When dealing with the X-Men, or any other Marvel property for that matter, there are multiple versions of the franchise to explore: The original comics that inspired the movies – some with two, maybe three timelines! There’s three animated X-Men series, all with different little character quirks, that if you look closely, are unique to each series.
It’s a great feeling as a fan and viewer, and of course, it creates longevity. Parents pass the stories onto their children – after all, every generation since the 30’s has had their own Superman, just as the 40’s and 60’s did the same thing with Batman and Spider-Man. How many different actors have played just those three heroes – and each one stunningly different in tone, for better or for worse. It’s the variety on show that matters the most, the representation each version brings to their audience. A generational superhero.
Of course, X-Men isn’t as big as those other three big-hitters, but when comic book characters become generational, as the X-Men have become, there can sometimes be an intense overlap of repetition that becomes unavoidable. This isn’t a bad thing – different versions and different interpretations can change a story and make it more relevant, depending on the generation watching.
How many Days of Future Past have been gone through just here on this website? All three animated series have their own take on it, in their own different way. There’s also two different versions of the movie based on the original story – and is quite possibly the best X-Men film there is. We’ve seen Jean Grey lose control of the Phoenix Force in some way or another five times! So, inevitably, when a story comes around like this one, it’s easy to think you’ve seen it before.
During this episode, there’s a lot of information about Wolverine’s past, and similar episodes, some even concocted by the same writing team as this one, have appeared on screen multiple times.
The thing that makes this episode stand out is X-23. In only her second ever appearance, not even a comic character yet, it’s amazing how similar the character is to Dafne Keen’s on-screen persona in Logan. That’s not just Keen’s take on the character, it’s a testament to how well and how strongly that character was defined for this series. Straight away, she commands your attention. And she’s remarkable in a fight too!
One cannot overstate how significant the character of Laura Kinney, aka X-23 has become, not just to this series; her own comic book series, her quick rise on the cinema screen and the character of Wolverine himself, have been forever changed by her arrival. And she has the fans of her own to prove it.
After leaving the student to their day, Logan is attacked in the street by two unknown mutants and then finds himself on a plane, being roughly thrown from the hatch! As he lands in woodland, two mercenaries, Omega Red and Gauntlet, the same two who attacked him earlier, transport down. Their apparent mission: hunt Wolverine. Their employers: HYDRA!
He now finds himself hunted through the forest, his injuries slowing him down – but he’s not alone. X-23, his female clone, emerges from the shadows, every bit as fierce as the weapon she was made to be. Her mission is simple: destroy Madame Hydra, the woman responsible for her suffering. She doesn’t need Wolverine’s help. She doesn’t want it. But survival demands otherwise.
Meanwhile, at the Institute, Scott and Jean attempt to teach the New Mutants precision and control. The lesson falls flat. Their students aren’t interested in theory; they want action. And action, elsewhere, is unfolding fast.
X-23 carves through HYDRA’s forces with brutal efficiency. Wolverine keeps pace, though he sees the truth – this girl is fighting a war that should never have been hers. She’s dangerous, relentless, trained for nothing but destruction. And yet, she’s more than that. Beneath the hardened edge, there’s something else: a girl seeking identity, freedom – something HYDRA never intended for her to have.
The battle intensifies, their combined strength ripping through HYDRA’s operations. But even with the facility left in flames, the threat hasn’t disappeared. HYDRA will hunt X-23. S.H.I.E.L.D. will track her. No matter what side claims her, she will never be free. And Wolverine knows it. She abandons Logan, hitching a ride with Madame Hydra’s ship as she attempts to escape. X-23 approaches her on the command deck – and minutes later the ship, along with X-23, is blasted out of the sky. S.H.I.E.L.D. arrives and Nick Fury asks Logan where the girl is.
In the aftermath, Wolverine chooses silence. He tells no one what happened. X-23 vanishes into the night, carrying the weight of her existence alone.
She will always be hunted. And she will always fight back.
Apocalypse’s dome, erected in Mexico in Impact, is still making the headlines.
HYDRA are more of an Marvel Cinematic Universe threat, established as early as Captain America: The First Avenger and appearing throughout the universe through its first 3 Phases.
Wolverine was thrown of an aircraft in the Wolverine and the X-Men episode Wolverine vs. Hulk. This episode, as well as the two Wolverine and the X-Men episodes Stolen Lives and Past Discretions also deal with similar stories, the latter introducing that show’s version of X-23. The story has also intense similarities to the original Marvel Animated Movie Hulk vs. Wolverine. All of these were written by the same two writers, which is why they feel so similar in story and tone.
Omega Red has appeared across the franchise, most notably X-Men the animated series episodes Red Dawn and A Deal with the Devil. He also appears in Hulk vs. Wolverine and made his first comic book appearance in X-Men #4 (1992).
The mercenary Gauntlet is an unusual choice for a villain. In fact, so far, it’s the character’s only onscreen role! The villain is usually associated with Apocalypse’s followers, the Dark Riders and is an Inhuman, first appearing in 1991’s X-Factor #65. He is a weapons expert and marksman.
The X-Men graduating and becoming tutors was a plot point first raised in Generation X in comics, before translating to the big screen in 2000’s X-Men. Since then the X-Men have had students that they mentor, whatever the media.
Wolverine being hunted through wilderness and forestry is nothing new: it’s been seen in Cold Vengeance, Reunion (Part 2), Grim Reminders and Hulk vs. Wolverine. Storm and Wolverine were also hunted through woodland in a similar way by Crimson Commando, Silver Sabre and Stonewall in Uncanny X-Men #215-216. It did not end well for the bad guys!
Madame Hydra also goes by the non de guerre Viper. She has a history with Wolverine. She appears in a different vein in The Wolverine and may or may not be Spider-Woman’s mother in the comic books. She’s also, at one point, Wolverine’s wife and Queen of Madripoor, as established in Wolverine #125.
Even though he’s not wearing it when he’s captured, as far as we can see, Wolverine wakes up in his Ultimate X-Men uniform.
When ranting at Wolverine during their battle, Omega Red boasts that he will have revenge on “Weapon X and all his friends… Sabretooth, Wade, Maverick…” Omega Red is seen with all three in Hulk vs. Wolverine – hardly a coincidence – but that seems to be set in a different reality to this episode, more linked with Wolverine and the X-Men than X-Men: Evolution. It’s also similar to X-Men‘s Weapon X, Lies and Videotape, one of the most popular episodes of that series’ run.
Bobby says he’s practically an X-Man – referring to his adventure last season with the main team in Under Lock and Key.
X-Cess Minutiae 
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