Due to its very nature of being spawned from a 90s cartoon, large chunks of X-Men ’97 are taken up with frenetic action that has devestating ramifications to all life, be they human or mutant. However, while the show has always done a good job of balancing a gargantuan plot, bigger action and a sprawling cast that dwarfs either of them, some mainstay characters unavoidably get lost in the explosions, melodrama and iconic posing.
It’s with this in mind, we approach “Strange Land, Savage Heart”, the seventh episode of the second season of X-Men ’97 that tries to shine the spotlight on some of the more neglected faces of the titular group. However, after Apocalypse, Weapon X and the formation of X-Corp, is an episode focusing on Nightcrawler’s impressively fucked-up family tree really what the show has been clamouring for? Every season needs peaks and troughs in it’s plotting, but is the introduction of the Acolytes frankly unnecessary addition to a season already heaving with mutant teams?
The latest issue to plague human/mutant relations raises its head in the form of the Acolytes, a cult that holds the late Magneto up as some sort of shining example, and who is run by the fanatical Exodus. However, making matters a little more personal, it also counts former X-Man Colossus among its number who joined due to the death of his sister, Ilyana, at Genosha. To make an impact on the global stage they take notorious anti-mutant spokesman, Graydon Creed, hostage and threaten to execute him if X-Factor refuse to release all the mutants they’ve been rounding up of late. Needless to say, Xavier realises this could be the very mission that the newly formed X-Corp was formed for, and sends his X-Men to the Acolyte base located in the primordial jungles of the Savage Land.
However, taking this mission more seriously than the others is both Nightcrawler and Rogue who, thanks to an impressively complex family tree, count the hateful Creed as a relative as they all share a mother in Mystique. While they wish to save their half-brother, they also hope to get through to former team-mate Colossus and turn him from his problematic path. But while the Acolytes hold a impromptu court, with Nightcrawler giving an impassioned defence, the rest of the X-Men have to contend with all the drama that comes with crash landing in the Savage Land (everyone crashes in the Savage Land).
However, while the trial collapses into the sort of chaos that usually occurs when mutants disagree, there’s a chance that Colossus, like Polaris before him, may actually return to the fold. But even if he does, something major has gone down in Athens, when X-Force discovers an Apocalypse-shaped corpse and a charred playing card as the only clue…
While “Strange Land, Savage Heart” has plenty to say and finally gives some of the other X-Men a chance at the spotlight, the episode regrettably falls foul of some of the same issues that afflicted last week’s episode, “Danger.exe”. It seems that the show wants to have its X-cake and eat it by blending and merging various X-Men stories from different eras while still still trying to play an overarching thread, but regrettably rather than delivering a gripping moral conundrum, we get an episode that feel well and truly like filler. Worse yet, some of the X-Men’s most beloved characters seem to be acting a little… off, which proves to be more than a little distracting. It’s a shame, because the episode has some weighty themes to wield that deal with loss, moral disagreements, generational trauma and the nature of forgiveness (all meaty, X-Men threads one and all), but considering all the aspects still waiting in the wings, this just feels like an unnecessary distraction.
The main elephant in the room is after starting the season with the singular threat of the imposing Apocalypse, it feels like a new X-team is being introduced every week. We’ve already had the X-Men, X-Force, X-Factor, Team X and the rebranded X-Men entity known as X-Corp, with now with the added, episode-long threat of the Acolytes, it truly feels that the show has now maxed out how many groups it really should be juggling. It also doesn’t help that Exodus’ group of humie-haters is about as memorable as any other group of also-rans hastily thrown together to try and spark-up a quick threat. The tight runtime of the episode and single-serving nature of the group only allow us to get to know their leader, and a strangely up-beat Colossus, but what we get is hardly an A-level threat for the X-kids.
Similarly, something seems to be off about the charactizations of both Colossus and Nightcrawler. While it’s fascinating to probe into exactly how messy Mystique’s brood truly is with the abandoned Kurt, adopted Rogue and the angry ball of resentment that came with Sabretooth getting her pregnant with Graydon, it’s tough to get a read on Wagner as the script seems to have him talk either in bible verses, or self-help quotes. In many ways, the tragic history of the demonic looking teleporter has made him one of the most soulful members of this expansive universe, but instead of mixing it up with a little down to earth banter, or even some of that carefree swashbuckling the mutant so loves, he’s actually a bit of a bore. Speaking of weird character traits, even if we ignore the fact that the teleporting Ilyana was seemingly obliterated by a sentinel laser beam that was so telegraphed, Flash from Zootopia could dodge it, Pitor Rasputin still seems to carry his jovial, “Da, Comrade” persona despite being a man who has joined an anti-human death cult after the loss of a loved one. It just doesn’t ring true and while the show thus far has done a good job either presenting or updating these classic characters, the sight of Polaris and Bishop suddenly riding pterosaurs into battle isn’t enough to distract you from the writers being noticably off the mark.
Maybe is some of the action was up to snuff, or the dramatic heft felt more earned, “Strange Land, Savage Heart” could have been a nice pallette cleanser and a great, emotion beat for Wagner, before we delved into the final two episodes and the continuing mystery of Apocalypse (can the big guy really be dead?). However, X-Men ’97 finally fumbles that all-important momentum on an episode that shoves characters centre stage, but doesn’t give them anything ground breaking to do.
While the likes of Wolverine and Polaris have benefited from the past two episodes that allowed them to cut loose from the log jam of mutant teams that’s suddenly come down the pipe, Nightcrawler, Colossus and Rogue aren’t done any favours despite the juicy, moral conundrum placed on their plate. At this rate, episode 8 will be Beast playing speed-chess by himself, but in the event that doesn’t happen, the still unexplored X-Corp needs an Avengers level threat, pronto.
🌟🌟🌟
We Have Issues 