In X-Men ‘97 episode 4, the series takes a turn. Instead of telling one story, “Motendo/Lifedeath” tries to cram two episodes into one. Individually, the half-episodes are decently strong. Combined, they bring a stark reminder of the consequences of the streaming trend. While X-Men ‘97 can have strong episodes thanks to the streaming platform it is on, that platform does have new hurdles to overcome.
Put simply, the biggest issue with “Motendo/Lifedeath” is the decision to air two half episodes together. Plenty of animated series do this trick well, such as Adventure Time. However, X-Men The Animated Series never used this format and since ‘97 is such a faithful recreation, it’s not able to make the changes needed to fit the format. As a result, neither story is able to meet the same quality as the three episodes prior.
X-Men ’97 episode 4 is less about the ensemble
It is a huge shame, because X-Men ‘97 episode 4 shifts focus away from the ensemble. In both “Motendo” and “Lifedeath,” the narrative centers around only a couple of characters. Either one of these stories would make for killer full episodes alone, and one of them will as “Lifedeath” is technically a two-parter. How they’re presented compromises each story in different ways.
Being the audience POV for the entirety of the original series, Jubilee’s (Holly Chou) 18th birthday should easily be a big turning moment for the character. Magneto (Matthew Waterson) simply sidelines her birthday plans to hit the arcade. This does lead to a conflict between Jubilee and Roberto (Gui Agustini). Thematically, where Jubilee sees games as a part of her life that she actually gets to enjoy, they’re rejected by Roberto — just as they disagree about using their powers. While a PSA about video games is a funny reminder of the age X-Men ‘97 is set in, the lightning round style of storytelling does all of these beats a disservice.
One for the gamers
Despite video games potentially serving as a great bridge between Jubilee and the characters she has conflict with, “Motendo” barely has time to give Roberto lines. At no point does Jubilee and Magneto clash onscreen, nor does Magneto get a chance to consider that part of Xavier’s dream was to ensure youth like Jubilee don’t have to live like Magento did. At one point, the surprise ally – a digital test version of Jubilee – tells the real deal she knows Jubilee wants to stay in the game, but “Motendo” never really sells that feeling.
However, “Motendo” does have strong points as well. The deep cut references to the Konami arcade and Sega Genesis X-Men games are a treat. Mojo (David Errigo) is full of delicious revelry. Just like “Fire Made Flesh,” X-Men ‘97’s action scenes are the special ingredient for the series’ success. Jubilee’s combat prowess is on display, which at least does help indicate her growth from the young girl she was at the start of the original series. While it is short, “Motendo” is a fun time with the exciting pay off of Jubilee and Roberto’s kiss.
Second verse, weaker than the first
On the other hand, “Lifedeath” suffers more. Introducing the Forge (Gil Birmingham) and Storm (Alison Sealy-Smith) relationship is a good idea on paper. Forge is a fascinating character who usually doesn’t get to shine in adaptations of the comics. However, his and Storm’s relationship is ironically more like a video game speedrun than Jubilee playing Mojo’s game. “Lifedeath” is getting a follow up part next week, but that doesn’t change that it looks like the two are barely meeting.
From a viewer perspective, Forge met Storm at a bar, gave her some chili, and then tried to confess his love. Given the revelation that he helped create the weapon that would take her powers away, his behavior is unintentional gaslighting. Storm being Storm, she thankfully wasn’t going to have it, but the episode doesn’t give her time to really mourn her situation. She’s constantly referred to as a goddess, and her Saturday morning cartoon lines while commanding her powers showcases that she herself buys that hype. “Lifedeath” fails to really address what this loss means to Storm.
I can’t help but think that given the time to breathe, “Lifedeath” could be something like The Legend of Korra Season 4 episode “Korra Alone.” Of course, even with the poor way Nickelodeon treated Korra by that point, it had more episodes to work with than X-Men ‘97.
Most Valuable Mutant
X-Men ‘97 episode 4 is hardly a bad episode overall, though. Sealy-Smith and Chou get to play double duty in surprise roles as The Adversary and Game Jubilee respectively and are up to the task. Waterson’s Magneto continues to be the MVP of the cast despite barely having a presence in the episode. His verbal dumpstering of Gambit in the opening moments of the episode caught me so off guard I had to call my spouse into the room to run it back. Despite my reticence to the implied triangle with him, Rogue, and Gambit, that scene was hilarious. Forge is set up to be compelling as time goes on as well, even if “Lifedeath” lets him down a bit.
Marvel Studios still doesn’t get TV
That all brings me back to the question of why exactly did X-Men ‘97 make this decision? Episode count seems like the culprit at first blush, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Plenty of the original X-Men series had no problems using A/B storytelling in episodes. Season 2’s “Mojovision” had several teammates dealing with Mojo while other characters were off in another part of the world. Splitting these two stories this way is a strange choice. It might be unfair, but Kevin Feige put the logo on the title card so reminding everyone that it’s basically on the record that Marvel Studios doesn’t know how to make TV shows is reasonable to do.
The good news is that looking ahead at the titles going forward, episodes will not behave like this. It’s very possible that a compromise had to happen for the sake of future pay off. At the same time, it would hardly be the first time a Marvel Disney+ show starts extremely strong only to stumble. Here’s hoping X-Men ‘97 commits to proving me wrong.
X-Men ‘97 drops new episodes every Wednesday on Disney +.
Images courtesy of Marvel Studios/Disney
REVIEW RATING
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'X-Men '97' - "Motendo/Lifedeath" - 6/10
6/10
Travis Hymas is a freelance writer and self appointed Pokémon historian out of Salt Lake City, Utah. Known to be regularly obessive over pop culture topics, gaming discourse, and trading card games, he is a published critic featured on sites such as Uppercut and The Young Folks.
