The Fifth Horseman
Written by Steven Melching & David McDermott
Summary:
Jubilee joins Beast for an exploration of the Andes. They discover
evidence of a Mayan Temple, three thousand miles from where it should
be. Meanwhile, Fabian Cortez leads the new Four Horsemen on a search to
find a young host body for Apocalypse. After their first target
escapes, Cortez discovers Jubilee is nearby. Jubilee is kidnapped by
the Horsemen and brought to the temple, although new member Caliban is
reluctant to harm her due to her past with the Morlocks. Eventually,
Caliban turns on Cortez and escapes the temple with Jubilee and Beast.
Cortez is left alone in the collapsing temple, as Apocalypse enters
this reality and steals his body.
Continuity Notes:
-
Beast and Jubilee are the only X-Men appearing this episode.
-
Fabian Cortez was rescued by Apocalypse at the end of “Sanctuary Part Two.” Apocalypse has amplified his powers, giving him the ability to power up mutants and turn them into Hounds. “Hounds” and “Horsemen” are used interchangeably in the episode.
-
Apocalypse was trapped outside of time following the “Beyond Good and Evil” serial.
-
The Four Horsemen, with the exception of Caliban, are wearing the red bodysuits with spikes that Phoenix II wore as a costume.
“Um, Actually…”:
Kitty Pryde’s friendship with Caliban has been transposed on to
Jubilee. Also, those spiked bodysuits belong to the Hounds, not
Apocalypse’s Four Horsemen. In the comics, those outfits are worn by
the slaves of Ahab and the Shadow King (I’m not sure if the connection
between those two villains was ever revealed).
Review: A vast improvement over “Jubilee’s Fairytale Theatre,” this episode has many of the elements that made X-Men
unique in its early seasons. Old storylines are resolved, continuity
from past episodes is built upon, and the leads are given distinct
personalities and opportunities to play off each other. The
Melching/McDermott scripts tend to be more loyal to the comics, giving
the episodes less of a generic superhero feel and more of the qualities
that distinguished X-Men
from most kid’s cartoons. Jubilee and Beast actually make for an
entertaining pairing, and it’s a relief to see Jubilee given more of her
true personality this episode, as opposed to the annoying kid sidekick
role she was forced into in the past. There is yet another
example of Jubilee working as a Kitty surrogate, as Caliban is now her
pity-friend even though they’ve never really met in the show before, but
this isn’t nearly as annoying as the previous episode’s premise.
As a fan of the Simonson/Simonson X-Factor
run, I was also glad to see Caliban brought into his ‘roided-out
servant role, but I do question why there are now three utterly generic
Horsemen saddled with him. Once again, we’ve missed a chance to see the
Dark Riders brought into animation. Even the Alliance of Evil would’ve
been more intimidating than these losers; Whip Guy, Boomerang Girl, and
Big Guy with Muttonchops. While this episode is a better showcase of
how the new designs can work (the character movements are noticeably
smoother and the overall look is less cluttered), it also provides a
clear example of how tricky “cartoony” can be. None of the villains are
even slightly threatening; even Apocalypse looks like a leftover
Pokemon in certain scenes. I don’t know if this decision was
consciously made to make the show less intimidating for younger viewers,
but the toothless villains undermine any attempt to make the stories
genuinely dramatic.
Credit to http://marvel.toonzone.net/
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