I mentioned about watching X-Men (the animated series) some weeks ago, right? Or not?
Well, a major part of my time-killing activities during the Internet-deprived days was watching the same series I watched 13 years ago or so. I had never been so hooked on a cartoon series before X-Men came that during that time. And like any other shows I've watched, I share the fascination with my friends.
We actually have this habit of claiming the characters of every group-themed shows we've watched. Since we watch TV in my uncle's house, my cousin is always given priority to choose first. She'd always go with the person in red - Red Mask (Mask Man) or Red Ranger (Power Rangers) for instance. The eldest in the group would choose next and I'll just settle with who's assigned to me.
When the first episode of X-Men came, I wanted to be Rogue. Everyone else wants to be Rogue. Who wouldn't like a stereotypically good-looking character with super strength and flight abilities? But they assigned me to Wolverine. I should be Wolverine.
It happened that I missed Wolverine on the opening theme of the show. It seemed to me like they didn't give me a main character in the story. I started complaining. But then, someone convince me, Wolverine's a kick-ass character. So I obliged and accepted him.
Time and my dislike for the X-Men movie adaptations have dissuaded me from trying to recap those episodes again, but I believe I was such a fan of the X-men. I HAVE to see them once more. Years have may have passed, but I when I heard the theme song again and saw the characters and their quirks again, I felt deja vu. I almost felt like I was watching the show when I was 9 or 10.
Lead Female Characters
I still liked Rogue for her physical abilities. Opposite Rogue is Storm and Jean Grey. Honestly, we never really liked Jean Grey. Without her psychic abilities, she's the epitome of a damsel in distress, and that's a no-no for me and my childhood group. (We're fans of Cynthia Luster, must you know.) But Jean's character is something that's always worth a second look. Eventually, she earned my admiration and respect when I saw the Phoenix Saga again. Storm is as weak as Jean but her summoning abilities are also kick-ass from our point of view. I like her character more in an alternate present day.
Bad-ass guys
And speaking of alternate worlds, I'd like to tell how the characters in the future world of X-Men amaze me. Bishop and Cable. I *heart* them. Mucho muscle-bound, bad-ass guys. Ah, forgive my fangirling moments. (But I do associate Bishop with Kirk Hammett, whom I dearly love. LOL.) Well, so much for their physical looks, what I really liked about them was their concern for their world. Both came to the present day (1990's) to prevent circumstances that would result to their own dreary present. Much like Wolverine, eh. We call 'em bad-ass heroes.
The evil incarnate
Apocalypse had appeared in my nightmares too many time, I don't want to remember. His evilness is something I believed would transcend beyond the borders of fiction. I was too scared of him. But in the 50th or so episode of the X-Men animated series, when he connived with the most powerful villains in the story (Magneto, Mr. Sinister), the most powerful psychics of the universe eventually defeated him. *sigh of relief* As of now, I'm not done with the whole series yet. Who knows Apocalypse might resurface in one of those episodes again.
Love and lost romances
For all you know, the Scott Summers and Jean Grey relationship wasn't the only love story/affairs shown in the series. There were of Charles Xavier and Moira MacTaggert, him and Amelia Voght, and with the Shi'ar Princess Lilandra. And of course, Logan was also a chick magnet like his professor. He had (or made believe to have) an affair with Silver Fox, with Yuriko Oyama (a.k.a. Lady Deathstrike), he's married to Storm (in an alternate present, which is only known to Professor X), and he had constantly pursued Jean prior to her marriage to Scott. 
To tell the truth, these short love stories only make me giddy as many times as I'd be disappointed of the thought that these pairs would never live together... forever. I'd rather not read (but I've already read) about Cyclops "telepathic affair" with Emma Frost in the the New X-Men comic series.
Finally
Seeing the X-Men series 13 year later was never really a waste of time, as I may have implied earlier. Another proof of time's ever powerful ability to change a person's view, not necessarily to maturity, but to a point where you can appreciate a subject better. Not everything though can be appreciated. Maybe it'd still take another decade before I accept those spin-off stories.
