‘X-Men '97' Episode 4 "Montendo" / "Lifedeath Part 1" Review
Image Source: Den of Geek
Rather than carrying on with the threads set up in the previous episode, X-Men ‘97 takes a detour in these two mini-episodes, catching up with the adventures of other X-Men and showcasing a classic villain.
In "Motendo", it's Jubilee's birthday, and she wants to go to the Arcade with the X-Men to celebrate, But Magneto puts a stop to this 'Childish' idea, leaving Jubilee to sulk in her room with Sunspot. Before long, she notices a video game console in her room she has never seen before; a Montendo. The console then ‘sucks' both her and Roberto into virtual reality. It's revealed that Mojo is behind the kidnapping. He has sucked Jubilee into a video game world he has created to relive her glory days in the X-Men and get ratings for himself.
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Jubilee's dissatisfaction with the team, and annoyance they rejected her on her birthday leads her to believe this is a good idea. She and Roberto then start playing levels from Jubilee's past in the original show, but the video game sequence has an 8-bit animation style, obviously paying homage to the classic X-Men arcade game inspired by the same show this is, which is a lovely touch.
Image Source: IGN
Roberto keeps trying to tell Jubilee this is not a good life to live, and that she needs to return to the X-Men. She ignores his pleas, but then he is killed (in the game) by Magneto, sporting his classic 90's villain costume. A fight ensues which Jubilee loses, but she is saved by a future NPC version of herself, who was created by Mojo to test the video game software, and later rebelled against him. She has also managed to save Roberto.
Jubilee, Roberto, and future Jubilee then have a show-down with Mojo, who future Jubilee then dispatches with Mojo quickly, showcasing how Jubilee's powers could come in the future, which is very cool to see.
Future Jubilee then convinces Jubilee to go home and rejoin the X-Men, which she and Roberto do.
This is a nice coming-of-age story and solidifies Jubilee's commitment to the team. It's really fun to see Roberto get a nice amount of screen time, as well as seeing the return of popular villain Mojo. Hopefully, this isn't the last we see of him!
"Lifedeath Part 1", is much shorter than "Mototendo", and deals with Storm and Forge trying to get her powers back. After discussing Forge's past and powers over a romantic dinner. Forge makes his first attempt to get Ororo's power back by reversing the capture collar's effects, but it doesn’t work.
Image Source: Comic Book Movie
It's then revealed that Forge made the collars for the US government. This is also why Forge is helping Ororo because he feels guilty. Storm takes this very badly, and while she had been warming up to him romantically throughout this episode, this is a huge betrayal for her. Forge reveals he loves her, but this isn't enough to right his wrong, and she leaves.
As she rides off into the outback, she is kidnapped by a Bird-Demon, who brings her back to Forge's House. Forge then tries to attack the Bird creature, but it ends up kidnapping Storm to end the episode.
"Lifedeath Part 1" wasn't anywhere near as long as "Montendo", and while this is labelled as a two-parter, this is more setting the scene for what’s going to happen next. The bird Demon at the end is a nice mystery. Anything to do with the Shadow King Maybe?
We will be up for a wait before we find out though, as "Lifedeath Part 2" won't be aired next week. Overall two fun mini-episodes, with "Motendo" standing out as the better offering, But "Lifedeath Part 1" definitely laid great groundwork for a future episode.
Rating: 7/10
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