X-Men '97 Season 2 Episode 5 Review: Wolverine Is Back, Baby!

After last week's emotional episode, X-Men '97 changes gears and gives us a straight-up action episode centered around Wolverine, Morph, and the Weapon X crew. "Weapon X, Lies, and DVDs" is packed with action, horror elements, and a few laughs, making it one of the best episodes of the season so far.

The episode kicks off with Wolverine and Morph teaming up with Maverick, Sabretooth, Lady Deathstrike, and Kane to take down what's left of Weapon X. Right away, the banter between this group is great. These are characters that clearly don't like each other, but they're forced to work together, and it leads to some really funny moments. Morph especially gets a few good shots in at Sabretooth that had me laughing.

Then, out of nowhere, their helicopter gets taken down by what look like mutant birds, and from that point on, things just get crazier. Can I just say... I love Morph. Every episode he's in, he somehow knows exactly when to crack a joke without ruining the serious moments. He's easily become one of my favorite characters this season because he brings some much-needed comedy whenever things get too dark.

After fighting off mutant polar bears, Wolverine drops the bomb that his adamantium is gone. Lady Deathstrike can't believe it because, according to her, that process is supposed to be impossible to reverse. That one reveal sets the tone for everything that comes next. Unfortunately, Kane doesn't make it out of the crash, leaving Wolverine, Morph, Sabretooth, Lady Deathstrike, and Maverick to explore the abandoned Weapon X facility.

And let me tell you... this place is nightmare fuel.

Between the dark hallways, the experiments, and Sabretooth walking around making sure dead bodies are actually dead, the whole episode leans into horror more than I expected. It honestly reminded me of something straight out of Resident Evil.

Things get even worse when they run into Dr. Cornelius, who quickly mutates into this giant bug creature before an entire swarm of similar monsters shows up. Wolverine casually calling this their "second alien invasion" got a laugh out of me because at this point, the X-Men have really seen everything.

Instead of running, Wolverine decides the only way out is to go deeper into the facility. Nobody agrees with him, but of course Logan is going to do things his own way.

The group splits up, with Wolverine teaming up with Maverick while Morph, Sabretooth, and Lady Deathstrike head in another direction. One of my favorite conversations in the episode happens here when Lady Deathstrike asks Morph why they are so loyal to Wolverine. You can tell there's a real friendship there, and I like that the show continues to build on that relationship instead of just making Morph comic relief.

While searching the facility, they uncover old Weapon X recordings showing the horrible experiments that were done on Wolverine and others. At the same time, they start learning more about these mutated bug creatures, which adds another creepy layer to everything going on.

Then things really go off the rails. We get a quick look at Omega Red before a fully mutated Wolverine shows up and kills Maverick. The fight that follows is absolutely insane, especially once Omega Red is unleashed. There wasn't a dull moment once those fights started. And once again, Morph steals the show.

Watching him transform into Deadpool during the battle was one of my favorite moments of the episode. It was quick, funny, and exactly the kind of fan service that X-Men '97' knows how to do without overdoing it.

The team's plan is to lure Wolverine back into the adamantium process since that's what he wanted all along, but getting through to him isn't easy. Morph keeps trying to reach Logan emotionally, but nothing works... until he transforms into Jean.

I was not expecting that, and it was hilarious. Even with Wolverine under control, the danger isn't over because Omega Red is still tearing through everything in sight. Then comes the moment we've all been waiting for. Logan steps out of the tank, completely restored, looks around, and simply says...

"I'm back, baby."

Yeah... I loved it.

It was the perfect way to end an episode that was already firing on all cylinders.

Overall, "Weapon X, Lies, and DVDs" delivers exactly what I wanted. It has great action, horror vibes, solid character moments, plenty of laughs thanks to Morph, and finally gives us Wolverine back in full force. It may not be the most emotional episode of the season, but it's definitely one of the most fun.

If this is the kind of momentum X-Men '97 is carrying into the rest of Season 2, we're in for one heck of a finish.

What did you think?

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