Wolverine and the X-Men on DVD tomorrow

Get ready everyone. Tomorrow is the release of the first three episodes of Wolverine and the X-Men on DVD. If you've never seen the show, then listen up. I'm about to school you.

The day Wolverine decides to leave the X-Men, a mysterious explosions claims Professor X and Jean Grey. Distraught with the loss of their friend and mentor, the X-Men disband, going their separate ways.

In the year that follows, however, growing tensions between mutants and humans brings the X-Men back together, with Wolverine leading them. They face many threats from their past as well as all new dangers. They battle ferociously to stave off a future where mutants and humans are dominated by the robotic creatures known as Sentinels.

Sounds like a cool show, huh? Well, it is.

At first I was a little skeptical about Wolverine and the X-Men. Anyone who knows the comics knows that Wolverine is not the leader type. I figured that this was Marvel's way to cash in on his popularity by making him he star (which is fine with me as long as they made it decent). But after watching the first half of season one, I am definitely a fan.

The show begins in the middle of the drama, and pieces things together as it goes along. What caused the explosion? Where are the Professor and Jean? Who is responsible? Most of the show concentrates on answering these questions, which gives it a purpose from the beginning.

I also like the amount of characters in the show. Other X-Men based cartoons seemed to concentrate on the same few characters; the core team of X-Men. But Wolverine and the X-Men uses a whole host of others, making it a much more diverse show. Marrow, Domino, Emma Frost. All of these ladies play a huge role in the show. Not to mention the smaller roles filled by newer characters like Hellion, Mercury, and even Sammy the Squidboy.

As far as the X-Men go, I've loved each show that hit the airwaves. X-Men: The Animated Series was a true marvel (pun intended) because of it's loyalty to the source material. X-Men: TAS first came on he air around the time I started reading comics, so learning about all of these other storylines helped to add fuel to the fire.

Though i may be flogged for saying this, X-Men Evolution was a good show too. I liked the re-envisioning of the X-Men into younger versions of themselves. While the X-Men are mature and hardened by the world, X-Men Evolution gave us characters that were immature and got into trouble based on decisions that they never would have made if not for the folly of youth. Shamefully, Evolution was cut short without realizing it's full potential.

Now, Wolverine and the X-Men draws the best traits from both shows. It closely follows the source materials, from the Days of Future Past type storyline to Magneto being the sovereign of Genosha. Of course changes are made so that the stories make sense.

But I also like the re-imagining of the characters themselves. Forge is a younger, hipper version of himself. Cyclops becomes a brooding loner. Wolverine helms the X-Men and keeps them together. The changes to the characters, and the addition of new characters, keeps the show fresh and entertaining.

If you haven't had the chance to see Wolverine and the X-Men, you need to check it out. Pick up the first three episodes and I'm sure you will be hooked. Amazon has it for less than ten bucks, which is a damn good price for the disc.

Wolverine and the X-Men is an overall great show. I can't wait for Season 2; rumor has it the Age of Apocalypse storyline takes place. Awesome.