Jonathan Dobres

Season 4 is X-Men: The Animated Series’s largest, weighing in at twenty-one episodes across fifteen stories. While a lot of the season falls short, especially the season finale, there are still standouts to enjoy.

By this point in the show’s run, the writers could no longer count on episodes airing in their intended order, so continuity is light. That said, I couldn’t help but notice a few recurring themes. We learn more about Charles Xavier in this season than anywhere else. There are episodes about his childhood, his college years, his ex-girlfriend, his ex-fiancé, and even his founding of the X-Men (sort of). The season is also a bit preoccupied with family drama, whether Magneto’s, Nightcrawler’s, or even Moira MacTaggert’s.

There are a lot of conspicuous absences in season 4. Cyclops, the supposed leader of the X-Men, misses more stories than he appears in, as do Gambit and Jubilee. Trust me, I counted. But nobody gets it worse than Jean this season. She has practically vanished from the show, appearing in just five stories. Only in three of them does she do more than wave hello, and that’s only if I count her brief contributions in “Weapon X, Lies, and Video Tape” and “Have Yourself a Morlock Little X-Mas”. She spends all of “Beyond Good and Evil” trapped in a glass tube and has a total of maybe four lines across 88 minutes. The only episode where she does anything meaningful is “Xavier Remembers”.

On the other end of the spectrum we have Wolverine, who misses just two episodes: the first half of “Sanctuary” and Cyclops’s solo episode (so while he misses two episodes, he only misses one story). And Wolverine is never just present. If he’s showing up, he’s doing something. I wish the writers had that attitude with more characters.

Worst Episode

“Xavier Remembers”, which is boring, nonsensical, and badly animated. How did Xavier defeat the Shadow King all those years ago? How, exactly, did that inspire him to found the X-Men? The episode does no work to show us, but insists on telling us that it’s so.

Dishonorable mentions: “A Deal with the Devil”, an episode which features four X-Men but somehow only uses the powers of one of them, briefly. “One Man’s Worth” should also be on the dishonored list, since it’s a story about how Charles Xavier’s premature death completely reshapes the timeline, yet forgets to show us what makes Xavier so special. We should also ding “Lotus and the Steel” for its bad mashup of Eat, Pray, Love and Seven Samurai. I was tempted to put “Beyond Good and Evil” here, too, but Parts 1 and 2 are fun enough to recommend watching. Just stop after that.

Finally, “Have Yourself a Morlock Little X-Mas” is terrible, but it gets a special exemption because it’s a network-mandated Christmas special.

Best Episode

Definitely “Nightcrawler”. The writers put a ton of care into this story, and it shows. It’s a great episode and Adrian Hough gives what is probably the best guest performance in the entire series.

Honorable mentions: The writers liked Nightcrawler so much that they gave him a second episode, “Bloodlines”, which is X-Men as it should be: cool powers, fun antics, high emotion. “Courage” also stands out for how well it closes up Morph’s tormented time on the show, and the first half of “Sanctuary” is magnificent, peak Magneto.

Worst Hero

Cable, by a mile. He’s an obnoxious, humorless, hypermasculine edgelord who does nothing but screw up for an hour and a half straight, then acts like the X-Men owe him something. 3999 A.D. is all explosions and gunfire, a completely different show that I simply cannot bring myself to care about.

Best Hero

Nightcrawler, by a mile. Like I said, the show’s portrayal of the character is great. You can’t help but love the guy. The writers obviously loved him, too. Nightcrawler gets two main episodes, plus a little cameo in “Lotus and the Steel” and a silent (but pretty cool) action scene during the alt-1995 battle royale of “One Man’s Worth”. All totaled, I think Nightcrawler might actually get more screen time this season than Jean.

Worst Villain

Trevor Fitzroy, the worst guy in your office. He’s got an annoying sycophant for a sidekick (Bantam), doesn’t follow basic instructions from his tyrannical boss (Master Mold), and only begrudgingly agrees to solve a problem that he himself caused when it personally affects him.

Dishonorable mention: the Silver Samurai, or at least this version of him, which is badly miscalculated in every way.

Best Villain

Magneto, who isn’t quite an antihero by the end of season 4. Let’s get the ugly part out of the way first. Erik Magnus Lehnsherr agreed to work for the overtly evil Apocalypse. It doesn’t matter that he has a change of heart in the end. I think Magneto, of all people, would understand that the sentence, “I was just following orders,” does not exempt one from the ethical consequences of one’s actions.

His scheme in “Sanctuary”—abducting mutants to build his commune and stealing 200 nuclear weapons to arm it—is clearly villainous. That said, it’s a justifiable kind of villainy, the kind that makes you want to buy “Magneto Was Right” merch. And his stoic acknowledgement of the pain he’s caused his family is the best part of “Family Ties”.

Most Improved

A tough call in a universe without strong continuity, but I think it’s old Professor X. Charles Xavier is intellectual to the point of iciness on this show. Abandoning Gambit in “Sanctuary” and ignoring Wolverine’s immediate suffering so that he can chat with Magneto in “Family Ties” come to mind. But the sheer amount of time the show spends with Xavier this season reveals new sides to his personality. I’m thinking specifically of his vulnerability in “The Juggernaut Returns” and his paternal pride in “Beyond Good and Evil”.

I also have to give a nod to Jubilee. She only has a few appearances, but she’s funny every time, so at least she’s growing into a reliable comic relief role.