Episode #69 - Bloodlines
Original Airdate - 26th October, 1996

When Nightcrawler recieves a letter threatning his Birthmother, he asks The X-Men for help. Will Nightcrawler finally find why his Mother abandoned him?

Credits
Written By: Len Wein
Music Composed By: Shuki Levy
Animation Services By: AKOM

Review: A loose adaptation of an issue of [i]X-Men Unlimited[/i], this episode sees the return of Nightcrawler, and the absurd complications that come with it. On Halloween, Nightcrawler appears at the X-Mansion, looking for help to solve the mystery of his mother�s identity.

This episode takes heavy cues from the comic series but manages to keep cartoon viewers inline as to what�s actually happening. We have a lot of reveals here but the episode unravels them at a steady pace, including a great callback to a previous revelation about Graydon Creed�s past. Wait? Why is he in here?

Well...for those who don�t like spoilers, turn away now.

It turns out that Graydon�s Creed is not only the son of Sabretooth, but the son of Mystique as well. Mystique, as we all know, is the foster-mother of Rogue. Mystique...also happens to be the mother of Nightcrawler. We don�t discover the father�s identity, but we don�t need to know. Got that all straight? It is a bit complicated, but when streamlined it doesn�t look all that bad.

But anyways, Graydon Creed is sent on a mission by the Friends of Humanity, a mutant hate group, to kill off his mutant relatives. This all builds up to a spectacular climax and a brilliant epilogue.

While the episode is no where near as powerful as Nightcrawler�s first appearance, this is another highlight to the X-Men cartoon. A solid script and some great animation really sells this misshapen family reunion. Another episode I can easily recommend.

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