Last time on X-Men: Evolution, Forge
came back to see if he could boost Kurt’s teleportation power. He made a device
that would increase his range, and slowed him down to view the dimension he
slides through when he teleports. The Hell dimension he teleports through would
be neat, if not for the dinosaur demons infesting them, and the fact that Forge’s
device left enough of a tear for them to rip through. This thoroughly screws up
the Sadie Hawkins dance, where Kurt had gotten a date with a girl he fancied
named Amanda. The X-Men and Brotherhood are able to force the creatures back,
and Kurt learns that Amanda knew he was blue and furry all along and the two of
them start going steady. So, an eventful dance if nothing else. Let’s get to
it, shall we?
Now, Hank, what did that tree ever do to you?
We open on Hank running around town.
He barely escapes initial notice from police, but they see him drop from the
building he climbed and follow him. Turns out, Hank was just going to see his
old chemistry lab at Bayville high. Seeing it, though, fills him with rage and
he smashes a tree just as the police roll up behind him. Hank is able to get around
he police, but they chase him down into an alley. Hank ends up leaping onto the
police car, smashing the roof and back windshield as he climbs over it. They
don’t call him beast for nothing.
The next day, Hank apologizes to
Charles for his little midnight run and the trouble he caused during it.
Charles, though, isn’t too surprised, as Hank has been making these late-night
treks on a fairly regular basis. Last time I guess he went to see a drive-in
movie in the back of a pick-up truck. Charles tells Hank that his need to want
to be out in the world is natural and he shouldn’t sequester himself in the
mansion, but Hank disagrees, feeling like he doesn’t belong in the world
anymore. Charles offers to make Hank his own image inducer, but Hank feels like
that would still be hiding.
Kitty, who was passing outside and
complaining about some earth science project, overhears and comes in. She and
Charles come up with a plan on the fly via telepathy to have Hank lead a field
trip to the California Redwood National Forest, to get him out of the mansion
and enjoy himself a little. Hank is initially against it, but they convince him
to go along. Hank decides to bring along a few students that might need to
boost their earth science grade, which ends up being a mix of X-Men and New Mutants.
Rahne and Roberto, wish we saw more of them.
What? Solar powered energy form is cool, and
I like dogs.
The next day, the group flies out
in the Velocity. It ends up being Hank, Kitty, Evan, Bobby (ice creation), Rahne
(pronounced Rain, lycanthropic shapeshifting), and Roberto (absorbs sunlight to
enhance his body and shoot energy). Coincidentally, they brought the two New
Mutants that have gotten the least screen time. They spend the day setting up tents,
study some plants and insects, and swim in the river. Evan ends up getting
poison ivy, which is kinda not fun. Hank is clearly having fun, examining insects
and swinging through the trees like Tarzan, but upon taking a dip in a river
looks upset and walks off. Kitty follows and asks him what’s wrong. He admits
to having fun, but not wanting to because that’s the Beast in him more than the
man. It’s not who he is, as he puts it. Kitty argues that maybe it’s who he’s
meant to be, but Hank disagrees. He tells Kitty to go back with the others. He
does a bit of a hike, finding a salmon in a shallow stream and returns it to
the main river, commenting that they both can’t go back. Someone is clearly
watching Hank from the trees, but he either doesn’t notice or ignores it.
We then cut over to the camp of Bigfoot
Enthusiasts. The group has taken note of Hank’s presence, finding his
footprints, fur, and other signs of his passing. The scientist in their group, he
doesn’t have a name but I’ll call him Doc Red, thinks it’s all very interesting
but hardly proof. Another enthusiast comes up, having the video of Hank. They
think that he was trying to catch the fish but that he lacked the dexterity to
hold it. Two big game hunters, they also don’t have names but I’ll call then Phil
and Dave, are excited to catch the creature. They’re looking to bag themselves
an Ape man.
Okay, yeah, not knowing Hank McCoy is a thing,
I could be convinced that those are Bigfoot signs.
Hank gives the kids they’re assignment,
to find five mineral samples, he thinks it’ll only take an hour but gives them
four so they can hopefully have fun doing it. He goes off on his own to try and
relax. As he’s swinging, he comes across the Bigfoot enthusiasts, all using caribou
calls to try to get Bigfoot’s attention. They think it’s a Bigfoot call, but
anyone who has heard a Caribou knows it’s a Caribou. Hank, feeling impish,
makes a roar and rolls a boulder at them, probably just looking to give them a
good story. Doc Red, Phil and Dave find Hank and hit him with tranquilizer
darts. Hank goes into a rage and charges them, chasing Phil down, but get’s
caught in an electrified cage. He eventually drops. Hank is brought back to
their camp, where one of the enthusiasts calls him the Real McCoy, causing Hank
to stir. Phil and Dave are excited to have him stuffed, but Doc Red is against
it.
The students realized Hank is missing
and are looking for him. When calling out to him doesn’t seem to work, they ask
Rahne (they call her Ronnie for some reason) to see if she can track him by
scent. Rahne isn’t sure, but is willing to try. She transforms into a wolf and
starts sniffing. Wait, your power involves turning into a wolf, and you’ve
never tried tracking by scent before? Rahne, come on.
Hank finds friends in the strangest places.
Back at the camp, Hank gets all the
way up and starts talking with Doc Red. He absolutely blows the doctor’s mind when
he knows how the cage’s electric function works. They chat for a few minutes, Red
realizing that Hank isn’t Bigfoot. He goes to release Hank, but Phil and Dave
come up. Realizing that they mean him harm, Hank signals Red to play dumb,
which he does. When they’re alone again, Hank tells him that there will be
others looking for him, like him but not like him. He gives the doctor the gist
of Mutant’s without saying the word, that they’re unique in their own ways. Red
promises to find a way to let Hank go.
The kids find the Bigfoot
enthusiasts campsite, but it’s empty. The enthusiasts are on the road, Hank
being transported in the back of a pickup. A mudslide hits and the trucks are
rolled from the road and into the river, just before a flashflood hits and
sends them hurtling down it. The trucks end up crashing against a downed tree,
Hank’s cage flying off and he keeps going down river. The kids come across Hank
and start to save him. Bobby creates an ice dam to drop the water level, and
Roberto gets enough sun to transform into his Sunspot form, he dives in and
frees Hank. Once he’s out of the water, he tells the kids about the Bigfoot
enthusiasts and they rush to save them.
Hank uses a downed tree that he
holds as a bridge to while the students grab the enthusiasts and help them off
out of the river. Phil and Dave see Hank and they along with Red follow after
him. The students follow after and they use their powers to scare off the
hunter. Bobby and Roberto in their altered forms, Evan in full Spyke spiked
form, and Kitty’s phasing, along with Rahne going into her werewolf form, and
capped off by Hank promising to punish them. The hunters run off. Red comes out
of the forest, and says that he’d love to know more about them, and Hank
promises to tell him someday.
Four visually startling teens, and Kitty.
Back at the Bigfoot Enthusiasts
camp, Phil and Dave tell the others about being attacked by the students with
their weird powers and the Bigfoot talking to them. They enthusiasts don’t
believe him, as while they’re hunting Bigfoot, they aren’t stupid. Red come up
and they appeal to him to tell the others, and Red just repeats his first line
of “It’s interesting, but hardly proof.”
The X-Men and New Mutants board the
Velocity and take off. The others point out that without him, those Bigfoot enthusiasts
would have died. He smiles and agrees, repeating Kitty’s words about him becoming
who he was meant to be as they fly home. That’s a nice message to end on.
I liked this episode. Hank is one
of my favorite X-Men, and so giving him a focus episode is always a treat. I
liked that while he’s clearly found a home at the Mansion, he still hasn’t completely
adjusted to being a blue and furry creature. It was real fun to see him swing
around and enjoy his bestial form for a while. The bigfoot enthusiasts were
also fun, they didn’t add much, but seeing Red and Hank bond a little as
scientists and to see a human scientist excited by the concept of Mutants was
interesting. I just wish they brought him back around when the secret gets out.
I also liked seeing a bit more of Roberto and Rahne, I just wish they could
have been given a little more to do than track Hank and pull him out of the
water. They’re fun international Mutants, I wish they’d been given more to do
here, and a less than satisfying (I’m told) movie adaptation. Just saying. This
was a fun run of episodes to cover, and I’m a bit sorry to put X-Men: Evolution
on the back burner again for a bit. When we return, I’ll finally start covering
WandaVision. I’m looking forward to it.
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