"Hated and Feared" Re-Watch: "Repo Man" & "X-Ternally Yours"

 X-Men

Alpha Flight was created by the classic "Uncanny X-Men" team of Chris Claremont and John Byrne. They first appeared in "Uncanny X-Men" #120. They are Canada's premiere superhero team but they were only supposed to appear in a one off issue. Marvel convinced Byrne to write and draw their own series. Byrne left the series after the first 28 issues but it continued for 130. The classic line up is Vindicator, Shaman, Sasquatch, Puck, Snowbird, Northstar and Aurora. Alpha Flight and it's characters continue to be popular in modern day comics whether patrolling space with Captain Marvel or going after the Immortal Hulk. Northstar made waves as the first major comics character to come out of the closet and get married. He continues to play a major role in the modern "X-Men" comics.

"Repo Man"

Jean Grey: "Wolverine... I felt him... such pain."

Gambit: "Man been a pain since the get-go, chére."

Wolverine is on his own and back home in Canada, called there by an old friend, James Hudson aka Vindicator. Vindicator and his team Alpha Flight ambush Wolverine and try to forcefully take him back to Department H, where Logan used to work. It seems he left the team to join the X-Men and they are none too happy. There is more to this than meets the eye and in between the modern day we are treated to flashbacks of Wolverine post Weapon X procedure.

What a dick.

Once per season it seems like we need to have a solo Wolverine episode. This episode is an odd duck. I'm a fan of the flashbacks and the backstory. We get the animated series take on Logan's time with the Weapon X and the adamantium bonding process. It stays pretty close to the comics version except they seem surprised that Logan comes out of the process with claws. Apparently, in the animated series world Logan's mutation didn't come with claws just with a healing factor that was what caused him to survive the process in the first place. Logan escapes and is found wandering the Canadian wilderness by James and Heather Hudson, who take him in and nurse him back to health. I kind of wish there had been more of these scenes. More to establish this relationship that Logan has with the two of them. It just looks at this point like Logan falling for another redhead who only sees him as a friend. At this point, you can't help but think that maybe Logan needs to stop taking signs of kindness as I want to jump your bones. Though Heather does use these feelings as away to emotionally manipulate Logan into not killing her husband. So, there's that.

The whole plot to get Wolverine to Canada is very odd. So, the head of Department H, General Chasen wants Wolverine back because they've been trying to recreate the Weapon X experiment and it failed. It feels like everyone knows that the reason they are failing is because none of them have a healing factor, but Heather still tricks Wolverine to come back to run painful experiments on him that she knows are going to fail. Then, when Chasen wants to keep going, she tries to play the hero? It's very odd. Plus, Vindicator knows all along that Chasen will do whatever it takes, so he's just a giant asshole. At least Alpha Flight only goes along with it because they just miss their old buddy Logan. Though, not sure why they think kidnapping is the right way to try to convince him to come back.

The episode was written by Len Wein, who co-created Wolverine along with Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus and and Thunderbird. It's kind of odd that such a legend would concoct such a weak episode, but television writing isn't for anyone. 

We check in with Xavier and Magneto on the Savage Land who are attacked by another mutate named Vertigo. She drops the bomb that Magneto created the mutates and used to be their leader.

Grade: C-

"X-Ternally Yours"

Cyclops: "C'mon Gambit, can't you make this program a little tougher."

Gambit: "Why? You don't like Gambit to be gentle."

Gambit gets a blast from the past when he is contacted by some associates from the Thieves Guild. It turns out his brother, Bobby, is in line to be killed because Gambit's ex Bella Donna, head of the Assassin's Guild, has kidnapped Bobby and the tithe the Thieves Guild must present to the X-Ternal. The X-Ternal has been bestowing power on both guilds for hundreds of years, as long as they present her the tithe. Can Gambit reconcile with his best and keep his new teammates safe?

The X-Ternal?

It's Gambit's turn for a blast from the past this episode and it goes just about as well as the last episode with Wolverine and his Alpha Flight buddies. Let's start off with the best part of the episode, that Danger Room scenario. I always thought Danger Room training sessions were based on things that the team had faced in the past. Well, I'd really like to know when they faced off against a multi tentacled Cthulhu looking thing. And apparently it's not dangerous enough for ol' one-eye so he asks Gambit to crank up the difficulty level. Clearly, Gambit should not be in charge of running the Danger Room because he gets one phone call and suddenly Cyclops is gettin his ass handed to him by holograms of some of the team's most dangerous foes. Luckily, Rogue rolls by and sees their leader in danger and shuts it off. She doesn't get a chance to tear into the Cajun because he lets her know his brother is going to die. I think the lesson here is don't take calls in the Danger Room.

The rest of the episode is kind of a big steaming pile of who cares? So much of this episode is a big what the fuck. So apparently, every ten years the Thieves Guild and the Assassin's Guild present a tithe to a seemingly immortal being called the X-Ternal. Once she receives this tithe she grants the chosen one of each guild more power but ten years ago the Thieves Guild didn't tithe so their chosen one was vaporized. Bella Donna, Gambit's ex-wife, is chosen as the Assassin's Guild's next chosen one and Gambit's brother Bobby is chosen for the Thieves Guild. 

That's all fine and good, but who cares? Why has this immortal being taken an interest in these relatively low level guilds in New Orleans? What does she gain from giving these mortals power? What is the tithe? It's presented in a golden chest but like what's inside? No one knows? Does it matter? Answering even one of these questions would have made this episode even a little more compelling, but alas, we get none. It doesn't help that the stuff with Gambit and his brother and Bella Donna is meh. Bella Donna is not a great villain. Her motivations are murky and she seems to just be chaos. That can be great if it's executed correctly, but it is not here. It seems like the point of this episode is to show why Gambit doesn't trust people, but like, there had to be a better way to illustrate that, right?

In the Savage Land, Xavier and Magneto are still on the run. They come across a burning Fall People village and are accosted by a multi armed mutate called Barbarus. They escape by the skin of their teeth. Until next time.

Grade: D+

Next up, it's more time travel nonsense when Bishop, Cable and Apocalypse re-enter the picture.

What do you all think? Are these episodes better than I'm giving them credit for? Worse? Let me know in the comments.