Episode #39 - Under Lock and Key
Original Airdate November 16th, 2002

When Mesmero uses Gambit to steal an ancient artifact, Magneto and his Acolytes travel to England to learn more, and stop Mesmero's from executing his plan to resurect Apocalypse.

Credits
Written By: Sean Roche
Directed By: Frank Paur
Music Composed By: William Anderson
Guest Starring: Andrew Francis as Bobby Drake/Iceman, Ron Halder as Mesmero, Mark Hildreth as Angel and Alessandro Juliani as Gambit.

Review: The signs of the constant quality improvement is perhaps no more eminent than here. The thought of the original 5 members teaming up was one thing, but the way in which this story moved things forward and leaves you anticipating what’s coming next really is nothing short of amazing. It does make you realise that WB could be idiotic as they had a long break between this and the next episode. They also thought Cruise Control, of all things, was the best episode to air after this.

They really went all out on this one, and it clearly shows. It also seemed they were trying that little bit harder to get The Acolytes in the episode, there was no time wasting in Bayville, The Brotherhood didn’t appear at all and no comedy subplot. It certainly was something different, and there’s no denying that having the original 5 members made it all the more cooler. Iceman had really become one more than just another one of the recruits at this point, he was basically one of the team. Given how he replaced Spyke, this was a welcome addition. The show didn’t do too bad a job on Iceman. The voice didn’t really fit, and his Bobby design looks a little too straight laced for authority ignoring, funny loving Bobby, but his iced design was beyond awesome, and the visuals accompanying it were incredibly well done.

The opening of the episode was especially cool, as I think Gambit is one of Evo’s coolest characters. I never really cared for him in most of the comics I’ve read, and TAS’ wasn’t really used enough to be that good, but he’s great here. I especially love his theme, it’s barely noticeable but oddly enough, still brilliant. Magneto’s powers are once again used for fantastic visuals as wraps the fence around Mesmero effortlessly. I’m so glad they decided not to have lasers or rings shout out his arms, the sound effects and music work so much better.

One of the coolest things about having the original 5 was that we the return of Angel was finally upon us! Mere words (and a review) will never be able to describe how much I loved his previous appearance. He didn’t really do a whole lot here, but the thought was certainly there. Either way, much like his appearance in Ascension, it was simply cool to see him again.

Being a Brit myself, it was cool seeing the team head to London. They actually did a pretty good job capturing the look of the land, which is unfortunately, all too rare in superhero cartoons. As with most Apocalypse episodes, we end with a great fight and a brilliant tease as to what is to come. Season storylines are much more intriguing than standalones, and this Apocalypse arc was done damn near to perfection. Under Lock And Key is immensely enjoyable throughout, and ends with a great sense of anticipation. You can’t really ask for much more!