Wouldn't another show about the X-Men as students, and thus teenagers, even if it was the Original 5 or whatever oddball confection they're gonna force on us & ignorant non-comic fan audiences with First Class, seem a bit redundant after X-Men: Evolution, which was basically First Class pooling together different members from different eras?
Y'know how many Spider-Man cartoons had Peter Parker in college? Virtually all of them until 2007's SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN. And then after that, we'll get ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN, which will be the 2nd in a row with Spidey in high school. Considering that Evolution went off the air in 2003 (and, until Marvel started allowing episodes to be viewed on their website and YouTube for free around '08 or so, the final 12 episodes had not been re-aired in the U.S.), and considering WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN filled the gap from 2008-2009, it wouldn't be totally unheard of. Marvel is run by Disney. Disney and most networks LOVE teenage heroes. It's no accident they keep cropping up in many team shows more often than not, especially since GATCHAMAN became a hit in Japan and America in the 1970's and 1980's.
Frankly, with "X-MEN: FIRST CLASS" likely to have Xavier and Magneto in their early 30's leading around teenagers, the odds of a cartoon mimicing some of that are high. It's simple reality. Disney seems to be throwing it's weight around in regards to TV; they don't seem to be bothering with how Marvel handles comics, and they seem to be satisfied with movies for now. It's the small screen that I think Disney is focusing on now. And why not? They control quite a few networks, and have found many successes there. And without being cynical, there have been many good Disney cartoons since the 1980's. DUCKTALES, GARGOYLES, DARKWING DUCK, even GUMMI BEARS or TAILSPIN. Even if the DVD releases were not the best, that doesn't deny their initial success. Heck, even the show based on THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE was probably better than the movie it spun off from. BUZZ LIGHTYEAR OF STAR COMMAND wasn't even that terrible compared to other shows.
It could be possible to "repeat" some of Evolution's elements without simply imitating it. Plus, there are some characters who I don't think would ever work as teenagers, especially Wolverine (he acts enough like a teenager despite being about 100. OH!). According to Marvel canon, Cyclops (and some of the elder founders) were about 18-19 when the "giant size" team came in. Supposedly Colossus and Storm were 19-20 when they first joined too. Kitty was always 13. Iceman by then may have been about 16-17. And so on. There are ways to play with some or most of the cast being teenagers without simply making it "X-Creek" or thinking that "normal" X-Men stories couldn't be told.
In fact, setting a show in which the mentors are in their 30's, the "elder" X-Men like Cyclops and Jean are maybe 18-19 and some of the others are a little younger (aside for Wolverine or Banshee), could actually sound a lot like that 5th season of Evolution that never happened. No, I don't mean doing that; Evo is dead. But I do mean maybe using such a premise as a springboard for a series bible in the production phase.
Colossus seriously deserves to be in the main, everyday cast this time around. He has as much right to it as Storm and Nightcrawler do.
Panthro said:
Well, I think we can all agree that the next series should take more time to develop the X-Men's team dynamic & give everyone more fleshing out, something W&TXM didn't quite nail. Say what you will about the many
worthy power inconsistencies Justice League season 1, but that first season of Justice League at least made me care about it's characters (even though, when you think about it, it is a bit of a shame that Flash/Wally West never quite got away from being 'the funny one', since if you read Flash comics you'll find there's more to the Flash/Wally than cracking jokes). When John Stewart's GL ring ran out of power in 'The Savage Time', I actually felt invested in seeing what would happen to him. When the Martian Manhunter was a prisoner of Savage's in that same finale, I felt invested in seeing how he would get out of it. With W&TXM, it felt like the writers, who more than once seemed drunk on their own power tripping, expected us to care about the characters simply because they have publication histories ranging anywhere from 20 some years (Kitty Pryde, Rogue) to 30 some years (Wolverine, Storm), or at most 40 some years (the original 5).
Hmm... I wonder if perhaps it would be better for the next X-Men series to be handled by a different set of writers instead of the Craig Kyle/Chris Yost team. Get some new blood in there, that sort of thing.
It depends on what writers are available. Chris Yost right now seems to be busy on AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES, a show he is running. Kyle seems to be on the verge of being promoted to movies. Of course, both also write comics in-between, especially Yost (who's even branched outside of the X-Universe to write for DC on occasion too). You have to include the good with the bad; the duo can have some frustrating tics, but when they're on, they can produce some good stuff. Sadly, I'd argue the writer who could have helped produce the X-Men show of our ages was Greg Wiesman, who Marvel & Sony let move to WB to do "YOUNG JUSTICE".
I do agree that the next X-Men show has to do better with the team aspect, and in fleshing out characters. That doesn't mean each character gets 1-4 solo episodes and then is ignored for the rest of the 13-26 episode season; it means some steady bits in almost every episode. I will say that one advantage that JUSTICE LEAGUE Season 1 had that many cartoons don't is 2 part, 40 minute episodes. While the plots for Season 1 were not often that great, the extra time allowed for more conversation between the characters. Even the superior Season 2 often had the plot only seem to meander in after about 10-15 minutes of talking or development. Shorter shows don't have that luxury, and given that Cartoon Network demanded Justice League tighten up, few will again. So, in a way, comparing it to JL Season 1 is somewhat unfair.
That said, I do agree that the next X-Men show shouldn't be another Wolverine sidekick parade. Wolverine is actually at the end of his apex and in many ways is nowhere near as hot as he used to be. His film did well for Fox, but it was hardly the hit that the Iron Man films are. His comics are actually selling lower than they ever have. Few characters can hit a peak level of popularity and selling power and remain there, forever. Just as Ghost Rider and Punisher fell before him, Logan's slipped a little. I'm hardly saying he has no place on the X-Men; they wouldn't be the same without him. But much as Batman eventually took a step back for other Leaguers in JLU, Logan needs to not overshadow the rest of the team here. From a pure business standpoint, relying on only one member of a team to sell merchandise is also illogical. While Batman is the most popular member of the League, there still is Superman, or Wonder Woman, or Green Lantern. Colossus always got a good reaction out of audiences in his X-Movie moments. There were plenty of non-hardcore geeks who didn't enjoy Cyclops getting the shaft in them, either. There are plenty of Storm fans out there who'd love for her to be as vital to the team as she was in the 90's series, only without that horrendous dialogue. And so on. The X-Men are a different fish than the Justice League, but having a strong and well written team dynamic will not only work for the show itself, but will make every character seem better when they play off their mates. Even Wolverine. Perhaps especially Wolverine; he was never blander at times than in WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN when not only was he the de facto star, no one challenged him for it. He loses his edge when having one is no longer special (another reason why Logan's lost stock; he's been cloned, imitated, and no longer is unique after some 35 years).
Colossus should have a vital part of that. I always saw him, especially in the 70's and 80's, as the "pure hearted" X-person. Like Clark Kent, he's a farm boy raised with good values who is often the "lawful good" character in a team full of anti-heroes or "chaotic good" heroes. If the X-Men have to do something that seems wrong, he usually was the first to mention it. But he also wears his heart on his sleeve and while he's often a gentle giant, he's not the type to piss off. And unlike Wolverine, he seemingly bottles is more, so when it comes out it usually is more raw. I'd argue he's more well known to the common person than Iceman or Angel are, at least if you showed them a picture (even if as, "that big metal dude from the X-Men"). Feats of strength always draw a crowd.
