X-Men Volume 2 – DVD Review
The Show:
After a long battle with who owned the rights, X-Men: The Animated Series is finally here on DVD, and with Volume 2, we get the rest of season two and the start of season three.
Season 2 is even more refined in the writing department, often juggling multiple stories and subplots, even as some episodes focused on one character. Eric Lewald and his team of writers, offer plenty of strong stories, and introduce new characters and villains. Some of the seasons highlights are Time Fugitives (Parts 1 and 2) that balance three stories at once. After Bishop thought he saved his future in Days of Future Past, he learns that something else has caused an even worse future. In an alternative future time line, even further into the future than where Bishop came from, Cable has learned of events in the past that are causing his time to change and not for the best. These stories smack into each other and Bishop, Cable, and the X-Men must find a solution that will please all parties, while facing a common enemy in Apocalypse. To me, this is one of the stronger episodes if just for the juggling act it has to do, the nature of possible futures, and the characters like Cable and Bishop getting attention.
Also in Season 2, is a far more extreme villain for the X-Men to do battle with: Friends of Humanity. This group of humans use hate crimes to rid the world of mutants, a parable to the KKK or Nazis, and their evil is summed up in this exchange: Jubilee asks, “What did I ever do to you?” Creed, leader of Friends of Humanity answers swiftly, “you were born.”
There’s a lot of fun in this season with cameos and appearances by Alpha Flight, Omega Red, Mr. Sinister, Sauron, and certain characters are devoted an episode to like Rogue’s origins and turmoil in A Rogue’s Tale, Beast finds love in Beauty and the Beast, and Gambit is even followed to Cajun country in X-Ternally Yours. This volume also has the first seven episodes of Season 3, of which features the fan-favorite and epic tackling of The Phoenix Saga. One of the most popular stories in all of X-Men, where X-Men: The Last Stand failed (again) to follow this story correctly, The Animated Series takes its time to develop the origin of the Phoenix and her mission. The five-parter is probably the favorite selection of episodes in the five year span of this series, and it’s easy to see why: great writing.
The only weak spot is the one-off episode called Mojovision, where Mojo captures the X-Men for a new reality TV show, since Longshot’s celebrity status is fading, as well as his ratings. It’s too jokey for my tastes. But regardless, Season 2 is a strong selection of episodes, and Season 3 starts off with a huge bang, making the show one of the best superhero animated series ever.
The DVD:
Audio/Video: They look and sound good, not great. No noticeable remastering was done, although outside of a few issues, the 1:33.1 frame looks pretty good. Same with the audio; nothing new, but nothing bad here.
No Extras sadly are here, outside of a few non-related trailers for other Buena Vista releases.
Conclusion: Every Marvel, X-Men, or superhero fan worth their salt should buy these up right now. While the lack of extras is disappointing, with the “Play All” feature, you’ll be too busy notice. Bring on Volumes 3 and 4!
Rating: 
