X-Men: Evolution

For those that despise this cartoon because it takes liberties, then change the freaking channel, bub, and shut the hell up.

For those who remember the early early days of X-men, they were all teenagers in a school, learning to use their powers to benefit mankind. Well, in comic book continuity, these characters have all grown up, married, divorced, died, betrayed their friends, etc etc etc.

This cartoon went back to the basic principle that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby started out with back in the 60's. And it's revamped itself to fit today's standards and cultural influences. I like to see it as an animated version of the "Ultimate X-Men" title that marvel is producing, which does the same thing of reformatting the story to today's timeline.

And each character in this show is well written to the point that I like them even better than some of their comic book counterparts.

Scott -- we're seeing a leader developing here, but he's still a kid learning to deal with who he is and his place in the world.

Logan -- granted, he's toned down a bit, but he's just as gruff as he is in the comics, and has a better voice than he did in the 90's cartoon.

Kurt -- great interpretation. I always thought Nightcrawler was a little stiff for my liking (given his background), so I love to see him be a party animal, and to be one caught goofing off.

Rogue -- BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG IMPROVEMENT!! I'm sorry purists, but the little Southern belle thing annoyed me to no end! Someone commented that they didn't like this version of Rogue because she doesn't say "Suga." It's called good writing. I like Rogue better as a Goth girl, for one basic reason. Given her power, it would seem to me that she would keep herself isolated and sullen, to ward off anyone trying to get close to her, and the dark depressed goth girl would pull that off, not the friendly southern belle. Plus, it makes her an interesting contrast to Jean and Kitty, who are upbeat popular girls.

Toad -- they took one of the worst characters of comicdom, and made him likable. He works better as a lovable loser, who just can't get a break.

I will also give honorable mention to a couple other characters, like Magneto, who is actually a threatening presence in this cartoon, and Beast, whose transformation in this cartoon makes more sense than in the comics.

The best animated X-Men yet, and it will be very hard to top.

This has to be better than the original! I was excited when I heard about this one, and I am a diligent watcher. What other teen girls like Nightcrawler?? *raises hand proudly* I WAS going to think it was just a cheap imitation, but I turned it on one time and I love it.

Having been familiar with the ORIGINAL X-Men (Angel, Beast, Iceman, Marvel Girl, and Cyclops) and having caught up a bit on the more recent adventures so I wouldn't be a total doofus for the movie, I find this series EXCELLENT!

I like the alternate concept, and the way the series is being handled, even if it doesn't mesh with the comic version. Seeing Kurt Wagner as a girl-crazy teen is hilarious, and his antics with Scott Summers has been the best part of this series. It's nice to see Scott a bit looser than he's ever been portrayed in any previous X-Men project.

The show's music score and title theme simply ROCK!

Here's hoping the ratings warrant this one being around for a long time.

A lot of people have been putting this show down, and I'd like to set the record straight. For those who don't know, the show is about the X-men when they were teenagers. The creators probably thought that by making them younger, they could appeal to a younger audience (it's survived 3 years up to this point, so who's to say they were wrong?). And for the most part, this angered X-men "purists", who argued that the series butchered their favorite characters, and that this was an insult to "true" fans. Get over yourselves.

I'll admit, the first season was pretty dull. The writers spent the majority of time introducing new characters (a necessity for a show with such a large, diverse cast). They couldn't develop individual characters very much, or put them into the complex story arcs that the comics are famous for.

But that all changed with season two. Unfortunately, by that time, most older fans had already given up on the series and are missing out on some great stuff. The story has evolved (no pun intended) over the years, and now we're beginning to see some of the classic X-men arcs. With the escalated aggression of Magneto, the rising tension between humans and mutants, and the emergence of Apocalypse, I feel that the series has reached a turning point. The writers are able to explore complex issues such as prejudice and tolerance, while still presenting it from a kid's-eye view. They've reached a new depth that they're now just starting to explore. So give it a shot. Just because these X-men aren't exactly what you're used to isn't necessarily a bad thing. Heck, if they were just going to copy what came before, there would really be no sense in making a new series in the first place.

Despite my limited knowledge of X-Men--or perhaps because of it--I love this show. The animation, voices and music are GREAT, and it is not from Japan (no offense to anime fans). I love how Nightcrawler and Beast look. And to those who said that characters like Beast were being ignored, the episode "Beast of Bayville" proves otherwise and also proves that the series is living up to its name and evolving, which takes time. I hope the evolution continues.