Wolverine is going to get in touch with nature.
Last time on X-Men: The Animated
Series, Jean and Scott tired to take a night off. The OG X-Men went to a
showing of Phantom of the Opera but on their way out saw a green Mutant child
being targeted by a mob because he stole some fruit. They try to protect the
kid but end up meeting the Morlocks, a group of Mutants that live underground
due to their obvious physical abnormalities. Scott and Jean get kidnapped by
them, as their leader, Callisto, wants Scott to be her consort. He’s obviously not
interested, for several reasons, but she’s not taking no for an answer. Jean
briefly frees herself and causes some damage, but she’s recaptured. Thankfully,
she let out a mental SOS to the Professor. He sends the X-Men to save them.
This isn’t an ideal situation as Storm’s de facto in charge while Scott is MIA,
and her claustrophobia is in high gear. They battle Morlocks, Gambit gets taken
out by a Mutant’s viral touch and Rogue returns him topside, and they end up
finding Scott and Jean after a few traps. Callisto has her hypnotic Morlock try
to drive the team nuts, specifically using Wolverine’s jealousy of Scott and
Jean’s relationship to try to disable him. Storm, having had enough of this
shit, challenges Callisto to a duel. They have a staff fight, Storm winning and
becoming the Queen of the Morlocks. She offers to take the tribe to the X-Mansion,
but they refuse as they know they’ll be persecuted on the surface. Storm
promises to come for them if/when they get Mutant rights. After checking on
Gambit, he’s recovering fine, Jean and Scott go to thank Wolverine only to find
he left the mansion. Enough recap. Let’s get to it.
We open with Scott speculating why
Wolverine ran off. He’s upset that Logan would just up and run-off like that without
telling anyone. Jean tries to defend him, but Scott’s not having any of it,
saying Wolverine’s temper is always getting him and the team in trouble like
this. He storms off and when alone Jean admits to herself at least that he left
because of her.
We cut to Wolverine skiing in the
Alaskan wilderness. This is his usual coping mechanism, when things get too ‘real’
at the Mansion he runs to the most secluded parts of Canada or Alaska to find
his version of inner peace. He starts skiing again after basking in the quite
landscape for a bit, not knowing he’s being watched by Sabretooth. He’s been
tracking Wolverine for a few days now, it seems and is tired of it. Once
Wolverine crosses an ice bridge, he sets off a bomb, throwing Logan to his
feet. Sabretooth says that he’s gone soft, that a decade ago he’d have never
gotten this close to Logan, but Wolverine’s willing to show he can still scrap.
The two wrestle and punch each other, but after they have the grapple-roll-a-round
fight, Wolverine ends up being dropped off the side of the cliff into the water
below. Sabretooth bellows his victory… seeming to forget that Wolverine has a
damn healing factor. Wolverine bobs out of the water and grabs onto some ice,
Sabretooth throws a big block of ice at him. He misses but vows that Logan will
die by his hands or by the cold of the arctic water. He doesn’t really care which.
Logan floats away.
Back at the X-Mansion’s War Room, Cyclops
and Gambit are having a shouting match. Cyclops is telling him not to spread
rumors, and Gambit is telling him not to tell Gambit what to do. Xavier joins
them and demands to know what is going on. Gambit heard a story from a friend
of the island of Genosha, where Mutants are welcomed with open arms. Cyclops
says he didn’t want Gambit to spread rumors and accuses him of just wanting to
go on a beach trip to an island paradise. Charles ends up backing Gambit, though,
saying that sort of mission could be just what they need after the stress of
the last few weeks. He is hopeful that Genosha could be an example to the rest
of the world. He tells Scott to send a team of three to check it out and for
Scott to try to relax in the meantime as well. Scott selects Storm, Gambit, and
Jubilee (after she begs) to go. He’s sure a beach can’t be too dangerous for
her. They’ll visit as tourists, but they’ll need to keep their eyes open.
Wolverine washes up on an ice drift
and is found by some Inuit fishermen. One of them, a man named Kiyoek, wants to
turn Wolverine in to a government center to get a reward but his elder, Pooyetah
says they help strangers around here. Meanwhile, Sabretooth is beginning to
pack up to begin his hunt anew when he hears a motor in the distance. He sees
Wolverine being taken away by the Inuit and says that he has a cowards luck.
Logan wakes up in a tent and meets
Pooyetah. Pooyetah tells Wolverine to take it slow, as no man recovers from the
ice so quickly. Wolverine almost spills the beans on his Mutant status, but
figures that with how remote their camp must be that Pooyetah might not have
heard of Mutants before. He decides to keep it that way, just saying he’s a
fast healer. He claims that he’ll recover faster if he can work out the kinks in
his muscles and that he wants to help to give thanks.
We switch over to the airport where
Storm’s team is taking off from. Jubilee is ecstatic to be going to a resort
but wonders if she brought the right clothes. Gambit tells her not to worry, as
you just need sunscreen and a swimsuit.
Back in the Arctic, Kiyoek begrudgingly
takes Wolverine out with the other fishermen. He tells Wolverine to do as he’s
told and stay out of the way. Wolverine is a natural fisherman, though, and
clearly irritates Kiyoek with how good he is. Don’t feel bad, bro, he’s
literally got over a century of experience living. Pooyetah compliments Wolverine
on his haul, saying this is the best catch they’ve seen since the southerners
came up and took most of the fish. Wolverine shows off how easily he can lift
two full bags of fish. Kiyoek, feeling insecure when his girlfriend says Wolverine
is as strong as a polar bear, tries to do the same but dumps all the fish. The
others laugh at him, and I just have to say, my guy, you can’t compete with
James Howlett.
That night, Pooyetah comments on
how happy the villagers are tonight because of Wolverine. Wolverine says that he
feels happy too. He says that he wants to give Pooyetah his full story but can’t
just now, Pooyetah respects Wolverine’s silence, saying that he’ll talk when he’s
ready. He’s pulled into the dance to celebrate as well. Kiyoek starts climbing
the mountain and walking into the wilderness. He’s frustrated that Wolverine
has taken his place as the local hero; it seems. He wonders for a bit before he
runs into Sabretooth, who shrieks that he has the scent of Wolverine all around
him. Sabretooth goes to gut him but Kiyoek says that he’s no friend to him.
Sabretooth asks if Kiyoek would lie to him, but Kiyoek says that he wouldn’t as
a ‘snow demon’ like Sabretooth can read minds. Sabretooth says that he’s a
Mutant, just like Wolverine, and if Kiyoek want’s Wolverine gone, he’ll do as
he’s told.
Storm and company land in Genosha.
They’re welcomed by a taxi driver and taken to their resort. Gambit sees a sign
saying to ask about their Mutant Discount. Storm says to not say anything. The
hotel manager does a retinal scan of Storm, I guess, and sees footage of her
using her powers. He sends them to Bungalow 12, and the second they’re gone
pulls out a phone and says he has new arrivals.
Later, Wolverine is mending nets
with Pooyetah when Kiyoek comes up to him with a harpoon and asks if Wolverine
is brave enough to hunt with him on the open sea. Pooyetah says that Wolverine
has nothing to prove to him, but Kiyoek asks if maybe Wolverine has something
to prove to an old enemy or friend. Wolverine picks up on the implication of those
words and agrees. They row out from shore, and Wolverine demands to know what
this is about. He unsheathes his claws and when Kiyoek calls him a Mutant,
Wolverine demands to know where he heard that. After slicing up his harpoon.
Suddenly there’s an explosion back at camp and they go to check it out. The
camp is completely burned and everyone is missing. Wolverine gets Sabretooth’s
scent and howls that he can never find peace. Kiyoek joins him and admits to
working for the other stranger. He thought he was luring Wolverine into a trap,
not leaving the village to be attacked. Wolverine is pissed but wants to use
that anger on Sabretooth. Logan resolves to face this, alone.
He goes out to meet Sabretooth in
his costume. Kiyoek follows and refuses to leave as his people are in danger.
Sabretooth reveals himself and that he’s got the Inuit villagers strapped to a
bridge with dynamite charges on either end. Wolverine has one minute to save them,
or they all die. Wolverine says that he doesn’t want to fight Sabretooth
anymore, he doesn’t care who started it, they need to bury it. Sabretooth tries
to bury him in the snow. They start fighting again. Wolverine is faster than Sabretooth,
but Sabretooth is stronger. They wrestle, and Wolverine goes over the side of
the cliff again. He catches himself with his claws. Sabretooth goes to crush him
with ice, but Kiyoek tackles him to distract him. Wolverine climbs up and eggs
Sabretooth to attack him, dodging out of the way when he lunges. Sabretooth
goes over the cliff and Wolverine tells him to stay gone this time. Kiyoek and
Wolverine save the tribe and throw the bombs into the ravine. Wolverine
apologizes for their village being destroyed and offers to help them rebuild
it. Pooyetah thanks him but says that they’re moving on. They’ve decided to
move to the city and let the young men of the tribe find a new way for them. Wolverine
is just happy they still call him friend.
At the bungalow, Storm’s team are
relaxing. Storm believes the Genoshians are sincere in their kindness to Mutants,
but they need to keep an eye open. She tells Jubilee to get some sleep. She
goes to her room, and we see a squad of soldiers approach their building. Blast
shields drop over their windows and gas start venting into their building. The
group flees, only to have the soldiers outside tell them to surrender. Storm is
against fighting at first, but they have no choice. They hold off the soldiers
and their mech suits for a short time, before everyone gets caught… in a
Sentinel’s capture cable. Oh no.
This is a fun introduction to Wolverine
and Sabretooth’s whole deal. The two have hated each other for years and at
this point it really doesn’t matter why or who started their feud. It also
highlights Wolverine’s desire to find inner peace, but the fact life seems to
never want him to have it. He’s a man
deeply connected to nature and truly just wants to live in the woods somewhere.
He tends to have a connection with native tribes, particularly the Innuits up
in Canada and Alaska. They have matching respect for nature and all that jazz.
We also get a lot of Sabretooth in this one. We learn he’s powerful, cunning
and despite constantly calling Wolverine a coward and a weakling is perfectly all
right using bombs and ambushes to try to defeat him. You know, traditionally
thought to be cowardly tactics. He doesn’t care who gets hurt in his pursuit of
his vengeance and will kill innocent bystanders to get it. He’s probably
physically stronger than Wolverine but still loses whenever they go head-to-head
as Wolverine is faster and smarter. Real David and Goliath story. X-Men: The
Animated Series was also really good about setting up the next episode’s plot
as the B-plot in the preceding one. Storm, Gambit, and Jubilee going to the island
of Genosha just to get kidnapped? Solid set up. You might recognize the name,
as Genosha is a major location in the X-Men mythos. It’s usually portrayed as
the Island nation that Magneto rules over as the safe haven for Mutants. This
is, obviously, before his take over. While I don’t think Magneto is above
trapping Mutants as a high-pressure sales tactic, he’d never use Sentinels.
Hopefully they can figure a way out of this. But we’ll see, next time. Have a
good night.
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Twitter: @BasicsSuperhero
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