Available on DVD tomorrow is Astonishing X-Men: Dangerous from Marvel Knights Animation. This is an animated version of the comic of the same name, written by Joss Whedon with art by John Cassaday, and it’s the second story arc of Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men. Whedon should be a familiar name to you (Buffy, Angel, Firefly), but if those shows don’t ring a bell, then hopefully you know that he is also the guy bringing The Avengers to theaters this summer. When I saw his name attached to this DVD, I knew I had to seize the opportunity to review it. Plus, I like X-Men, but while watching this I immediately realized how woefully ignorant I am of what’s been happening in the comic books.
That aside though, I was able to appreciate this as a casual fan. I generally find Cyclops to be annoying, but he wasn’t the least bit irritating. Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde) was definitely the stand-out in this series, though. She was both pouty and assertive, childish and strong. And I felt like more energy was put into drawing her, since the close-ups of her face were rendered so well.
I’m also a complete newbie to the world of motion comics, but I think I will watch more from this point forward. It was really exciting to see the pages of a comic come to life with sounds and music, even though the animation is a bit jerky. That took some getting used to, but it didn’t ruin the experience for me.
The storyline is: “The tragic death of a student at the Xavier Institute reveals that a powerful enemy is working from inside the mansion to destroy the X-Men. It’s an enemy who knows all their weaknesses and can predict their every move. This new foe doesn’t want wealth, power or world domination – it only wants them dead. As the X-Men fight for their lives, they learn they’ve been deceived by one of their own. Even if they survive, the team will never be the same.”
While the storyline at times felt a bit generic, I enjoyed the series overall (except for the cameos from members of the Fantastic Four. That just didn’t make any sense to me). I think the best line of this arc was when Emma Frost said, “I turn into a diamond sometimes. Are we really going to discuss impossibility?” A blunt remark, but she has a point.
To say too much more would reveal the true foe of the X-Men, and I’d rather keep that under wraps for those who don’t wish to be spoiled, but the epic battle at the end kept me wondering how the team would get themselves out of this mess. And in addition to the outside forces bent on destroying them, the X-Men also must confront more personal issues. Loyalties will be tested, and lovers will be torn apart.
I’d recommend this to an X-Men fan, particularly to casual fans like myself. In short, it was fun to watch. (I just hope the next X-Men story I read or watch has Mr. Sinister in it. I think he has great fashion sense).
You can check out some of the videos in Swank-mo-tron’s preview of the DVD here.