This series is awful and I can't believe how many good reviews it has gotten. Many on IMDb seem to assume that haters of X-Men Evo dislike it because it changed precious characters from their established canon personalities. Now, I have no problem with the re-imagining of characters for a fresh perspective. What bothers me to no end is HOW they were transformed and written.
These were complex, interesting, fleshed out characters in the comics and other mediums, and they have been reduced to the worst stereotypes possible in this animated series. This series was meant to appeal to a younger generation and introduce them to X-Men and the creators seem to think that the only way to do that is by dishing out shallow clichés. Do they honestly think that that is the only way they can relate to younger folk? Do they believe that the younger set cannot understand, empathize or develop interest in characters that aren't formulaic embodiments of every bad cliché associated with social groups like 'goth', 'prep', 'jock', 'the weird foreign students', 'valley girl', etc.? The choices made in developing this show and its characters are nothing short of patronizing to a younger generation who are clearly given less credit than they deserve. They have to endure these unimaginative, one dimensional characters that are an embarrassment to the X-Men franchise. One can only hope they will discover the true depth and richness of the X-Men universe through other mediums.
Not all the characters suffered this sorry fate (e.g. Professor X, who was fine for the most part). There were a few teenage characters who were also fun, though none of them were main characters. However, this characterization of Kitty Pryde was exceptionally annoying. Aside from the fact that the writers seem to have crafted her straight out of a 'How to be a Valley Girl' manual for dummies, her introductory episode was so grating that I nearly stopped watching the series immediately. Stupidly, I did not, and had to endure Rogue's introductory episode as well. The fact that she was a mall goth (a poor choice in itself) was not as bad as the fact that she wasn't even a proper goth (as anyone who has ever been around goth culture - even as a spectator - can attest). She was simply a cardboard cutout based on what most mainstream adults think teenage goths must be. I was never a goth myself but knew a few when I was growing up, and all of them would be embarrassed to have their sub-culture misrepresented in such a superficial and foolish way. It's like the creators decided they needed a token angsty, emo teenager, and so, by default, had to make her a goth, as that was the only bad teenage cliché that fit the bill. Now, if the creators were set on making a show to appeal to teens based on predefined stereotypes, why do they show two varsity jacket clad football jocks straight out of central casting chatting about how attractive Rogue is, and trying to hit on her in her introductory episode? In reality, such boys in high school would not be caught dead with anyone who looked like a freaky mall goth. They would be making fun of her, not discussing how hot she is. The show is insistent on perpetuating paper-thin stereotypes, and yet it fails to follow through logically on their behavior. And if anyone needs a strange foreign student who tries too hard to fit in, resulting in bizarre and often ridiculous behavior (because clearly, we don't have enough of that stereotype in films and television shows today), one need look no further than Nightcrawler.
Jean Grey wasn't too badly depicted but the creators also didn't stray very far from her established Little Miss Perfect, type A persona, so I can't really comment on the way they chose to re-imagine her.
The teenage X-Men weren't the only ones butchered. Characters like Mystique were reduced to one dimensional villains with no discernible deeper motive for half the evil deeds she does. We are just meant to accept that she is a bad guy, and therefore does bad things. No further explanation needed.
These characters are true 'cartoons' rather than well-developed animated versions (reworked or otherwise) of their comic book counterparts. Definitely the worst of any version of X-Men I have ever seen (and this includes The Last Stand movie, which is saying a lot). I kept waiting for the series to get better but I was obviously following a pipe dream.
These were complex, interesting, fleshed out characters in the comics and other mediums, and they have been reduced to the worst stereotypes possible in this animated series. This series was meant to appeal to a younger generation and introduce them to X-Men and the creators seem to think that the only way to do that is by dishing out shallow clichés. Do they honestly think that that is the only way they can relate to younger folk? Do they believe that the younger set cannot understand, empathize or develop interest in characters that aren't formulaic embodiments of every bad cliché associated with social groups like 'goth', 'prep', 'jock', 'the weird foreign students', 'valley girl', etc.? The choices made in developing this show and its characters are nothing short of patronizing to a younger generation who are clearly given less credit than they deserve. They have to endure these unimaginative, one dimensional characters that are an embarrassment to the X-Men franchise. One can only hope they will discover the true depth and richness of the X-Men universe through other mediums.
Not all the characters suffered this sorry fate (e.g. Professor X, who was fine for the most part). There were a few teenage characters who were also fun, though none of them were main characters. However, this characterization of Kitty Pryde was exceptionally annoying. Aside from the fact that the writers seem to have crafted her straight out of a 'How to be a Valley Girl' manual for dummies, her introductory episode was so grating that I nearly stopped watching the series immediately. Stupidly, I did not, and had to endure Rogue's introductory episode as well. The fact that she was a mall goth (a poor choice in itself) was not as bad as the fact that she wasn't even a proper goth (as anyone who has ever been around goth culture - even as a spectator - can attest). She was simply a cardboard cutout based on what most mainstream adults think teenage goths must be. I was never a goth myself but knew a few when I was growing up, and all of them would be embarrassed to have their sub-culture misrepresented in such a superficial and foolish way. It's like the creators decided they needed a token angsty, emo teenager, and so, by default, had to make her a goth, as that was the only bad teenage cliché that fit the bill. Now, if the creators were set on making a show to appeal to teens based on predefined stereotypes, why do they show two varsity jacket clad football jocks straight out of central casting chatting about how attractive Rogue is, and trying to hit on her in her introductory episode? In reality, such boys in high school would not be caught dead with anyone who looked like a freaky mall goth. They would be making fun of her, not discussing how hot she is. The show is insistent on perpetuating paper-thin stereotypes, and yet it fails to follow through logically on their behavior. And if anyone needs a strange foreign student who tries too hard to fit in, resulting in bizarre and often ridiculous behavior (because clearly, we don't have enough of that stereotype in films and television shows today), one need look no further than Nightcrawler.
Jean Grey wasn't too badly depicted but the creators also didn't stray very far from her established Little Miss Perfect, type A persona, so I can't really comment on the way they chose to re-imagine her.
The teenage X-Men weren't the only ones butchered. Characters like Mystique were reduced to one dimensional villains with no discernible deeper motive for half the evil deeds she does. We are just meant to accept that she is a bad guy, and therefore does bad things. No further explanation needed.
These characters are true 'cartoons' rather than well-developed animated versions (reworked or otherwise) of their comic book counterparts. Definitely the worst of any version of X-Men I have ever seen (and this includes The Last Stand movie, which is saying a lot). I kept waiting for the series to get better but I was obviously following a pipe dream.