Wolverine and the X-Men on Nicktoons Network

[Matt Young 0]

- Nicktoons Network sent out the following press release, regarding the debut of Wolverine and the X-Men on January 23rd:

 

NEW YORK, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Nicktoons Network, the fastest growing kids' network, introduces Wolverine and the X-Men, the new action-packed animated series based on Marvel's ever popular Super Heroes. Produced by Marvel Animation, the new 26-episode, half-hour series follows Wolverine as he reunites the X-Men in an attempt to save the world. The adventure begins with two back-to-back episodes Friday, Jan. 23, from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. (ET). The new series builds on Marvel's rich storylines from the comic book pages and big screen, and will air regularly Fridays at 8:00 p.m. (ET) on Nicktoons Network.

 

 

As the newest installation in the franchise, Wolverine and the X-Men continues Marvel's tradition of epic storytelling. This new animated series focuses on the most popular and well-known X-Men -- Wolverine -- and celebrates the unique qualities of the X-Universe: the action, the iconic characters and the storylines.

 

"Our audience craves action and adventure, so bringing Wolverine and the X-Men to Nicktoons Network was a natural fit," said Keith Dawkins, Nicktoons Network General Manager, Senior Vice President, Nickelodeon Programming Partnerships. "The folks at Marvel are master storytellers, which is why the X-Men franchise has been so hugely successful. We expect this next chapter to really resonate with our audience."

 

In the premiere episode, "Hindsight, Part 1", it is a year after a mysterious explosion destroyed the Xavier Institute and broke up the weary X-Men. An embittered Wolverine has lost himself on the open road, haunted by the unexplained fate of the missing Professor X and Jean Grey. But his efforts to keep a low profile end when he's brought back into the crosshairs of the Mutant Response Division (MRD) after rescuing a family. Wolverine infiltrates the MRD to liberate the innocent family who was captured for defending him, as well as a dozen captured mutants. Wolverine knows more trouble is on the way, and realizes he needs to enlist the help of the X-Men.

 

In the second episode, "Hindsight, Part 2", the villains from the Brotherhood fuel the mutant hysteria as Sen. Kelly tries to gather support for his Mutant Registration Act. Meanwhile, Wolverine is finding it difficult to get the X-Men back together. Most of the team is still unaccounted for, and those that Wolverine can find refuse to join the new team. The disillusioned Rogue has even taken up with the Brotherhood. But when the Brotherhood plans to go after Sen. Kelly at a press conference, the conflicted Rogue must decide where her loyalties lie.

 

In the late 20th century, mankind began to change. Suddenly, teenagers developed unthinkable abilities that science classified as the next stage in human evolution. In response, Professor Charles Xavier created a School for Gifted Youngsters so the young 'mutants' could learn to control their uncanny abilities and live in harmony with the non-mutant members of society. From then on, Xavier's students -- the X-Men -- intervened to protect the peace until a mysterious explosion devastated Xavier's school. Leaderless and without direction, the X-Men disbanded and the man known as Wolverine struck out on his own.

 

One year later, the once fiercely independent Wolverine must reunite the X-Men to prevent a horrible vision of the future where the X-Men gave up on Xavier's mission and the world fell into chaos. With great tragedy in their past and their future, Wolverine must lead Xavier's disillusioned students against the forces of fate and destiny. Perhaps together Wolverine and the X-Men can steer the course of history away from catastrophe. But no challenge Wolverine has ever faced can prepare him. On top of learning to lead the X-men for the first time, he's charged with trying to prevent a vision of a dark future from coming to pass. If the X-Men are to stay together as a team long enough to save the world, Wolverine will have to set aside his doubts, and the loaner will have to become a leader.

 

In celebration of the on-air event, fans can visit Nicktoons Network's website, www.areyouamutant.com, which will launch on Tuesday, Jan. 20. Users may have their DNA "scanned" to determine if they have mutant genes and, if so, they can enter the mansion of the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters. In the mansion, they can visit one of four X-Men-hosted rooms or the Common Room, which will feature Instant Replays of the series post on-air premiere, polls, message boards, as well as episode descriptions and characters profiles. The site, updated weekly, will also feature a link to Nick.com' s Game of The Week, "Wolverine and the X-Men: Sentinel Slash", where Wolverine's quest brings him claw to face with a host of deadly robots in a fast-paced, action-packed 2D battlefield where his reflexes and his mutant healing factor will be just as important as muscle. Players control Wolverine to defeat the enemies in each level, and keep Wolverine alive as long as possible.

 

Additionally, Wolverine and the X-Men video content will be available on TurboNick and via Nickelodeon's wireless platforms. The series will also have a dedicated category in Nick's Video-On-Demand offering beginning Monday, Jan. 19.

 

I'm not sure about the art style, but I like the premise. I'll be recording it on my DVR.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Hasn't this been on all fall?

[2GOLD 0]

 

Why is Wolverine wearing bell-bottoms?

[Black Lushus 0]

I'll check it out like I did the newer Transformers, hate it and never watch it again.

[Matt Young 0]

Hasn't this been on all fall?

 

I found out that it has been airing in Canada, but not here.

[SamoaRowe 0]

I saw the first episode on one of the viral video sites months ago. It's actually pretty good, despite some corny/cheesy moments that you typically deal with when it comes to kids cartoons. There are a lot of cameos from more recent characters who have come along in the past few years, some of the New X-Men, etc. I'd consider it purchase-worthy on DVD.

[Anakin Flair 0]

I downloaded the first half of the season, though saddly the quality of the download made it impossible for me to watch all the way through. From what I saw, though, this series looks really good and I'll be checking it out.

[Twisted Intestine 0]

Yeah it's been on in Canada for awhile. I only managed to catch a couple of episodes but it's a pretty solid show.

[AndrewTS 0]

The writers seem to mostly be folks who worked on Xmen Evolution and the Ultimate Avengers/animated Iron Man movies.

 

Also, the voice casting seems pretty solid.

[fazzle 0]

Too bad this show didn't debut last year, because then the "Why is Dora crying?" ads could have been "Why is Wolverine crying?" and been so, so much better.

[luke-o 0]

I'll give it a try. But I doubt it will surpass the orginal animated series.

[AndrewTS 0]

I'll give it a try. But I doubt it will surpass the orginal animated series.

 

The 90s one on Fox?

 

Because there were others first.

[luke-o 0]

Well I meant the 90's Fox one. My mistake, I hadn't seen any before that one.

[Black Lushus 0]

Don't listen to Drew, the 90s one was the only one that mattered at that time.

[AndrewTS 0]

Don't listen to Drew, the 90s one was the only one that mattered at that time.

 

What?

 

I just stated it wasn't first.

[Black Lushus 0]

Gotta be honest here, I don't recall another true series before the 90s Fox series...yeah I do recall one shot videos (Pryde of the X-Men, with Australian Wolverine), but not a full fledged series. In fact, the only Marvel series I can think of post 60s/pre 90s was Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.

 

EDIT: after doing some Wiki research, there were other Marvel shows (not counting GI Joe and Transformers), but they disn't last like Spider and His Friends.

[haws bah gawd 0]

Someone want to tell me why there aren't season sets available for the early 90's X-Men cartoon? There's little compilation DVD's available, but nothing in the line of seasons.

[Golgo 13 0]

X-Men TAS has been or is currently being released in Europe but there are no plans to do so here. I don't think it's aged very well, but since I wasn't a fan of Evolution, it's the best by default. From what I've read this has a good shot at surpassing it.

[haws bah gawd 0]

I've watched some of the replays on Toon Disney, and it's still an entertaining show, IMO. The amount of violence in the show is pretty crazy considering what's currently marketed towards kids. Evolution was just OK, to me. I hated what they did with Apocalypse. The original X-Men series did it right, with Apocalypse always referring to himself in the third person with his usual self-righteous voice.

[Papacita 0]

So does anyone actually follow this? I try to catch the episodes online when I can. I was really skeptical when I first heard about this, but the show has been pretty good. I don't hear too many people talking about it, but can see this series being superior to the 90's version (and I LOVED the 90's version) in the long run.

[dubq 0]

After the "A Look At" feature on the Hulk Vs DVD I'm interested in seeing it. It does look like it could hold up to the 90's series, that's for sure. I'll probably have to wait for DVD's though as I'm horrible at actually figuring out when these things are on and then actually watching them.

[Papacita 0]

Yeah, I can barely find time to catch it on TV either, but they post full episodes over at the Nicktoons site, which I'd definitely recommend for folks that are interested in checking it out.

 

Here's the link:

 

http://nicktoonsnetwork.nick.com/shows/wol...des/index.jhtml

[Black Lushus 0]

It's actually pretty good...but it should be called "Wolverine With Occasional Appearances By The Other X-Men Every So Often".

[The Flamboyance 0]

Yeah, I can barely find time to catch it on TV either, but they post full episodes over at the Nicktoons site, which I'd definitely recommend for folks that are interested in checking it out.

 

Here's the link:

 

http://nicktoonsnetwork.nick.com/shows/wol...des/index.jhtml

 

Sweet, thanks. I've only seen the first two episodes a couple of weeks ago, but they were pretty cool.