I’m what you would call a very casual X-Men fan. I respect their place in pop culture and their infinite lore, but I don’t often go out of my way to check in on their latest adventures. Still, given the chance to watch a new motion comic from the crew at Marvel Knights and directed by Whedon, I was eager to see what Torn was all about. The roughly seventy minute film is split into six episodes. The story involves veteran characters and new X-Men alike, including Emma Frost, Colossus, Pride, Cyclops, Blindfold, and Wolverine, amongst others. It doesn’t take long before the sinister plot of the Club begins to unfold as a normal day at the Academy begins to go awry. Cassandra Nova and others in the Hellfire Club are conspiring to unleash something deep within the X-Men stronghold.
Torn spends a considerable amount of time working with the characters and their personalities. There is action, but I thought Whedon and crew did a great job of focusing on the mental elements. Seeing Wolverine cower in fear is unusual, and it gets your attention. Seeing new and lesser known characters like Pride and Blindfold take the spotlight was refreshing, as main characters like Cyclops are indisposed. Simply put, Torn is interesting and worth watching. It doesn’t waste any time, what little there is; it’s unforunate there isn’t an option to watch the episodes without the bookened credits breaking the flow in between.
Presentation quality is fine and on par for what you would expect from a modern animated release. There are no extra features to speak of, making this a truly basic DVD release, which the price reflects.