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

X-Men (1992 video game) review

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

Marvel Multiverse

X-Men (1992 video game) review

Blade review

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

Captain America: The First Avenger Review

Agent Carter Season 1, Episode 1 Review

Comedy Pop Music Video Review: I Want Your Cray Cray

"I Want Your Cray Cray" was a song that Trish Walker, a character played by Rachael Taylor, was said to have recorded in the early 2000s in "AKA I Want Your Cray Cray", the seventh episode of the second season of Jessica Jones. 

To promote the episode, Marvel released the full-length song on iTunes and released an accompanying music video on YouTube. The song was created in the style of an early 21st-century pop song and the lyrics were purposefully simple and repetitive both as a parody of 2000s pop songs and because the song was said to have prevented Trish Walker's attempt at a career comeback in Jessica Jones.

They succeeded in making a song that was cringy yet catchy, which could be said for many of the 2000s-era pop songs it parodies. The music video is the preferred method of experiencing this song, as it is created in the style of the popular VH1 music video series, Pop-Up Videos. Throughout the video, comments about the song, Trish, and her mother-manager Dorothy, would pop up on the screen in text bubbles. They were even accompanied by a "pop" sound effect like the one heard in the VH1 series.

The music video is a nice accompaniment to the episode, as well as to the Jessica Jones series as a whole. The comments that pop up throughout are perfectly reminiscent of those in Pop-Up Videos, such as mentions about the movements made by Trish and comments about the backup dancers. The popup comments about Trish Walker's substance abuse and Dorothy Walker's use of her daughter to help her own social life fit within the story of the episode and within the overarching story of the series. 

"I Want Your Cray Cray" is a fun supplement to the Jessica Jones web series. The song itself is a tongue-in-cheek parody of early 21st-century pop songs, with a catchy melody and repetitive lyrics. The music video is the preferred method to experience the song. It has oversexualized women making provocative movements, which emulate early 2000s music videos. It's the VH1 Pop-Up Videos parody that is the main joy to be had in watching the music video. It's a pitch-perfect imitation of VH1's popular series with text bubble comments that vary between humorous for the sake of being humorous and humorous expansions on the show's lore. It's well worth watching for fans of Jessica Jones, fans of the formerly Netflix-exclusive side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or just fans of the weird Marvel Comics character Patricia Walker, aka Hellcat.

Final Verdict:

4½ out of 5

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Marvel One Shot: Agent Carter Review

Hawkeye episode 1 review coming soon

Marvel Multiverse

Spider-Man 2 (2004 film) Review

Guardians of the Galaxy (2021 video game) Review