"Hated and Feared" Re-Watch: "Old Soldiers" & "Hidden Agendas"

 X-Men

If this is the first time that you're watching these episodes for the first time, you are probably thinking "what the fuck is up with this animation" and that is totally fair. We will address that more with the second recap, but I needed to acknowledge it up front. Let's get to it.

"Old Soldiers"

Captain America: "I like your style."

Wolverine: "Wish I could stay the same. Where'd you get that star-spangled monkey suit? Fatigues would be a lot less obvious."

Captain America: "But I'm more than just a soldier, Logan. This costume makes me a living symbol of everything we're fighting for. A symbol of pride, of hope."

Wolverine: "You wouldn't catch me in something like that. It's gotta itch."

During a visit to a gravesite, Wolverine has a flashback to a time as a spy during World War 2. While on a mission to rescue a French scientist, Andre Cocteau, Logan teams up with Captain America. While on the mission, they learn that Cocteau is potentially working with the Red Skull.

Herr Skull

Let's be real, this final season of "X-Men: The Animated Series" has not been great. In fact, I think it's safe to say that this season has featured some of the worst episodes that the series has had. I think this is a season that should teach a lesson that sometimes you should just let things end. We had a perfectly good ending and then we got this. These ten episodes are not enough to tarnish the reputation of the show, but imagine if they had gone on longer? This is all to say that when there is an actually decent, actually watchable episode of this fifth season, I can't help but wonder if it's as good as I think it is or if I'm just really liking it because so many of the other episodes have been so bad.

This is a pretty simple episode, but I think that is what makes it work so well. If you're an X-Men fan you know that Wolverine spent part of his very long life working with the Allies in World War 2 and during that time his path crossed with the legendary super solider Captain America. I have no proof of this but it feels like the seed of this story was pulled from "Uncanny X-Men" #248, which was a flashback to Captain America and Wolverine working a case in Madripoor in 1941. But instead of Madripoor, we get France during some nebulous time during World War 2.

The best thing about this episode is that they don't try to overcomplicate things. The story is simple. The interplay between Captain America and Wolverine are great. I think sometimes think that these two characters are so different, but they are really very similar. They are both old soldiers. They see things really in black and white. This is right. This is wrong. Hitler wrong. So let's go smash some Nazi heads. You know that the Red Skull is going to make an appearance but that doesn't make it any more exciting when it actually happens. It's just a really entertaining episode to watch and sometimes that is all you need.

The episode is written by famed comics writer, Len Wein. And that is probably another reason that this episode is so successful. Wein knows these characters and it shows. He knows how to create a script that is a tight 21 minutes of television. The action is really good. We get to see Cap and Wolverine laying out Nazis and I don't even get sick of them beating some Nazi ass. This is before Wolverine had his claws but they find a way to give them to him, which is kind of contrived but I'm willing to let it go.

I have some minor complaints. I kind of wish they had find a way to bring Black Widow into the story since she was part of the comics story that this episode was clearly inspired by. Also, it doesn't make a lot of sense that after all this time Wolverine wouldn't have known that Cocteau was a double agent working with the Allies to undermine the Skull and Hilter's work. But honestly, if that's the biggest gripe that I can find, we will take it as a win.

Grade: B+

"Hidden Agendas"

Ellen Guthrie: [to Sam] "Well, you may be Superman when you're flying, but you're just like the rest of us when you're not."

In Kentucky, Sam Guthrie uses his mutant powers to save his father and others from a mine collapse. He is approached by a government agent who wants him to join a "peace corps for mutants." Guthrie declines, but Agent Kirkland won't take no for an answer. He starts to turn people against Sam and eventually the X-Men get involved. Can they help the young mutant?

What in the actual fuck is this?

Well, we get a good episode and then we get one that is at the completely other end of the spectrum. This episode is hot garbage. But first let's talk about the animation in this episode. Holy lord it's bad. And if you needed any proof it was bad, take a look at poor Rogue. That isn't Rogue. That is like Rogue that you order from wish. It's Rogue if Selina Kyle was cosplaying as Rogue. I was taken aback. And it's not just the animation. Even the voice acting was wonky. At first I didn't think it was Lenore Zann voicing Rogue because it sounded so weird. But it's clear that she is just phoning it in at this point. But hey, we do get a young Tara Strong as Paige Guthrie, so that is nice I guess?

It's great that they wanted to introduce Cannonball to "X-Men: the Animated Series," but did they have to do it in such a piss poor throw away story? I know that last episode wasn't reinventing the wheel or anything, but this episode is just a hodgepodge of other, better episodes. It's like a cross between the episode where Rogue goes back to her hometown and a Weapon X episode. And it's just so bad. 

I honestly thought the pretend mutant peace corps that is actually brainwashing mutants was like a revamped Weapon X based on the mutant in the tub of liquid. But no, they are installing chips. And they are just bad. They release what is supposed to be their ultimate weapon, he roars, changes back and passes out. It's like the super weapon version of a premature ejaculation.

The writers of this episode have to hate people from the South too. They treat them like they are backwoods hicks. Sam Guthrie is a hero who everyone likes. He is documented saving lives, but the smear campaign that the government agents perpetuate is that mutants give off radiation that causes cattle to die. Not even people. Cattle. And that's all it takes for these people to turn on the entire Guthrie clan. It's wild. And then when the angry mob comes to the Guthrie home, you think that Sam's dad is going to stick up for him and like by proxy all of mutant kind but nope. When the X-Men show up in primarily non speaking roles, he's basically like, there are worse muties. Get them! I just had to laugh throughout it.

I mean on a scale of bad episodes from like any Cyclops focused episode to Storm tries to OK slavery so she can marry the guy that kidnapped her, this leans more towards the former, but it is still really bad. And that's not even bringing up that Rogue uses Mrs. LeBeau as her alias when she goes to meet Sam.

Grade: D

Next up, we learn the origins of Mister Sinister and we wrap up the series with the actual series finale... until "X-Men '97" launches.

What do you all think? Did you like the Wolverine/Cap episode? Were you taken aback by Rogue's appearance? Was "Hidden Agendas" not really that bad? Let me know in the comments.