Long absent from the shelves of animation and comic book fans was the 1990s X-Men animated series ‘ an oversight now redressed thanks to the release of a pair of 2-disc DVD sets collecting roughly the first half of the series.
The reasons for the long delay in releasing these clips is due to a rather complicated legal scenario that saw Marvel sell off the rights to the series when it emerged from bankruptcy court and those rights eventually ending up at Disney.
Juggernaut (Vol. 1)
Admittedly, the set is far from perfect. There are no extras to speak of and the episodes don’t appear to have had much work done to restore or improve upon their original versions.
But that’s OK for now, considering that these sets make 33 episodes of the series available ‘ many for the first time on DVD. These are the original episodes, complete with the opening and closing credits that fans remember from way back in 1992 when the series first hit the air.
Wolverine vs. Morph (Vol. 1)
Revisiting these episodes is a good reminder of the pluses and minuses of this series. On the plus side, these episodes did a great job of capturing the complexity and bombastic action of early 1990s X-Men comic books. For longtime fans, it was great to see the characters make the transition from comic to screen largely intact, as well as complete storylines adapted over to the comic and even scads and scads of guest stars and cameos for the eagle-eyed to search out.
Swampland (Vol. 2)
While the series was ambitious in that respect, its reach also often exceeded its grasp when it came to the animation. Often clunky and crude, the visuals are saved by the series sticking to a consistent look that keeps things somewhat on track even during the most embarrassing bits. The voice acting also is quite good, with each character having a distinctive voice and just the right mix of dramatic realism and crazy, over-the-top superhero melodrama.
It’s hard not to compare this series to the new Wolverine and the X-Men series, which shares the spirit of the 1990s version more so than X-Men: Evolution. A lot has been improved in the new version, but it arguably wouldn’t even exist were it not for the spirit and exuberance of this original release.
Sinister (Vol. 2)
