I am a big X-Men fan, i like almost anything Marvel has done, and it is true, this series cannot compare to the older x-men cartoon.
this one is better.
now, i will watch the older one whenever i can, it has started coming back on tv recently and i watch it almost every day, but honestly, there are many times that i find it...boring. i mean, i love the plot lines, but there is far too much talking, far too many flashbacks for no apparent reason, and far too much jubilee, and not nearly enough gambit.
but this review is supposed to be about the new series, sorry i got off topic there for a minute
x-men evolution, as the other guides have already mentioned, portrays the x-men as high schoolers (with the exception of a few), and gives some great development for characters. i especially like nightcrawler in this series, often times he is betrayed as a thing to be scared of, and very serious, but in evolution he is the fun loving character he should have been all along, a big furball, or the fuzzy blue elf as he is sometimes referred to. cyclops is very serious, and looks out for everyone alot, like always. jean grey is pretty much on the same level as cyclops, but not quite as extreme. they also have a on and off relationship, but they were always destined to be, right? spyke is new, basically a teenage boy form of marrow, big trouble maker and storm's nephew, though he has a few good plot lines through out the show. then shadowcat is also a main character, the girl that can walk through walls (or any other solid object), who is an average teenage...mutant...ninja tur-oh wait, i mean girl. wolvie is the same old guy, as is professor X, and storm is pretty much the same as always too, but luckily she has left her "catch phrases" such as "power of wind, get real windy!" back in the older show. oh yeah, and rogue, at first she is with the brotherhood, but then she joins the x-men, never really sure where she belongs. i guess never being able to touch another person will freak you out some.
there is also a large selection of bad guys. there is the "brotherhood of mutants" who at first is led by magneto, but they tend to go off on their own alot. they are made up of blob, fat and stupid, quake, he can...make earthquakes and has a thing for shadowcat, quicksilver, magneto's beloved (or not so) son, and toad, who has all the powers, and intelligence, of a toad. magneto has the same old plans for global domination for the "homo-superiors" (mutant kind), and mystique is his loyal as ever follower...when we know who she is at the time. there are also others that follow magneto, but arent part of the brotherhood (not in high school with them...) including sabertooth, wolverine's arch foe, pyro, the australian with attitude, colossus, the guy with the awesome body armour that comes out of no where, and gambit. this was a huge problem with alot of people, putting gambit as a bad guy, but i rather like it. gambit was trained by his father to be a theif, and as a bad guy he really got the opportunity to use those skills, and do some very cool moves with his powers besides throwing cards at everyone like when he was a good guy (dont worry, he still does though)
now i know i didnt tell you any of the plots of the episodes, but hopefully all you x-men fans that are afraid to try this show will see that despite some changes, it isnt the bane of x-men history like some have suggested. it is a great show.