Category Archives: Marvel on Disney +

What If…? S3 E4

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“What If Howard the Duck Got Hitched”

Tell us this is the final season without saying it is the final season.

What If gives us a Howard the Duck/Darcy episode. They’re married and she gave birth to an egg.

What?

What If took one of the worst episodes from season one and gave it a sequel and made it one of the strangest, weirdest episodes of the entire run.

What If, the comic book, would have issues that were really bizarre because they could do anything they wanted, and this is a perfect example of that.

I do love Howard the Duck and I would be all for a Howard the Duck series, live action or animated. This did feel a bit much.

There were a bunch of surprising cameos from the people chasing after this egg including Zeus, Thanos and the Black Order, Nick Fury and Agent Coulson, Dark Elves, the Grandmaster …all in pursuit of this egg.

I will say that I found this to be too silly at times and that a lot of the humor did not work for me, and I am a person whose Marvel’s humor almost always works. This might be an episode that I like more on second watch, but for now, this episode was down my list.

E2 What If Agatha Went to Hollywood?

E3 What If The Red Guardian stopped The Winter Soldier

E1 What If the Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers?

E4 What If Howard the Duck Got Hitched?

What If…? S3 E3

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“What If The Red Guardian Stopped The Winter Soldier”

One of the strength of the What If show is taking characters who would not usually work together or you may not expect to be together. Episode one had Sam Wilson and Bruce Banner. Episode two was Agatha and Kingo. Now, we get Red Guardian and Winter Soldier.

David Harbour is a gem. His work as the Red Guardian is so silly and over the top that it works, especially when paired with the stoic, more quiet Winter Soldier. This is clearly a “buddy cop” style of episode with the two main protagonists being pursued by Bill Foster, aka Goliath, once again voiced by Laurence Fishburne.

The pairing kicks off when Red Guardian prevents the Winter Soldier from killing Howard Stark and his wife as we see in Captain America: Civil War, and then they wind up thrust together into Las Vegas.

This was the episode from where they dropped a clip after last year’s season two, hinting to us that season three was closer than we thought.

They had some nice moments between Red Guardian and Bucky too, as the episode was more than just a bunch of action strung together. The scene where Red Guardian helps Bucky remember about Coney Island was very sweet, and it was obviously important to Bucky.

I found it odd that Oscar nominated America Ferrara did a voice of a secondary side character, Ranger Morales who teamed up with Bill Foster to chase after Red Guardian and Winter Soldier. That seemed to be a huge casting for such a minor character who, as far as I know, has no connection in Marvel Comics (After some research, I discovered there was an Agent Morales who worked for SHIELD that perhaps this character was based upon).

I love how What If…? has been using different styles to tell their stories. First episode was a Kaiju/monster story, episode two was Old Hollywood and this is a buddy cop tale. It shows the variety that the show can present effectively.

Season Three Episodes So Far

E2 What If Agatha Went to Hollywood?

E3 What If The Red Guardian Stopped The Winter Soldier

E1 What If the Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers?

What If…? S3 E2

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“What If Agatha Went to Hollywood?”

Now that’s more like it.

While I liked the previous What If…? episode of season three, I did not love it. Season two I ADORED just about everything about this one.

Agatha Harkness and Kingo? Who knew that I needed that in my life?

Golden Age of Hollywood with Agatha making a gigantic, cosmic blockbuster with Howard Stark (and the ever quippy Jarvis) is amazing, but to tie that into Agatha’s latest plot to grab power for herself by way of stealing the power of the growing Celestial inside the earth, Tiamut, is on another level.

There is a dance battle, literally, between Agatha and Kingo. All the while Howard Stark is shouting out some of the funniest dialogue you are ever going to hear.

“I want Busby Berkeley to see this and contemplate being a realtor“

“Will they dance? They will!“

“That chemistry was hotter than the Hindenburg.“

“Is that some kind of euphonism? Are you two a thing now?”

Howard Stark and Jarvis made the perfect Old Hollywood director behind the scenes for this What If…? episode. The quips delivered wonderfully by both Dominic Cooper and James D’Arcy. Jarvis’s initial dry wit fit beautifully in the insanity that was going on around him in this episode.

The fact is this… Kathryn Hahn is a master. She ahs taken this secondary (maybe even tertiary) character of Agatha Harkness and made her something special. Kathryn Hahn’s aura is all over this episode and she just dominated every minute, and she had amazing chemistry with Kumail Nanjiani. These two characters worked so well with one another and who saw that coming?

The dance routine was brilliant. I loved it. The design of Celestial Agatha was beautifully perfect. Her battle with Arishem the Judge was a great call back to WandaVision. The end speech from Kingo targeted what was missing inside Agatha all along.

This episode is very meta with several behind the scenes comments and a reference to Cecil B. DeMille. For me, this all worked so well that I just sat on my couch with a big smile on my face the entire time.

I would put this episode of What If…? right at the top of the series along with the season one Dr. Strange episode, the season two Christmas and 1602 episodes. Certainly the best of season three so far and potentially one of the best of the entire run.

Season Order So Far

E2 What If Agatha Went to Hollywood?

E1 What If the Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers?

What If … ? S3 E1

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“What If the Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers”

I am very happy to have What If…? back once more over holiday break, releasing daily for my entertainment pleasure. I love this release schedule which they started last year. They are releasing the eight episodes daily, starting on December 22 and running through December 29. It gives me something to look forward to every day.

What If…? has been a fairly consistent show over the three seasons. It has been enjoyable, but perhaps not outstanding. It is typically really good, fun and entertaining. This first episode feels like it falls right into that category.

The What If the Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers episode had a new team of Avengers with their giant mech technology, much like Voltron or the Power Rangers, and they took on some gamma beasts created in the Gamma War.

One of the best parts of What If…? is the use of the actual live action actors for voices in the animated shows. This episode included Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, Oscar Isaac as Moon Knight, Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, and David Harbour as Red Guardian.

The first half of this episode felt as if it had too much exposition and, despite having a series of cool animation styles during the period, I thought there was too much telling and not enough showing. This is one of the overall issues with What If…?. Episodes are kept around 30 minutes and sometimes feel as if it is too short. This one felt like it would have been more compelling if it had been an hour. Maybe we could have seen some of the Gamma War instead of just using it as set up.

However, the second half of the show was solid and included some awesome giant robot vs. Kaiju type action, including Bruce Banner transforming himself into a gigantic Godzilla-like creature, I dubbed Hulkzilla as soon as I saw the scene. This was fun and an enjoyable action piece with a decent theme working.

Admittedly, after seeing some of the outstanding animated TV shows this year such as X-Men ’97 and Batman: The Caped Crusader, What If…? feels like a step down. That may not be fair, but when the genre is elevating its game, you expect other shows to step up too. What If…? episode one of season three was fine, but probably not as memorable as it could have been.

Agatha All Along S1 E8, E9

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“Follow Me My Friend/To Glory at the End”

“Maiden Mother Crone”

I’m not crying. You’re crying.

Wow, what a finale. Two long episodes of Agatha All Along that brought some serious emotion and dropped all the answers.

Let’s start with episode 8. Holy crap… what a powerful episode. We discover so much and we get a massive showdown between Agatha and Rio. Billy flying in in his Wiccan outfit was so epic.

This entire time, I was never sure about what was going to happen, and that is a great thing. That confrontation ending with Agatha’s death, sacrificing herself for Billy (though she would later deny it).

Billy returned to William’s room and figured out that the Witches’ Road was created from his mind. This was a theory that I had heard, and it really was clear going back into William’s room.

Then, episode nine, Kathryn Hahn was just astounding. Her performance as a witch who would lose her child to death was heartbreaking. Seeing the origin of “The Ballad of the Witches’ Road” was fun. We also meet Nicholas, Agatha’s son, and we learn that she did not trade him for the Darkholde, as the rumors indicated. It seemed as if Nicholas had something wrong with him and was going to die in childbirth, bit Rio gave her some time because of their relationship.

I’m not sure how I feel about Agatha the ghost at the very end, but I did like Billy and ghost Agatha heading off to search for Tommy.

It was great to see Jenn pull herself out of the ground just outside of Westview with her powers back. Agatha being the witch who bind her made sense. It was nice one of the coven survived.

This was one of my absolutely favorite Marvel series on Disney +. I do not think it reaches WandaVision or Loki levels but it very well may be #3. What an entertaining and well written and acted show.

Agatha All Along E7

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“Death’s Hand in Mine”

God that was good.

This show has no right to be as epic as it is.

This episode is my favorite one so far. It is so expertly written that I was absolutely enthralled with every minute of it.

I was so glad when Lilia and Jennifer turned up alive and not dead in the mud. I celebrated their life although I held my breath as the implications of the episode looked to see one of their ends. Sadly, Lilia was falling at the end.

I love a good use of tarot cards and this was spectacular.

Patti LuPone gave us an amazing performance in this episode as Lilia bounced around time and we learned where every one of her blurts over the first six episodes came from and to what they referred. The lay out was so perfect that it all fell into a beautiful place, like a puzzle piece in a jigsaw puzzle.

The episode also confirmed the identity of Rio, as played by Audrey Plaza. She is Death, the corporal form of death. In the comics, they call her Lady Death and she has had affairs with Thanos and Deadpool. Here, they look to be dropping the Lady part and just calling her Death. Agatha saying that she liked the “bad boys” was hilarious.

Kathryn Hahn was hilarious throughout the episode, from her bickering with Billy to her smart remarks directed to the others in the coven.

The whole Disney costuming, from the Wicked Witch of the West (whom Agatha claimed was based on her…LOL) to Maleficent (with Billy’s cheekbones) were spot on.

I am really going to miss Lilia and the grand diva, Patti LuPone on this show. Agatha All Along has one more week with a double episode and this could legitimately find its way into the top five Marvel Disney + series of all time. Who would have thought that?

Agatha All Along E6

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“Familiar By Thy Side”

After last week’s big reveal at the episode’s end, I figured this week would be the back story of Billy Maximoff. And I was right.

I loved this episode. We went back and discovered how Wanda’s mind reading son wound up in a teenager’s body.

I had heard this speculation before. How the car accident that was reported earlier in the series, and was the back drop to the credits when Joe Locke’s name was up, would be tied to Billy’s resurrection (or rebirth?).

That car crash they shot was spectacular.

The crash came because Billy Kaplan’s parents, from Eastview, were distracted by the Anomaly created by Wanda was disappearing. I felt bad for the Kaplans but their son was gone. When he died in that car crash, Bill Maximoff took over the body. This is a decent origin for the Teen in the MCU considering how messy Wiccan’s Marvel Comics origin is.

We also get a special guest star… everyone’s favorite… Ralph Boner! Ralph Boner was the albatross around the neck of WandaVision. When he turned out to NOT be Pietro Maximoff from the X-Men universe, that was universally hated. However, we all still love Evan Peters and having him back is always welcomed. Ralph’s appearance was a little inconsistent here. I wish they had chosen a tone and stuck with it instead of trying to do both the fearful/intense tone and the funny/silly tone. Still, it was great to see him.

The discussion between Agatha and Billy at the end was really some great writing. Interestingly, no Aubrey Plaza. Where was she? I also hope the others in the coven are not gone for good. I know they are involved in other aspects, but I hope it is not just in flashbacks.

Three more episodes. One next week and then two on Halloween eve.

Agatha All Along E5

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“Darkest Hour/Wake Thy Power”

This was a fairly short episode, but it was really impactful.

Alice, RIP. I think there is something more going on here though as Agatha’s trial turned deadly with the ghost of Agatha’s mother leading to Agatha draining the energy from Alice.

Dressed as a sleep over, this had a lot of the scenes from a trailer, specifically a possessed Agatha doing the backwards spider walk that you see in a lot of horror movies.

They were on the Ouija board and Kathryn Hahn dropped a fantastic Mrs. Hart/Sharon Davis imitation. That was hilarious. Maybe a little mean too…

After Agatha killed Alice (which Agatha certainly seemed shaken by), Teen was very angry and he reacted in a violent way. He seemingly tossed Agatha and the others into the mud and they sunk away.

Even more significant, Agatha said to Teen that he was just like his mother. Then, after he dispatched of the coven, we see Teen with a purple crown that resembled that of the Scarlet Witch.

We all suspected that Teen was somehow tied to Billy, Wanda’s created son from WandaVision, but the show has been tempting us by making Teen Agatha’s son Nicholas. Apparently, Nicholas was part of the Ouija board thing too. We are just past the halfway point of the series and this felt like a significant hint that he is Billy Maximoff.

And during this entire Teen-Agatha trouble, there was no sign of Rio. Aubrey Plaza has been rumored to be Death, which was mentioned in the Ouija session. What part is she playing in all this?

Lots of questions:

  • Is Alice really dead?
  • Who is Teen? Is he Billy, Wanda’s son?
  • What is Agatha’s responsibility in all this?
  • What happened when they were sucked into the mud?
  • Nicholas Scratch is doing what?
  • Is Aubrey Plaza Death?

I wish this episode was longer. It felt too short. What we got was great though.

Agatha All Along E4

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“If I Can’t Reach You, Let My Song Teach You”

Whoa, this was a great episode.

Aubrey Plaza has returned, summoned to the Witches’ Road to replace the recently deceased Mrs. Hart (aka Sharon Davis).

Rio and Agatha certainly has a complicated history.

Agatha continues to show signs that she has feelings for Teen. Agatha thinks Teen is her son, you can tell. That is why Rio’s line at the end of the show about Teen not being her son hit Agatha so hard. I don’t know if that was true or just Rio’s vicious attempt to hurt Agatha.

When Teen looked like he was dying, Agatha was truly scared. Kathryn Hahn is such a great actress.

The new version of The Ballad of the Witches’ Road rocked hard. Lorna’s Ballad.

“We’re an album cover waiting to happen.”- Teen. The outfits for this trial were awesome.

The curse in demon form was very frightening too.

I am so curious about Patti LuPone’s character and the strange moments she has. It makes little sense so far, but I really love her so far.

This has been so enjoyable. The cast is tremendous and have so much chemistry with each other. There are so many questions to this story and I am into all of them.

Agatha All Along E3

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After all of these years, it has finally OFFICIALLY happened…

Mephisto confirmed.

Jennifer Kale confirmed Mephisto with a name drop during the second week of Agatha All Along and the mere mention of his name freaked me out. After so many weeks in WandaVision with the belief that Marvel’s head demon/devil was behind everything, this was just a slight mention by one of Agatha’s coven. And it was everything.

Then, sadly, my expectation came to fruition as poor Sharon Davis, aka Mrs. Hart, died during the first trial on the Witches’ Road. If this is truly the last we’ll see of Mrs. Hart, then I, for one, will miss her tremendously. Debra Jo Rupp got limited scenes in this show, but every one she got was amazing. She stole every moment and she brought such a wonderful humor. She will truly be missed. Here’s hopin’ that once the trip down the road ends, she will be back in Westview tending those flowers.

Boy, this show is absolutely showing Agatha to be a selfish and uncaring witch. She is our protagonist, but it feels clear that she had not reformed her wicked ways. The show also hinted at the rumor that Agatha gave up her child for the Darkhold. Then, we all thought at first that Teen would turn out to be Billy, Wanda’s child who would become Wiccan, but is he Nicholas Scratch, Agatha’s son instead? Again, the show certainly teased at that too.

I am thoroughly engaged with the rest of the coven too, especially Patti LuPone’s Lilia Calderu. The delusions she faced while poisoned were fascinating and mysterious. She is my favorite character outside of Agatha and Teen. I look forward to learning more about her as we continue down the Witches’ Road.

No sign of Aubrey Plaza this episode, but I expect her to arrive soon with the untimely death of Sharon (How cold was Agatha’s ‘Who’s Sharon?’ comment at the end?).

This has been completely entertaining so far. Can’t wait for next week.

Agatha All Along E1, E2

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“Seekest Thou The Road”

“Circle Sewn with Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate”

The last live-action Marvel Television show was Secret Invasion. It was such a letdown that one has to wonder what was going on. The animated X-Men ’97 was brilliant, and that led us to the beginning of the spin-off of WandaVision, called Agatha All Along.

Agatha Harkness was the big bad in WandaVision and Wanda left her trapped in her Agnus character. That was three years ago and it seems that Agnus has found herself inside a police procedural.

The Agnus of Westview section of the first show was awesome, clearly a take on the Mare of Easttown series from HBO. However, the arrival of Aubrey Plaza and Joe Locke helped break Agatha out of the trance cast upon her by the now deceased (?) Wanda.

Agatha still has no power, but Joe Locke, who seems to be unable to say his name or any specifics about him, wants Agatha to lead him down the Witches’ Road.

The mystery of “Teen,” which is what Agatha begins calling Joe is one of the biggest of the early part of the show. We comic fans believe that we know who he is… Billy Kaplan, aka Wiccan. In the comics, Wiccan was one of Wanda Maximoff’s children (or so I think… this is a really convoluted piece of Marvel history). Could this be Billy from WandaVision? Who or what is preventing Agatha from hearing his name?

The second episode had Agatha and Teen recruiting other witches to put together a coven so they could open the door to the Witches’ Road. Patti LuPone, Ali Ahn, Sasheer Zamata are three of the witches that they recruited. Agatha also brought in Debra Jo Rupp, reprising her role from WandaVision in a brilliant piece of casting. Debra Jo played Mrs. Hart in WandaVision, but is actually named Sharon Davis and not a witch. Her part in the show was absolutely hilarious.

The group of them wound up singing “The Ballad of the Witches Road” in Agatha’s basement. This was an amazing song and it sounded awesome. Sharon’s line “Am I supposed to know this song” was just tremendous.

The cast is fantastic. I loved how this started off. Some may claim that it was too slow of a build, but I disagree. I was fully engaged from the first, as Agnus was investigating the death of a mysterious woman (sure being hinted as it being Wanda Maximoff).

The show had a very scary tone as the coven started to head down the road. In particular, the arrival of the Salem Seven was some of the creepiest moments of the first two episodes. I expect these are the witches we see Agatha betray and kill in WandaVision.

Agatha All Along has a vibe of The Wizard of Oz as well as plenty of Easter eggs from WandaVision. Several supporting cast members from that show appeared here.

I can’t wait to see where the Witches’ Road will lead us. Agatha All Along seemed to be a lot of fun and the perfect show to watch during the spooky season.

X-Men ’97 S1 E10

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“Tolerance is Extinction, Pt. 3”

The third part of the season finale was brought to a close on Disney + in one of the most epic animated wars ever put to screen. A struggle with Bastian, with the mind of Magneto, and with the conflict within the Marvel Universe.

There is so much to see in this finale. A finale that ranged from Magneto and Charles inside Magneto’s head, to the momentary return of Phoenix, to cameos from Daredevil, Cloak and Dagger, Cap and Iron Man, Peter and MJ, Omega Red, Alpha Flight, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Red Guardian, Darkstar, and ending with Apocalypse.

The show did an amazing thing, telling this story of Bastian’s future and finding the threads of family within. It blended perfectly with Magneto’s story and the battle with Xavier for his own soul. Onslaught is surely in there somewhere, but I am not sure it is where the next step for this series lies.

Post credit scene with Apocalypse, grabbing something from the ashes of and saying the word “death?” I am not sure after first viewing what it was that was in Apocalypse’s hand, but it will clearly lead to Death in his Four Horsemen. Will it be Gambit?

A version of Bishop returned to meet Forge, telling him that the X-Men were not dead, but were instead lost in time and that they needed to find them. A crew of them in Ancient Egypt with En Sabah Nur and Scott and Jean in the far future with a young Nathan. But we did not see Storm. We did not see Wolverine. Where did they end up?

Phoenix messed up Mister Sinister something bad. Then Phoenix was gone, regulated to a feeling deep inside Jean Grey. I knew we were seeing Phoenix this season. Every opening credit included a scene with the Phoenix. It only made sense. Apocalypse has been on most of them as well.

This animated series truly has been one of the greatest things that Marvel Studios has put out, especially among the Disney + shows. It has to be considered right there with WandaVision and Loki as the upper echelon of projects on the streamer.

They do a sensational job of wrapping up the season’s story while building toward where the next season is heading. The Apocalypse material did not come at the cost of the Bastian/Magneto tale. It was masterful storytelling.

I know season two has already been written, so I cannot wait until this gorgeous series returns to my screen. It can not come too soon.

X-Men ’97 is masterful. An amazing ten episodes that brought the mutants to the forefront of Marvel where they belong.

X-Men ’97 S1 E9

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“Tolerance is Extinction, Pt. 2”

If the second part of a trilogy is always the darkest one, then “Tolerance is Extinction, Pt. 2” hits the mark.

What an amazing episode, filled with so much X-Men action that it left me breathless and anxious to see the conclusion to this epic encounter next week in the season finale.

Magneto is back and he’s done with Xavier’s message. He recreated Asteroid M and recruited both Rogue and Sunspot to his side. Both of their defections made total sense to these characters, but that did not make it any less impactful to see them turn their backs on the X-Men.

Blue and Gold teams? Yes, please. That was right out of the comics and I loved it. Having Forge, Cable, Nightcrawler still here despite not being “original” members really worked.

The showdown with Jean and Sinister was just epic, as was the inclusion of Cable into that mix. I wonder if this is all leading to Jean’s return as Phoenix? I have noticed that nearly every week, the Phoenix has made an appearance on the opening credits/theme.

This show pulls no punches and is as brutal as you could possibly expect. Seeing Wolverine’s bloody claws (even though the length of them was a bit awkward) stabbed through Magneto was unbelievable, as was Magnus’ response. Who would have guessed that we would see Magneto rip the adamantium from Wolverine on an animated TV program? This is not our kids’ X-Men.

Morph smash? Excellent “cameo” from our shapeshifter.

I also love how the X-Men did not just fall into line with Xavier. The anger they had for their leader and his choices was clear, even if they knew what they had to do in the end. Scott walking past Charles and ignoring his extended hand was a powerful image.

Bastion is still involved, even though the main thrust has moved toward Magneto. Bastion still feels as if something major will happen with him before this war comes to a close. Seeing him crying over his mother was unexpected, but very humanizing.

This animated program had no right to be as brilliant as it turned out to be. X-Men ’97 has surpassed the original program and might take its place as one of, if not the, greatest animated program ever. We will see how the conclusion of this series is next Wednesday.

X-Men ’97 S1 E8

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“Tolerance is Extinction, Pt. 1”

The first part of the three-part season finale dropped on Disney + this morning with an epic episode built on previous episodes. Bastian, a character that I really missed out on in the comics, is designed so beautifully, and feels original and unlike any other X-villain.

This episode felt like it fit inside the Marvel Universe more than any X-Men episode, dating back to even the early 1990s. We saw Spider-Man. We saw Dr. Doom. We saw Baron Zemo. We saw Omega Red. We saw the Silver Samurai. I’m really sure that we saw the timeline from Loki. It felt as if this show was building a world that we have known for decades from out of the pages of the comics.

Some of the action in this episode are absolutely bad ass. The Scott, Jean and Cable being pursued by the human/sentinels and plowing through the mountain in a Porsche with optic blasts was unbelievable. The Wolverine falling from the sky, slicing the hybrids on his way down. The use of Nightcrawler and his sabers fighting back-to-back with Wolverine protecting an unconscious Rogue. These scenes were all just so epic.

Magneto was right. Just thought I’d leave that here.

Magneto’s boss move, as Wolverine stated “He declared war on the planet,” happening in the first episode of the three-part episode is dramatic and quite the swing. Seeing Magneto going final boss just before Charles Xavier returned to the earth was poetic.

The family theme goes throughout the episode, with the Summers, with Nightcrawler-Rogue, with Bastian’s background, with Roberto’s mother, with Xavier’s return. The writing on this show just keeps getting better every time.

I love Nightcrawler. He has always been one of my favorite X-Men characters, but he is so perfectly portrayed here and his words are so wise and impacting that I love every second Kurt Wagner is on screen. I hope this character sticks around past this season.

It was a great start to the finale. Two more to go.

X-Men ’97 S1 E7

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“Bright Eyes”

X-Men ’97 is not a kids show. Where as the original X-Men animated series from the 90s was absolutely made for children, this is anything but. While kids could watch and enjoy this show, the themes are considerably more adult than the previous incarnation.

Rogue going rogue showed us that. There is no way that we see Rogue kill Trask in the 90s series. But we saw that here in one of the most dramatic ways possible. Seeing him turn into a hybrid human/sentinel did not change the fact that she let a man fall to his death.

We also saw someone smother Henry Peter Gyrich to death. I am ashamed that I did not recognize Bastion immediately. He is a character that came into prominence during a stretch when I was not reading as many comics as I am now. Still, I should have identified this character sooner.

Having Bastion as the big bad is genius. Having him above Sinister even makes this character an immediate threat. His toying with a captive, yet still alive Magneto was creepy as could be.

I love the inclusion of Nightcrawler this week, but I am surprised that Storm did not make her return yet. She’ll be back soon, I am sure but to see her not at Remy’s funeral was disappointing.

That was another scene that I was not sure we would see. The funeral of Remy LeBeau, aka Gambit was tough. Does this mean that Gambit is truly gone? I know no one is ever truly gone when you are talking about the X-Men, but this felt very final to me. I know the showrunner said that the sacrifices of episode five were definite, that they were there to maintain stakes, but even still. Gambit is a major player in the X-Men universe.

Captain America making a cameo in this episode was interesting, if not unnecessary. Seeing Rogue fling the shield off into the mountains was rude. Emma Frost and her diamond form made an appearance too, saved from the rubble of Madripoor.

They do a remarkable job of packing so much content into a 30-minute episode. It is quite impressive and never feels too short.

The final three episodes, entitled “Tolerance is Extinction,” are a three part saga that the showrunner indicated would be as dramatic as episode five. That can’t get here soon enough. X-Men ’97 has been some amazing television so far.