The story begins with Wolverine and Rogue having an argument about him leaving. When Wolverine goes to Charles and Jean Grey, they get headaches. An explosion occurs, and Charles and Jean disappear. The resulting trauma caused the X-Men team to disband and go their separate ways, leaving Xavier's once highly revered league of mutant peace preservers out of commission.
Due to the loss of the Professor, Jean, and severe damage to the mansion, many of the X-Men have withered in their faith towards the stability of their former team and have since detached themselves from their former community. Some examples include Cyclops' subsequent isolation resulting from Jean's disappearance, Storm's relocation back to her home continent of Africa, and Iceman's move back into his parents' home in the quiet suburbs.
One year later, the MRD (short for the Mutant Response Division), a government-supported organization created for the detainment and subsequent registration of existing mutants, begins capturing mutants from all over the country in response to the countless human protesters determined to protect the safety of humankind. This course of action causes Wolverine and Beast to ally and resolve to bring the once defunct X-Men team back together again.
Meanwhile, Rogue is in the street and attacked by the Brotherhood of Mutants. They trick her into joining them, and she later smiles devilishly as she enters their base, appearing to have switched allegiance to become an evil mutant. Thanks to the generosity, wealth, and resourcefulness of Angel, the slowly reforming X-Men team begins to see a promising return to its former glory with the rejoining of junior members Iceman, Shadowcat and Forge along with the reconstruction of the previously demolished Xavier Institute. Unfortunately, without the necessary capabilities of a competent telepath to operate Cerebro, the possibility of locating some of the more globally scattered X-Men members along with the missing Charles Xavier and Jean seems all but a pipe dream.
Fortunately, this problem does not last for very long when Emma Frost, the beautiful former Headmistress of a now inactive mutant school of her own in Massachusetts, makes a surprising appearance on the doorstep of the Mansion with an interesting proposal: membership with the X-Men in exchange for utilizing her telepathy to pinpoint the missing Xavier's whereabouts. Upon the team's – and particularly Wolverine's – reluctant acceptance of the offer, Emma's efforts prove successful as she is able to locate a comatose Charles on the shores of Genosha in the care of Magneto. After their arrival on Genosha and a short confrontation with the Master of Magnetism himself, Magneto eventually permits the X-Men to take his old friend's body back to the sanctity of the Mansion where he is certain that Xavier will be placed in proper care. Upon their return, Xavier telepathically contacts the X-Men twenty years from the present in an alternate dystopian future and informs Wolverine that he is to lead and reunite the X-Men if they wish to successfully prevent the inevitable war that will cause the world to fall under the domination of Master Mold and the Sentinels.
Throughout the course of the entire season, Emma's role as the X-Men's primary acting telepath enables the team to relocate the rest of the other members in the hopes of reforming once again and assisting in Xavier's cause. While some were met with initial hesitancy such as with Nightcrawler, others such as Storm were more than willing to accept the offer once Xavier's vision had been put into perspective. The X-Men overcome many hardships and obstacles along the way, eventually achieving their ultimate goal of locating Jean and finally discovering the truth surrounding the mystery of what caused the Mansion's explosion, along with Xavier and Jean's subsequent disappearances.
Meanwhile, Magneto welcomes new mutants to Genosha, one of whom is Nightcrawler. Magneto claims that Genosha is a safe and secure area for mutants, rather than a threat. At first Nightcrawler believes this, but upon closer inspection, Genosha is exposed as a method to use mutants' powers by Magneto. Nightcrawler eventually escapes, but is captured by Mystique when he arrives back at the mansion.
Elsewhere, Wolverine begins to have some visions from the past, and Emma offers to sort out his visions telepathically. In his visions, Wolverine meets a lone mutant girl, figure from the past Sabretooth, and finally discovers many mysteries about his past. Cyclops has constant memories about Jean and is depressed. He believes she is still alive, so, with the help of Emma, he seeks out Mister Sinister. The X-Men and Mister Sinister have a confrontation that does not result in them finding out any new info about Jean's whereabouts. Wolverine has Cyclops swear an oath to be in the X-Men again and promise not to go off searching for Jean. Somewhere across town, Jean is shown waking up in a random hospital after months of being in a coma.
It is later revealed in the three-part first-season finale "Foresight" that the previously assumed attack on the Mansion was not from the efforts of a third party, but rather from the result of Jean who unwittingly releases the immense and highly destructive strength and power of the Phoenix Force, that originally lay dormant deep within her subconscious, in an attempt to halt an oncoming telepathic attack led by Emma (who was secretly working as a double agent for the Inner Circle and the Stepford Cuckoos). Along with Sebastian Shaw, Selene, Harry Leland, and Donald Pierce, it was the Inner Circle's utmost duty to not only obtain the power of the Phoenix Force by abducting Jean from the protection of Xavier and the Mansion, but to also obliterate the ancient being's existence before it could fully mature and consequently bring forth unparalleled destruction onto the world as it had done numerous times in the past throughout Earth's history. However, in a move that was completely unknown to Emma at the time, the rest of the Inner Circle members all shared an entirely different and more sinister vision than Frost had initially believed: to control and manipulate the power of the Phoenix Force and have it cater to their own hidden agenda. Upon realizing the error of her ways, Emma betrays the Inner Circle and attempts to redeem herself in the eyes of the X-Men by not only rescuing Jean but, by also following through with her original plan of destroying the cosmic entity before it could mature. Unfortunately, her actions result in her apparent death. Rogue apologizes to Wolverine, and finally rejoins the X-Men for good. The now fully reformed X-Men are praised for their actions by Professor Xavier, but are warned of a new danger approaching: the Age of Apocalypse.
Characters
The overall situations and the look of the series and character designs were inspired by the Astonishing X-Men comic series.
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle (story) Greg Johnson (writer)
January 23, 2009 (2009-01-23)
101
A mysterious huge explosion destroys the X-Mansion at the moment that Wolverine was leaving. Professor X and Jean Grey are mysteriously missing, and perhaps gone for good, causing the X-Men to disband. Beast is examining the remains of the explosion and finds out that Professor X was the target. However, one year later, an anti-mutant government agency called the Mutant Response Division (or M.R.D. for short) hunt Wolverine and arrest a family that helped him. This causes him to go after them with the help of Beast. Inside the jail, they free all the mutants, including Dust, Boom Boom, Spyke and Pyro. In the end, Wolverine decides to find the other X-Men and fight the MRD.
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle (story) Greg Johnson (writer)
January 23, 2009 (2009-01-23)
102
Beast and Wolverine manage to bring Shadowcat and Iceman back the X-Men, while some such as Cyclops, Colossus, and Rogue, do not wish to return. Rogue takes up the cause of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, who have sinister plans to attack Senator Kelly. Kelly's plan is to push forth a Mutant Registration Act. Meanwhile, Angel's father, Warren Worthington, is funding the M.R.D., building anti-mutant robots. The remaining X-Men seek to stop the Brotherhood, despite Kelly's stance on mutants. At the end of the episode, we see that it was Rogue who had betrayed the X-Men.
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle (story) Greg Johnson (writer)
January 30, 2009 (2009-01-30)
103
With help from Angel, the X-Men are able to move back into the rebuilt mansion. Forge has been brought to the team to repair Cerebro and the Blackbird. The telepathic Emma Frost, the beautiful former headmistress of the Massachusetts Academy, requests to join the X-Men in order to help find Professor X. Wolverine is suspicious in the beginning but reluctantly agrees, believing that Emma only has intentions to take control of Cerebro. Emma Frost is able to locate Professor X in Magneto's controlled mutant nation of Genosha. Now with Cyclops back in action, Wolverine leads the X-Men on a mission into the enemy territory in order to retrieve their lost mentor.
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle (story) Zoë Green (writer)
February 6, 2009 (2009-02-06)
104
Professor X shows Wolverine a future vision of a destroyed Africa and reveals that Storm is the one who destroyed it. It isn't long before the Shadow King tries to take control of Storm's body. At the end of the episode Storm rejoins the X-Men.
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle (story) Bob Forward (writer)
February 13, 2009 (2009-02-13)
105
Magma is being chased by the M.R.D. In the middle of a road she turns to a burning lava-like being and the cars suddenly stop around her. Wolverine rescues Magma from the M.R.D. and uses an ability-inhibitor collar built by Forge to help control her mutant abilities. When Wolverine asks for the collar back, she is reluctant to take it off but finally does so. Meanwhile, Dr. Sybil Zane hires Gambit to steal that collar from the X-Men for Senator Kelly and it is up to Wolverine to get it back. Gambit attacks Wolverine in his laboratory with kinetically charged cards, he admits to Wolverine that he has been hired for cash, but Wolverine sets his money on fire and offers him double the amount, if he helps discovering whom he is working for. In the end Wolverine manages to get back the collar.
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle (story) Christopher Hicks & Francis Lombard (writers)
February 20, 2009 (2009-02-20)
106
There is news that Nightcrawler was seen on a ship traveling to Genosha with other mutants, so the X-Men try to find him. Meanwhile, Nightcrawler and the other travellers (including Squidboy, Vindaloo, Network, Shatter, Pixie, Feral, and other mutants) are intercepted by "pirates", who really are Spiral and the Reavers, looking for fighters within the pool of high level mutants to take them to Mojo. In the deep night the pirates attack the ship carrying the mutants to Genosha and the crew is worried about the change of course towards Genosha. Nightcrawler defeats the pirates. Wolverine, Beast, Shadowcat, and Forge come to pick him up and take him back to the mansion. But he declines saying he wants to make sure the mutants make it safely to Genosha.
Greg Johnson, Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost (story) Christopher Yost (writer)
February 27, 2009 (2009-02-27)
107
In a sequel to the Hulk Vs, Nick Fury asks Wolverine a "favor" to once again fight against the Hulk in exchange for keeping the X-Men's real identities and the reality behind the Xavier school secret. However, Wolverine finds that there is more than Fury is letting on when Wolverine and the Hulk encounter the real monster terrorizing the Canadian Rockies and attacking the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents dispatched there: the Wendigo. Wolverine keeps the Wendigo monsters busy while Banner searches for the cure. At the end, Wolverine gets revenge on Fury by awakening the Hulk claiming "Hulk wanted to thank you, too."
Trivia: The end scene is a homage to Wolverine's first appearance in The Incredible Hulk #181.
8
"Time Bomb"
Steve Gordon
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle (story) Len Uhley (writer)
March 6, 2009 (2009-03-06)
108
Professor Xavier warns the X-Men about an impending event that wipes half the mutant population: Nitro will self-detonate in Genosha. The Brotherhood "rescue" Nitro from a government prison against his will and use Psylocke to control him, planning to use him as a weapon. The X-Men chase the Brotherhood in order to prevent Genosha's destruction.
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle (story) Christopher Yost (writer)
May 22, 2009 (2009-05-22)
109
In the future, Professor X is captured by the Sentinels. Along with Domino, Bishop, Hellion, Marrow, and the others, the Professor plans to break free from his captors. Meanwhile, Wolverine and the other X-Men search Bolivar Trask's old lab for any info on Master Mold.
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle (story) Christopher Yost (writer)
May 29, 2009 (2009-05-29)
110
The ship Nightcrawler was on arrives in Genosha. There, the Scarlet Witch tours Nightcrawler around so that he can see the wonders Magneto has done. Then, Nightcrawler and the Scarlet Witch start to fall head-over-heels romantically madly in love. However, Dust informs Nightcrawler that things in Genosha aren't what they seem. Meanwhile, Mystique breaks into the X-Mansion and apparently has a past link with Wolverine. Dust reveals to Nightcrawler that Magneto imprisons some mutants in an underground dungeon, before getting caught herself. Nightcrawler summons all of his teleportation abilities to get back to the X-Mansion, only to be captured by Mystique.
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle (story) Paul Giacoppo (writer)
June 5, 2009 (2009-06-05)
111
Wolverine goes to recover part of his past as a Weapon X agent and finds Maverick's daughter. As Weapon X doesn't want Logan to remember anything about his time in their organization, they send Sabretooth to deal with him. Meanwhile, Rogue finds it hard to adjust to her new settings as she overhears Quicksilver getting a mission from Magneto. When she finally visits the X-Mansion, she is upset to learn that Wolverine is not there.
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost (story) Christopher Yost (writer)
June 12, 2009 (2009-06-12)
112
Cyclops, still lamenting the loss of his dear beloved Jean Grey, believes Mister Sinister has taken her. He fights the Marauders with the help of the X-Men until he realizes Jean is not with them. An amnesiac Jean is revealed to be alive and well in a hospital, supposedly having been in a coma.
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost (story) Christopher Yost (writer)
June 19, 2009 (2009-06-19)
113
Magneto sends his Acolytes to break several mutants out of prison. Meanwhile, the X-Men fight the Brotherhood and find Tildie Soames (a young mutant whose nightmares can manifest into monsters) is attacking the city while still in a coma-like state. Rogue's true purpose in joining the Brotherhood is revealed and she has to make a choice between her old friends and her new ones. Meanwhile, Bobby sums up the courage to ask Kitty out on a date.
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost (story) Joshua Fine (writer)
July 31, 2009 (2009-07-31)
114
Mystique calls Wolverine to warn him that Maverick's daughter, Kristie, is in danger. The two of them infiltrate Weapon X and have to fight Maverick and Sabretooth, and some old ghosts from the past as well.
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost (story) Max Botkin (writer)
August 7, 2009 (2009-08-07)
115
Mojo takes Nightcrawler and the Scarlet Witch from Genosha to put them in a TV show, while also forcing Wolverine to attack them by controlling his mind. Spiral and the Reavers also appear.
16
"Badlands"
Doug Murphy
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost (story) Kevin Hopps (writer)
August 14, 2009 (2009-08-14)
116
In the twenty-year future, Professor Xavier and his new X-Men fight the Sentinels and come across Polaris, who lives alone and traumatized in a destroyed Genosha. Charles learns how Genosha was destroyed and how Polaris was the only survivor. In the present, Wolverine, Forge, and Shadowcat infiltrate an MRD base to investigate the Master Mold, only for the former two to get caught which led to the Wolverine-type Sentinels that the future X-Men just evaded.
Trivia: Wolverine is wearing a different color of his X-Men uniform that looks a lot like his X-Force uniform. While all the other mutants in the future wear the clothes they were given while trapped by the Sentinels, Bishop can be seen wearing an X-Men uniform under his coat.
17
"Code of Conduct"
Boyd Kirkland
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle (story) Bob Forward (writer)
August 21, 2009 (2009-08-21)
117
Wolverine comes back to the mansion to discover that the Silver Samurai had captured the X-Men. Having been defeated by Wolverine a few years ago, the Samurai forces Wolverine to fight him to death and regain his honor, in order to officially become a Yakuza clan leader. The odds are stacked against Wolverine as the rules of the duel restrict him from using his claws, and he has long since forgotten how to fight with a sword.
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost (story) Christopher Yost (writer)
August 28, 2009 (2009-08-28)
118
The MRD starts hunting mutants without warning, forcing the X-Men to strike back. Angel joins the X-Men and tries to destroy the artificial intelligence/multi-agent system, Mastermold, accompanied by the Brotherhood who were betrayed by Magneto. However, the dystopian future still exists and Mastermold had transferred itself to a damaged Sentinel.
Error: Wolfsbane has already relocated to Genosha but she is found living among humans.
19
"Guardian Angel"
Nick Filippi
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost (story) Boyd Kirkland (writer)
September 4, 2009 (2009-09-04)
119
After furiously snapping at his father on the development of a so-called "cure" for mutants, Angel's wings are severely damaged at the hands of the MRD and are ordered to be cut off. However, Mr. Sinister then makes him a proposal that will change his life forever, transforming Angel into Archangel and with even stronger angelic wings.
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle & Joshua Fine (story) Greg Johnson (writer)
September 11, 2009 (2009-09-11)
120
During a battle with Juggernaut, Cyclops is distracted by a vision of Jean and Juggernaut defeats and escapes the X-Men. Emma proposes to erase all memories of Jean from Scott's mind and he accepts. When Emma enters his mind, she looks at all his memories. The truth behind the explosion is revealed to be Jean transforming into the almighty, cosmic Phoenix.
This episode features the appearance of the original X-Men team consisting of a younger Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast (without blue fur), Angel, and Iceman.
Error: The Iceman shown in the Danger Room is older than the one who usually appears in the show. The one in the Danger Room is Scott's age whereas he is usually portrayed as a teenager.
21
"Rover"
Steve Gordon
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle & Joshua Fine (story) Greg Johnson (writer)
September 18, 2009 (2009-09-18)
121
Cyclops and Wolverine inform Professor X of Emma's discovery about the source of the explosion. Fearing that Jean may be responsible for the destruction of Genosha, Professor X and his team of future X-Men try to uncover information on the event from Master Mold's original detention center. The only seen way to get past the Sentinel guards is to send the group's reprogrammed Sentinel "Rover" on a "Kamikaze" attack run. While Bishop has no problem with it, Marrow has developed an incredible bond to Rover and refuses to give him up.
22
"Aces and Eights"
Nick Filippi
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle & Joshua Fine (story) Greg Johnson (writer)
September 25, 2009 (2009-09-25)
122
Gambit arrives on Genosha under the orders of Senator Kelly to steal Magneto's helmet as a provocation of war, as well as cripple Genosha's resources. Much to the dismay of the Scarlet Witch, Gambit charms Polaris who unknowingly aids him in his task. Wolverine and Nightcrawler head to Genosha to prevent Gambit from stealing Magneto's helmet. Though Gambit seems attracted to Polaris, he leaves her at the end with Magneto's helmet. Polaris gets infuriated and disables Gambit's get away and takes the helmet back. Gambit is then stranded in the ocean. Through the intervention of the X-Men, Magneto, and Senator Kelly reach an understanding about their impending war and the dystopian future.
23
"Shades of Grey"
Doug Murphy
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle (story) Greg Johnson (writer)
November 20, 2009 (2009-11-20)
123
An amnesic Jean uses her incredibly strong and powerful telepathic and telekinetic abilities while at the hospital, which allows Emma to locate her using Cerebro. Emma and Scott go to the hospital and attempt to take Jean back to the mansion when Archangel intercepts Scott and Jean and takes them to Mr. Sinister where he extracts their genetic codes, stating that combined they will create the very strongest and most powerful force in the world. Before his men can dispose of Scott and Jean, the X-Men arrive and save them. Later, Emma appears to double-cross the X-Men and the Hellfire Club arrives to take an unconscious Jean. Meanwhile, Mister Sinister gives Jean and Scott's DNA to his master, Apocalypse.
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle & Joshua Fine (story) Greg Johnson (writer)
November 29, 2009 (2009-11-29)
124
Suspecting Emma's hand in Jean's abduction, Wolverine places her in a holding cell. Emma is later freed by Cyclops, who trusts her to find Jean. Apparently, the Hellfire Club had become aware that the Phoenix Force had possessed Jean and supposedly wants to extract the divine Phoenix Force from her mind and use its infinite and limitless power and strength for their own ends. Meanwhile, Magneto hatches a plot against the human race, having replaced Senator Kelly with Mystique to start an attack on Genosha. In the future, the Professor is apprehended by Sentinels, who have replicated Cerebro to find all mutants in the world.
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle & Joshua Fine (story) Greg Johnson (writer)
November 29, 2009 (2009-11-29)
125
Emma discovers the Hellfire Club's true motivation for using the Phoenix Force, and fights to free Jean alongside Cyclops. In Genosha, Magneto's plan comes to fruition as Sentinels ravage the island, providing just cause for Magneto's war against humanity. Accordingly, Magneto reprograms the Sentinels to attack humans. In the future Professor X and the future X-Men are freed by Wolverine, and together they take up a fight against Master Mold.
Trivia: Magneto's reprogramming of the Sentinels is very reminiscent of a similar event in Ultimate X-Men, whereby a massive fleet of the Sentinels were sent to Genosha, but Magneto reprogrammed them, and sent them to attack Washington, D.C.[33]
Greg Johnson & Craig Kyle & Joshua Fine (story) Greg Johnson (writer)
November 29, 2009 (2009-11-29)
126
The X-Men, MRD and S.H.I.E.L.D. fight against Magneto's Sentinels. Meanwhile, the Inner Circle reveals to Scott that Emma and the Stepford Cuckoos were the ones responsible for setting in motion the events that would lead to the destruction of the mansion, Xavier's twenty-year coma and the eventual extraction of the Phoenix Force from Jean's mind and body. Upon the successful transmission of the Phoenix Force from Jean and into the bodies of all five Stepford Cuckoos, the possessed girls are then instructed by Sebastian Shaw to destroy the Sentinels, the X-Men and Genosha, an action which was completely unknown to Emma whose initial plan was to both locate and destroy the cosmic entity before it could reach maturity and bring forth unparalleled global destruction. In the wake of her regretable actions, Emma attempts to redeem herself in the eyes of the X-Men, especially Scott, by ultimately sacrificing herself in order to successfully destroy the Phoenix Force entity. In the aftermath of the carnage, Magneto is banished from Genosha for his radical actions while his eldest daughter, Wanda, assumes authority over the destroyed island and its inhabitants, alongside her sister Lorna, in an attempt to rebuild from the demolished remains of her father's mistakes. From the future, Xavier informs the X-Men that their mission was a success and that the bleak, sentinel-run world has now been avoided. However, there is a new and far more formidable future that has taken its place: the Age of Apocalypse.
Toonz Animation India and First Serve International formed a joint venture Toonz First Serve to produce Wolverine.[34] By November 2007, Toonz First Serve began production on the series.
On November 4, 2008, a second season, consisting of 26 episodes was confirmed as being in production by Toonz Entertainment and Marvel Animation.[35] During Comic Con 2009, images of season 2 were shown, consisting of Bastion, Cable, Colossus, Deadpool, Havok, Jubilee, and Magik. It was announced that these characters were to appear in season 2. Colossus was set to receive a reintroductory storyline and would have been a regular character in season 2. Joshua Fine also revealed that Holocaust, Sunfire, and Unus The Untouchable would have made appearances in season 2.[36] Joshua Fine confirmed that Deadpool would have been in a Weapon X episode also featuring X-23 / Laura Kinney, and other obscure characters.[37]
Cancellation
On April 13, 2010, Comics Continuum reported that (according to an inside source) a second season seemed very unlikely.[38] On April 15, 2010, Marvel Animation Age confirmed the recent report that Wolverine and the X-Men would not be returning for a second season.[39] The reason for this was due to financial problems with their financing partner due to Disney purchasing Marvel while Fox owned the movie rights to the X-Men.[citation needed]
Later allusions in other Marvel media
Steven Blum, Tom Kane, and Fred Tatasciore reprise their respective roles as Wolverine, Professor Thornton, and Hulk in Hulk Vs. Wolverine (a prequel to the series).
Blum, Hale, and Tatasciore reprise their roles of Wolverine, Jean Grey, and Beast in Marvel Anime: X-Men while Gwendoline Yeo reprises her role of Mariko Yashida in Marvel Anime: Wolverine.
Blum, Kate Higgins, O'Brien, Tatasciore, Wahlgren, and Ward return as Wolverine, Scarlet Witch, Nightcrawler, Beast, Hulk, Emma Frost, and Professor X in Marvel Heroes.
Blum, Kane, Higgins, Hale, and O'Brien reprise their respective roles as Wolverine, Magneto, Scarlet Witch, Jean Grey/Phoenix, and Nightcrawler in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order.
Tatasciore also reprises his roles as Hulk and Beast in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order.
Broadcast history
United States
On May 1, 2008, the show was pre-sold to Nicktoons Network in the United States and was set for a Spring 2009 airdate.[40][41] It was also confirmed in an article by USA Today's website in which it specifically mentions the cartoon starting on January 23, 2009, on Nicktoons Network.[42] On January 23, 2009, the show premiered in the United States, with the first two episodes shown back-to-back on Nicktoons Network, which were re-aired on Nickelodeon two days later. The next 6 episodes followed weekly before a two-month break. New episodes began on May 22, 2009, as advertised with commercials on the channel then stopped after June 19, 2009, till the network advertised that they will be showing new episodes on July 31, 2009, after or before new episodes of Iron Man: Armored Adventures.
United Kingdom
On June 23, 2008, a second preview for the series, starring the main X-Men team, was released to announce the special screening of the 3-part pilot episodes that aired at the San Diego Comic-Con in late July 2008.[43] Press releases indicated that the first episode was due to premiere on August 2, 2008, on BBC Two in the UK, however, it was postponed and premiered on January 4, 2009,[44] on the CBBC Channel. Initially, one new episode aired every Sunday, but on January 25, 2009, CBBC started airing two new episodes every Sunday. The time slots varied, and the episodes were available for viewing on the BBC iPlayer for a limited time after they aired. As of mid-February 2009, some new episodes were shown on weekdays instead of at the weekend. Some episodes with scenes showing heavy violence were censored and Episode 17 was not shown on CBBC as there was a duel to the death in the storyline (along with one scene depicting blood). CBBC in the UK overtook Canada on March 4, 2009, when it aired the 20th episode, "Breakdown.”
In 2009, BBC Alba started broadcasting the series dubbed into Scottish Gaelic as "An Sionnach Sgianach is Na Seòid".
The show later aired on Kix, beginning in November 2013.
Canada
Early news had speculated the show to air in Fall 2008 in the United States.[45][46][47] The series started airing on YTV on Saturday, September 6, 2008, in the 7:00 p.m. time slot. When its time slot was switched to Saturday morning programming, Crunch, it aired at 11:30 a.m. Starting in January 2009, the show was also shown on Teletoon, where only episodes that previously aired on YTV were shown.[48]
Latin America and Brazil
In July 2008, the series was pre-sold to Jetix.[49][50][51] starting August 25, 2008 from Mondays to Thursdays at 4:30 p.m.[52] Unusually, all 26 episodes of the first season were aired in Brazil and Latin America before the series started in any other country. Also, the series airs in Rede Record in Brazil from Mondays to Fridays at 7:00 p.m., starting November 9, 2009. In Mexico, the series aired on Azteca 7.
Australia
In Australia, the first series aired on ABC1[53] Sunday mornings. The series was then repeated weekdays in early morning and late afternoon timeslots. The show then aired on ABC3, along with other series from Marvel Animation on Sunday nights.
Merchandise
Hasbro produced a Wolverine and the X-Men toyline as a tie-in to the series. The first wave consisted of Avalanche, Beast, Colossus, Cyclops, Logan (not in classic outfit), Iceman, Magneto, and Wolverine. Wave two contained the new figures Nightcrawler and a Black Uniform Wolverine. Wave Three, the final wave, added Forge and Toad to the line. The toy line ended before any of the main females of the series were turned into toys; notably missing were Emma Frost, Jean Grey, Shadowcat, Rogue, and Storm.
Reception
Due in part to the abundance of advertising for the series done by Nicktoons and Marvel, the Nicktoons premiere of Wolverine and the X-Men garnered over 3,500,000 viewers, one of the network's highest ratings ever.[54]
Hindsight, Part One – 3,436,000 viewers
Hindsight, Part Two – 4,589,000 viewers
Home media
In September 25, 2007, Liberation Entertainment secured worldwide home media rights to the series except in the United States.[55]
United Kingdom
In April 2009, it was announced that E1 Entertainment had secured distribution rights to the series. Liberation, who held worldwide rights, had closed down their UK branch the October prior, hence the change in distributor.[56] E1 released their first DVD release of the series in May 2009, containing seven episodes.[57] The company released the rest of the series in three more numbered volumes - Volume 2 on October 19 (to coinside with the release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine on DVD), Volume 3 on February 8, 2010, and Volume 4 on July 26, 2010.[58] The first two volumes contain seven episodes, while the last two contain six episodes. The complete boxed set with all twenty-six episodes was released by Entertainment One on July 11, 2011.[59]
United States
On July 31, 2008, Marvel Entertainment announced that their long-term partner Lionsgate Home Entertainment would distribute the series on DVD in the United States.[60] On April 21, 2009, they released Volume 1: Heroes Return Trilogy featuring the first three episodes.[61] The next release, Volume 2: Deadly Enemies came out on July 21, 2009, and features the next five episodes. Volume 3: Beginning of the End was released on November 3, 2009, with five more episodes. Volume 4: Fate of the Future was released on February 2, 2010, with five more episodes. Volume 5: Revelation was released on May 4, 2010, along with Volume 5 of X-Men: The Animated Series.[62] Marvel formally announced the sixth and final part of the series, Volume 6: Final Crisis Trilogy was released on August 17, 2010.[63]
The complete series was released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 12, 2010.
Liberation Entertainment released a single-disc "Season 1: Chapter 1" package on April 14, 2009, with the first four episodes of the series. A second single disc package, "Season 1: Chapter 2" holding the next four episodes was released on July 21, 2009, although the packaging mentioned a fifth episode that was not included for unknown reasons. Also, a 5-disc set of the complete first season in Steelbook packaging was released September 15, 2009. The set includes all 26 episodes in widescreen format, character bios, an image gallery and an audio commentary on the episode Overflow.
Australia
Magna Home Entertainment has announced that the full first season (26 episodes) has been released in Australia with a Limited Edition Wolverine Mold Case.[64]Wolverine and the X-Men: X-Calibre (6 Episodes) and Wolverine and the X-Men: Wolverine VS The Hulk (6 Episodes) has been released with Wolverine and the X-Men: Hunting Grounds (7 Episodes) released on July 8, 2009. Wolverine and the X-Men: Breakdown (7 Episodes).
Italy
Panini Comics released the first season under its Panini Video imprint. It was the last DVD published by Panini.[65]
