Marvel's X-Men, Volume 3 - Featuring the Dark Phoenix

After the release of Volumes 1 & 2 most fans were ecstatic to be able to own the first three and a half seasons of this classic animated series on studio released DVD. The problem with Disney is you can never tell if they will finish releasing a series or cancel it because of poor sales or God knows why. Luckily fans of this series will be able to collect more episodes this September 22nd with the further release of X-men: The Animated Series with Volumes 3 & 4. Volume three is confirmed to contain the following fifteen episodes from the third and fourth seasons of the show spread across two discs:

Disc 1
34 Savage Land, Strange Heart (1)
35 Savage Land, Strange Heart (2)
36 Obsession
37 Dark Pheonix: Dazzled (1)
38 Dark Pheonix: The Inner Circle (2)
39 Dark Pheonix: The Dark Pheonix (3)
40 Dark Pheonix: The Fate Of The Pheonix (4)

Disc 2
41 Cold Comfort
42 Orphan's End
43 The Juggernaut Returns
44 Nightcrawler
45 Weapon X, Lies and Videotape
46 One Man's Worth (1)
47 One Man's Worth (2)
48 Courage

Really every episode from this series can be considered a fan favorite but more noticable in this collection is the four part Dark Pheonix Saga as well as Weapon X, Lies and Videotape, Nightcrawler and Obsession.

The audio & video quality we can expect will be the same as that of the first two volumes. Episodes tended to be in the same quality they aired with minor compression issues that go unnoticed by most and didn't impede on my personal viewing enjoyment. Also the further we go into the series we should notice a slow steady improvement on the actual animation quality.

There are regrettably no special features on these volumes but given the fact we're dealing with Disney that was to be expected. TELEVISION WAS BETTER IN THE NINETIES. Thanks for your time.

* Rather than clutter up the review page I have included a list of episode summaries in my comments section for those interested.

I am a child of the '90's, growing up in a time when television was in something of a golden age -- the action was kicking harder, the humor was getting funnier but was still fresh and clean, and landmark shows such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" were getting their starts. Among this age, FOX network created FOXkids!, a viewing block that aired in the afternoons after school let out and also on Saturday mornings. Within this time, "X-Men: The Animated Series" came into being.

Dealing with large social issues such as prejudice and good vs. evil, "X-Men", like the comics the show was based on, wrapped these issues in fun packaging with "mutants" and "super powers." Going on to be one of the most successful cartoons in FOX's history, "X-Men" ran for a phenomenal five seasons. This is the first time that these beloved episodes are available in high-quality DVD format.

Volume Three of this collection picks up where Volume Two left off -- the Phoenix Saga, one of the greatest of all comic book story arcs. Jean Grey joined with the cosmic entity known as the Phoenix Force and sacrificed her life to save the universe. Now, the Phoenix has been driven mad by Jean's humanity and her telepathic powers, helped by the mental manipulations of the sinister Inner Circle club, beginning the start of the epic Dark Phoenix Saga.

Follow the X-Men as they fight for Jean Grey's soul, as Apocalypse rises and the battle not only evil but prejudice and social adversity time and time again. Featuring everyone's favorite comic characters (from Nightcrawler to Iceman to Archangel, to Cable and Apocalypse and Magneto), Volume Three will continue to delight fans of both comic and show.

Although there are regrettably no special features, these DVD collections -- with a price tag of $15 a piece -- are well worth collecting as a shining example of a time when television was more than just reality shows and sexual humor; a time when the media was relevant.

5 out of 5 stars.

In my opinion, X-Men, Batman TAS, Spider-Man, Animaniacs, Power Rangers, Eek the Cat, Bobby's World, Tiny Toons and all the other shows that were featured on Fox Kids were the very best shows. X-Men, in spite of being a Saturday morning cartoon gathered very high ratings. In fact, it was so successful that it ran for a whopping 76 episodes with a total of 5 seasons, all the way from 1992 to 1997. In fact, it is the longest running Marvel animated show with Spider-Man being the second longest. X-Men has often been compared to Batman the Animated Series in terms of quality.

We can now witness more adventure as episodes from season 3 and 4 are now being released. X-Men closely followed some storylines from the comics. In this one, we witness the Dark Phoenix Saga in which Jean Grey is consumed by the Phoenix Force but is her dark evil side. We'll also see the X-Men clash in an epic battle with the immortal god-like mutant Apocalypse and even battle Sauron's army in the prehistoric Savage Land.

X-Men is something for all ages. Kid and teens will love the action and adventure, while adults will appreciate the well written episodes and how some of them follow the comics. And of course, everybody will appreciate the top-quality animation created by some of the greatest animation studios of the day and everyone will love the nicely drawn awesome looking characters who bear great resemblance to the X-Men of comic book artist Jim Lee and writer Chris Claremont.

In case you're a fan of X-Men, Marvel, good action, emotional scenes or epic battles of good vs evil or if you even watched this on Fox Kids during the fantastic era of the 90s, don't miss X-Men! If you got the first volume and volume 2, then I,m sure you'll adore volume 3 and volume 4 and if you haven't experienced X-Men, it might just be a good time to grab both new volumes and prepare for epic adventures featuring Marvel's mutant team.

Here are the episodes in this volume:

Obsession: Archangel, who originally was Angel seeks revenge on Apocalypse for turning him into on of his horsemen. The X-Men assist him with the use of Apocalype's own ship.

Cold Comfort: Iceman, a former member of the X-Men returns and immediately causes problems for Xavier by breaking into a government compound. The X-Men must find out why he is causing trouble.

Savage Land, Strange Heart part 1: After losing his war for control of the Savage Land, the pterosaur mutant Sauron kidnaps Storm knowing he can use her to gain control of the prehistoric valley.

Savage Land, Strange Heart part 2: Sauron hypnotizes Storm into a vicious, maniacal brute and unleashes disaster in the Savage Land. In doing so, the god-like being Garokk awakens from his slumber. The X-Men must battle the deity and save the Savage Land.

Dark Phoenix Saga-Dazzled: Jean returns to the X-Men. Knowing that she possesses the power of the Phoenix, the leader of a club known as the Inner Circle(Hellfire Club) tricks her into marrying him and betraying the X-Men.

Dark Phoenix Saga-The Inner Circle: After freeing herself from the Inner Circle's hypnotic spell, Jean Grey is turned into the all powerful Dark Phoenix. She now possesses the ability to destroy entire galactic systems and is a menace to the entire universe.

Dark Phoenix Saga-The Dark Phoenix: Phoenix returns to Jean Grey's home as the X-Men decide the fate of Jean Grey. The Shi'ar Empire appears and plans to kill Jean to save the universe. The X-Men want to prevent them from killing her knowing that she cannot help it.

Dark Phoenix Saga-The Fate Of The Phoenix: The X-Men battle the Sh'air to determine whether or not Jean Grey is allowed to live. In doing so,the Dark Phoenix is again unleashed and even the X-Men and Shi'ar are unable to stop her.

Orphan's End: Corsair of the Starjammers arrives on Earth and learns that he is Cyclops Father, just in time for Scott to learn his old man is wanted for kidnapping by The Sh'air.

The Juggernaut Returns: Juggernaut returns but his powers are suddenly stolen. Knowing that this will kill him, the X-Men fight to save Juggernaut's life.

Nightcrawler: Whilst on a skiing trip, Wolverine learns of a demon scaring the locals. The demon turns out to be a mutant named Nightcrawler, who is taking refuge in a nearby Church

Weapon X, Lies and Videotape: Wolverine is sent to Canada to learn the secret about the Weapon X program that gave him his adamantium skeleton, but runs into some familiar faces when he arrives.

One Man's Worth part 1 and 2: In this 2-part episode, Bishop and Shard travel through time and recruit the future Wolverine and Storm to aid them in their quest from saving a Professor Xavier of the past from being killed by one of Mastermold's devious plans.

Courage: Morph finally returns home to the X-Men. But when they're heard they have to fight the Sentinels, Morph(who was nearly killed by the Sentinels in the first episode) must overcome his fear of the robots and fight along side his friends.