September 20, 2009

Comic book heroes and villains return to your living room this week in a big way. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, X-Men Origins and now the next addition to my Marvel library, the Marvel Comic Book Collection: X-Men, Volume 4 (2-Disc) hits stores along side Volume 3. Things get good in this fourth volume as the X-Men deal with a mutant teenager with father problems, Magneto’s asteroid home, and the saga that threatens time itself.

The 4–part “Beyond Good and Evil” is probably one of my favorite Sagas in the entire animated series. The main reason is the combined efforts of both the X-Men and their enemies to stop an even more dangerous enemy. I also really liked the antics of Bender, no not that one, as “harasses” Bishop.

Besides the above saga one of my favorite episodes in this volume is “Have Yourself A Morlock Little X-Mas.” In this episode, Wolverine, Jubilee and the X-Men help Leech recover from an illness that threatens his life. Wolverine must put aside his past and help someone in need. Every good carton has a holiday episode with a message. This is why its one of my favorites.

“Secrets, Not Long Buried” is another favorite episode as it reminds me a lot of an Outer Limits episode where an outsider is not wanted as he seeks out refuge. Only in the X-Men-verse it doesn’t play out quite like that. Scott must rally the frightened inhabitants of Skull Mesa to take on Solar.

Filmmaking: 8
The Marvel Comic Book Collection: X-Men, Volume 4 (2-Disc) DVD set brings back all the memories and the cool factor that I remember. I was a big fan of the show when I was younger and nothing has changed that. The carefully picked material that was chosen from the actual comic books is what made this show so good.

Visuals: 9
The X-Men TV series was done in a time when Widescreen just wasn’t an option so you’ll be watching all the action in 1.33:1 full screen ratio. The show has aged well and has transferred well to DVD. I remember when you could get these episodes on VHS so having them in DVD form is so much cooler. The colors are just as I remember them and show no loss of quality at all.

Sound: 8
The sounds of the episodes are quite good and are presented in Dolby Digital Surround Sound with French and Spanish Language tracks available. The voice acting for the X-Men is still amazing after all these years. They picked an excellent cast and it shows.

Value: 7
The Marvel Comic Book Collection: X-Men, Volume 4 (2-Disc) set features 16 episodes of the one and only X-men TV series from the 1990s. There are no special features to be had in this DVD set so the value section does take a hit. But on the plus side this first volume retails for around $16-18 dollars at most stores so you can have this set for pretty much a dollar an episode give or take. Not to shabby and it’s a must buy for any fan of the X-Men.

Overall: 8.5
Overall, The Marvel Comic Book Collection: X-Men, Volume 4 (2-Disc) set is entertaining and fun to watch. I’ve been waiting for them to start releasing this series for a long time and at long last I’m getting my wish. In small Volume sized packages mind you but still its awesome to see them again. The action is good, the voice actors are the best and I wouldn’t have the X-Men any other way. I highly recommend picking up this DVD as soon as possible. You won’t regret it.