Wolverine & The X-Men

I'm sure I'll get some laughs for this, but I still really enjoy the X-Men. Growing up, I wasn't really into the comic books. It requires too much money and you have to get every issue to get & make sense of the complete story. But I really soaked up the animated series in the 90s. Cartoons, unlike the recent superhero movie craze, really are a great medium for the telling of these characters' stories.

And at their core, that's what the whole superhero thing is all about. To quote Greg Garrett, an author and professor at Baylor University who someday hopes to be a Priest in the Episcopal Church, "comics...represent some of the best storytelling around." In fact, 'superheroes' have always been a part of humanity's mythology and folklore. You can go all the way back to the Greek gods or the Hebrew Bible's "strongmen and prophets." There is something in these myths that "reflect our fears, desires, and beliefs." Garrett likens comics/superheroes to studying the lives of Saints and Martyrs. They teach us and inspire us.

To me, there is no better example than the X-Men. First of all, they are a community, so you get to see great interaction that isn't present in Spider-Man and the like. The X-Men universe also has an eery apocalyptic element in them. We see humanity at its worst and we see history spiraling towards an end we don't want. The X-Men thus represent hope in that crisis. Most of all, the X-Men can be a great metaphor for the Church. They are in the world but don't feel that they are "of it." Even though they are persecuted by the world, they are charged with protecting it and being a blessing to it.

This comes back to the cartoons. A few months ago, I bought the 90's series on DVD, and recently got the more newer X-Men: Evolution on DVD. Both are great shows. The first is classic; the second is an interesting spin on their story in that they are all young, growing up in Xavier's Institute, learning to use their powers. The great thing about comic heroes, is that there can be multiple shows, stories, and continuities. As long as the basic premise is the same and the characters are largely as they were established in the comics, there's lots of room for storytellers to play around. This week, a third X-Men cartoon premieres in the US (it's already aired in Canada and other places around the world. It's airing later in the US to coincide with the upcoming Wolverine Origins flick). Wolverine and the X-Men is without a doubt the best superhero cartoon ever made. The animation, story, characters, and music are all incredible. I won't give away the plot, but it takes the whole apocalyptic thing even further. And more so than the other X-Men cartoons, the series is one big, sweeping story. So for those so inclined, tune in this Friday for the first episode on NickToons. For those without cable, Marvel.Com will be streaming the latest episode every Saturday. Enjoy!