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Wolverine and the X-Men (TV series)

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Wolverine and the X-Men
Voices ofSteven Blum
Kari Wahlgren
Kieren van den Blink
Susan Dalian
Jennifer Hale
Danielle Judovits
Tom Kane
Yuri Lowenthal
Nolan North
Liam O'Brien
Roger Craig Smith
Fred Tatasciore
Jim Ward
No. of seasons1 (Another in post-production)
No. of episodes26 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time23 min
Original release
NetworkNicktoons Network
ReleaseAugust 25, 2008 (Latin America)
September 6, 2008 (Canada)
January 4, 2009 (UK)
January 23, 2009 (USA)
June 1, 2009 (Australia) –
Present

Wolverine and the X-Men is an animated television series by Marvel Animation. It is the fourth animated adaptation of the X-Men characters, the other three being "Pryde of the X-Men," X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men: Evolution.

Plot

Season One

The story begins with a sudden explosion at the Xavier mansion which was initially perceived among the X-men to be an attempted attack by an unknown assailant, targeted at telepaths, particularly involving Professor Charles Xavier and Jean Grey, who consequently go missing in the immediate aftermath. The resulting trauma caused the X-Men team to disband and go their separate ways, leaving Xavier's once highly revered league of mutant peace preservers out of commission. Due to the heavy losses of the Professor, Jean, and the Mansion, many of the X-Men have withered in their faith towards the stability of their former team and have since detached themselves from their former community. Some examples include Cyclops' depression and subsequent isolation resulted from Jean's disappearance, Storm's relocation back to her home continent of Africa, and Iceman's move back into his parents' home in the quiet suburbs. One year later, the MRD (Mutant Response Division), a government-supported organization created for the detainment and subsequent registration of existing mutants, begins capturing mutants from all over the country in response to the countless human protesters determined to protect the safety of humankind. This course of action causes Wolverine and Beast to ally and resolve to bring the once defunct X-Men team back together again. Thanks to the generosity, wealth, and resourcefulness of Angel, the slowly reforming X-Men team begins to see a promising return to its former glory with the rejoining of junior members Iceman, Shadowcat and Forge along with the reconstruction of the previously demolished Xavier Institute. Unfortunately, without the necessary capabilities of a competant telepath to operate Cerebro, the possibility of locating some of the more globally-scattered X-Men members along with the missing Xavier and Jean seems all but a distant dream.

Fortunately, this problem does not last for very long when Emma Frost, the former Headmistress of a now inactive mutant school of her own in Massachusetts, makes a surprising appearance on the doorstep of the Mansion with an interesting proposal: membership with the X-Men in exchange for the promise of utilizing her telepathy to pinpoint the missing Xavier's whereabouts. Upon the team's and particularly Wolverine's reluctant acceptance of the offer, Emma's efforts prove successful as she is able to locate a comatose Charles on the shores of Genosha in the care of Magneto. After their arrival on Genosha and a short confrontation with the master of magnetism himself, Magneto eventually permits the X-Men to take his old friend's body back to the sanctity of the Mansion where he is certain that Xavier will be placed in proper care. Upon their return, Xavier telepathically contacts the X-Men twenty years from the present in an alternate dystopian future and informs Wolverine that he is to lead and reunite the X-Men if they wish to successfully prevent the inevitable war that will cause the world to fall under the domination of Master Mold and the Sentinels.

Throughout the course of the entire season, Emma's role as the X-Men's primary acting telepath enables the team to relocate the rest of the other members in the hopes of reforming once again and assisting in Xavier's cause. While some were met with initial hesitancy such as with Nightcrawler, others such as Storm were more than willing to accept the offer once Xavier's vision had been put into perspective. The X-Men overcome many hardships and obstacles along the way upon achieveing their ultimate goal of relocating Jean and finally revealing the truth surrounding the mystery of the Mansion's cause for explosion along with Xavier and Jean's subsequent disappearances.

It is later revealed in the 3-part season finale that the previously assumed attack on the Mansion was not from the efforts of a third party, but rather from the result of Jean who unwittingly releases the highly destructive power of the Phoenix Force, that originally lay dormant within her subconscious, in an attempt to halt an oncoming psychic attack lead by Emma - who was secretly working as a double agent for the Inner Circle - and the Stepford Cuckoos.

Along with Sebastian Shaw, Selene, Harry Leland, and Donald Pierce, it was the Inner Circle's utmost duty to not only obtain the power of the Phoenix Force by abducting Jean from the protection of Xavier and the Mansion, but to also obliterate the ancient being's existence before it could fully mature and consequently bring forth unparalleled destruction onto the world as it had done numerous times in the past throughout Earth's history. However in a move that was completely unknown to Emma at the time, the rest of the Inner Circle members all shared an entirely different and more sinister vision than Frost had initially believed: to control and manipulate the power of the Phoenix Force and have it cater to their own hidden agenda. Upon realizing the error of her ways, Emma betrays the Inner Circle and attempts to redeem herself in the eyes of the X-Men by not only rescuing Jean but by also following through with her original plan of destroying the cosmic entity before it could mature.

Season Two

As of now, season 2 is in production. 26 new episodes will be aired and it will focus on the Age of Apocalypse storyline of the comics. At the end of Season 1, we see Apocalypse entering a platform with Mister Sinister and Cyclops beside him. During Comic Con 2009, Images of Season 2 were shown. They were of Colossus, Magik, Deadpool and Havok. It was announced that these characters will appear in Season 2. Colossus is getting a reintroductory storyline and will be a regular character in season 2.

Episode list

Main article: List of Wolverine and the X-Men episodes

Characters

X-Men

X-Men (Days of Future Past)

Brotherhood of Mutants

Acolytes

Marauders

Hellfire Club

MRD/Project: Wideawake

Other mutants

Other characters

Cast

Crew

  • Stan Lee - Executive Producer
  • Steven E Gordon - Director, Assist. Character Designer
  • Jamie Simone - Voice Director
  • Greg Johnson - Writer
  • Craig Kyle - Writer
  • Dean Grinsfelder - Composer
  • Kaveh Cohen - Composer, additional music
  • Michael Nielsen - Composer, additional music
  • Tim Kelly - Composer, additional music
  • Mark Ryan - Composer, additional music
  • Steve Morrell- Composer, additional music
  • Enrico Cacace - Composer, additional music
  • Cody Westheimer - Composer, additional music

Production

The series was in the pre-production stage as of April 2007. On November 4, 2008, a second season, consisting of 26 episodes was confirmed as being in pre-production.[18]

Broadcast history

United States

Early news had speculated the show to air in Fall 2008 in the United States.[19] However, the speculation came to a rest as according to Marvel Quarterly reports, the show was set to air in the United States in Spring 2009.[20] It was also confirmed in an article by USA Today's website in which it specifically mentions the cartoon starting on January 23, 2009 on Nicktoons Network.[21] On January 23, the show premiered in the United States, with the first two episodes shown back-to-back on NickToons, which were re-aired on Nickelodeon two days later. The next 6 episodes followed weekly before a two-month break. New episodes began on May 22, 2009, as advertised with commercials on the channel then stopped after June 19, 2009, till the network advertised that they'll be showing new episodes on July 31, 2009 after or before new episodes of Iron Man: Armored Adventures.

United Kingdom

Press releases indicated that the first episode was due to premiere on August 2, 2008, on BBC2 in the UK; however, it was postponed and premiered on January 4, 2009,[22] on the CBBC Channel. Initially, one new episode aired every Sunday, but on January 25 2009, CBBC started airing two new episodes every Sunday. The time slots varied, and the episodes were available for viewing on the BBC iPlayer for a limited time after they aired. As of mid-February 2009, some new episodes were shown on weekdays instead of at the weekend. Some episodes with scenes showing heavy violence were censored and Episode 17 was not shown on CBBC as there was a duel to the death in the storyline (along with one scene depicting blood). CBBC in the UK overtook Canada on March 4 2009 when it aired the 20th episode, "Breakdown".

On June 23, 2008, a second preview for the series, starring the main X-Men team, was released to announce the special screening of the 3-part pilot episodes that aired at the San Diego Comic-Con in late July 2008.[23]

Canada

In Canada, the series started airing on YTV on Saturday, September 6, 2008 in the 7pm time slot. [24][25][26] Recently, its time slot has been switched to Saturday morning programming, Crunch, where it airs at 11:30am. Starting in January 2009, the show was also shown on Teletoon, where only episodes that previously aired on YTV were shown.[27].

Latin America and Brazil

In Brazil and Latin America, the series is airing on Jetix Brazil[28] and Jetix (Latin America)[29] starting August 25, 2008 from Mondays to Thursdays at 4:30 PM.[30]. Unusually, all 26 episodes of the first season were aired in Brazil and Latin America before the series started in any other country.

Australia

In Australia, the series is currently airing on ABC1[31] at 8:10am Sunday mornings and repeats at 6:05am and 4:35pm weekdays.

Italy

In Italy the series is currently airing on Rai Gulp, an Italian television channel for children and teenagers.

Philippines

In the Philippines, the series started on July 18, 2009 and currently airing on ABS-CBN every Saturday mornings at 8:45 am and Sunday mornings at 9:00 am. It is slated to run all 26 episodes of the first season.

Ratings

Thanks to the abundance of advertising for the series done by Nicktoons and Marvel, the Nicktoons Network premiere of Wolverine and the X-Men garnered over 3,500,000 viewers, one of the network's highest ratings ever. [32]

  • Hindsight, Part One - 3,436,000 viewers
  • Hindsight, Part Two - 4,589,000 viewers

DVD release

United Kingdom

The first announced DVD was a UK release by Liberation Entertainment, which was set to be released in November 2008[33] However, the UK branch of Liberation closed, leaving the release cancelled. E1 Entertainment finally released the series starting with a Volume 1 release featuring the first 7 episodes in April 2009. The second volume is set to be released on 19 October containing an additional 7 episodes.

United States

The holder of the DVD license for the show in the USA is Lionsgate Entertainment (who partners with Marvel Animation). On April 21, 2009, they released Volume 1: Heroes Return Trilogy, featuring the first three episodes[34]. The next release, Volume 2: Deadly Enemies, came out on July 21, 2009 and features the next 5 episodes. Volume 3: Beginning of the End will be released on November 3 with 5 more episodes[35].

Canada

Liberation Entertainment released a single-disc "Season 1: Chapter 1" package on April 14, 2009 with the first four episodes of the series. A second single disc package, "Season 1: Chapter 2" holding the next four episodes was released on July 21, 2009, although the packaging mentioned a fifth episode that was not included for unknown reasons. Also, a 5-disc set of the complete first season in Steelbook packaging was released September 15, 2009. The set includes all 26 episodes in widescreen format, character bios, an image gallery and an audio commentary on the episode Overflow.

Mexico

Buena Vista Home Entertainment Mexico announced the release of the first DVD R4 containing the initial 6 episodes by Fall 2008.

As of May 2009, the whole 26 episodes of the first season are available in different stores. A Wolverine comic is packed with the DVD set as part of the promotional merchandise for the release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Australia

Magna Home Entertainment has announced that the full 1st Season (26 episodes) has been released in Australia with a Limited Edition Wolverine Mold Case. [36] Wolverine and the X-Men: X-Calibre (6 Episodes) and Wolverine and the X-Men: Wolverine VS The Hulk (6 Episodes) has been released with Wolverine and the X-Men: Hunting Grounds (7 Episodes) released on 8 July 2009. Wolverine and the X-men: Breakdown (7 Episodes) will be released on 2 September.

Bulgaria

Wolverine and the X-Men will be released on DVD, but there is still no information about any date. The trailer can be seen on the Biker Mice from Mars Season 1 DVD.

Russia

The whole first season was released on DVD in Russia.

Merchandise

Hasbro has produced a Wolverine and the X-Men toyline as a tie-in to the series. The first wave consisted of Avalanche, Beast, Colossus, Cyclops, Logan (not in classic outfit), Iceman, Magneto, Wolverine. Wave two contained the new figures Nightcrawler and a Black Uniform Wolverine. Wave Three adds Forge and Toad to the line.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Hindsight (Part 1)"
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Hindsight (Part 3)"
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Hindsight (Part 2)"
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Greetings From Genosha"
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Battle Lines"
  6. ^ a b c d e f "eXcessive Force"
  7. ^ "Guardian Angel"
  8. ^ a b c d e "Shades of Grey"
  9. ^ "Foresight, Part I"
  10. ^ a b c d "Thieves Gambit"
  11. ^ a b "Future X"
  12. ^ "Past Discretions"
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h "X-Calibre"
  14. ^ a b "Time Bomb"
  15. ^ "Overflow"
  16. ^ a b "Code of Conduct"
  17. ^ a b c "Wolverine Vs. Hulk"
  18. ^ Marvel Animation Age
  19. ^ "New X-Men Cartoon Early Fall 2008?". 2007-04-10. Retrieved 2008-03-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  20. ^ MARVEL REPORTS Q4 2007 NUMBERS: PROFIT MORE THAN DOUBLES - NEWSARAMA
  21. ^ Marvel superheroes power up for Nicktoons>
  22. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00gnfd6/upcoming
  23. ^ New Wolverine and the X-Men Trailer - Animation - ENewsI.com
  24. ^ YTV Canada Fall 2008 Programming
  25. ^ Marvel Animation Age
  26. ^ First Look: Wolverine & The X-Men - Marvel.com News
  27. ^ Teletoon show page
  28. ^ http://programacao.jetix.com.br/programacion/a-z_br.asp?letra=W&zona=16
  29. ^ http://programacion.jetixtv.com/programacion/a-z.asp?letra=W&zona=8
  30. ^ http://www.jetixtv.com/Series/Wolverine_Y_Los_X-Men/index.html
  31. ^ http://www.abc.net.au/abckids/guide/default_5.htm
  32. ^ Updates On Upcoming "Wolverine And The X-Men" Episode, DVD Release And Ratings
  33. ^ Classic Marvel Super Heroes. On DVD NOW!
  34. ^ "Wolverine & the X-Men - Last Friday's 3-Part Debut of the New NickToons Series Coming to DVD Soon!". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 2009-01-27. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
  35. ^ "Wolverine & the X-Men - Lionsgate Releases New Details, Package Art for Volume 2: Deadly Enemies on DVD". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
  36. ^ [1]
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