Viewer Log: X-Men: TAS ep 16

 To Kilimanjaro we will go. 

Last time on X-Men: The Animated Series, Morph continued his rampage through the X-Mansion. Jubilee was held hostage by the Friends of Humanity and was going to be executed as part of that rampage, but she’s saved by Logan. Jubilee and Wolverine return to the mansion just as Morph attempts to impersonate Charles. Wolverine sniffs him out and tries to unmask him. The other’s initially believe Morph’s lie that Wolverine is being controlled by a neural disrupter, but Gambit decides to trust Wolverine’s hunch and throws a card at him. The card was just charged enough to make it glow and freak Morph out and make him leap to his feet. Which would be somewhat hard for Charle’s to do as a paraplegic. Morph escapes the group and steals the Blackbird. Meanwhile, Scott and Jean’s honeymoon is interrupted by Mr. Sinister and his Nasty Boys. They’re captured and Sinister reveals his plan to use their children to make a master race of Mutants. Morph arrives to get revenge on Scott for abandoning him, leading the X-Men right to the island base. It’s revealed here that Mr. Sinister saved Morph after he was attacked by the Sentinels last season, restoring his body and implanting a mind control device into Morph’s brain. A brawl breaks out, Morph is able to get enough control of himself to destroy Sinister’s controller and a freed Scott takes out his frustration on Sinister. His eyebeam seems to liquify Sinister’s body, forcing Sinister and his team to fall back. Morph also flees. Wolverine tries to go after him but can’t reach him in time. He vows to not leave Morph behind again and plans to go after him. And finally, we see Charles meet up with Magneto in the Antarctic, both men shocked to see the other in perfect health. Why? Morph took on their forms and lied that they were dying to draw them to this location. And then a bomb goes off, burying Charles and Magneto in an avalanche. Enough recap. Let’s get to it.

 

We begin at Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. A young man in a jersey and headband is racing around the slopes of the dormant volcano at superhuman speeds. He races by, scaring some wildlife before joining a soccer game in progress with some friends. The fun is ended, however, when the boy sees an energy rip forming in the sky near Kilimanjaro. He says that the sky is ripping apart, but his friends don’t see it. We see the energy rip shape into a sneering face. We pan out to find that Jean has detected this weird occurrence with Cerebro and let Beast know. Rogue comes in with Storm. She’s still cradling her ribs, indicating she’s still hurt from being shot down two episodes ago, but is recovering. Rogue notices the blinking light and asks what’s up. Jean explains that she was using Cerebro to try to scan the whole planet for any sign of the professor. She didn’t find him, just this weird anomaly. They describe it as a temporal or astral tear in reality. Beast theories that Bishop’s time traveling might have caused it but can’t be sure. Jean says that the tear is shrinking, so it might just be fixing itself. Storm gets a better look at the map, realizes it’s of Tanzania and is terrified for someone named Mjnari. We cut back to the village in Tanzania. A horrid monster pulls itself out of the tear and attacks the boy, confirmed to be Mjnari. The boy is possessed by the creature. That can’t be good.

 

Shifting focus, we end up on the Upper part of the Amazon river in Brazil. A crusty sea captain is laughing at hearing how his passenger is looking for someone that he can’t recognize because he can look like anyone. Yes, the passenger is Logan. Not sure why he’s wearing his heavy jacket in the tropics, but he’s a weird guy. The captain says he doesn’t believe he’s seen Morph, but Logan smells his scent on the wind. He runs off, much to the captain’s shock.

 

We jump to Dodoma, in Tanzania as a storm cloud rolls in. Said cloud is revealed to be Rogue and Storm flying in. They sweep by Dodoma and head toward the volcano. We learn that just after Jean detected the Tear, Storm’s village contacted her and said they needed her help. They fly over Kilimanjaro and see the villages around the volcano are burning. They use their powers to help put out the fires and save some cattle, and then touch down.  Storm is greeted by her friend, Shani. The two hug as Rogue walks over and says that a boy with an attitude problem is causing this mess. Shani confirms that the boy is Mjnari. Rogue isn’t concerned, having somehow missed Storm’s gasp, and says that she and Storm will put the fear of Storm into that kid. Storm grabs her before she can fly off and says that Mjnari is her son.

 

We cut to the top of the volcano. Mjnari puts his hand out and gathers rainwater in his hand. The thing controlling him realizes what this means, that she has returned. He goes outside and announces that Storm, godmother of the body he possesses and a slave to it, will soon return to her rightful place, as servant to the Shadow King! Oh, crap, this guy.

 

Here’s some background context that the show doesn’t include. The Shadow King was a Mutant from Cairo named Amahl Farouk. He’s an extremely powerful telepath that ran a criminal empire in Cairo, one small part of which was using a young orphan named Ororo Munroe as a pickpocket for him. He was eventually tracked down and faced off against Charles Xavier. Charles was able to defeat Farouk and cast his mind into the Astral Plane, an extra-dimensional space psychics can tap into. Charles took Storm in and brought here back with him to join the X-Men. And now, obviously, he’s back.

 

Back in Brazil, Logan has found Morph. He’s tending a bar in the middle of nowhere. Logan tells him that Morph is coming along whether he likes it or not. Morph turns into his sickly form. Logan says that he’s been where Morph’s been before. The professor saved him and so he’s going to save Morph. Morph flips the bar table on him and runs. Logan cuts himself free and grabs him. Morph takes on Jean’s form for some psychological torture, to make Logan let him go and then run off into the jungle. Wolverine screams in rage and runs after him.

 

We cut back to Tanzania, where we get some context about Mjnari. The boy is Shani’s son, the birth was difficult, and they almost died. The midwife saved Shani, but Storm was the one to breathe life into Mjnari. No, not with her powers, but with gentle CPR to get his lungs working. Shani explains further that Storm looked after Mjnari while she recovered, and this caused a strong bond to form between them. Storm was adopted into their village after wandering in as an orphan, but Shani says she left the village as one of them and a surrogate mother to Mjnari. And that a year ago, Mjnari began developing his Mutant powers, namely his superspeed. The group is interrupted by Mjnari’s arrival. He speaks and Storm recognizes the voice of the Shadow King. He’s an opponent the X-Men battle at some point before the show, as Rogue recognizes him too and say that the professor already beat this guy and hurled him into the Astral plane. Shadow King says that he’ll wait for Storm on the Mountain, and he’ll let the boy go. Storm tells Rogue to stay behind as she deals with this. She’s worried that Rogue might hurt Mjnari… but Rogue decides to follow anyway as Shadow King was a tough fight even for Charles.

 

Storm meets with Shadow King and demands he leave her son. Shadow King promises that he will, provided that Storm agrees to a few conditions. Rogue drops in and goes to fight him, but Storm stops her. Shadow King explains that now that he’s back from the living death that he needs a host body in order to restart his criminal empire. He tells Storm that if she agrees to be that body, giving him access to her delicious powers in the bargain, he’ll free Mjnari. Storm agrees, so long as he leaves Mjnari unharmed. Rogue tries to stop her, but Storm throws her aside before agreeing. The Shadow King spills out of Mjnari’s mouth and into Storm’s. Once possessed, Shadow King declares to the absent Xavier that he’s finally won. He announces that with these new powers, that he will rule Cairo like he never had before, as with Storm’s powers plus his own, every criminal in the city will have to obey him. Dude is in control of a weather goddess and yet is dreaming so very small. Rogue tells Mjnari to stay behind and flies after Storm-Shadow King.

 

She tries to grab Storm-Shadow King but is thrown off. Rogue takes her gloves off to try and grab and absorb Shadow King out of her. Storm comes to for a moment to warn Storm to stay away as Shadow King will destroy her. Shadow King takes over again and summons a tornado to throw Rogue away. Rogue nearly hits the ground, but Mjnari races over and catches her. Rogue tells him to go but Mjnari refuses. Rogue says he doesn’t know Shadow King, but Mjnari counters with “He has my mother. That’s all I need to know.”

 

Back in Brazil, Wolverine is still chasing after Morph. He falls into a mind shaft and he and Morph face off. Morph says that Wolverine’s body can heal fast but when he’s done, Wolverine’s mind will never recover. To prove that point he quickly shifts between some characters that you might recognize, namely Deadpool, Omega Red, and Maverick. If you don’t recognize those names, they’re all important people from his past. Wolverine says he’ll risk it. Morph takes on Wolverine’s form and they fight claw to claw. Wolverine bests him, and Morph turns into a panther to fight him and then a Rhino. Logan tells him that the X-Men can help him. Morph takes on Sabretooth’s form and says without Xavier there are no X-Men. Logan shrieks that he’s wrong. Morph tosses him to the ground before returning to normal, telling Wolverine that he needs to get through this by himself. He runs off and this time Wolverine is too injured to follow. He instead says that when Morph is ready, the X-Men will be waiting.

 

Back in Tanzania, Storm is fighting Shadow King’s control, flashing back to when she was a pickpocket for him in Cairo. She refuses to be used by him again. Storm announces that she might not be able to stop Shadow King but she can destroy him by destroying them both. Rogue tells her not too but Storm keeps flying upward. She flies until the air is too thin to breathe. The Shadow King bails out of her body and she drops. Rogue catches her and they land by Mjnari. Storm recovers and tells him to run, as she and Rogue will battle the Shadow King. Mjnari tells them about the opening in the Astral Plane and that the Shadow King came out of it. They figure they need to force the Shadow King back into the gap before it seals itself. The women try to tell Mjnari to go and they’ll handle it, but he’s the only one who can see the breech so he’s not leaving. Mjnari races towards the mountain, while Storm calls up rain to try to reduce the destruction the Shadow King can cause. He lures the Shadow King back into the void. He’s briefly possessed by the Shadow King again, but they both realize that they need to get back out again fast. The Shadow King flies and Mjnari races back towards the portal.

 

Outside, Storm is literally clawing at the side of the mountain to try to get Mjnari back. Rogue joins in and tries to punch through. Mjnari races past the Shadow King and sticks his hand through the rift. Storm and Rogue grab him and pull him through. The portal seals at the last moment, sealing the Shadow King inside. Rogue and Storm fly off after returning Mjnari home, Rogue wondering if the others had found the professor yet. Storm isn’t sure but is sure the professor’s thoughts were with them.

 

In the Antarctic, Charles digs himself out of a snowbank. Magneto digs himself out too and he helps Charles to his feet. Charles is shocked to see a rainforest in the distance in the middle of Antarctica. Magento explains that this is The Savage Land, a place created by unknown forces eons ago. Alien technology protects the rainforest from the cold or being detected by outsiders. They’re shocked to realize that Charles can walk, but even more disturbed to learn that neither of them can access their powers. Charles points out that Magento seems to know this place. Magneto says he thought he knew it, but nothing about this place affected Mutant powers before. As they talk, they’re being monitored by Mr. Sinister. You don’t see his face but you do see his distinctive black armor, so I don’t count this as a spoiler. Sinister summons some Pterosaur guards to try to grab them. The Pterosaurs get Magneto, but Charles gets one of their boomerangs and knocks him free, then diving into a river after him. The last we see of both men is them tumbling over a waterfall. Damn.

 

My only real complaint about this episode is that it doesn’t really properly explain who the Shadow King is. Like, imagine I didn’t include my blurb about who he used to be and how he was connected to Storm. You’d be confused and weirded out as to how this horrid thing apparently used an otherwise normal orphan girl to pickpockets for him. The episode implies he used to be a normal Mutant, but we never see it or have them out and out confirm it, so it feels weird. But Shadow King is a powerful opponent of the X-Men, and him trying to possess Storm as a double revenge against Xavier for sealing him away years ago fits his MO. Farouk is a simple man, really. I’d still have preferred to see a flashback of Charles vs. the Shadow King for full context, but I guess Rogue being scared because she knows that was a hard fight for Charles was okay. In retrospect, it’s funny that Storm’s godson is a boy with Superspeed, as X-Men: Evolution’s version of the character is given a nephew whose biggest rival is a speedster. Just a fun thing to think about. I liked Wolverine’s B-plot of hunting Morph. Both because it starts with Wolverine’s usual unwillingness to let things go, only for it to end with Wolverine accepting his friend needs to bare this weight on his own. Nice character moment for Wolverine when he lets Morph go. And finally, the C-Plot. Most of the episodes this season, unless the Savage Land is the whole plot of the episode, will end with a showing us how Charles and Magneto are doing. They’re stuck in a tropical lost world with no supplies, maps or powers, so you can probably imagine how well this trip is going to go for them. But more on that when we get there. Have a good night everyone. 

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