X-Men
The headline here is not the two episodes we are covering in this post. It is that with the next post we will be covering the four part "Dark Phoenix" Saga. I'm pretty stoked. I may enjoy the animated series take on Dark Phoenix more than the Phoenix. But for now, let's get into this two-part return to the Savage Land.
"Savage Land, Savage Heart" Part One
Wolverine: "Move it kid! We ain't got all day."
Jubilee: "Who died and made him Cyclops?"
On the Savage Land, Sauron is leading a group of renegades against Ka-Zar's Fall People. The Fall People beat them back and Sauron is near defeat when is saved by Zaladane, the high priestess of the Sun God, Garokk. Sauron reverts back to his human form of Karl Lykos. Zaladane sends Lykos to NYC in a ship left by Magneto. While there, he meets the X-Men and steals their energy reverting back to Sauron. He kidnaps Storm. Can the X-Men save Storm before Garokk and Sauron can user her for their evil plot?
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| Rogue out of focus. |
Fans of "X-Men: The Animated Series" joke a lot about Jean Grey consistently passing out. And I get it. I'm a Jean super fan but she does pass out a lot. It is funny. I don't hear much talk about the nerfing of Storm. Ororo Munroe is one of the most powerful X-Men. She's regal. She's the best leader that the team has ever had. And so, it's troubling to see her be so under utilized on this show. We haven't really seen Storm in a major role since The Phoenix Saga and even then, she was left back on Earth with Xavier and Jubilee. It's nice to see her back and actually talking, but if you're a Storm fan, this isn't the triumphant return to the show that you're maybe looking for. We will definitely talk more about Storm in the next episode.
This is the first time that we've gone back to the Savage Land since the end of season two. Sauron is a pretty classic X-villain and we get some backstory on him finally. Sauron is actually a human man named Karl Lykos who was experimented on by Sinister on the Savage Land. Lykos is basically an energy vampire, but when he absorbs the energy from mutants, he becomes Sauron. The problem is Sauron is not a super compelling or interesting villain. He's just scream-y and annoying. Though, I was a fan of the "Sailor Moon" style transformation sequence he gets.
I'm not sure why Beast would bring Jubilee and Wolverine to a museum. They are maybe the least cultured of all the X-Men. All Logan cares about is getting a hot dog. He's probably excited when Lykos drains him and becomes Sauron. That's at least something he understands.
The rest of the episode is basically one action sequence after another. In Central Park, Sauron hypnotizes Rogue into attacking her comrades and he drains Storm enough to kidnap her and take her back to the Savage Land. Beast, Wolverine and Rogue follow and once at the Savage Land, Jubilee's outfit gets ruined and she ends up getting an outfit that is too revealing for a teenager? Ka-Zar gives them some backstory about Garokk and then there is another fight.
It is all kind of boring. Exposition, action. Rinse and repeat. We get a fastball special which is fun. And then Storm shows up and she is not messing around. Maybe the most important part of this episode though, is that there is finally a mention of Jean since "No Mutant Is An Island." Logan mentions that the rest of the team are on Muir Island where tests are being ran on Jean since her return. Eek!
Grade: C+
"Savage Land, Savage Heart" Part 2
Rogue: [eyeing Jubilee's Savage Land style outfit] "Jubilee of the Jungle."
Garokk and Sauron have hypnotized Storm into unleashing her full powers with no restraint. Storm's weather powers are wreaking havoc on the Savage Land and Garokk is feeding from Storm's powers in order to free him from himself from his imprisonment. It doesn't take long for Garokk to free himself, but Sauron will not bow to anyone. Can the X-Men and the Fall People stop these two powerful energy drainers while Storm continues her rampage?
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| Storm cosplaying as Jean. |
It's time to talk more about Storm. I was talking to a friend of mine and he made a good point. They chose a roster of mutants that were very powerful, so they had to find ways to make them vulnerable. And I totally get that. But there are better ways than what they are doing here. In part one, Storm mentions how she has to be in control all the time or her powers will rage out of control when Rogue is encouraging her to let loose a little. It always is funny to me how Rogue, the only X-Man with no control over her powers, is the one that is always encouraging her teammates to let their hair down. I kind of love it. Back to Storm, this to me is just such a silly plot device. All mutants have to be in control or their powers would rage out of control. That's the point of Xavier's School. And most mutants are in control of their powers. Is the conceit here that because Storm controls the weather that she has to be in control at all times? She can't have any fun? She can't ever let loose? That is so silly and so not Storm. Ororo is regal and poised and confident. But she's also a goose. She has fun. She's not stoic and in control 100% of the time and when she does let her hair down and have fun, she's not causing elemental catastrophes. This is a really contrived plot device that doesn't work and doesn't serve Storm well.
This entire episode is just Storm out of her mind, shrieking and making mindless attacks on Garrok even when her teammates are literally begging her to stop and telling her she's making things worse. It's honestly just Storm passed out or drained of energy by someone so she'll pass out. She wakes up. She freaks out and yells and is manic and unhinged. She fires off attacks. She doesn't listen. It's so out of character for her and it just makes zero sense. The writers of this episode, Robert N. Skir and Marty Isenberg, never wrote an episode again and I feel like that is for the best.
Garokk is a terrible villain. He's just as boring as Sauron. We learn his backstory with an overly long exposition dump that utilizes footage from the season two finale, which means that 5 minutes of the episode is stuff we've already seen before. That may not seem like too much but when the episode is only 21 minutes, it's a lot. This episode commits the cardinal sin of telling rather than showing. The only cool thing is that we see the High Evolutionary taking care of Garrok, even though he's not named.
In the end, this two parter is pretty forgettable and is just a placeholder until we get to what we are all waiting for: The Dark Phoenix Saga.
Next up, the Dark Phoenix Saga begins with the introduction of the Hellfire Club and Dazzler!
What do you all think of these episodes? Am I too harsh? Are they disrespecting Storm? Let me know in the comments.
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