Blu-ray Review – Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015)

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Given the sheer number of comic book remakes, reboots, and spinoffs released each year that all draw from the same creative well, by now the origin story has become the Kryptonite of comic book adaptations.

As expected as a syllabus on the first day of school, while typically these predictable prologues grind the action to a halt, Justice League: Gods and Monsters takes a decidedly different approach by crafting completely new backstories for the Justice League A-listers of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman whom we mistakenly thought we knew so well.

Of course, from online fan fiction to the daring interpretations of Batman via Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns (which inspired two very different adaptations by directors Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan), dark, dystopian plays on pop culture and popular material are nothing new.

But Justice League: Gods and Monsters takes it even further, moving past mere technique to bring us a whole new world populated by Gotham's now even darker knight, along with two of his fellow crime-fighters.

Stating that "the past is like another planet," this D.C. Comics full-length animated revisionist feature begins in space, which is the perfect place to introduce us to an alternate Justice League universe.

In a shocking twist on nature vs. nurture, not only is Superman's parentage hijacked by Zod (who imprints his own DNA to become the baby's biological father), but shortly into the movie, the child crash lands in Mexico as opposed to the American Midwest, giving Superman's oft-cited status as an illegal alien a timely politically layer.

Far from being the only character with a complicated past, this time around, college science nerd Kirk (instead of the dated moniker Bruce Wayne) is turned into the now vampiric Batman after a research experiment goes terribly wrong.

Although that Spiderman style twist makes him a reject on dating websites like eHarmony, Kirk puts his thirst for blood to good use. Engaging in some surprisingly violent superhero warfare that pushes the PG-13 rating to the limit in the first act alone, Kirk teams up with the temperamental Superman as well as the now Game of Thrones inspired goddess Wonder Woman whose arranged marriage as the daughter of the God of War turns into a post-nuptial massacre.

A far cry from the Dudley Do-Rights of series past as brought to life in popular '90s animated series, these Gods and Monsters are all too eager to wipe the floor with the opposition.

Establishing its fast pace right from the start, Gods and Monsters makes a hell of a first impression by kicking off just one of several action sequences that feel refreshingly organic when compared with some of the other "plug and play" moments of car chases and fights seasoned throughout other DC Comics films such as Son of Batman.

Earning a bad reputation and an ever increasing number of enemies, it isn't long before the film's characters are being set-up for the murders of scientists. And while they're baffled as to who would have the guts to try and frame the trio, Justice League: Gods and Monsters continues to swing back and forth like a pendulum – attempting to fill us in on the role that past events may have played in forming the people they've become today and those whose paths they've crossed.

With so much new material to cover in such a short running time, the filmmakers were smart to only focus on three members of the D.C. Comics crew.

Yet because in stark contrast to most superhero adaptations, the origin stories are far more compelling than the otherwise by-the-numbers contemporary plotline, perhaps Justice League would've played even better if it had placed only one (or at most two) protagonists under the revisionist microscope before working in additional characters in a follow-up film.

And while it's easy to overlook its at times chaotic construction, it soon makes sense why pasts were compared to planets in the film as – particularly when we jump from Batman to Wonder Woman – the move from one person's past to that of another can feel as awkward as going from one planet to the next.

Timing the release to help build up momentum for WB's upcoming live-action feature that centers around the very same superheroes, although the narrative of Gods and Monsters isn't quite as rock-solid as other titles in the animated series, it's nonetheless one of DC Comics' most creatively ambitious efforts in recent memory.

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Text ©2015, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy of this title in order to voluntarily decide to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.

TV on DVD Review: Batman – The Second Season: Part Two (1966-1967)

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Related Review:
Batman -- The Second Season: Part One

No longer content to coast by on the same cliffhanger dependent two part formula in the second half of the second season, Batman's behind-the-scenes team opted to take what they learned making the now-classic original movie and apply it to the hit series.

Along with supersizing the storylines into multi-episodic TV-movie style arcs that were as ambitious as they were outlandish, Batman upped the action and doubled down on the villains to raise the stakes.

From an underwater chase to a slow motion fight, Batman no doubt took a cue from the skyrocketing popularity of globetrotting James Bond blockbusters in order to keep audiences tuning in for more than just the endless alliteration and comic book bright cinematography.

Of course, it's as campy as ever – particularly when it has to rely solely on the scenery chewing charms of some of its B-villains from the Shakespeare quoting Riddler variation, The Puzzler along with The Mad Hatter, and The Sandman.

However, it still manages to win us over with the boundless energy of its core ensemble and sheer dedication to keep its audience entertained by whatever means necessary.

As we get back into the swing of things, we discover an unexpected side effect of Batman's success with the rise of prison overcrowding. Unable to keep up with the demand for more guards or cells, more villains have been sneaking out of lock-up and back into the city – partnering up with fellow mischief-makers in order to keep both the viewers and the caped crusaders on their toes.

Overworked with the rise of jail-breaks and more sophisticated attacks, Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara find themselves having to rely on the Bat-signal in order to send Gotham's guardians an S.O.S. message, interrupting Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson's long overdue vacation.

From the return of Joker and Penguin as part of a Zodiac crime spree (which is all the more eerie given the actual Zodiac crimes of the era) to the flirtatious mayhem involving one villainess who wears love potion laced lipstick during the repeated takes of an on-set movie makeout, the thirty included episodes are packed with outrageously diverting plotlines.

At its best when the show swings for the fences and goes for that creative home run even if it fails, as opposed to playing it too safe by relying on the stale formula, while it's occasionally brought down by incorporating the same techniques again and again, overall there's a lot to admire about Batman's undeniably daring second season.

Growing increasingly over-the-top with each passing episode, Batman is nonetheless elevated once again by the musicality of its dialogue as well as the total commitment of its cast to play it straight.

Artistically intoxicating for its vibrant combination of setting, costume, props and makeup – while it's hard for die-hard millennial fans of the Christopher Nolan adaptations to accept something so uncharacteristically light and bright – Warner Brothers' flawless re-release of the '60s series serves as a great reminder that there are many ways to tell a story.

Text ©2015, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy of this title in order to voluntarily decide to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.

Blu-ray Review -- Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts (2015)

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Set in a techno futuristic version of Gotham City that resembles a cross between Luc Besson's The Fifth Element and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, although Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts initially steers us into a more fantastical direction, fortunately the latest original animated feature from DC Comics finds its footing before it goes completely off the rails.

With Batman training Red Robin and also working in tandem with (former Robin) Dick Grayson's Nightwing, Batman Unlimited is a film of doubles and doppelgangers on both sides of the law.

Outnumbered, outmaneuvered, and overwhelmed by the latest diabolical plan to dominate Gotham that’s been undertaken by a rogue's gallery of villains dubbed the Animilitia comprised of Cheetah, Silverback, Killer Croc, Man Bat scheming alongside a ruthless crop of robotic animals created by Oswald Cobblepot's The Penguin, Batman and his allies team up with Green Arrow and The Flash.

And the end result is a motley version of the much more polished and professional Justice League squad of heroes whom we've witnessed before in other comics and animated features.

Penned by Justice League: War screenwriter Heath Corson and directed by veteran DC series helmer Butch Lukic, Batman Unlimited keeps things interesting by making this group the black sheep of the DC family.

And at the heart of the film's best scenes is the friction between Nightwing and The Flash – whose annoying efficiency and "look, ma, no hands!" short term attention span is the source of a few well-earned chuckles.

Yet that dynamic aside, unfortunately it never manages to create a psychologically compelling interplay between Batman and The Penguin – most likely because the overpopulated film is bursting at the seams with characters.

Nonetheless, the thoughtful way that it compares and contrasts the many similarities between the main hero and villain in a riveting Blu-ray special feature makes me eager to see if they'll devote more time to this thesis in a standalone film or sequel.

The first part of two 2015 Batman Unlimited titles, the follow-up to Animal Instincts is currently slated for an August release.

And while this ranks as a slightly above average entry in the routinely impressive franchise of direct-to-disc Warner Brothers/DC Comics animated original films, coming right off the heels of Batman vs. Robin, it serves as a vibrant reminder that right now, Nightwing is easily the most entertaining character in the long-running series.

Filled with enviable bonus material from the DC Archives including extra episodes from series of decades past, the technically stellar Blu-ray/DVD/Digital boxed set (which also boasts a limited edition toy a la last month's Batman vs. Robin) outdoes itself with some standout shorts.

While many feature familiar faces, the Easter Egg quality reimagining of the Batman narrative as filtered through classic 1930s Chinese artistry makes the two woefully brief Shanghai shorts worth the price of the Blu-ray alone.

Originally made by Wolf Smoke Studio and screened on Cartoon Network in 2012, the works constitute a "Shanghai surprise" that more than makes up for that horrifically bad 1980s Sean Penn and Madonna movie.

While I can only hope for a feature length Shanghai spinoff (as well as a solo Nightwing venture), until then Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts not only serves as a quality placeholder but also gives us a worthwhile place for the new narrative to start.

Text ©2015, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy of this title in order to voluntarily decide to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.

Blu-ray Review: Batman vs. Robin (2015)

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Most parents think their children are extraordinary but when Bruce Wayne says that there may not be another ten year old boy in the world quite like his own child Damian (whom we first met in Son of Batman along with the caped crusader), it's less a statement of paternal pride than it is of defeat.

 

Sudden fatherhood hasn’t exactly been easy for the two dueling alpha Waynes, which we're quick to gather in the latest DC Comics animated feature, Batman vs. Robin.

For although he'd been entrusted to keep the boy safe from those who’d murdered his grandfather Ra's Al Ghul by Damian's mother Thalia in Son, Bruce Wayne finds that his experiences with his former goodhearted (and now grown) ward Dick Grayson haven't adequately prepared him to handle a boy with Damian's anger, energy, and determination.

Instead of typical tween rebellion, as a former member of the League of Assassins headed up by the now deceased Ra's Al Ghul, Damian's favorite way to deal with his angst is by stealing the Batmobile for a night of vigilante justice that comes perilously close to crossing the line into murder. Obviously, crashing a wild party is one thing but hitting the streets with a mission for vengeance is something very different indeed.

Distracted by his new blonde-haired, blue-blooded girlfriend Samantha Vanaver, Wayne struggles to juggle not only his dual identities as the old money playboy as well as Gotham City's Dark Knight but also his relationship with his own son.

And things grow much more complicated when – in a last ditch effort to discipline the boy and keep him in line – Bruce Wayne decides to turn Damian into the new Robin.

Relying on the old Robin (now Nightwing) – Dick Grayson – to train and prepare his son, the men at Wayne Manor are soon usurped by a mysterious new player on the scene who's been tasked with recruiting both Wayne junior and senior into a secret society of elite Gothamites called the Court of Owls.

What results is a straight-to-disc feature that’s vastly superior to DC's previous production.

Ramping up the action and plotline with each successive act, the sequel does a particularly good job of better establishing Grayson's Nightwing for what I can only hope will be the character's own WB Animation and DC Comics original movie in the future.

However, because it attempts to cover so much ground, savvy viewers will be able to spot most of Robin’s double-crossing plot twists coming from a mile away.

Falling back on Batman's roots as an existential Dickensian archetype, Batman vs. Robin pays direct homage to Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist wherein, upon learning that his son has begun reading the book, "movie buff" Bruce Wayne asks Alfred to fire up the 1948 David Lean adaptation of Twist in the manor's screening room.

Far more sexually suggestive than other DC Comics films (which makes this unrated title perhaps best suited to a PG-13 audience), the implied backlit nudity is still less jarring than the new overreliance of the series to focus on "animal/human" hybrids that threaten to turn the films into B-level monster movies.

Though not as well-executed as Batman: Year One or the stellar Wonder Woman, Batman vs. Robin nonetheless shows some promising potential with a dramatic and well earned conclusion that makes us eager for another installment. Likewise, the decision to add more layers to Wayne's own backstory with the suggestion that old money Gotham's elite society just might have played a part in the death of his parents helps elevate the picture from its slightly predictable nature.

Despite the fact that the relationship between junior and senior Wayne seems pretty protracted, in their own right, the film’s characters (and Grayson in particular) nonetheless feel distinctly unique, which is quite a feat indeed for the animated realm.

Bolstered by exciting action scenes including a pulse quickening car chase, though Batman ends slightly abruptly, the gorgeous new Blu-ray gift set is loaded with bonus material including four shorts from the WB animated series archives, behind the scenes footage and a limited edition Batman figurine so you can stage your own battles... Damian’s stolen Batmobile not included.

Text ©2014, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy of this title in order to voluntarily decide to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.

TV on DVD Review: Batman -- The Second Season: Part One (1966-1967)

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Related Review:
Batman -- The Second Season: Part Two

Bursting with the pop, color, and flavor of a bubblegum ad on the back page of the same comic that had inspired the series, ABC's smash '60s success Batman was as gleefully campy as it was filled with endless alliteration and overwritten.

Nonetheless as unnaturally choreographed the heavily enunciated tongue-twisting dialogue was, each episode went above and beyond in its salute to semantics by loading each line with more multi-syllabic words than most modern talk radio programs boast today.

And when you couple Batman's love of the English language with the show's obvious passion for play, it's no wonder why it's so easy to get hooked on DC Comics' particular brand of phonics.

This is especially true when it's performed like a near musical call and response by Adam West and Burt Ward, complete with odd mid-sentence pauses and rhythmic give-and-take meant to underline drama, both of which add a percussive "Pow!" to the sing-song dialogue.

Yes, the series did suffer from repetition, both structurally as well as in its tendency to recycle the exact same establishing shots (including its most famous sequence that takes us – "Turbines to Speed" – by Batmobile from the Batcave to City Hall where the same handful of extras mill about in heavily used footage).

However, while the greatest villain Batman ever faced were the budgetary restraints of its own network (which later led to its cancellation while it was still a ratings heavyweight), the show never let this obstacle turn into its Achilles Heel.

To this end, it adopted a visual signature with the same tenacity that it wove the wacky wordplay which was its narrative trademark into each week's two-part episode scripts.

Yet while you could never fail to miss the show’s audible style, Batman's often utilized cinematic technique came across with a refreshing subtlety that was often absent from the rest of the show's jackhammer approach.

Whereas our heroic leads were nearly always held dominantly in the frame – looking stoic, resolved and straight as an arrow – frequently, and only whenever we were in the presence of the show's "audacious adversaries" that were "capable of such capricious crimes," the frame is almost always positioned just barely off-kilter as we size up the room for possible "malevolent mischief."

Admittedly, the first of the three seasons had the best and most creatively freewheeling material as the shows grew increasingly outrageous with time. However, thanks to a bump in budget following the now classic movie (filmed between the first and second season) that also gave Batman its super cool Batboat, they were able to attract some impressive names to the guest villain roster including former Hollywood matinee idols of the '40s and '50s that begin to fill the screen in this set.

And indeed, the star power here is as impactful as the same cartoon-style expressions of comic book of violence that took center stage during fight scenes.

But regardless of cost, the series was always at its best when one of the 1966 film's four main henchmen (Joker, Riddler, Penguin, and Catwoman) cooked up a new scheme to ensnare the heroic alter egos of millionaire Bruce Wayne and his "youthful ward" Dick Grayson.

In a nod to their own success, we see the two at home off duty and discover that when they’re not off fighting crime, they get their kicks in the manner of their audience, sitting back to watch TV's The Green Hornet.

That's just one of many nice in-joke winks at the superhero life that was thrilling on the small screen roughly a decade before the return of Superman to the big screen and the Frank Miller era Dark Knight debut of Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne nearly 20 years later.

While this is as bright as Tim Burton's 1989 film is dark and played more for comedy than pathos and thrills, you can see the influence of Cesar Romero's Joker and Wayne's dry quips that were carried over in Burton, Keaton and Jack Nicholson's first trip to Gotham City two decades later.

And just like the introduction of Penguin and Catwoman did in Burton's Batman Returns follow-up years later, the villains bring out the worst in one another but the best in our heroic caped crusaders in this (sadly Riddler-free yet happily gorgeously restored) four disc set that delivers fans the first half of Batman's second season.

Text ©2014, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy of this title in order to voluntarily decide to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.

Blu-ray Review -- Justice League: War (2014)

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Before they were officially known as the Justice League, the Super Friends or even the Super Seven (as suggested in this early account of the first official team-up to save the Earth by a number of DC Comics’ most notable superheroes), there was an awful lot of friction in the group.

For starters, there’s wisecracking (and scene-stealing) Green Lantern’s evolving assessment of Batman as everything from a vampire (in need of Tru Blood no less) to a “tool” or a “douchebag,” to his yelling “Dibs!” on Wonder Woman despite Superman’s obvious attraction to her that is teased in this WB Justice League themed prequel animated feature.

Furthermore when you couple the massive egos that abound along with the intergalactic sized daddy issues of the newly initiated Cybog (whose origin story is unveiled in the film), there’s a lot of progress to be made before they’ll be able to fight like a cohesive unit aligned for good.

And unfortunately, that’s a large part of the uneven DC Universe feature’s problem as despite the gorgeous artwork, impressive star caliber on display in its voice cast and memorable one-liners, Justice League: War is far too disjointed in its approach.

Whereas the one or two character centric films they’d released in years past had smoother character arcs and maximized the potential of the medium to tell tales so successful as to rival some live-action superhero fare (as in Lauren Montgomery’s phenomenal Wonder Woman, for example), this one is clunky and all over-the-place. Likewise, by constantly jumping from one point-of-view to the next, War shortchanges many of the memorable fan favorite characters in the process as some superheroes seem like they're mere cameos in a Green Lantern movie at times.

And honestly, it may have been far too ambitious for its own good in bringing the 2012 Justice League: Origin graphic novel by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee to life in such a limited running time. While the DC division at Warner Home Entertainment should’ve perhaps divided the storyline across two features to devote more time to each character before just sending them off to get lost in the background of the epic battle that unfolds after Darkseid threatens the Earth, War is nonetheless still much more entertaining than most traditional episodic comic book television fare.

Elevated not only by its spectacular visuals, War stands out even when its plot does not, thanks to its clever dialogue and writing, including a hefty seasoning of darker, more modern themes and references that serve up tongue-in-cheek observations throughout.

Yet as a graphic novel transferred to film, it’s the beauty of the work that really attracts and War looks and sounds phenomenal in its sharp Blu-ray presentation complete with a digital high definition Ultraviolet copy along with four bonus animated shorts, a sneak peek at the franchise’s upcoming Batman themed feature nicely timed to celebrate the caped crusaders seventy-fifth anniversary and a behind-the-scenes exploration of legendary DC artist Jim Lee.

Needless to say, with its super-sized bonus material, the Justice League: War Blu-ray makes up for what’s missing in the feature presentation with worthwhile extras designed to appeal to superhero devotees. And even though it isn’t as great as some of the studio’s strongest entries, DC enthusiasts won’t want to miss this early exploration of what happened when Batman first met Greet Lantern (as well as all of their other Justice League favorites), back when the superheroes thought of each other more as strangers versus than sidekicks and well before they ever became Super Friends. 

Text ©2014, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy of this title in order to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.

TV on DVD: Marvel's X-Men-- Volumes 1 & 2

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In the '90s, the multiplex belonged largely to the world of DC Comics with the international success of Batman which was re-imagined to Dark Knight origins by way of visionary comic book artist Frank Miller and director Tim Burton that led to Christopher Nolan's turn behind the wheel (following the ghastly Schumacher camp works of the mid '90s). However on the small screen, a different group of superheroes from a rival comic book company ruled the airwaves as the decade was about Marvel's X-Men.

Wildly popular in both comic book form and as part of the Fox Kids Saturday morning lineup that threw some DC into the mix when fittingly the Bat joined the action packed comic cartoon schedule with the critically lauded Batman: The Animated Series-- the bonus that Marvel fans had over DC ones is that X-Men felt like a far more pure adaptation, moving directly from comic to television without having any major film series from which to draw any immediate popularity or visual cues.

Incredibly intelligent, gorgeously drawn with its intricate lines, shapes, and attention to detail that still stuns in DVD form from Buena Vista Home Entertainment with the recently released the first thirty-three episodes (spanning seasons one and two in their entirety along with the crucial start of season three over two volumes)-- Marvel's animated X-Men provides a superlative Origins experience to those anxious about Hugh Jackman's brand new big screen Wolverine smash.

Also coinciding with the recent release of the three feature films in trilogy form and on Blu-ray that tie in not only with Jackman's fourth foray as Wolverine but the upcoming 2011 X-Men Origins installment Magneto-- this must-own set for Marvel enthusiasts and X-Men devotees plays even better the second time around for those of us who first encountered the series in our adolescence as we're now able to delve beyond the multi-layered subtext of the show which dealt with hot button issues on a weekly basis.

The longest-lasting series on Fox Kids, as Wikipedia reports, Marvel's X-Men premiered on television nearly thirty years after author Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby creation first debuted the characters in comic book form in September of 1963 with The X-Men #1 (which introduced readers to both the central cast of heroes as well as their initial main villain Magneto).

And with its emphasis staying true to the origins, the television adaptation created by Larry Houston and Frank Squillace frequently utilized the rich history and source material of the beloved comic books but presented them visually in a style and with the same primary line-up of superheroes fans encountered on the news-stands in the early '90s comics drawn by artist Jim Lee.

The storyline of the series focuses primarily around the "outsider" status of its characters who long for peace in a world filled with intolerance. To this end, we first discover in our X-Men leader, the extraordinarily telepathic, charismatic, optimistic, wheelchair bound Professor Xavier who runs a school and idyllic, Utopian styled X-Mansion, taking in other individuals dubbed mutants by the outside world for possessing an "x-gene" that gives personalities an unexpected ability Xavier channels for the good of the planet.

Rounding out the main cast of characters, we're also introduced to personalities those only familiar with the films will no doubt recognize in the form of Scott a.k.a. Cyclops who can expel crimson beams of energy from his eyes and serves as the group's deputy leader much to the chagrin of his main romantic rival Wolverine whose sharply fine-tuned senses and genetic ability to produce deadly blades or "claws" have only made him more cynical, despite his unrequited romantic love for Cyclops' beautiful red-headed girlfriend Jean Grey. Grey, much like Professor Charles Xavier has a gift for telekinesis and telepathy.

Along with fan favorites like the rebellious Gambit who uses playing cards like throwing knives, the Shakespeare quoting, philosophical great blue Beast whose tender sensitivity and superior mind is overshadowed by his enormity, and the young fireworks spouting Jubilee whom the X-Men recruit in the first episode, we're also introduced with two regulars who-- at least in TV form-- begin to grate on the nerves a bit in their characterization with the inclusion of Rogue and Storm.

Voiced by Lenore Zahn, we become acquainted with the temperamental and folksy southern Rogue whose inability to share an intimate kiss or hug with a fellow human being for fear she'll kill them (as was the case with boys in the past growing up) comes with the trade-off of not just being able to fly but giving her the benefit of absorbing energies, the past, and special powers of anyone she touches.

While her likability fluctuates, the character who immediately makes you want to reach for the mute or fast-forward button is embodied by the unfortunately humorless and monotone prone Storm (voiced in '92 by Jona Morris until a change occurred that same year for the rest of that run by casting Alison Sealy-Smith) who whips up ferocious winds that give her the opportunity to fly and control the weather to help level the playing field.

Although they're dynamic in the comic book-- next to the poise of Jean Grey and scene-stealing Wolverine on the series-- sadly the characters don't stand much of a chance but Storm fares the worst in a characterization that just never manages to get us emotionally involved as opposed to Rogue who we empathize with from the start, understanding her pain of never being able to touch a fellow human being.

Despite the dud of Storm who was still one of the weaker parts of the ensemble when Halle Berry had the misfortune of trying to bring her to life in the films-- the episodes contained over the course of four discs contained in the two volumes that boast the "Night of the Sentinels" storyline in Volume 1 and "The Phoenix Saga" in Volume 2 are immediately addictive and make the perfect invite for a marathon viewing as numerous several episode arcs of highly compelling storylines fill out the early seasons captured in the set.

Additionally, we watch as the X-Men contend with the deadly shape-shifting Mystique whose ability to fool numerous characters in the group by impersonating the X-Men themselves leads to a more complicated dynamic when he takes advantage of Gambit's desire for Rogue and Wolverine's undying love for Jean as well as familiar comic book characters such as Magneto, Angel, Colosus, militant mutants, humans who want to manipulate the X-Men, strip them of their powers, or send them away, including that dynamite storyline with Senator Robert Kelly.

Additionally, the television writers due a wonderful job in fleshing out the back-stories of numerous characters including Wolverine and his brother Juggernaut as well as Alpha Flight-- the Canadian superhero group Wolverine was involved in before he crossed the border.

Infusing the series with some unexpected emotional depth that one doesn't typically associate with the comic book realm whether its in the love triangle central to the group in the form of Scott/Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Wolverine as Scott and Jean get married or when the Beast falls in love with a blind girl and finds that prejudice is sending him down a possibly perilous Beauty and the Beast scenario.

And true to the comics, the series also manages to serve as an allegory as it deals with issues of tolerance with thinly vieled storylines that serve to celebrate diversity (as the comics have been credited with dealing with Anti-Semitism in Holocaust and slavery styled structures and championing the rights of the disabled, LGBT communities, racism, and religious intolerance) in some episode plot-lines that deal openly with typically taboo social issues avoided in children's programming and Saturday morning animation.

Highly recommended-- the series has been preserved to its full-screen aspect ration with the additional of subtitles for the deaf and/or hearing impaired in English as well as providing French and Spanish audio and subtitle tracks-- and despite the fact that neither volume boasts a unique extra, the true special feature is in the source material itself with its bevy of multi-part episodes that you can you can watch in their entirety such as via the moving "Phoenix Saga" in all five parts back-to-back as opposed to impatiently waiting for the weekly installments.