Pads & Panels

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. (more…)

 Print This Post

Title: Planet Hulk

Format: Blu-ray

MPAA: PG-13

Director: Sam Liu

Writers: Greg Johnson

Producer: Lionsgate, Marvel

Film Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Eric Stuckart

The Film

Based on Greg Pak’s graphic novel of the same name, Planet Hulk goes in a much different direction than most tales of the Incredible Hulk. Alter-ego Bruce Banner is nowhere to be found, for starters, and Hulk shows much more emotional depth than he has ever been known for. Another big difference is Hulk’s more tempered rage, as well as his ability to communicate. (more…)

 Print This Post

Title: The Invincible Iron Man

Format: DVD

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Directors: Frank D. Paur, Patrick Archibald, Jay Oliva

Writers: Avi Arad, Greg Johnson and Craig Kyle

Producer: Lionsgate

Film Rating:

DVD Rating:

Review by: Thomas Braaksma

The Film

Iron Man hasn’t always been the most popular character in Marvel’s repertoire. That is, of course, not until his mainstream success in 2008 with Jon Favreau’s live-action film Iron Man. But there are different versions of Tony Stark’s transformation than what most of the world have come to know from this blockbuster, and one of these versions is presented here in animation form as The Invincible Iron Man. (more…)

 Print This Post

Title: Wolverine and the X-Men: Heroes Return Trilogy

Format: DVD

Producers: Marvel Animation and Lionsgate Entertainment

Review by: John Gustafson

When news broke that a fourth animated X-Men show would return to the airwaves, inspired and influenced by the current characters in the comics, it was difficult not to get a little excited. Then it was announced that Wolverine would be leading the X-Men. (more…)

 Print This Post