Official Wolverine And The X-men, Episode 14 "Stolen Lives" Discussion

[usagicassidy]

Brief synopsis:

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

Mystique calls Wolverine to warn him about Maverick's daughter Christie being in danger. The two of them infiltrate Weapon X and have to fight Maverick and Sabretooth. X-23 also appears.

Do we have a premiere date for this episode? Originally I recall someone - maybe TheVileOne? - mentioning it's airing date being today as confirmed by a TV broadcast schedule. However, I've looked around and can't find anything. Did it air at 11:30? Does it air at 8? Is it airing at all?

[Dread]

It is due to air in Canada this weekend as scheduled.

Honestly, I am iffy about this one. Despite the title of the show, the episodes where Wolverine has starred exclusively without the rest of the X-Men have usually not been the best episodes of the season, to put it mildly. The best all-Wolverine episode was probably "HINDSIGHT PART ONE" and even that had some X-Men. Usually Wolverine's solo episodes are just mediocre or only slightly above that grade. The last episode he had alone with Sabretooth was just awkward.

I also don't expect anyone on the X-Men to say anything about Wolverine going on a loner quest, while Cyclops was the worst X-Man in the universe for doing the same.

[kguillou]

^^Haha, totally agree, although i thought the Hulk episode was pretty good. Good not great. I wanna see more x-men!

[Dread]

Originally Posted by kguillou

^^Haha, totally agree, although i thought the Hulk episode was pretty good. Good not great. I wanna see more x-men!

Wolverine's three "solo" episodes were "Thieves' Gambit", "Wolverine vs. The Hulk" and "Past Directions", and I agree that "Wolvie vs. Hulk" was probably the best rounded out of those three. "Past Directions" had some good moments and interesting hints, but as a whole it was just awkward. "Thieves' Gambit" is officially the worst episode of the season so far. And even that one wasn't terrible, just average.

Some people claim that the reason for this is Wolverine suffers from "Fonzie Syndrome"; he is a standout with a cast, but is boring solo. In a way I disagree; the 90's show got some terrific episodes out of solo Wolverine, or at least 1-2 great episodes, without Logan being teamed up with any of the X-Men. Unlike in Evolution, Logan usually has no sort of "sidekick" character to bounce off of (in the comics, he's has Kitty, Jubilee, or even Armor).

Honestly, I believe it comes not only due to writing, but censorship. Wolverine is a network TV enigma. He has claws and is famous for them, but can't actually use them against most opponents. He is a dark character, but networks cringe at episodes that are TOO dark. His rage is well known, but he can't go too berserk lest he scare some soccer mom somewhere. Considering all this, making Wolverine a side character in favor of the energy-beam using Cyclops in EVOLUTION might have been a pragmatic way to avoid censorship hassles for storyboards.

Still, the envelope can be pushed. TMNT from seasons 3-4 seemed to push that envelope of how dark an episode can be, how much gore can be implied without actually being shown, almost weekly, and that was on the station formerly known as Fox Kids. The question is if Kyle & Johnson are up to those sorts of battles, or if they have been working under TV blinders for so long they never even peek outside of them.

That all said, no episode of W&TXM for me has been outright "bad". For a debut season, especially within the first 13 episodes, having the worst episodes merely be "average" is not too shabby, far better ,or on par, with the the debut seasons of a dozen cartoons I could mention. But that said, so far the writers have struggled with episodes that feature Wolverine alone, which is ironic as he is the star character. Hopefully this week will show some improvement in this area.

[usagicassidy]

Have to agree with you on all points, Dread. And I haven't seen the "Hulk VS. Wolverine" movie yet, but I'm about to, and I'm hopeful I get to see a side to Wolverine that I don't see on a child's animated show.

But as for this episode...I have some hope, because both Mystique and X-23 show up in this episode, and if the description is valid, than the first one mentioned will be a major component of the episode - and I've been WAITING for some development on her so I'm excited.

[Spider-ManHero12]

"Hulk vs. Wolverine" kicked so much ass, IMO!

[kguillou]

Ideally it would be nice to see a network like HBO or FX or somethin pick up a wolverine cartoon that allows it to be as violent as it wants. I really think that could make for an incredible show as wolverine would be able to completely cut loose. Did anyone here watch the Spawn cartoon on HBO years ago? That show was phenominal because it was raw and didnt hold back, i wish there were more cartoons like that, but people seem to think that there's no audience for a "mature cartoon".

[Blade X]

Originally Posted by kguillou

Ideally it would be nice to see a network like HBO or FX or somethin pick up a wolverine cartoon that allows it to be as violent as it wants. I really think that could make for an incredible show as wolverine would be able to completely cut loose. Did anyone here watch the Spawn cartoon on HBO years ago? That show was phenominal because it was raw and didnt hold back, i wish there were more cartoons like that, but people seem to think that there's no audience for a "mature cartoon".

I said it before, and I'll keep saying it until fans and creators get it. You can do an action packed Wolverine cartoon with him "cutting loose" and still have the show be both suitable for and appealing to kids/all ages.

As for the (IMO) crappy SPAWN cartoon, apparently it's "rawness" and "mature" content wasn't enough to keep the ratings high enough to get a 3rd season.

[dancing_on_fire]

Did everyone notices the several inconsistencies with this episode and the Hulk vs Wolverine film. I'm kinda hoping they get corrected, or in some ways r intentionally done and will be solved later. For those who don't know what i mean:

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

The professor is alive
The professor also seems to have his right hand back
Maverick was not present during the hulk vs wolverine film
Neither was mystique
Wolverines adamantium bonding was presented differently, he was in a tube while here he was lying down on a bed of sorts similar to the movie. In the past he has the same hair style as he does now, but in the hulk vs film his hair is rediculously longer, closer to the comics.

[Spider-ManHero12]

Has this episode premiered online yet?

[TheVileOne]

Dancing on fire:

I feel we recently clarified that this show is not in the same continuity as Hulk VS. Wolverine.

[usagicassidy]

Well, I gotta say - at least from what I can recall, this is one of my favorite Weapon X-centered episodes I've ever seen. That's including WATXM, EVO, and TAS.

I love the little snippet of X-23 we get in this episode - setting us up for something far more important...YAY!

Mystique here was also one of my favorite portrayals, and I like the twist they've added to her past with Logan/James.

[dancing_on_fire]

Originally Posted by TheVileOne

Dancing on fire:

I feel we recently clarified that this show is not in the same continuity as Hulk VS. Wolverine.

sorry buddy haven't been on awhile didn't check the other threads, my bad, a shame though, would of been nice if it was a continuation

[Superhero 101]

this is a good episode i thought we would get a flashback of Omega Red or something.

[Neptune]

I hate that Wolverine is now connected to every person in the X-Men universe. I don't mind the idea of Mystique working for Weapon X in the past but did she really have to be Wolverine's ex girflriend? The moment she said that the man she loved sacrificed his life for her i was hoping that man wasn't Wolverine. But oh well i guess i could have expected that. Other than that it was a pretty good episode.

[usagicassidy]

Honestly though, the show is called "Wolverine and the X-Men", so I'm actually HAPPY that they're making him such an important and integral person - I mean, he's one of my least favorite X-Men, but since he is the lead of the show, it's important that he has these ties. Making Mystique and Logan/James former lovers is nothing new, and has been hinted upon or experimented with in many an issue, in many a timeline.

[EnDz0n3]

I actually kinda thought at first that her ex lover was gonna be Creed. Not really stoked to hear it was Wolverine either...

I didnt enjoy this episode as much as the team ones.

[Ratcrawler]

I love the little snippet of X-23 we get in this episode - setting us up for something far more important...YAY!

Oh boy, is it ever...

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

There's a small army of X23s in the future.

Probably my favorite of the Wolverine-centric episodes. I love his "scent-ghosts"

[Spider-ManHero12]

Does anybody have a torrent link for this episode?

[YoungE808]

Originally Posted by Ratcrawler

Oh boy, is it ever...

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

There's a small army of X23s in the future.

Probably my favorite of the Wolverine-centric episodes. I love his "scent-ghosts"

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

Army? I don't think so. Where'd you get that from. If that notion came from the new Hulk vs Wolverine feature then...that whole thing is separate from WATXM

[TheVileOne]

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

I like what was done with the Mystique/Wolverine relationship in this episode. I feel it was a major improvement over Mystique/Wolverine in the comics.

[fatcomputernerd]

Originally Posted by Spider-ManHero12

Does anybody have a torrent link for this episode?

Not sure if we are allowed to post those here or not...?

In any case, just go to mininova.org and search wolverine and the x-men.
Its there, and well-seeded.

[Spider-ManHero12]

Originally Posted by fatcomputernerd

Not sure if we are allowed to post those here or not...?

In any case, just go to mininova.org and search wolverine and the x-men.
Its there, and well-seeded.

Thanks!

[Havok83]

Was that this the debut of X-23?

[sniktsnakt]

That was definitely the best WV-centric episode so far. Maybe even bordering on the best episode period so far.

I like what they did with Mystique.

How much of his past are they going to delve into?

I'm pretty sure this won't happen in this season, but I'd totally geek out if they had Japan and/or Madripoor episodes coming up sometime . . . .