List of X-Men: Evolution characters
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The series X-Men: Evolution featured a diverse cast of complicated characters. A common staple of the series was whether a particular person had chosen their allegiances correctly, with several instances of a character switching teams.
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[edit] X-Men
[edit] Teachers
- Professor X (Charles Xavier) (voiced by David Kaye ) is the team's telepathic mentor and financier. He is very similar to his comic book counterpart, only more casual. Like the comic Professor X, he is still somewhat secretive, if only for the protection of his students.
- Wolverine ("Logan") (voiced by Scott McNeil), though similar in most ways to the classic Wolverine, has been seriously toned down in violence, and is designed to be more of a role model for the students and appeared more as a "gruff uncle" type character. On a side note, he is the only X-Man to change his uniform (see picture): at the beginning, he wears an incarnation of his classic orange-black uniform with his characteristic bladed mask, but then swaps it for a dark, maskless uniform very similar to the version found in the Ultimate X-Men comic. His powers (hightened senses, healing factor, and adamantium claws and bones) are identical to his comic incarnation.
- Storm (Ororo Munroe) (voiced by Kirsten Williamson), like her codename implies, is able to harness and manipulate the forces of nature. Storm can summon lightning from a benign sky, manifest violent storms, call up freezing blizzards and bring all forms of percipitation to bear. She can even harness the power of wind, allowing her to fly. Ororo is known for her calm personality and regal manner, and she was even worshipped as a Goddess in Africa due to her ability to summon the rains. In the comics, Ororo is an only child and an orphan; in Evolution, she has a sister named Vy and a nephew, Spyke. In both Evolution and the comics, Storm is claustrophobic, though the show does not reveal the origin of her ailment (she was trapped under wreckage following the accident that killed her parents). While Storm is one of the X-Men's most popular and recognizable female members, she plays a smaller role in X-Men: Evolution[citation needed]. Her one spotlight episode, "African Storm," puts the emphasis on her teenage nephew, Spyke, although her African origins are heavily touched upon during this episode.
- Beast (Hank McCoy) (voiced by Michael Kopsa) joins during the second season. Beast is similar to his comic counterpart in most ways, though the Evolution version speaks more casually. He was originally a gym coach and chemistry teacher at Bayville High before his latent transformation into the apelike Beast could no longer be controlled with the medications he had formulated upon first learning of his mutation. This change of fortune forced him to retire and join the X-Men, where he could continue to teach. It was during the initial discovery of his mutation that he became acquainted with Professor Xavier.
[edit] Students
- Cyclops (Scott Summers) (voiced by Kirby Morrow) is toned down from his comic book counterpart; he is less stiff and possesses a greater sense of humor. Contrasting with many other incarnations, Cyclops is not the aloof, doubtful loner, but a handsome and confident leader who exudes natural authority. While the other students tend to look up to him, his competitive nature and closely-held temper will get in the way at times. He is the most officious and rule-abiding of the X-Men and the least likely to fool around. After the third season, Cyclops and Jean Grey began teaching the younger students at the Xavier Institute how to better control and utilize their powers. Like the comics version, he has optic blasts that can only be controlled by special visors. This Cyclops also owns, drives, and maintains a car.
- Jean Grey (voiced by Venus Terzo) was "Miss Popular" of the X-Men: smart, athletic, beautiful, well-liked, and the second-in-command after Cyclops. However, she is more insecure than her comic book counterpart[citation needed] and possesses a jealous streak when it comes to Scott Summers. Unlike many mutants who began as social outcasts and came to find their horizons expanded through their association with the Institute, Jean starts out from a high position of status. After the third season, Cyclops and Jean Grey began teaching the younger students at the Xavier Institute how to better control and utilize their powers. Jean Grey's unique telekinetic mutant abilities allow her to manipulate matter through the force of thought alone and generate force fields, and tap into the minds of others with telepathic powers.
- Rogue (voiced by Meghan Black), a serious departure from the comic Rogue, is a reclusive, paranoid goth. She has a great deal of angst with respect to her powers, which keep her from ever safely touching anyone. Due to the machinations of Mystique, Rogue initially distrusted the X-Men and joined the Brotherhood of Mutants, but she soon switched loyalties. Rogue was infatuated with Cyclops for most of the show, but later developed a flirtatious relationship with Gambit. The series itself established no name for Rogue and gave no hints to it. In fact, after her introductory episode, her name is never brought up again. Rogue's mutant ability allows her to draw upon the aspects of another through bare skin to skin contact.
- Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner) (voiced by Brad Swaile) is the teleporting humorist of the team. The Evolution Nightcrawler is very similar to his comic version and has a friendly big-brother relationship with Cyclops. During his early days at the institute, he was still feeling very insecure about fitting in and compensated for it with excessive goofiness until the episode "Middleverse." Due to censorship issues[citation needed], Nightcrawler's Catholicism was not transferred from the comics. Kurt is the biological son of Mystique, but was raised by kind foster parents in Germany (instead of being abandoned by Mystique, she accidentally dropped him over a bridge while escaping Magneto, and when she saw he had been taken in by foster parents, she decided to let him remain with them). He speaks with a soft accent. For much of the show, Nightcrawler uses a holographic image inducer in public to hide his appearance.
- Shadowcat (Katherine "Kitty" Pryde) (voiced by Maggie Blue O'Hara) is the brainiac of the team, with the mutant ability to pass through solid objects as easily as a cat slinks through the shadows. She initially had a thick valley girl accent, but it was reduced and eventually phased out after the first season. Unlike her comic version, she was not the youngest member of the team upon her induction, but is nevertheless still very naive. Kitty led a very sheltered life before joining the X-Men and was initially afraid of Nightcrawler's "demonic" appearance, but she has since grown into a very open-minded and worldly young woman. She is one of the most optimistic and idealistic of the X-Men. The strongest departure from her character in the comics is that she has an on/off romance with Avalanche.
- Spyke (Evan Daniels) (voiced by Neil Denis), an entirely new character, is Storm's nephew, with the ability to project bonelike spikes from his skin. Spyke would much rather play basketball or skateboard than study; he has problems with authority, making him the "rebel" of the main team. Spyke and Quicksilver had an ongoing rivalry since childhood that culminated when Pietro framed Evan for robbery; however, their feud was rarely mentioned after their introductory episode and never mentioned at all past the first season. In the third season, Spyke left to join the Morlocks. He made a guest appearance in the fourth season, where he was seen as a protector of oppressed mutants. Many critics liked the change of the Spyke character, from a stereotypical teenager to a violent-minded vigilante[citation needed]. Spyke has been compared to the comic character Marrow (both have similar attitudes, powers, and ties to the Morlocks) but the creators have stated that they were unaware of Marrow when the show's production began.
[edit] New Mutants
As a whole, the New Mutants didn't have a significant role in the series. They were added in the second season of the show to make the Xavier Institute seem more populated by having several students in the background. During the show's four season run, the New Mutants remained in the background, and only in a few instances did any of them contribute to an episode's plot. Most often, they were relegated to sub-plots or background gags. As a result, few of them are well-developed and fans have generally assumed[citation needed] that the lesser-developed characters share the same personalities and traits as their comic-book counterparts. It should be noted, however, that the younger students are only referred to as the "new recruits" in the actual series; they are commonly called the "New Mutants" by fans because they include several members from the original New Mutants comic book. Note that whilst Boom Boom is listed under 'Neutral Mutants' due to her lack of a direct alleigence to any one party, she did originally attend the Xavier Institute as a 'New Mutant'.
- Iceman (Bobby Drake) (voiced by Andrew Francis), the most outgoing and cocky of the new recruits, later becomes a standby X-Man to take the place of Spyke. After Spyke's departure, he became a regular in X-Men missions, including being considered one of the more "experienced" students during the season three finale to join Cyclops, Storm, Jean, Beast, Nightcrawler, and Shadowcat to fight Apocalypse.
- Cannonball (Sam Guthrie) (voiced by Bill Switzer) is Bobby's more practical-minded friend. He also deserves mention for nearly beating Wolverine in a motorbike race, though his urge to "go Cannonball" ruined his chances. Tall, gawky, and clumsy, he has unintentionally knocked down several walls in the Institute. If he hits something he cannot demolish he falls over, dazed.
- Jubilee (Jubilation Lee) (voiced by Chiara Zanni), unlike the original show, plays a minor role. She retains the playfulness of her comic counterpart, and was often involved with Bobby's antics. She was removed in the third season (after the public revelation of mutants, her parents no longer felt the Institute was a good place for her), but appeared in a cameo during the season finale. Jubilation has the remarkable ability to generate colorful plasma. She can form this energy into explosive streamers and light shows, which she playfully refers to as 'Fireworks'.
- Wolfsbane (Rahne Sinclair) (voiced by Chantal Strand) is a relatively serene individual, only speaking in one episode and eventually being altogether removed from the cast during the third season (presumably under the same pretenses as Jubilee), but returned in a cameo during the series finale. She is of Scottish decent and is able to transform into a lupine form. Her name was mispronounced as "Rohn-ee" in "Retreat," but is correctly pronounced as 'rain' in "Mainstream."
- Multiple (Jamie Madrox) (voiced by David A . Kaye), the youngest of the bunch, is constantly picked upon by his older peers. He has a hard time controlling his powers, frequently making several duplicates after bumping into things. He also seems to have a crush on Shadowcat.
- Berzerker (Ray Crisp) (voiced by Tony Sampson) is a big departure from the mainstream continuity, where he is an extremely violent Morlock. Here, he is fairly mellow, though he still has a temper. He was initially intended to have an on-going rivalry with Sunspot, but aside from one scene this was phased out of the show. His power allows him to harness the fury of electricity.
- Magma (Amara Juliana Olivia Aquilla) (voiced by Alexandra Carter) is the only New Mutant who was the lead character of an episode ("Cruise Control"). She has a somewhat haughty, "royal" attitude at times, and is easily discouraged when she does not live up to her own expectations. Magma has a physiological connection with the earth, and becomes physically ill when she is separated from it for a long period of time (such as when on a boat trip). She also has an unlikely but deep friendship with Tabitha, aka Boom Boom. Magma's appearance has been significantly altered from her comic book incarnation, where she has blond hair and blue eyes; in Evolution, she is fully Brazilian with brown hair and brown eyes. Amara's mutant ability allows her to harness the power of the earth elements, allowing her to simulate effects associated with volcanic activity.
- Sunspot (Roberto Da Costa) (voiced by Mike Coleman) was shown to be a perfectionist and an overachiever. Roberto's unique mutant ability is derived from the sun, effectively allowing him to become a living solar panel. The energy absorbed from the sun allows Sunspot to "power up" into an all-black radiating form and convert the solar energy into physical strength.
[edit] The Brotherhood
The Brotherhood had an evolving role throughout the series. While the X-Men represent the ideal of mutant responsibility, the Brotherhood represent the reality, wasting their powers on selfish, small-time interests. They were little more than a plot device during the first season (often an excuse to have the X-Men fight somebody), but from the second season onward, they semi-retired from costumed villainy and were most often seen hanging out in their run-down house, only sometimes committing crimes to pay bills. Despite their on-going contempt for the X-Men, the Brotherhood (particularly Avalanche) were portrayed in a sympathetic light; they were easily manipulated by their elders, such as Magneto, Mystique, and even Principal Kelly, but they were not truly evil. The Brotherhood has been known to team up with their rivals, often voluntarily such as in "Ascension" when they aid Shadowcat's group of X-Men in defeating Magneto (who is being controlled by Apocalypse) and stand side-by-side with their former enemies at the Xavier Institute.
- Mystique (Raven Darkholme) (voiced by Colleen Wheeler) is similar to her comic counterpart, however, unlike her comic book adaptation, Mystique is able to morph into the form of certain animals, most notably, a cat and several species of birds. In her comic book incarnation, her power is strictly limited to humanoid figures of equal size, as her mass never changes while morphing. In early appearances, she used her real name as the disguised principal of Bayville High, Miss Darkholme, to spy on the X-Men and keep an eye on the Brotherhood. Despite being their leader, Mystique is not considered part of the core Brotherhood team, mainly because after the first season, she spends most of her time away from the team. She is seen initially in the series to be working for Magneto, forming the Brotherhood team at his behest. This relationship ends, however, after a number of betrayals on Magneto's part. During the second season she launches several covert activities against the X-Men, and when it appears Magneto is moving openly she attempts to take control of Xavier's students, destroying the mansion in the process. When this attempt fails, she disappears for a while, but comes back later in the series as an "ally" of Apocalypse, who, of course, betrays her. As a side note, Mystique is also the only villain to change her uniform: in the beginning, she is wearing a white tunic similar to the incarnations in the mainstream comics and the X-Men animated series, but later changes into a more practical outfit consisting of a tight black top with matching miniskirt and built-in knickers (The latter outfit influenced the appearance of Mystique's comic-book incarnation when she appeared in a self-titled series as a reluctant agent for Professor Xavier). However, Mystique's original outfit was meant to be nude as in the movies, but because of the younger audience, it was replaced with the white tunic.
- Avalanche (Lance Alvers) (voiced by Christopher Grey), grungy and rebellious, is the Brotherhood's unofficial field leader and has a rivalry with the straight-laced Cyclops. Avalanche is often irrational and driven by his temper, but as the series progresses, he becomes more mature and pragmatic, taking on a more morally ambiguous role. He is more reluctant to be a villain, and even lapses into heroic roles almost by accident. Avalanche has a developing romance with Shadowcat, and at one point he even joins the X-Men to be closer to her. Lance is a strong departure from his comic counterpart (originally named Dominic Petros), who never had heroic tendencies or a romance with Shadowcat. Also his superpower is actually channelled different than the comic Avalanche and is much more similar to the way the character Rictor uses his powers.
- Blob (Fred Dukes) (voiced by Michael Dobson), like the comic version, is a bully with a big mouth and a small brain. Unlike the comic version, this Blob seems to hide a sensitive side (as seen by the rather obsessive way he treated Jean in the first episode he appeared, and his later closeness to the rest of the Brotherhood). He is also one of the few characters to change aspects of his physical appearance throughout the series (most notably his 'haircut').
- Toad (Todd Tolansky) (voiced by Noel Fisher), less sycophantic than the original Toad, is a weaselly punk with poor hygiene (resulting in, among other things, very noticeable body odor) and a wise guy attitude. On the show he is often used for comic effect. He seems to revel in his own weirdness with a self-deprecating humor and feigned over-confidence. While Toad is ultimately a bit of a coward who strongly depends on others for protection, this has not prevented him from participating in fights with the X-Men so long as the rest of the Brotherhood team is involved. He gets to play a heroic role in episode 37, "The Toad, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". Like Avalanche, Toad is given another name in X-Men: Evolution (the original being Mortimer Toynbee). He often tries to flirt with the Scarlet Witch, though she is usually repulsed by him. His strongest friend in the Brotherhood is Blob, a fellow "freak amongst freaks," and he and Nightcrawler are often depicted as rivals due to their acrobatic abilities. He often acts as a scapegoat for the rest of the Brotherhood, bearing the brunt of blame for their actions.
- Quicksilver (Pietro Maximoff) (voiced by Richard Ian Cox), unlike Avalanche, retains most of his original counterpart's personality traits, including his impatience and arrogance. The similarities end there- this Quicksilver is a self-serving villain who will betray his friends and even family to save himself. He is loyal to his father, Magneto, only out of convenience. Though he has a hand in betraying his sister Wanda, he grows to care for his sister as the series progresses. In season 3, Quicksilver becomes the official team leader due to Magneto's influence, and even after Magneto's demise, continues to assume leadership, giving the team some much-needed ambition. Early in the series, he was shown to have a grudge rivalry with Spyke; after the first season, this is never mentioned again.
- Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) (voiced by Kelly Sheridan) is a tortured young soul. Locked up in an asylum by her father, Magneto due to his inability to control her powerful mutant ability, she grew bitter and vengeful against the world. She was released from imprisonment by Mystique, whom sought to use her in her own revenge against Magneto. Wanda spent much of her introductory series searching for her father, eventually finding him and attempting to kill the Master of Magnetism. After Mastermind's tampering, she now believes her father to be kind and caring, resulting in a calmer, more well-adjusted Wanda who is fiercely devoted to Magneto's cause. Wanda's unique mutant ability allows her to harness and manipulate the force of probability. Her power, already dangerous in its own right, is easily tainted by her anger and fury, making her all the more deadlier as not only a mutant, but a woman who has been scorned.
[edit] Magneto's Acolytes
When the original Brotherhood fell out of Magneto's favor (due to both incompetence and uncertain loyalty), he created a new team. Though never named on-screen, they are referred to as The Acolytes, named after Magneto's second-most famous team from the comics (the first, of course, being the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants). Sabretooth and Quicksilver were retained, but the rest of the team was brand new. The Acolytes were first referenced in "On Angel's Wings," when Magneto invited Angel to join him (he refused). The team was first revealed during the second season finale, "Day of Reckoning," where despite being quite smaller in number than the combined forces of the X-Men and the Brotherhood, held their own against both. They were the primary threat against the X-Men in season three, until the threat of Apocalypse sidetracks Magneto. Magneto apparently sought to further expand the team, forcing the Brotherhood to prove they were worthy of being Acolytes and even trying to recruit Wolverine (he also refused). The team roster does not seem to be stable, as Sabretooth and Mastermind tend to disappear, Quicksilver is never presented as a member in promotional material (despite being one), and in "Dark Horizon" Toad and Blob are briefly seen among the Acolytes.
- Magneto (Erik Magnus Lehnsherr) (voiced by Christopher Judge) is a powerful mutant supremacist. He is essentially unchanged from his comic book version, but toned down a bit so that he appears more a manipulator than a terrorist. In addition, the ambiguous nature of Magneto's personality has been changed to make him a more effective villain (though he was seen as a child in a concentration camp), resembling the 1960s version of the character, with an apparent (but unstated) interesting in mutant dominance, with himself as leader.
- Gambit (Remy LeBeau) (voiced by Alessandro Juliani), cast as a Long John Silver-type villain, is outwardly similar to the original Gambit, but is different in that he is a willing accomplice to Magneto. Trained as a thief, Gambit is an amoral mercenary who will give his services to the highest bidder. He appears to have a soft spot for Rogue (originally meant only as a nod to their relationship in the comics), but whether or not he has sincere affection for her is unclear. In the final sequence at the end of the series, Gambit was shown with the extended team of X-Men, with an arm around Rogue.
- Sabretooth (Victor Creed) (voiced by Michael Donovan) is a violent brawler who has a deep enmity against Wolverine, but not the psychotic killer of the comics. Little is revealed about Sabretooth except that he had some involvement with Wolverine and Weapon X, and that he is one of Magneto's most loyal followers. Oddly, he was depicted as a loner in the first season, but from the first season's finale (The Cauldron) onward he was almost never seen without Magneto.
- Colossus (Piotr Rasputin) (voiced by Michael Adamthwaite) is very similar to his comic counterpart. In this version, he is pressured into serving Magneto, who has abducted his family. The whereabouts of his family remain unknown at the end of the series. In the special feature 'X-Men Season 3: X-Posed' on the season 3 DVD, Colossus's sister is specifically mentioned as being Magneto's hostage, with no mention of other family members, contrary (but not contradictory) to what is stated in the series. This was likely an intended plot point for future seasons.
- Pyro (John Allerdyce) (voiced by Trevor Devall, sometimes erroneously attributed to Michael Dobson) is a mad pyromaniac with a cackling laugh and a broken Australian accent. The original Pyro was more controlled, whereas this version's affinity for destruction and complete ignorance of consequence border on outright insanity. In one notable scene he is watching footage of Magneto's supposed demise at the hands of Apocalypse, rewinding, playing back, and laughing several times. He differs from his comic book counterpart in that he needs a constant stream of flame to sustain his power; when Wolverine fights him midway through his repeated viewing of Magneto's death, Wolverine severs his flamethrower pack and the fires already conjured fade away. The special feature 'Cerebro Mutant Files: The Acolytes' on the Season 3 DVD reveals that, like the movie, the name St. John Allerdyce (as Pyro is named in the comics) is simplified to John Allerdyce, likely because few Americans know how to pronounce St. John (pronounced 'sin-jun').
- Quicksilver (Pietro Maximoff) (voiced by Richard Ian Cox) is a member of both the Acolytes and the Brotherhood. After his betrayal of the Brotherhood in "Day of Reckoning," he appeared with the Acolytes, but was sent back to the Brotherhood in "Stuff of Villains" to train them for future service to Magneto. Just why Magneto wanted the team back, considering he had discarded them for incompetence, is never made clear.
- Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde) (voiced by Campbell Lane) is the group's telepath, though his membership on the team appears to be unofficial, as he seldom appears. While his comic book counterpart could only cast illusions, this version of Mastermind is also capable of telepathy, as well as reading and even re-writing memories, as he did to the Scarlet Witch. Strangely, despite looking like a common criminal, Mastermind sounds well-educated.
[edit] Neutral Mutants
- Boom-Boom (Tabitha Smith), voiced by Megan Leitch. Tabitha has a troubled past and a criminal father. Originally one of the New Mutants, she felt that she didn't fit in and moved in with the Brotherhood, who were more her style. She often played practical jokes on the boys (such as shaving off Blob's Mohawk while he slept) and abused their hospitality, though they did little to stop her. She left following Mystique's return. Her role in the series was significantly diminished afterward; she lived on her own and appeared mostly in the company of her friend Amara. Her powers are making energy 'time bombs' that can explode at will.
- The Morlocks. The Morlocks made several appearances on the show. Like in the comics, the Morlocks made their option of living down in the sewers, because their mutations were far too apparent to stop human from shunning them from society. The characters included:
- Callisto (voiced by Saffron Henderson), the leader of the group, who has enhanced senses. She is more passive and reasonable than her comic-book counterpart.
- Caliban, a chalk-white character able to detect the presence of other mutants.
- Cybelle, a Black American female with an acid touch.
- Torpid, the mute little girl with the huge hands, who possesses a paralyzing touch. She was created for the series.
- Facade, who can blend into his surroundings. He was created for the series.
- Lucid, a froglike mutant who can see through solid objects. He was created for the series.
- One other Morlock, Scaleface (who can shapeshift into a fire-breathing reptilian creature) appeared in one episode. She tried to prevent Berzerker from escaping the Morlocks, a nod to their relationship in the comics.
- Later on, Spyke joined them when his powers went out of his control.
- X-23, voiced by Brittney Irvin. It is noteworthy in that she was created for and made her debut on X-Men: Evolution, and was later adopted as a comic character. She is a female clone of Wolverine that was raised since "birth" to be a killer for HYDRA. She at first blames Wolverine for her wretched existence and tries to kill him, but relents when she realizes that he had nothing to due with her creation or abuse. She has two claws in each hand instead of three, and a single claw in each foot. In scenes from the future on the final episode, X-23 is among the X-Men.
- Angel (Warren Worthington), voiced by Mark Hildreth, worked with the X-Men on occasional missions. He donned a costume and a mask to perform heroic deeds in New York City, but stopped after his actions garnered negative attention from Magneto. Like his comic counterpart, he is a multi-millionaire.
- Forge, voiced by Samuel Vincent, in great contrast to his comic counterpart, is a Bayville High student and mutant inventor from the late 1970s who was trapped in a pocket dimension he called "Middleverse" for several years. Only when Nightcrawler found his way there and the X-Men found a way to free him did Forge return, though he was twenty years late for his curfew. While he is an ally of the X-Men, he only appeared once more to test equipment that would enhance Nightcrawler's teleportation range, at the cost of releasing extra-dimensional monsters into the world. He is curiously absent from the final shot of the series, which included the X-Men and the various allies they had gathered throughout the series.
- Havok (Alex Masters/Summers), Cyclop's brother, voiced by Matt Hill. Long believed to be dead, Alex (who was adopted by the Masters family rather than the Blanding family as his comic counterpart was) is reunited with his brother Scott, though Alex has come under the influence of Magneto, leading Scott away from the X-Men. Eventually, Alex and Scott realize that Magneto has tricked them and help put an end to his plans. Alex turns down an offer to join the X-Men, preferring to stay in Hawaii and become a professional surfer. Despite this, he agrees to help in the fight against Apocalypse, even donning an X-Men training uniform.
- Danielle Moonstar, voiced by Tabitha St. Germain, is a Native-American mutant who befriends Kitty. Her powers of psychic projection exposed the worst fears of her neighbors, which resulted in the entire population of her small town moving away and leaving her and her grandfather the only residents of a ghost town. Her story coincidentally parallels that of Forge, the only other Native-American in the series.
- Destiny (Irene Adler), a blind mutant who has visions of future possibilities and events. In "Rogue Recruit", it is implied that Destiny is employed by Magneto, but her true loyalties lie with her longtime friend Mystique (in the comics, the two were lesbian lovers; this was glossed over in Evolution). She raised Rogue in Caldecott, Mississippi, waiting for the day in which her potentially unlimited power would manifest. Though Irene lies to Rogue on several occasions (such as telling her that she must always cover her skin due to a phony illness, and convincing her that the X-Men are dangerous mutant hunters), she clearly has genuine affection for the girl.
- Dorian Leach is a young boy whose mutation nullifies the powers of any mutant within range. His green skin marks him as a mutant, and his mother struggles to protect him from anti-mutant bigots. In his final appearance, Rogue absorbs his powers to fight against Apocalypse.
[edit] Other Villains
- Apocalypse, voiced by David Kaye. Hinted at during the second season, Apocalypse became the primary focus of the third and fourth seasons, overshadowing even a fearful Magneto as the primary villain. Though his back story remains largely the same as his comic counterpart, this Apocalypse was sealed away behind three mystic doors in the Himalayas, using Mesmero to help him escape. Once free, Apocalypse quickly proved that even the combined forces of the X-Men and Magneto's Acolytes were no match for him, and set out to use the Eye of Ages to turn all humans into mutants (or as Beast put it, "reshape the world in his image").
This Apocalypse differed greatly from the original version, most notably his initial appearances showed him as an iridescent god-like being who never spoke. During the series finale he was altered to more closely resemble his original appearance by becoming a blue cyborg with a penchant for overly histrionic dialogue, which led to mixed reactions from fans. - Mesmero, voiced by Ron Halder, was little more than a servant of Apocalypse in X-Men: Evolution. While Apocalypse was sealed away in the Himalayas, Mesmero helped track down the items that would help free him. He traveled with a circus (It is implied that he worked there before his time with Apocalypse as he is found there once Apocalypse discards him) and used his hypnotic powers to recruit the X-Men, then Gambit and later Rogue alone to help free Apocalypse. In contrast to his comic counterpart, this Mesmero looks like a normal human with strange green tattoos on his body rather than a green skin tone. Professor Xavier at one point hints that the bulk of Mesmero's power is channelled from Apocalypse; after being abandoned, Mesmero does not show any powers and is easily captured and interrogated.
- Juggernaut (Cain Marko) (voiced by Paul Dobson). In Juggernaut's first appearance on the show, it took the combined forces of the X-Men & Brotherhood to stop him from harming Xavier & Mystique. However in his second appearance, a substantially more experienced X-Men team managed to defeat Juggernaut with the help of the environment. The most noteworthy differences between the comic Juggernaut and the Evolution Juggernaut are that he is now Xavier's half-brother rather than his step-brother and that he is now a mutant who's powers were activated by "mysticism". Another difference is the helmet he wore had buckle-like locks on it allowing for it to be easily taken off unlike his previous incarnation in the previous X-Men animated series where it was bolted on. However, Juggernaut still possessed the same general weakness from telepathic assault and his helmet was stated in his first appearance to still provide protection.
- Legion (David Haller/Lucas/Ian) was altered slightly from the comics. He more closely resembled his father, Professor X, and had inherited his psionic powers, but here Legion was also able to shape-shift between his various personalities. Originally, Legion's personalities developed due to mental disorders; in Evolution however they are manifestations of repressed feelings. David Haller is disappointed in his father's absence while Lucas demonstrates this disappointment through anger and violence. The dominant personality, Lucas, is a Scottish goth-type who has no basis in the comics. He has psychic abilities superior to Jean's (formidable by this point in the series) and even caused Professor X's attempt to suppress him to backfire. David, considered the "true" personality, demonstrated no discernible powers. Finally, young, mute Ian possessed pyrokinesis, including the ability to create fire at will. His motivations remain unknown, but he sided with Lucas against David and the X-Men.
- Bolivar Trask, voiced by John Novak. A former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent as noted by his comment about learning of mutants through his involvement with S.H.I.E.L.D. is a militant follower of the anti-mutant cause and he secretly developed the Sentinel prototype underneath Bayville. He was arrested for what happened and was later released by Nick Fury and allowed to create an entire batch of Sentinels to combat Apocalypse.
- The Sentinel only appeared twice in the series: the first time as a single prototype that was unleashed in New York and the second time as several units in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s first line of defense against Apocalypse. Unlike the original Sentinel robots in the comics, these are not authorized and even got Bolivar Trask arrested. The design from the comics was also changed, making this Sentinel more complex-looking than the comics' version, giving it some abilities not seen with its comic counterparts.
- Edward Kelly (voiced by Dale Wilson) was the second principal of Bayville High (the first, Ms. Darkholme aka Mystique had vanished) and carried suspicions about the mutant teens which became full-blown prejudice when they were publicly revealed, causing him to make reforms at the high school. Later, he ran for mayor of Bayville competing with the falsely heroic Brotherhood for media attention- a nod to his career as a politician in the comics.
- Duncan Matthews (voiced by Vincent Gale) is a stereotypical jock/football player. In his earliest appearances, he was little more than the local high school jerk before becoming a rival to Cyclops for the attention of Jean Grey. By the end of the series, he and his buddies began terrorizing innocent mutants which drew the wrath of Spyke & the Morlocks. Later he was arrested for his crimes though it is unclear of his fate at the end of the series.
- Hungan, a witch doctor from Storm's tribe. He is jealous of Storm because her powers over the weather made her a more venerable idol in their African village. Because of this he came to America to seek revenge and drains Storm's powers using her fears of claustrophobia to help him do so. It is unclear if he is a mutant, relies on magic or a combination of the two.
[edit] HYDRA
- Viper, also known as Madame Hydra. She is the green-haired leader of HYDRA.
- Omega Red (Arkady Rossovich), voiced by Richard Newman. One of Viper's underlings, Omega Red has a previous history with Wolverine that is hinted at but never fully explained.
- Gauntlet, voiced by Mark Gibbon, is another member of HYDRA who tries to get back their creation, X-23.
[edit] Miscellaneous Characters
- Amanda Sefton, voiced by Moneca Stori, is Kurt Wagner's human girlfriend. Sweet but shy, she discovered Kurt's mutation on her own but was not frightened of him. She is one of the few humans at Bayville High who doesn't openly shun mutants. Caucasian in the comics, Amanda's ethnicity was changed to mixed African-American/Eastern European. Unlike her comic book incarnation, she is not a practitioner of sorcery.
- Margali is Amanda Sefton's mother, who forbids her from seeing Kurt after he and Toad get into a fight that wrecks much of her house. Though she still has her comic counterpart's European heritage, she has no previous connection to Kurt and is not a sorceress.
- Arcade, aka Webber Torque, is a freshman computer whiz. Mystique, posing as a girl called Risty Wilde, gets him to hack into Cerebro (which he thinks is merely a high-tech, interactive video game) so that she can steal data about Scarlet Witch. In the comics, Arcade is an obnoxious, flamboyant paid assassin, but in Evolution he is a normal, harmless (though over-enthusiastic) student.
- Gabrielle Haller is Professor Xavier's ex-wife and the mother of Legion. The two married young and divorced because Xavier dedicated too much time to his study of mutants. Unbeknown to him, however, Gabrielle was pregnant at the time of their separation and decided to raise their son by herself. In the comics, Gabrielle was, like Magneto, a Holocaust survivor. She and Xavier were lovers and had their son out of wedlock, though this version of Gabrielle also chose to hide David's existence from his father.
- Paul is a blond schoolmate of Scott Summers and was one of his good acquaintances. He made several appearances in the series, the last a look of utter bewilderment when the X-Men were outed on TV.
- Taryn Fujioka is a black-haired, attractive girl who houses a crush on Scott. At first, she is Jean's best friend, but when Jean starts to develop feelings for Scott herself, becomes her most bitter rival. However, when Scott was outed as a mutant, she shunned him.
- Captain America, voiced by David Hayter, was a government-sponsored superhero who fought for the Allies in World War II. With Wolverine's help, he liberated Auschwitz (called a POW camp in the show due to censors) in Poland and rescued a young Magneto. The super-soldier serum that gave Captain America his powers was slowly killing him, however, and he was cryogenically frozen.
- Risty Wilde, voiced by Nicole Oliver, was the assumed persona Mystique used to remain close to her adopted daughter, Rogue. Risty was a goth-punk from England with purple hair, and from the beginning of the second season, became fast friends with Rogue. The Risty persona was also used as a cover for Mystique to obtain data from the Xavier Institute. After the public revelation of mutants, Risty disappeared, allegedly because her parents had made her stay in England due to the mutant scandal (in reality, Mystique had been locked away in Area 51). Accidental skin contact with Rogue at a concert caused Mystique to lose control of her power, finally revealing to Rogue that Risty had been a false identity all along. Due to her purple hair and British accent, many fans assumed she had been modeled after Psylocke, or might even be the Evolution version of the character. The producers insist that it was a coincidence, and the two are unrelated.[1]
- Nick Fury (voiced by Jim Byrnes and Hajime Iijima) is the gruff leader of the secret government agency called S.H.I.E.L.D.. He has helped the X-Men on occasion, mostly when it benefits his own agenda.
- Agatha Harkness, voiced by Pauline Newstone. She gives Scarlet Witch training in various disciplines that helps her control her powers. Agatha Harkness does demonstrate supernatural abilities on the show by putting out a fire and other magically ways.
- Dr. Deborah Risman, voiced by Lisa Ann Beley. A character created for Evolution, Dr. Risman, after discovering the Weapon X project that created Wolverine, worked to create a perfect soldier. She failed 22 times; the 23rd was the only success and became X-23. When X-23 escapes, Dr. Risman defects from Hydra to Nick Fury and SHIELD because of the moral implications of the project while hoping SHIELD can recapture X-23 before any harm is done.
[edit] References
- ^ Fifty Five Questions with Greg Johnson. Retrieved on 2006-10-28.