Genosha Triangles

That's more like it. Last night's new X-Men'97 was a rich and fulfilling piece of pulp, chock full of soap opera, sex, and violence. Nor did it skimp on the campy dialogue and cheesy fake accents.

We take a trip to Genosha, the mutant nation which sure reads like an allegorical Israel, especially given Magneto's past, which is alluded to in this episode. Magneto, Rogue, and Gambit are the ones we follow and they're one of two love triangles at play.

The other one is Cyclops, Jean, and Madelyne--with Wolverine as a possible fourth wheel. They're sure using Wolverine sparingly so far. After all these years of Hugh Jackman in the spotlight, it's kind of funny seeing the little man who always talks like a pirate.

Scott freaks out in the middle of an interview, showing he is feeling some unchecked trauma from the recent loss of his child. Which makes sense. The two Jeans are taking it a bit better (if they were sad, I suppose I could call them blue Jeans).

For some reason the music of Genosha is sort of samba-ish with lots of steel drums. All right. It was cool seeing the various mutants cavorting in any case and, of course, it was great to see Nightcrawler whose teleportation power is very nicely rendered by the animators.

But the heart of the episode is Rogue and the two men orbiting her. The drama of their triangle blended perfectly with the cataclysmic climax. Rogue looks a hell of a lot better than she did on the old series. I guess I could say that about most of the characters, though.

X-Men'97 is available on Disney+.