[7.1/10] This episode is a bit hokey, but I like the basic idea. This is essentially a Suicide Sqaud-type situation. (Er, a Thunderbolts situation? I’m not entirely sure on the Marvel equivalent). The U.S. Government doesn’t trust Omega Red, but it needs him for a dangerous mission involving a Russian nuclear submarine that he’s perfectly suited for. Trying to control a former enemy agent with his own agenda in a delicate situation is a good place to start.
His demand that WOlverine and Storm be included to get him to cooperate provides plenty of interesting complications, and some good intrigue and character conflict in the early going. It’s obvious to us that whatever his protestations, Omega Red has something sinister cooked up given that he’s inveigled his longtime enemy in Logan and the foe who froze him anew in Storm trapped with him. But they understandably agree to the mission for the good of the nation, even if Wolvie thinks the whole thing is a setup.
Their dynamic aboard the various subs is good stuff. I’ll say it till I’m blue in the face but X-Men is seemingly incapable of doing anything that isn’t blunt, loud, and full of exposition. Nonetheless, even though they keep reminding us of the stakes, I like the dynamic of Logan wanting to go toe-to-toe with Omega Red, but being unable to because doing so would scuttle their sub and hurt Storm in the process. It’s a small thing, but witnessing Logan control himself, at least for a time, in order to protect a fellow teammate helps soften the guy. Seeing him have to show restraint for once, for the good of the mission and the good of his friend, despite Omega Red’s prodding, is a big character moment for him.
Storm gets less to do. She’s mostly a prop. But I do appreciate the fact that her claustrophobia is brought up for the first time in forever. Omega Red still isn’t much to write home about, but I do like the fact that he has his own cunning plans here, that allow him to thwart basically everyone except the X-Men when he gets his hands on this nuclear payload.
From there, the episode plays out like a Tom Clancy movie, which left me a bit cold. There is admittedly something neat about genre-bending an international military incident with a superhero story like this. But watching interdepartmental tension while our heroes just shoot the nukes out of the sky didn’t do much for me. I will say that the sub-based action is a welcome change of pace from the usual fisticuffs on the show, so there’s that.
You can't think too hard about the science here though. That’s normally not a big deal for X-Men. This is a show that runs on the fantastical,after all. But this episode in particular tries to maintain an air of realism, which makes things like WOlverine getting instantly radiation sick when he punctured his suit, or an unadorned Rogue being unaffected by the dangerous radiation that prevents anyone else from getting close without getting sick, or her simply breaking a few outside panels being enough to disable the vessel all make you scratch your head.
Still, there’s a tense enough situation in the sub, and in the risk that it could unleash nuclear weapons on the world’s major cities, to where the X-Men’s daring escape and Omega Red’s grim fate that e bottom of the sea land with some force. Overall, now the shows’ greatest outing, but one that’s generally sturdy with a unique plot.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2023-05-24T21:33:52Z
[7.1/10] This episode is a bit hokey, but I like the basic idea. This is essentially a Suicide Sqaud-type situation. (Er, a Thunderbolts situation? I’m not entirely sure on the Marvel equivalent). The U.S. Government doesn’t trust Omega Red, but it needs him for a dangerous mission involving a Russian nuclear submarine that he’s perfectly suited for. Trying to control a former enemy agent with his own agenda in a delicate situation is a good place to start.
His demand that WOlverine and Storm be included to get him to cooperate provides plenty of interesting complications, and some good intrigue and character conflict in the early going. It’s obvious to us that whatever his protestations, Omega Red has something sinister cooked up given that he’s inveigled his longtime enemy in Logan and the foe who froze him anew in Storm trapped with him. But they understandably agree to the mission for the good of the nation, even if Wolvie thinks the whole thing is a setup.
Their dynamic aboard the various subs is good stuff. I’ll say it till I’m blue in the face but X-Men is seemingly incapable of doing anything that isn’t blunt, loud, and full of exposition. Nonetheless, even though they keep reminding us of the stakes, I like the dynamic of Logan wanting to go toe-to-toe with Omega Red, but being unable to because doing so would scuttle their sub and hurt Storm in the process. It’s a small thing, but witnessing Logan control himself, at least for a time, in order to protect a fellow teammate helps soften the guy. Seeing him have to show restraint for once, for the good of the mission and the good of his friend, despite Omega Red’s prodding, is a big character moment for him.
Storm gets less to do. She’s mostly a prop. But I do appreciate the fact that her claustrophobia is brought up for the first time in forever. Omega Red still isn’t much to write home about, but I do like the fact that he has his own cunning plans here, that allow him to thwart basically everyone except the X-Men when he gets his hands on this nuclear payload.
From there, the episode plays out like a Tom Clancy movie, which left me a bit cold. There is admittedly something neat about genre-bending an international military incident with a superhero story like this. But watching interdepartmental tension while our heroes just shoot the nukes out of the sky didn’t do much for me. I will say that the sub-based action is a welcome change of pace from the usual fisticuffs on the show, so there’s that.
You can't think too hard about the science here though. That’s normally not a big deal for X-Men. This is a show that runs on the fantastical,after all. But this episode in particular tries to maintain an air of realism, which makes things like WOlverine getting instantly radiation sick when he punctured his suit, or an unadorned Rogue being unaffected by the dangerous radiation that prevents anyone else from getting close without getting sick, or her simply breaking a few outside panels being enough to disable the vessel all make you scratch your head.
Still, there’s a tense enough situation in the sub, and in the risk that it could unleash nuclear weapons on the world’s major cities, to where the X-Men’s daring escape and Omega Red’s grim fate that e bottom of the sea land with some force. Overall, now the shows’ greatest outing, but one that’s generally sturdy with a unique plot.