tek's rating: ¾

Generator Rex, on Cartoon Network
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Caution: spoilers.

Five years prior to the start of the series, an explosion released nanites into the atmosphere, which infected every living thing on Earth. And now, apparently at random, the nanites will occasionally turn things into monsters called EVOs (Exponentially Variegated Organisms). Anyway, there's an organization called Providence which exists to fight the Evos, which are apparently mindless, destructive creatures. Though not everyone trusts Providence... Well, there's this 15-year-old boy named Rex, who seems to be unique in that he can control the nanites within him, which allows him to generate all sorts of tech (weapons, vehicles, whatever) out of his body. He also has the ability to eliminate the nanites within Evos, thereby returning them to normal. Rex has amnesia, and can't remember anything prior to five years ago. He works for Providence, having been promised that they'd help him discover his past. However, the organization seems to view him as a weapon, rather than a person, and I have my doubts as to whether they actually intend to find answers for him (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they already know the truth, and are keeping it from him). They do their best to keep him contained, though he seems pretty adept at breaking out whenever he feels like it. He's basically a teenager with the normal motivations, mostly just wanting to have fun.

Rex's sidekick is a talking chimp named Bobo Haha, who enjoys having fun as much as Rex. Then there's Agent Six, who is Rex's handler. He's very... by the book, stoic or whatever. But he's an awesome fighter. There's a scientist named Dr. Holiday, on whom Rex has a crush. She seems to be the only one in Providence who sees Rex as a person rather than a machine. In the first episode, Rex meets a guy called Van Kleiss, who, like Rex, can control his nanites. He is the leader of a group of Evos called "the Pack," who each have their own special abilities, and unlike the monstrous Evos Rex normally fights, they retain their intelligence. They include Biowulf (apparently the leader of Van Kleiss's Evos), Skalamander, and Breach (who has four arms, two of which are kinda monstrous, and who can open these sort of teleportation portals). Van Kleiss has created a sanctuary for Evos called Abysus (which rather reminds me of Magneto and his sanctuary for mutants, Genosha, as seen in various X-Men comics/movies/cartoons). It seems Van Kleiss would like Rex to join him, but he refuses, preferring to stay with Providence. Meanwhile, Rex meets a normal teenager named Noah, who becomes his friend. At first I thought he might turn out to be working for the bad guys, but actually he's a secret agent assigned by White Knight (the leader of Providence) to befriend Rex, in order to give them greater control over their rebellious "weapon." A bit later, Rex meets a girl called Circe, an Evo who joins Van Kleiss, feeling she has no other option, though she's not really bad, and Rex would like to convince her to join Providence, instead. But her connection to Rex makes her important to Van Kleiss....

So, anyway... so far the show kinda seems like a patchwork of ideas I've seen elsewhere, but it also seems kinda cool, and gets a bit more interesting as the series progresses. So I look forward to seeing the story continue to develop. Unfortunately, I lost access to Cartoon Network in June 2011, so I missed the last season and a half. I hope to catch up, someday.


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