Nightcrawler in Television

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Ult_Sm86
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Nightcrawler in Television

Post by Ult_Sm86 »

So we've all seen Kurt in some form in the comics, but in television he has been equally as relevant. Maybe far less so recently, but most of Marvel's TV-franchise's focus has been on the Avengers.

I recently went back and watched all of X-Men: Evolution... which was a struggle. Going back years later, it was hard to sit through some episodes.

However, X-Men the 90's animated series is even more difficult to swallow. Thankfully though, the Nightcrawler episode (conveniently titled: "Nightcrawler") is actually not the worst-written '90's animated cartoon I've seen and far from the hardest to watch episode in this series.

The characters are all... well... in character. Rogue's voice and Logan's voice always irritated me, Logan's "Geerrarrowwarrorr!" especially is frustrating. Remy's suave accent is now very clear to me...
He's Hermes from Futurama.

The episode is rather humorous, Gambit gets wiped out in a ski-to-pine-tree-exploration-of-personal-space during a ski-expedition/demon hunt (guess who the demon is?) in... the Alps? I guess?

It's clearly Germany, and group gets saved by Nightcrawler and the brothers of the abbey that Kurt is holed up in. The episode actually boldly touches (admittedly lightly) upon subjects such as religious portrayals of wrong and right (a mutant who appears as a demon taking up the cloth, and other similar motifs throughout), religious relationships with those who feel lost or guilty (Logan's guilt for the years of blood on his hands), and women's roles in the church (Rogue's place in the abbey).

What's frustrating is these super powered characters are pretty much time-and-time-again duped or physically one-uped by monks who aren't exactly in rip-roarin' shape.

But the voice work is great for Nightcrawler. His accent is awesome, the voice-acting is of the quality of the Batman animated series (which is widely regarded as having the best animated voicework in this time period), and the script seems like it got treated by some real professionals.

It reminds me of a Justice League episode. Despite the coincidences, the flubs in animation (Rogue's hair goes all brown in one quick shot), and lame puns put into the writing--mostly out of an attempt to target young audiences, the episode actually sticks out as really great. And poignant. Even Remy struggles with "the wicked looking" appearance. Kurt's lines in this episode makes for great development of the character and Logan's doubt and faithlessness creates a fun dichotomy.

Unfortunately, it ends all well and great for Logan, which is unsatisfactory and unappearsing for long-term fans of the character who enjoy his struggle and don't really see how he can just find faith in a single evening with Nightcrawler.


What are some of your favorite Kurt-TV-appearances? Did you enjoy this episode of "X-Men" the animated series? (season 3 episode 18, by the way, if you're looking it up on Netflix or something).
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Re: Nightcrawler in Television

Post by Only Skin »

I JUST watched this episode on you tube Sunday night.

And maybe I haven't been watching enough animated series, and while I agree with most of what you say (Nightcrawler's accent was pretty dead-on, I think), I have to say it was way too focused on religion. To a point of just OVERLY religious. It wasn't awful in every sense, but parts of the religious aspect were just terrible. "Here, have a bible, Logan.".
And maybe that's just *my* personal issue with religion (cause I really dislike religion), but it was gross.
And the ending was really hard to watch. Logan in a church repenting? Getting holy? Finding (or re-finding) God? No thank you.
I guess cramming Nightcrawler and all of that story into one 20 minute episode ended us up with a "I LOVE GOD" Wolverine, stupid Gambit, questioning all the things Rogue, and overly bright religious Nightcrawler.

That is just my take on it.
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Re: Nightcrawler in Television

Post by Ult_Sm86 »

And the ending was really hard to watch. Logan in a church repenting? Getting holy? Finding (or re-finding) God? No thank you.
I guess cramming Nightcrawler and all of that story into one 20 minute episode ended us up with a "I LOVE GOD" Wolverine, stupid Gambit, questioning all the things Rogue, and overly bright religious Nightcrawler.
It's hard to cram a character's history and impact on other characters in a 28 minute kids program, I agree.

I don't think the episode was overtly pretentious in its spiritual aspect, or at least not intentionally so. I think it was aiming to a different crowd or being aimed from a different crowd, and it was trying to maintain both Cockrum and Len Wein's image of original Nightcrawler while making a (lame) attempt at updating him for the series.
Remember, updating him for 1995 is completely different than updating Kurt Wagner for 2013. Like... way different.

I do agree though, handing a Bible over to Logan and having Logan find solace in prayer was a little weird, but there are times in the comic where he has given in to Kurt's gestures (though Kurt never came off as pushy as he did in this episode). Fortunately for the comic series, Logan is able to cover his brief forays into faith by gestures of good-camaraderie towards his buddy the Elf.
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Re: Nightcrawler in Television

Post by Only Skin »

Yeah, I get it. I just felt like it was "HEY! Here is how I look! Isn't it awful? See? All the townsfolk want to kill because of it. BUT! Look! Look at what I believe! What I believe is not how I look. I BELIEVE I BELIEVE I BELIEVE."
Which, yes, is the point to Nightcrawler, I suppose, to a degree. I just felt like I was there stuffing my face with God for the entire episode. Well, other than when Gambit was doing and saying stupid things.
But! having said that (I know it makes it sound like I just hated the episode), it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
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Re: Nightcrawler in Television

Post by Ult_Sm86 »

Which, yes, is the point to Nightcrawler, I suppose, to a degree. I just felt like I was there stuffing my face with God for the entire episode.
I would argue they forced Christianity in the faces of audiences.
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Re: Nightcrawler in Television

Post by Only Skin »

Ult_Sm86 wrote:
Which, yes, is the point to Nightcrawler, I suppose, to a degree. I just felt like I was there stuffing my face with God for the entire episode.
I would argue they forced Christianity in the faces of audiences.
I'm sure you would.
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Re: Nightcrawler in Television

Post by Sundown »

The only television or film episodes with Nightcrawler I can honestly say I've enjoyed were the two with Scarlet Witch in Wolverine and the X-Men, a couple of appearances otherwise in that series, and then, of course, Pryde of the X-Men for some real vintage stuff.

I really REALLY didn't like X-Men EVO for any of the characters. Granted, adults are not the target audience, but I found the whole series to be something that made me gnash my teeth.

Nightcrawler has gotten the short end of the straw in so much of what's been done with him outside of the books(as well as inside them in later years) because of focus on his religion rather than developing a personality. Sure, I get that someone, somewhere thought it would be fun to make a guy who looks like a devil be hard-core religious. The religion isn't the problem for me, it's that that was ALL he was shown as. He was 1 dimensional and flat. If it had been done in conjunction with a real sense of self, character development and personality -- this goes for the comics, too -- it would be fine. I mean Claremont managed to show Kurt as spiritual without it being the entirety of his being and focus. /shrug
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Re: Nightcrawler in Television

Post by Ult_Sm86 »

Honestly, I think his portrayal in X-Men: Evolution was the LEAST spiritual. Whether this is deliberate or not I don't know, but as a result I really enjoyed his portrayal in certain episodes.

And in others he's just an annoying kid who needs a smack on the nose. His reliance on the holo-image-inducer-belt-thing was a little off-character... but he was an insecure kid. Who eventually grew to resent it by series end, yeah? And they explored his relationship with his mother Mystique, which was barely even acknowledged in X-Men the animated 90's series (with the exception of the close-up of her dropping him off the bridge).

And you're right...

the best portrayal has been in Wolverine & the X-Men. The Scarlet Witch/Kurt thing was... adorable and awesome.

I almost wish they would do an AoA series just to have Darkholme.
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