Episode #34 - No Mutant Is An Island
Original Airdate 21st Semptermber 1996

Cyclops leaves The X-Men and returns to the orphanage where he was raised... but not all is as it seems

Credits
Written By: Sandy Scesny
Music Composed By: Shuki Levy
Animation Services By: AKOM

Review: An episode that had most of it�s effects lost due to huge animation delays airing it nearly 2 years out of place. For those not in the know, this episode deals with Cyclops grieving over the loss of Jean. When viewed in order, it�s actually very good. When aired 2 years out of sequence, it�s confusing as hell, why is Cyclops grieving over someone who we know is alive and well?

The majority of The X-Men only appear for a few minutes in the opening act, and then it�s all an out-of-costume Cyclops episode, which is a pretty ballsy move for a children�s cartoon, when you think about it. Another odd inclusion is that the episode features a �standard� Marvel comic book villain rather than a mutant that this show usually uses. Whilst he�s never referred to by that name, the villain is indeed The Purple Man, one of Daredevil�s early villains, who�s recently appeared in Marvel Comic books such as Alias and The New Avengers. In an even cooler moment for us Daredevil fanboys, there�s a small cameo of �The Man Without Fear� in the form of a cut out in Purple Man�s bedroom.

Purple Man himself wasn�t too interesting a villain here, as I found his plot to be a little lame. However, there is one unintentionally hilarious moment in the episode. One the orphans mutant powers is the ability to transform his wheelchair into a tank. I couldn�t help but laugh out loud for several minutes after I saw it, and then snigger to myself every time I saw him again.

The best part of the episode is Cyclops� grieving. I thought his characterisation was spot on throughout the episode, grieving, yet not going into a sulk every few minutes. I thought it was interesting that he would return to the orphanage he grew up in, especially after he revealed how much he hated it in Orphans End.

The episode�s ending is very optimistic, but unfortunately, it suffers from having a poor follow up. It was never fully explained what happened to Phoenix/Jean, or how she managed to return to Earth. It was certainly a set of very odd circumstances, but they don�t ruin this very enjoyable episode.