X-Men
Regardless of what one thinks of nostalgia—a toxic force or a pleasant refuge from the chaos that is existence—there’s no denying its significant role in shaping and guiding our pop culture. Rather than simply rallying against it, we must, from time to time, acknowledge it and evaluate its accuracy. The launching of X-Men ’97 gives The Spool a unique opportunity to look back at ’97’s progenitor, the early 90’s series X-Men, also commonly known as X-Men: The Animated Series.
However, this is not a task for one person. An objective of this size requires a team-up, in the Merry Marvel Tradition. Tim Stevens, The Spool’s steadfast TV Editor, whose stoicism conceals a maelstrom of doubt and rage, much like ruby quartz holds back optic blasts, tackled the first half of the series. Then, Justin Harrison, our near-feral writer with a gift for mentorship and a head full of implanted memories, closes things down with his take on the second half of season 3 and all of seasons 4 and 5.
With that, there’s no time to waste. Hop in the Blackbird and come with us for a look at the highlights—and occasional lowlight—of the X-Men! Continue Reading →
X-Men '97
SimilarBatman, Batman: The Animated Series, Birds of Prey, Blitz!! Strada 5, Captain Midnight, Captain Star, Deadly Class, Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes, Flash Gordon, Gekisou Sentai Carranger, GoGo Sentai Boukenger, Inazuman, Invincible,
Justice League Mirai Sentai Timeranger, Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger, Power Rangers, Power Rangers Dino Force Brave, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Seijuu Sentai Gingaman, Silver Surfer, Sonic the Hedgehog, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, Suicide Squad ISEKAI, Super Crooks, Sweet Tooth, Tales from the Crypt, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Avengers: United They Stand, The Fantastic Four, The Flash, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men: Evolution,
As the saying goes, only '90s kids will remember the severe cultural impact X-Men: The Animated Series had on a particular strain of latchkey millennials. For many, the show, which ran from 1992-97 on the Fox Kids programming block, was the arguable apex of the Marvel superhero team's on-screen representations. It was thrilling, exciting, and for the time, surprisingly mature in its handling of the sociopolitical issues that spawned the comics in the first place -- racism, xenophobia, homophobia. It carried an element of serialized storytelling that was rare for kids' TV and took its characters and their respective issues seriously. Plus, that theme song just slammed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQjdm8BdJO4
Disney+, in its infinite wisdom, knows how to keep the franchise going while they anxiously figure out how to incorporate the X-Men into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Deadpool & Wolverine should give us a portent, however grim) -- and to keep the '90s kids satiated with a heaping helping of nostalgia while we wait. So goes X-Men '97, a straightforward continuation of The Animated Series that updates its "too sophisticated for kids" remit all the way to the present day and lands on something interesting, if far from perfect, in the process.
Picking up months after the original series' finale, X-Men '97 shows a world reeling from the death of Charles Xavier in the final episode of the animated series: Mutants are mistrusted more than ever, and a growing fifth column of right-wing human militants called the Friends of Humanity are gathering up mutants and taking them down with stolen Sentinel technology. Naturally, it's up to the X-Men to stop them -- if they can pull themselves together and work as a team. Scott Summers (Ray Chase) is the next natural choice for leader, but he's torn between his duty to his fellow X-Men and his desire to start a family with Jean Grey (Jennifer Hale), a move that has ol' Wolverine (Cal Dodd) itching with jealousy. Continue Reading →
What If...?
Disney+'s animated exploration of what could've been continues to intrigue in Season 2, but not all episodes are created equal.
With What If…? Season 2, the time seems right to take a look at both seasons and rank them for your entertainment. Is it wrong to rank art? Possibly, but we’re of the mind that something that feels this good can’t possibly be bad.
On that note, let’s not waste a moment more and start counting down from worst to best. The Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) hates to be kept waiting! Continue Reading →
Star Wars: The Bad Batch
Created byDave Filoni,
SimilarThunder in Paradise,
StarringDee Bradley Baker,
Welcome to 2023, Star Wars fans, and welcome to another season of The Bad Batch. Our band of unruly brothers (and sister) is back again, still running less-than-legal missions for Cid (Rhea Perlman) and finding themselves in every possible scrape as they do so. The first season of The Bad Batch was an adventure-filled romp through the aftermath of the Clone Wars and Order 66 (though not without its issues, as we’ll discuss later) and Season 2 is off to a strong start with its two-episode premiere: “Spoils of War” and “Ruins of War”. Continue Reading →
National Treasure: Edge of History
SimilarBlack Scorpion, La Femme Nikita,
Planet of the Apes The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles,
StudioABC Signature,
If the National Treasure movies had existed in the ’80s, Disney totally would’ve made a TV show spin-off in the ’90s. They would’ve shifted to younger (and cheaper) teenage actors and depicted them scouring the globe for treasures connected to significant historical landmarks. It would’ve made a decent, but not exceptional mark on pop culture back in the day and now sit close to the hearts of countless 25 to 35-year-olds. Continue Reading →
Moon Knight
SimilarBlack Scorpion, Flash Gordon, Krypton, Silver Surfer,
Much of the pre-release publicity about Moon Knight focused on the heightened brutality of the new MCU on Disney+ series. In doing so, all involved failed to mention how much stranger it would be than the average MCU streamer. Continue Reading →
Hawkeye
SimilarBaywatch Nights, Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes, Florida Man, GARO, HAPPY!,
Hilda Furacão HIStory Little Women Ressha Sentai ToQger, Ultraman Ginga,
What if they made an MCU show with almost no stakes? Would that be inviting or off-putting? Continue Reading →
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Returning to score these characters for the first time since Captain America: Civil War, Jackman brings his usual fanfare and frenetic action scoring to the table, expanding themes he originated in his previous work to a much larger, longer palette. Sam's theme, formerly a three-note quick motif between action beats, gets its own blues-tinged variation to pay homage to his Louisiana roots; Bucky, meanwhile, gets a softer, more melodic version of the Winter Soldier theme to contrast with the cacophonous shriek that heralded him in his debut feature. And the Captain America theme gets its own complications, now that the man holding the shield is a little less trustworthy than he used to be. Continue Reading →
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
A thirty-plus-year veteran of film and TV scoring, Kiner's a chameleon who can work with the themes and motifs set by other composers and spin them into broader, more dynamic cues demanded by the rigors of television storytelling. That's borne out in his work for Star Wars, especially, where at this point he's written more music for the universe than John Williams himself -- while he finds moments to work in familiar motifs and themes, Kiner also carves out room for experimentation, which you can hear in the more synth-heavy scoring for Clone Wars: The Final Season. Continue Reading →
The Mandalorian
Created byJon Favreau,
StarringKatee Sackhoff, Pedro Pascal,
It’s the season finale of The Mandalorian Season 2, and I hope we’re all prepared to feel our feelings. Last time, Mando and the Grogu Rescue Crew (Boba Fett, Fennec Shand, and Cara Dune) sprung former Imperial sharpshooter Migs Mayfeld (Bill Burr) so he could help them get access to the Imperial intranet and get the coordinates for Moff Gideon’s light cruiser. The mission was a success, though not without its problems, as Mando (Pedro Pascal) was forced to use the terminal instead of Mayfeld, necessitating the second-ever removal of his helmet since taking the Creed. They got the intel and headed out (sans a released Mayfeld) to face off against Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) and get back that little green guy. Continue Reading →