Having finished X-Men: The Animated Series, I am now delving into X-Men Evolution, another animated romp that began in 2000 and lasted four seasons. This bout was intended for a younger audience and views the X-Men as teenagers, growing into their powers.
Higher quality animation and better direction are the two most obvious things about this series, despite its interpretation of the comic series. I wasn't sure if I would like it at first, but it has proven to be entertaining. Now that I'm into the second season, things are starting to warm up, and I'm actually very impressed by the depth of the characters in the episode I just saw.
In this series, the love triangle develops between Rogue, Jean Grey and Cyclops (Scott). Because this is about the genesis of the X-men, Cyclops and Jean Grey are not a couple quite yet. Scott, who only has eyes for the perfect Jean (all-star athlete, A-student scholar, and stunningly beautiful) tries to out-macho a jock at school also vying for Jean's attention. Rogue (who is dark, moody, and emo) assumes she will never have a chance with Scott, so she buries her feelings. Meanwhile, Jean, who is always trying to be Super-Woman, is loosing control of her power and ends up in a coma, with surges of power swirling around her and tearing things apart. To save her, Rogue must touch Jean to temporarily sap her energy (and personality) so Scott can focus her attention and bring her back to reality. But the brilliant writing comes in when Scott is forced to talk to Jean through Rogue, giving Rogue a moment of bliss as Scott expresses himself to her (Jean).
It's kind of amazing to watch how well thought out the characters are, even though they are not following cannon perfectly. The show has decided that it's more important to stay true to personalities and the natural situations that would develop from those, rather than force the pre-constructed scenarios of the comic onto their new interpretation. For instance, Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat) is portrayed as the valley girl and Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler) as the flirty goof-ball. At first, Kitty wants nothing to do with Kurt, but over time, they develop a relationship due to the similar nature of their powers (being able to go, basically, anywhere they want). Very cool.
That being said, it is very obviously a show about teen angst, with everyone's maturity being parallel to the control they gain over their powers. Still, for a show targeted at teens, it's pretty smart, and not afraid of gentle subtlety and nudging to tell the story. If only that could be said for some adult TV series.
