Episode #40 - Cruise Control
Original Airdate August 23rd, 2003

The X-Men take a vacation to get away from the hatred of Bayville, and end up as the saviours of a Carabian Island.

Credits
Written By: Steve Granat, Cydne Clark
Directed By: Gary Graham
Music Composed By: William Anderson
Guest Starring: Alexandra Carter as Magma/Amara.

Review: In this episode, the X-Men fight a volcano. Yeah, I guess the decades of villains provided in the comics weren’t enough, so they had to fight a lava-spewing volcano. Tune in next week when the X-Men fight the undertow.

There are a couple fun ideas put forth in the episode. The young X-Men go on vacation, they find a small island where their heroics are appreciated, and Amara actually gets a couple lines. But in the end, the conflict—the crux of the episode—is still the X-Men fighting a frickin’ volcano.

Taking the X-Men out of Bayville was a good idea. It allowed for a shift in scenery, music, and tone. The episode had some laughs, but it was too ridiculous in a Silver Age kind of way. I guess what I’m trying to say is it’s more believable for the X-Men to fight a spandex-clad megalomaniac than a volcano; or, at least, it violates the suspension of disbelief less.

This episode’s purpose was to break up the dark “Coming of Apocalypse” storyline with something light and to give Amara some well-deserved exposure. It did that and little more.

Geez, a volcano. Didn’t Mighty Mouse do that?