Title: Wolverine and the X-Men: Final Crisis Trilogy
Format: DVD
Written by: Craig Kyle, Greg Johnson, Chris Yost
Starring: Steve Blum, Jim Ward, Nolan North
Studio: Marvel Animation, Lionsgate
DVD Rating: 
Review by: Bill Jones
Lionsgate has strangely offered the first season of Wolverine and the X-Men in segments throughout this year and last, before finally offering a complete set. But the Final Crisis Trilogy – Vol. 6, containing the three-part “Foresight” story – goes to show why it’s not a great idea. One thing Wolverine and the X-Men handles extremely poorly is lead-ins from one episode to the next. The action simply continues to happen, and so to pick up this set after a break from the last is somewhat disconcerting. The plot features the X-Men battling to survive when The Inner Circle captures Jean Grey to harvest her Phoenix powers, while Magneto and Mystique launch a Sentinel attack on Genosha. Emma Frost is ambiguously caught in the middle of things, and Master Mold is using Professor Xavier in an attempt to execute all mutants in a mish-mash of stories taking place in two different time periods. It’s more confusing than fun, though the animation is solid, with audio commentary by Craig Kyle, Greg Johnson and Chris Yost doing more to be silly than offer any real info. The Final Crisis Trilogy is an example of too many cogs turning at once for its own good, and there’s no point in purchasing it out of the context of the rest of the season.
Pros: Solid animation. Sentinels, Phoenix, Wolverine and Xavier all involved in big plots.
Cons: Too much going on at once. Doesn’t stand on its own enough to warrant separate DVD release. Commentaries are disappointing. Extras are slim.
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Pads & Panels received a copy of the DVD courtesy of the studio for review purposes.
