Search - Wolverine and the X-Men: Heroes Return Trilogy on DVD

DO NOT BUY

Marvel Me | 02/07/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I urge you all not to buy any more Marvel cartoon titles released to dvd unless it contains the full seasons.Who ever is putting these titles out is ripping us all off!They put a few episodes on the disc as a teaser just to get your money!Release these the correct way or not at all!"

5 stars for the series, 1 star for this DVD

C. Mounce | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA | 03/19/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Let me start out by saying I love the series Wolverine & the X-men. This DVD is three of the first episodes are on this thing churned out by Lions Gate & Nickelodeon to make a quick buck. Soon for less than twice the price of this DVD you can buy the whole 1st season of Wolverine & the X-men. Save your money and boycott these quick cash garbage DVDs."

The best X-Men adaptation yet.

trashcanman | Hanford, CA United States | 02/27/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sure, we all loved the early 90's X-Men cartoon. For me, it was arguably the thing that turned me into a comic book fan, though it would be well over a decade before I had the means to indulge in the source material. But that show was far from perfect and while it is still an enjoyable crib-notes version of the important events and characters of X-Men history, it didn't do everything right and the animation hasn't aged particularly well. X-Men Evolution was better than it's given credit for, but the high school setting made for some unnecessary cheese. The X-Men film trilogy was very strong as far as live-action comic book adaptations go, but it fizzled in the end and didn;t really encompass all that was the X-Men. "Wolverine and the X-Men" skips the history lesson and drops us right in the middle of bonafide reckoning for the well-established mutant superhero team and gives us definitive versions of our favorite characters in all-new adventures. The result has been...ummm...X-ellent? No? Sorry. Had to try the bad X-pun. It's kind of a thing with me.

Now, a big complaint from fans prior to the series was "Wolverine is not a leader, who would follow him?" That is actually the very point of view of the show's creators. In the opening salvo, Professor Xavier and Jean Grey (who is so charming we fall in love with her in a single shot) both vanish in an explosion at the X-Mansion. Cyclops is so devastated that he quits the team and goes into seclusion, wallowing in his own self-pity like the sissy we all knew he was. The end result of the catastrophe is the complete dissolution of the X-Men. Only the indestructible Wolverine can muster up the fight to try and put the fractured team back together. But with no home and no leader, the mutant heroes have all gone their separate ways and very few are interested in joining the unpredictable Logan, even while the government renews their mutant hunts. I think this estrangement is part of what makes the show as compelling as it is. The reason it works is because the creators understand the characters. Craig Kyle, writer of the outstanding X-Force comic, lends his substantial skill and credibility to the show and it is very apparent that Marvel is now taking their animated projects more seriously by hiring on genuine comic talent. Greg Johnson -whose got a very impressive body of animated adapations to his credit- is also on board. The cast is top-notch as well. This is the X-Men as they are meant to be.

The first three episodes are great, but only the tip of the iceberg. Nightcrawler only shows up at the beginning of this DVD, but later in the series gets an episode all his own and it is brilliant. Magneto plays a non-villainous role so far which is refreshing, and Xavier's fate is a compelling one. The Brotherhood of Mutants boasts both an X-Men defector and the always-underrated Domino in their ranks, The Shadow King makes a comeback (his battle with Emma Frost is a high point), there are cameos from lesser-known-but-cool mutants like Magma, and there is a Wolverine/Gambit team-up episode to boot. And this is all in the first six episode that have aired. That is ridiculously jam-packed with awesome. And a Hulk Vs. Wolverine rematch featuring Nick Fury and Wendigo is up next. It's obvious at this point that the show is going to explore all avenues of the X-Men mythos with fresh new stories that could have easily come right out of the classic comics. This is one of the shows I look forward to the most on television right now.

This DVD is a great preview for the series, containing the first 3-episode arc. That is to say that you should not buy it unless you are desperate for a taste of this show and don't have cable. If you are smart (and patient), you will save your money for the full season boxed set when it comes out. But if you've got to see this right now, then your money will not be wasted, because this show is an X-Men fan's dream come true.


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Don't buy!

Ronald M. Laflash | 02/07/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This show is awesome! However, releasing ONE DVD with only 3 episodes sucks! [...]"