Episode #6 - Middleverse
Original Airdate January 27th, 2000

Nightcrawler becomes trapped in an alternate dimension. He meets Forge, a fellow mutant who has been trapped in "Middleverse" since the 70's!

Credits
Written By: Adam Beechen
Directed By: Steven E. Gordon
Music Composed By: William Anderson
Guest Starring: Kirby Morrow as Cyclops/Scott Summers, Scott McNeil as Wolverine/Logan, Venus Terzo as Jean Grey, David Kaye as Professor Charles Xavier, Brad Swaile as Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner, Richard Ian Cox as Pterio/Quicksilver and Samuel Vincent as Forge.

Review: This is a Nightcrawler focused episode. Now, you’re all probably aware that I don’t like this show’s Nightcrawler in the slightest, so an episode focused on him isn’t my ideal way to spend 20 minutes, but even I wasn’t prepared for this.

The episode is arguably X-Men: Evolution’s worst, to be blunt. The situation wasn’t helped by Forge. I’m not a massive Forge fan to begin with, but his appearance here just baffled me. He’s been stuck in this “Middleverse” dimension on his lonesome for decades, and when Kurt, a furry blue elf arrives, he barely notices! Whilst I appreciate that they tried to do something different with a pretty bland character, I spent most of the time watching this episode trying to figure out just what the hell is up with him!

The idea of Kurt leaping into other dimensions would be later used so much effectively in Shadow Dance, here; it was simply difficult to make it to the end. The terrible puns, the annoying characterisation and the rather silly-to-begin with plot, it all added up to an episode that stunk even among the first season. The pointless fights between The X-Men and The Brotherhood are continued again here, at which point I was simply sick of seeing them go at it. When The Acolytes arrived towards the end of season two I was practically jumping for joy!

An episode I’ve rarely gone back to after my initial viewing, it’s simply best left ignored.