Wolverine and the X-Men: The Complete Series

[Gotham22]

http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Wolverine-X-Men-The-Complete-Series/14102

 

[Sawyer]

Like the cover art.

 

[Rumpy Bulge Dubz]

I hate it when they wait to release all of the seperate volumes before releasing the entire box set.

I already own all 5 individual volumes, not sure I'll be picking this up unless it's got something more to offer

 

[Ipodman]

I hate it too... thats why I held out on the volumes.. muahaha!

Well, it's first time on blu-ray...

 

[Rumpy Bulge Dubz]

I hate it too... thats why I held out on the volumes.. muahaha!

Well, it's first time on blu-ray...

ah, good call. I'll pick up the Blu Ray release of this

 

[Ipodman]

I hope they do a complete series of X Men Evolution too....

 

[Dread]

That's why it is worth waiting for season sets. Ironically, consumers have learned this game. Often, the individual volume releases for American cartoon series don't sell well. Unfortunately, that often leads studios to think the show isn't popular, not that customers aren't so dumb that they don't know a season set is coming. Sony often made the same mistake with TSSM.

Although to be fair, "the complete series" was news that Lion's Gate didn't know until a few months ago.

This and "THOR: TALES OF ASGARD" may be the last Marvel Animation releases done with Lion's Gate, since there's no reason why Disney or one of the companies Disney owns can't release DTV films or series from Marvel's library.

As for X-MEN EVOLUTION? The problem historically was similar to the problem with Sony and SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN; namely, that while Marvel may own the X-Men, Warner Brothers owns the actual EVOLUTION show. Prior DVD releases of the show were WB Home Video releases. The last time an official set of anything Evolution was released was I believe in 2006. Marvel has shown EVOLUTION on their Marvel Kids website as well as on their YouTube, Hulu, and other channels, but the trick with license bouts is that Marvel doesn't have to worry about splitting stuff with WB or dealing with WB if they give it away for free. The question is how long is WB's license for X-Men Evolution? Eventually those things expire. If Disney wanted to, they could offer some sort of deal or settlement for the rights to the material, but one wonders if they will, or have.

 

[Sawyer]

That's why it is worth waiting for season sets. Ironically, consumers have learned this game. Often, the individual volume releases for American cartoon series don't sell well. Unfortunately, that often leads studios to think the show isn't popular, not that customers aren't so dumb that they don't know a season set is coming. Sony often made the same mistake with TSSM.

Although to be fair, "the complete series" was news that Lion's Gate didn't know until a few months ago.

This and "THOR: TALES OF ASGARD" may be the last Marvel Animation releases done with Lion's Gate, since there's no reason why Disney or one of the companies Disney owns can't release DTV films or series from Marvel's library.

As for X-MEN EVOLUTION? The problem historically was similar to the problem with Sony and SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN; namely, that while Marvel may own the X-Men, Warner Brothers owns the actual EVOLUTION show. Prior DVD releases of the show were WB Home Video releases. The last time an official set of anything Evolution was released was I believe in 2006. Marvel has shown EVOLUTION on their Marvel Kids website as well as on their YouTube, Hulu, and other channels, but the trick with license bouts is that Marvel doesn't have to worry about splitting stuff with WB or dealing with WB if they give it away for free. The question is how long is WB's license for X-Men Evolution? Eventually those things expire. If Disney wanted to, they could offer some sort of deal or settlement for the rights to the material, but one wonders if they will, or have.

That's the kind of **** that makes me mad, that it doesnt say to them "Hey, maybe you should stop screwing around with the little four episode releases and actually do some season sets" when the single discs dont sell well, they just go straight to "Oh, I guess it's not catching on, let's cancel."

 

[Ipodman]

And then I'm thinking whether I should get Fantastic Four World's Greatest Heroes, a show that I love... I already have the split up volumes...

 

[Dread]

That's the kind of **** that makes me mad, that it doesnt say to them "Hey, maybe you should stop screwing around with the little four episode releases and actually do some season sets" when the single discs dont sell well, they just go straight to "Oh, I guess it's not catching on, let's cancel."

It's a sort of rock/hard place dilemma. A company wants to get as much of a return on their investment in making a series as possible. DVD's in general often have low budgets in terms of design and printing, at least usually. A company may feel that a single season set may not provide as strong a return on their investment as spitting out 3-5 DVD's to cover a season. On the other hand, live action TV shows haven't made this sort of problem for at least over 10-11 years on home video. Even when THE SOPRANOS was available on VHS, it was sold in season sets. Only American cartoon series insist on being released via 3-5 episode volumes. Even many anime series that aren't well known or popular are released as a single 26 episode set these days.

The pure business motive is a company may want retailers and customers to be impatient and buy the single discs, while the season sets are for the patient who didn't, to tap both types of fans. The problem is this tactic, while new in 2000, is old hat by 2010. Combined with the recession and the fact that DVD sales overall have fallen over the years (which was what prompted the move to blu-ray), consumers are catching onto the game. The problem, though, is when a season set does come out, those impatient customers may not bite again.

The Season 1 set of TSSM hardly lit the DVD sales charts on fire. There were more reasons why that show died than low DVD sales. That was merely an unhelpful factor.

And then I'm thinking whether I should get Fantastic Four World's Greatest Heroes, a show that I love... I already have the split up volumes...

I waited for the box set. I actually had no interest in the show until I was in a chain store and they were offering the box set, new, I think for about 10% off due to a sale. I figured it couldn't be that bad for about $1 an episode. It wasn't.

 

[Ipodman]

Yea that series is way better than the live action counterparts... which I own the DVDS of too but hardly touch. Worlds Greatest Heroes is great!

Oh, and the cover art for Wolverine and the X-men Complete Series... doesnt really show you what the show looks like does it

 

[Dread]

Yea that series is way better than the live action counterparts... which I own the DVDS of too but hardly touch. Worlds Greatest Heroes is great!

Oh, and the cover art for Wolverine and the X-men Complete Series... doesnt really show you what the show looks like does it

The Fantastic Four are a difficult franchise to translate or even to write. They're supposed to be the proper balance between action and comedy, of being serious and being humorous. The movies didn't find that balance. The FF:WGH series didn't either, but they realized they were better at the comedy, so after the first dozen or so episodes the writers seemed to focus more on that angle, and that was good for me because it was often very funny. I wasn't keen on Dr. Doom basically becoming Skeletor, bring thwarted every week and left shaking his fist at the end credits, but the rest was gravy. I actually loved how they often gave Reed the best punchlines, and the interaction between the Four was often pretty good.

As for the WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN box set art, at least it has everyone who was a major X-Man in the show. Except for Shadowcat or Forge. I don't have a major problem with it, but then again, I've seen no end of stock team covers to team comic books, where the team just stands there, so this doesn't distress or dazzle me. I love how Wolverine looks like he wants to leap off the box and kill anyone trying to buy it.

 

[Ipodman]

I thought Dr Doom was fine... the appearance of other villains was what kept me very interested...

And that episode with Hulk was cool...

 

[Dread]

I thought Dr Doom was fine... the appearance of other villains was what kept me very interested...

And that episode with Hulk was cool...

Dr. Doom, IMO, showed up too often and was often foiled too easily. Within a 26 episode series, he showed up 8 times; on average of once every 3-4 episodes. He seemed to always be portrayed not as the greatest threat ever, but a typical super villain who there was never any doubt he would be foiled and shaking his fist at the heroes by the end credits. It didn't help when he was involved in some formula plots like a "mind swap" plot early on. I know that the intention was to homage the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby era, where Dr. Doom did do things like shoot the Baxtor Building into space or do mind-swaps, but the problem is that Dr. Doom should be Darth Vader; hell, he was the INSPIRATION for Darth Vader. He should be awe inspiring, not trucked out and beaten every other episode like he was Dr. Claw. It probably did help that not even Ben Grimm tended to take Doom seriously, but considering how often he lost, it was hard to take him seriously. That's not to say every Doom episode was bad, but some were too formulaic and it would have been better if he was treated more like Magneto is, built up and used sparingly, but when he is used, it is a big deal. And a show can only go so far when it botches the arch-nemesis. THE BATMAN was perhaps destined for mediocrity when it botched the Joker.

That said, FF:WGH did handle many of the villains who weren't Dr. Doom well. I thought they succeeded in making the Puppet Master very creepy (and look, they only used him twice, but each time was a big, epic deal and he was treated as a mega-serious threat; with Dr. Doom it was just, "Oh, here we go with the Doombots again, whatta revoltin' development"). I liked how Super-Skrull was built up over several episodes. Since I watched the show around when SECRET INVASION was heating up, I found the comedic angle to the Skrulls refreshing. Ronan the Accuser was a bit one-note, but I guess he often was until ANNIHILATION. And the Mole Man, who unlike Doom usually should be treated as a joke, was often very funny.

To me, the last 13 episodes were better than the first 13. I think after the first half of the show, the writers got onto a better comedic flow and decided to focus on that and the character banter, since they were better at that than the straight up hero stuff. Which was good; episodes like "CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS", "THE CURE", and especially "SCAVENGER HUNT" were hilarious and entertaining. By and large, though, was despite the fact that a lot of the action scenes were ho-hum and average, the Four themselves were handled well. I though Reed was written with a lot of wit; instead of being a straight man, his genius was utilized for functionality as well as laughs (his elastic body actually made for some decent sight gags). Ben was his usual self, but I liked how he wanted to be cured, he wasn't overly angst ridden and brooding about it all the time. Johnny was sometimes hit or miss; his voice actor put in a lot of energy, and when he was on, it was funny. The downside is sometimes Johnny went too far, and came off as a fop or a schtick instead of a character. Sue was more consistent, although more of an attempt was made to have her be more assertive from the start (aside for the one moment where she faints, but that was only episode 3, so I can forgive it). She did fall into too many "Ugh, can't hold it!" kind of moments like Jean Grey always tends to, but she's usually the most "normal" one to get the Four in line. The episodes that had the most heart were often the ones that seemed to start off with a focus on comedy.

The show was also very self aware with it's comedy; in "BAIT AND SWITCH", Reed is doing an experiment on some broccoli and Ben quips, "I'm going to end up fighting this, aren't I?" Naturally, he does. And yet while that episode had a lot of fun with the Four swapping powers (ironically, a plot that the second film used a lot), the heart was there when Reed was determined to keep the rock form so Ben could be "more human" with elastic powers. And of course "CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS" had that "Thing never gives up" moment.

In conclusion, I don't think that show was the best ever. I probably do find it more enjoyable than any Fan Four show that was on TV or film so far, and it is a bit under-appreciated. Cartoon Network did it no favors, either. And even the sheer timing of being the first new superhero team show after JLU ended probably worked against it, and made expectations absurdly high.

 

[Gotham22]

Complete series official! Released DVD and Blu-ray.

http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Wolverine-X-Men-complete-series-announced/14139

 

[TheVileOne]

Just FYI everyone, I did ask Jeph Loeb point blank while he was doing autographs at SDCC and he did say they were open to the idea of possibly doing some sort of continuation of the show MAYBE on DVD. I mean, of course nothing is set in stone. But I'm at least happy about the notion that we COULD see a continuation of some sort some day.

 

[Dread]

Eight episodes were written; I imagine someone in Loeb's new position would hate to have paid for pre-production effort on W&TXM Season 2 such as new character designs and scripts just to NEVER use them. I mean, hell, Dwayne McDuffie wrote a script for a Justice League DTV that eventually was edited and used for a DTV, even years after the fact.

I'd like to see Colossus do something cool again before I die of old age.

 

[TheVileOne]

Yeah however, Crisis on Two Earths was shuffled around to be its own deal even though the numerous threads that lead it into JLU are quite glaring (though only obvious if you actually watched JL and JLU).

I think they should figure out a way to make like one or two movie shorts or OVA's that can complete the storyline. Basically just mash up the episodes that were written and use the outlines that were done to fill in the gaps.

This would basically eliminate the need for filler storylines or including some other characters or sideplots. Like the Hulk/Wolverine episode. Things like that.

However, ultimately money talks so if the DVD or Bluray won't sell they won't get the message. So you proletariart better go out and buy the complete DVD or Bluray . And not download it!

 

[Dread]

It may depend on what Lion's Gate's connection to the series if. If any future W&TXM feature HAS to be released through them and not Disney, I doubt it would ever happen. It also may depend on how high up the ladder Josh Fine gets. With Craig Kyle moving upstairs to film, Fine was suddenly talking up a lot of that second, now imaginary season. If he has success with other stuff, they may decide it's worth revisiting W&TXM for a DTV special or two to reuse that material.

 

[Panthro]

Eight episodes were written; I imagine someone in Loeb's new position would hate to have paid for pre-production effort on W&TXM Season 2 such as new character designs and scripts just to NEVER use them. I mean, hell, Dwayne McDuffie wrote a script for a Justice League DTV that eventually was edited and used for a DTV, even years after the fact.

I'd like to see Colossus do something cool again before I die of old age.

Here maybe this'll cheer you up Dread -

Arucard drew that. Check out his other works here: http://arucardpl.deviantart.com/

BTW, am I the only one who thinks Cyclops looks kind of chubby on that otherwise very good cover? Seriously, the dude looks like he's got a double chin.

 

[Dread]

Cool pic. If Colossus really socked Sabretooth, the fur-ball would be sent flying through a few buildings.

BTW, am I the only one who thinks Cyclops looks kind of chubby on that otherwise very good cover? Seriously, the dude looks like he's got a double chin.

I didn't notice. He just looks less "slim" than in the show.

But, yeah, everyone on the cover looks angry or determined, aside for Frost who is serene. And Wolverine charging off the cover about to kill anyone who holds the box.

"I'm the best at what I do, and what I do is...hold out for blu ray, bub!"

It's like the X-Men on the cover found out the show was canceled, and while Frost is blase since she is dead, and Cyclops was always sort of emotionless, the rest of the X-Men want to beat on the other DVD's on the shelf over it.

"C'mon, them AVATAR's are a buncha kids, we can take 'em!"

 

[Panthro]

Cool pic. If Colossus really socked Sabretooth, the fur-ball would be sent flying through a few buildings.

Probably. It would make a great scene though - Sabertooth doing bad things then out of nowhere Colossus's fist smashes through the wall, grabs him by the throat, pulls him through the wall, smacks him around a bit and then punches him through several buildings or so Incredible Hulk style. And then have Colossus quip "I can't believe he's Wolverine's arch enemy."

I didn't notice. He just looks less "slim" than in the show.

Must be the way his jacket's billowing or blowing giving him the appearance of being overweight.

But, yeah, everyone on the cover looks angry or determined, aside for Frost who is serene. And Wolverine charging off the cover about to kill anyone who holds the box.

"I'm the best at what I do, and what I do is...hold out for blu ray, bub!"

It's like the X-Men on the cover found out the show was canceled, and while Frost is blase since she is dead, and Cyclops was always sort of emotionless, the rest of the X-Men want to beat on the other DVD's on the shelf over it.

"C'mon, them AVATAR's are a buncha kids, we can take 'em!"

Nightcrawler's probably thinking "Damn it, I wasn't done romancing Wanda!" while Beast is probably thinking "Damn it, I was supposed to get a focus episode next season!", which is probably what Iceman's thinking as well. Meanwhile, Cyclops is probably thinking "Is the photo shoot over yet? I'm due back at the actual comics now."

Frost & Rogue look best on that cover. Hell, Rogue looks better on that cover than she does in the actual series.

 

[Ipodman]

Nightcrawler's probably thinking "Damn it, I wasn't done romancing Wanda!" while Beast is probably thinking "Damn it, I was supposed to get a focus episode next season!", which is probably what Iceman's thinking as well. Meanwhile, Cyclops is probably thinking "Is the photo shoot over yet? I'm due back at the actual comics now."

Frost & Rogue look best on that cover. Hell, Rogue looks better on that cover than she does in the actual series.

Lol...

The cover looks closer to the 90s animated series than anything

 

[Megaton Sun]

Cover looks awesome. I wish Avi did the covers for the 90s cartoon.

 

[TheVileOne]

It may depend on what Lion's Gate's connection to the series if. If any future W&TXM feature HAS to be released through them and not Disney, I doubt it would ever happen. It also may depend on how high up the ladder Josh Fine gets. With Craig Kyle moving upstairs to film, Fine was suddenly talking up a lot of that second, now imaginary season. If he has success with other stuff, they may decide it's worth revisiting W&TXM for a DTV special or two to reuse that material.

Well the series was already pretty much finished and Lionsgate agreed to distribute it in the US. So I think the only connection is that they are the R1 distributor for the series.