Animated Superhero TV Series Episode Review: X-Men '97 - Season Two: Episode 5 - Weapon X, Lies, and DVDs

We are now one episode past the four episode drop that Marvel gave reviewers and influencers the preview the second season, so everyone is now on the same page as far as foreknowledge of the plot goes.

"Weapon X, Lies, and DVDs" is a title parody of the 1989 film Sex, Lies, and Videotapes. In the episode, Wolverine gathered up subjects of the Weapon X program for a mission regarding that program. The gathered mutants included Maverick, Sabretooth, and Lady Deathstrike. Wolverine also brought Morph along with the others on the X-Men's jet to the lab where it all started. They soon learn the island has been overtaken by the brood, which turns the mission into an Aliens level horror scene. Now, no one can trust each other, aa the brood might be nesting inside their bodies at any moment.

Last season, Magneto pulled the adamantium skeleton right off of Wolverine while he was conscious. He now has to fight with bone claws, a handicap that his team quickly notices. Fans of the comic know what happens after Wolverine loses his adamantium, and I won't spoil that here. However, I will say that X-Men '97 managed to deliver in that arena, and also managed to do so with a nice twist that fit into the situation into which the episode puts the mutant X team.

The episode has a strong theme of trust, which is tenuous at best with this ragtag bunch of mutants which are usually at opposite ends of team-ups. The brood quickly causes that tenuous bond of trust to break, and actions by the people on the team cause it to fray even further. Trust will definitely have to be re-earned after this episode, and it will be interesting to see if that is even possible.

"Weapon X, Lies, and DVDs" had fight scenes were fantastic, the animation is top-notch as usual, and the score once again impresses. The story acts as a bit of a break from the time travel shenanigans of the season, yet it is a necessary episode as it addresses a momentous event that occurred at the end of last season and has been largely avoided until this point. It isn't the best episode of the season, but it is still a fun episode.

Final Verdict:
4 out of 5

X-Men

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X-Men '97 season 2 episode 6 review coming soon

Marvel Multiverse

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Animated Superhero Action Streaming Series Episode Review: What If... Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?

What If...? is an animated version of the Marvel Comics title of the same name. It offers alternative events to those portrayed in the sacred timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The first episode shows what would happen if Peggy Carter was given the super soldier serum.

The episode is narrated by Jeffrey Wright, who portrays Uatu the Watcher. The Watchers are a race of aliens that watch and record events in the universe without interfering. They were previously seen in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 getting information from a man known as the Informant, played by the late great Stan Lee. If Marvel Studios brings Uatu into live-action, I hope they continue to use Jeffery Wright. He has a commanding, yet soothing voice that fits the character perfectly.

Oatu explains that just one different decision is enough to cause a new universe. In this case, the Nexus point that creates a new timeline is when Peggy decides to stay with the military men watching the super soldier experiment rather than going to the viewing area upstairs. This causes Carter to notice the man with the bomb that was meant to distract the crowd. It causes him to detonate it before, rather than after, the experiment. This leads to Steve Rogers getting shot, which left the chamber without an occupant. Knowing that doing nothing would cause the experiment to be a failure, Peggy enters the chamber. Howard Stark pulls the lever, despite the objections of Colonel Flynn. The experiment was successful, giving Carter a taller, more muscular physique.

This leads to a dustup with the colonel, who feels the experiment was a failure because the serum went into a "girl", which is what would likely have happened in the United States in the 1940s, and reminded me a lot of the excellent Agent Carter television show.

She is finally convinced to go out into the battlefield by a still skinny and short Steve Rogers, who is recuperating in physical therapy. As she is not being touted out into USO shows, she managed to take the mind stone within the tesseract to Howard Stark.

This leads to a fantastic sequence where Peggy busts the Howling Commandos, including Steve's friend Bucky, out of their prison cell. When the Captain and the Commandos fight their way out, they are joined by Steve in a Howard Stark-designed, tesseract-powered, mechanical suit dubbed the Hydra Stomper. It was fun to see this early Iron Man suit designed by the elder Stark, and its inclusion made sense as, in the main timeline, Howard had said that he was restricted by the technology of his time.

We then get a scene as 1940s music plays over a montage of Captain Carter's accomplishments, as well as those of Steve Rogers in his Hydra Stomper suit. 

The most fun part of this episode was the ending, as Captain Carter's showdown with the Red Skull didn't go anything like Captain America's. Red Skull truly showed Captain Carter just what his organization meant with the name HYDRA.

I'm glad that Marvel is willing in phase four to show events that differ from the main timeline films. With Marvel slowly building up to the weirdness levels of the comics, we're really past the halfway point now, and it's brought us some truly great things. Captain Carter is a fantastic character that I hope we see a lot more of in the Marvel Cinematic Universe moving forward.

Final Verdict:

5 out of 5

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Agent Carter Season 1, Episode 1 Review