Wolverine and the X-Men (Animated Series)

Introduction

 
The relatively successful Marvel franchise of X-Men films continues apace this summer with the recent release of Wolverine: X-Men Origins, which takes the most successful character and actor within this franchise and attempts to fill in his back story and give the franchise a much needed kick up the posterior.
 
With one eye clearly on this, E1 have decided to release the first volume of the CBBC animated (are you not allowed to say cartoon anymore?) series that also has Wolverine at the core.
 


The premise of the series is pretty simple.  A mysterious explosion has devasted the X-Mansion that is the base for the group of mutant superheroes, and both Professor Charles Xavier and Jean Grey have gone missing in the aftermath.  With the core leadership gone, Wolverine decides to go on a sabbatical and the X-Men break up and go their own ways.
 
But tragedy is looming for all mutants with the rise of Senator Kelly and the Mutant Research Department (or 'mardey's' as they are known to mutants), with mutants rounded up under the guise of public protection.
 
Wolverine decides that the only reasonable course of action is to change from loner to leader and reform the X-Men to combat this rising menace to mutants, but it won't be easy…
 

Extras

 
Bonus stand-alone episode of Wolverine Vs Hulk.  It looks from the intro sequence that it's part of the series as a whole, but may not be.  Nick Fury from S.H.I.E.L.D saves Wolverine from capture by the MRD, but only on condition that Wolverine drops into the Canadian mountains to bring a rampaging Hulk under control.  As usual, things are not quite as they seem…
 

Overall

 
This is a clear cash-in in terms of physical release, that much is obvious, but it takes a completely different tack from the latest Hugh Jackman film.  This series is an attempt to move the story forward into an area that is also currently inhabited by the Heroes TV series.It's a long-held belief of both extreme Left and Right wing groups that anyone different must conform or be eliminated (sometimes literally), but as with any decent story-telling, it's wrapped up around a fictitious group in order to make the comment. 



I've only ever dabbled in the Marvel comic franchise, was more a 2000AD man (ahem…) in my childhood, and so whilst I was aware of the X-Men, I never really paid attention until the first feature film.  Therefore I have no idea of how Wolverine was depicted before, but I can say he looks rather like Hugh Jackman now, who is probably going to be forever known as this character.
 
This series seems quite ambitious for what I believe is a kid's series, and it being on CBBC kind of backs me up on this, with a long story arc that encompasses minor missions of the week, but all linked in the arc and Wolverine's mission to reunite the X-Men and turn the tide of political ambition shown by Kelly and the MRD.  It's not bad for what it is and any children into the X-Men will enjoy this, and probably more than a few adults as well.  Some of the dialogue is a bit simple and Wolverine's growls sound rather artificial and placed after a while, but it's enjoyable enough.