[5.4/10] For the most part, having already watched this show as a kid and being familiar with the X-Men from other media hasn’t really diminished my enjoyment of the show. If anything. Already knowing the characters’ personalities helps me appreciate their interactions more rather than having to be introduced to them.

But this is the first time where it really weakens the story. Spending so much time wondering if Colossus is on the right side lacks much in the way of intrigue if you know he’s a longtime X-man. Likewise, when the episode is titled “The Unstoppable Juggernaut” and the X-mansion gets knocked down by some mysterious large brute, there’s not much mystery as to who the culprit is.

Neither Colossus nor Juggernaut are terribly interesting either. Colossus is a generic Ruskie whose shtick about “silly Americans” is pretty tired. Likewise, Juggernaut is, true to his origin as a Spider-Man villain, mostly full of lame quips. Their powers are cool, and seeing Juggernaut withstand the whole team is something, but the characters themselves are pretty boring.

So is the episode as a whole which is odd for a story about two brute force behemoths duking it out. The plot feels pretty perfunctory and there’s not much to the fight. There’s something mildly clever aout the goal to remove his helmet so that Jean can mind-wipe him into submission. But otherwise this is the usual energy blast punch-and-kick-a-thon.

The only interesting thing is Rogue absorbing much of his power to ry to drain him, only to inadvertently absorb much of his anger and feelings of inferiority relative to his brother. But that's more of a tease than anything. I suppose it’s nice to see Beast again, still waiting for his day in court and making friends with Colossus. Otherwise, all we get is a pretty standard fight and a trite message about teamwork.

Overall, this one might be cooler if this were my first introduction to Juggernaut and Colossus. But as it stands, this outing was pretty dull and underwhelming to me.

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