higgins - Scarlet Witch, Pixie
- Mark Hildreth - Quicksilver
- Michael Ironside - Colonel Moss
- Dominic Janes - Squidboy
- Phil LaMarr - Gambit, Bolivar Trask
- Peter Lurie - Sabretooth
- Gabriel Mann - Dr. Bruce Banner
- Vanessa Marshall - Vertigo
- Graham McTavish - Sebastian Shaw
- Phil Morris - Colossus
- Liza del Mundo - Polaris
- Laraine Newman - Marjorie
- Kevin Michael Richardson - Shadow King, Bishop
- Crystal Scales - Boom Boom
- James Sie - Yakuza Leader, Sensei Ogun
- André Sogliuzzo - Arclight
- Stephen Stanton - Blob
- April Stewart - Selene
- Tara Strong - Marrow, Dust, Firestar, X-23, Stepford Cuckoos
- James Patrick Stuart - Avalanche
- Gwendoline Yeo - Domino, Master Mold, Mariko Yashida
- Keone Young - Silver Samurai
Crew
- Jamie Simone - Casting and Voice Director
Production
The series was in the pre-production stage as of April 2007. On November 4, 2008, a second season, consisting of 26 episodes was confirmed as being in production. During Comic Con 2009, images of season 2 were shown, consisting of Colossus, Magik, Deadpool, Jubilee, and Havok. It was announced that these characters were to appear in season 2. Colossus was set to receive a reintroductory storyline and would have been a regular character in season 2.
Cancellation
On April 13, 2010, Comics Continuum reported that according to an inside source, a second season of the series seemed very unlikely. On April 15, 2010, Marvel Animation Age confirmed the recent report that Wolverine and the X-Men would not be returning for a second season.
Later allusions in other Marvel media
- Steven Blum, Tom Kane, and Fred Tatasciore reprise their respective roles as Wolverine, Professor Thornton, and Hulk in the animated movie Hulk Vs. Wolverine, a prequel to the series. Prior to the show's cancellation, Nolan North was set to reprise his Hulk Vs role as Deadpool in a planned episode of the second season.
- Alex Désert, Steven Blum, Gabriel Mann, Fred Tatasciore, and Tom Kane all reprise their respective roles as Nick Fury, Wolverine, Bruce Banner, Hulk, and Professor Thornton in the television series The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
- The MRD is mentioned in passing in one episode of The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
- Nolan North reprises his role as Cyclops in Black Panther.
- Steven Blum, Liam O'Brien, Jim Ward, and Tom Kane each return as Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Professor Xavier, and Magneto in Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Video Game. However, only Blum and Ward reprise their characters for The Super Hero Squad Show.
- Steven Blum, Tara Strong, Tom Kane, Susan Dalian, Jennifer Hale, and Jim Ward return to voice Wolverine, X-23, Magneto, Storm, Jean Grey, and Sentinel in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
- Steven Blum, Nolan North, Phil LaMarr, and Kari Wahlgren returns to voice Wolverine, Cyclops, Gambit, and Emma Frost in X-Men: Destiny.
- Steven Blum, Jennifer Hale, and Fred Tatasciore reprise their roles of Wolverine, Jean Grey, and Beast in Marvel Anime: X-Men while Gwendoline Yeo reprises her role of Mariko Yashida in Marvel Anime: Wolverine.
- Steven Blum, Kate Higgins, Liam O'Brien, Fred Tatasciore, Kari Wahlgren, and Jim Ward return as Wolverine, Scarlet Witch, Nightcrawler, Beast, Hulk, Emma Frost, and Professor X in Marvel Heroes.
Broadcast history
United States
Early news had speculated the show to air in Fall 2008 in the United States. However, the speculation came to a rest as according to Marvel Quarterly reports, the show was set to air in the United States in Spring 2009. It was also confirmed in an article by USA Today's website in which it specifically mentions the cartoon starting on January 23, 2009 on Nicktoons Network. On January 23, the show premiered in the United States, with the first two episodes shown back-to-back on NickToons, which were re-aired on Nickelodeon two days later. The next 6 episodes followed weekly before a two-month break. New episodes began on May 22, 2009, as advertised with commercials on the channel then stopped after June 19, 2009, till the network advertised that they will be showing new episodes on July 31, 2009, after or before new episodes of Iron Man: Armored Adventures.
United Kingdom
On June 23, 2008, a second preview for the series, starring the main X-Men team, was released to announce the special screening of the 3-part pilot episodes that aired at the San Diego Comic-Con in late July 2008. Press releases indicated that the first episode was due to premiere on August 2, 2008, on BBC2 in the UK; however, it was postponed and premiered on January 4, 2009, on the CBBC Channel. Initially, one new episode aired every Sunday, but on January 25, 2009, CBBC started airing two new episodes every Sunday. The time slots varied, and the episodes were available for viewing on the BBC iPlayer for a limited time after they aired. As of mid-February 2009, some new episodes were shown on weekdays instead of at the weekend. Some episodes with scenes showing heavy violence were censored and Episode 17 was not shown on CBBC as there was a duel to the death in the storyline (along with one scene depicting blood). CBBC in the UK overtook Canada on March 4, 2009, when it aired the 20th episode, "Breakdown". In 2009, BBC Alba started broadcasting the series dubbed into Scottish Gaelic as "An Sionnach Sgianach's Na Seoid". premiere on November 16, 2013, on Kix channel in the UK.
Canada
In Canada, the series started airing on YTV on Saturday, September 6, 2008 in the 7pm time slot When its time slot was switched to Saturday morning programming, Crunch, it aired at 11:30am. Starting in January 2009, the show was also shown on Teletoon, where only episodes that previously aired on YTV were shown.
Latin America and Brazil
In Brazil and Latin America, the series is airing on Jetix Brazil and Jetix (Latin America) starting August 25, 2008 from Mondays to Thursdays at 4:30 PM. Unusually, all 26 episodes of the first season were aired in Brazil and Latin America before the series started in any other country. Also, the series airs in Rede Record in Brazil from Mondays to Fridays at 7:00 PM, starting November 9, 2009. In Mexico, the series aired on Azteca 7.
Australia
In Australia, the first series aired on ABC1 Sunday mornings. The series was then repeated weekdays in early morning and late afternoon timeslots. The show then aired on ABC3, along with other series from Marvel Animation on Sunday nights.
New Zealand
In New Zealand the series aired on TV3.
India
The series aired on Toonami in India.
Italy
In Italy the series is currently airing on Rai Gulp, an Italian television channel for children and teenagers.
The Philippines
In the Philippines, the series started on July 18, 2009 and was aired on ABS-CBN Saturday mornings at 8:45 AM and Sunday mornings at 9:00 AM until early 2010. It is slated to run all 26 episodes of the first season. Also, the re-runs of the series started on November 16, 2009 on Studio 23 weeknights at 6:00 PM.
France
The series aired on Cartoon Network in France.
Russia
The series aired on CTC in Russia.
South Africa
The series aired Saturday mornings on SABC 3 in South Africa.
Portugal
The series first aired in Portugal on SIC K, starting on May 12, 2010. Now, it is currently airing on Panda Biggs, starting on January 21, 2013.
Merchandise
Hasbro produced a Wolverine and the X-Men toyline as a tie-in to the series. The first wave consisted of Avalanche, Beast, Colossus, Cyclops, Logan (not in classic outfit), Iceman, Magneto, Wolverine. Wave two contained the new figures Nightcrawler and a Black Uniform Wolverine. Wave Three, the final wave, added Forge and Toad to the line. The toy line ended before any of the main females of the series were turned into toys; notably missing were Emma Frost, Jean Grey, Shadowcat, Rogue, and Storm.
Reception
Due in part to the abundance of advertising for the series done by Nicktoons and Marvel, the Nicktoons Network premiere of Wolverine and the X-Men garnered over 3,500,000 viewers, one of the network's highest ratings ever.
- Hindsight, Part One - 3,436,000 viewers
- Hindsight, Part Two - 4,589,000 viewers
It has an 8.1/10 on IMDB with positive reviews.
Home media
United Kingdom
The first announced DVD was a UK release by Liberation Entertainment, which was set to be released in November 2008 However, the UK branch of Liberation closed, leaving the release cancelled. E1 Entertainment finally released the series starting with a Volume 1 release featuring the first 7 episodes in April 2009. The second volume was released on 19 October to coincide with the release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine on DVD. This volume contained an additional 7 episodes. On February 8, 2010, Volume 3 was released containing the next 6 episodes, leaving the last 6 episodes to be released in Volume 4 on July 26, 2010. The complete boxed set with all twenty-six episodes was released on 11 July 2011.
United States
The holder of the DVD license for the show in the USA is Lionsgate Entertainment (who partners with Marvel Animation). On April 21, 2009, they released Volume 1: Heroes Return Trilogy, featuring the first three episodes. The next release, Volume 2: Deadly Enemies, came out on July 21, 2009 and features the next 5 episodes. Volume 3: Beginning of the End was released on November 3, 2009 with 5 more episodes. Volume 4: Fate of the Future was released on February 2, 2010 with 5 more episodes. Volume 5: Revelation was released on May 4, 2010 along with Volume 5 of X-Men: The Animated Series. Marvel formally announced the sixth and final part of the series, Volume 6: Final Crisis Trilogy, was released on August 17, 2010. The complete series was released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 12, 2010.
Canada
Liberation Entertainment released a single-disc "Season 1: Chapter 1" package on April 14, 2009 with the first four episodes of the series. A second single disc package, "Season 1: Chapter 2" holding the next four episodes was released on July 21, 2009, although the packaging mentioned a fifth episode that was not included for unknown reasons. Also, a 5-disc set of the complete first season in Steelbook packaging was released September 15, 2009. The set includes all 26 episodes in widescreen format, character bios, an image gallery and an audio commentary on the episode Overflow.
Mexico
Buena Vista Home Entertainment Mexico announced the release of the first DVD R4 containing the initial 6 episodes by Fall 2008.
As of May 2009, the whole 26 episodes of the first season are available in different stores. A Wolverine comic is packed with the DVD set as part of the promotional merchandise for the release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Australia
Magna Home Entertainment has announced that the full 1st Season (26 episodes) has been released in Australia with a Limited Edition Wolverine Mold Case. Wolverine and the X-Men: X-Calibre (6 Episodes) and Wolverine and the X-Men: Wolverine VS The Hulk (6 Episodes) has been released with Wolverine and the X-Men: Hunting Grounds (7 Episodes) released on 8 July 2009. Wolverine and the X-Men: Breakdown (7 Episodes).
Bulgaria
Wolverine and the X-Men will be released on DVD, but there is still no information about any date. The trailer can be seen on the Biker Mice from Mars Season 1 DVD.
Russia
The whole series was released on DVD in Russia.
Italy
Panini Comics is going to release the first season under its Panini Video imprint. It will be the last series of DVD published by Panini.
References
External links
- Wolverine and the X-Men @ Nicktoons
- Wolverine and the X-Men at the Internet Movie Database
- Wolverine and the X-Men at TV.com
- Wolverine and the X-Men @ Animated Superheroes
- Wolverine and the X-Men @ Marvel Animation Age
- Wolverine and the X-Men page @ CBBC
- M.R.D Escape Online Game