Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution (manga)

Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution (Japanese: ミュウツーの逆襲 EVOLUTION Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution) is a manga adaptation of the movie of the same name. It is adapted by 五味まちと Machito Gomi.

Publications

Edition Country Company Date ISBN
  First
Edition
Japan Shogakukan July 12, 2019 ISBN 9784091430601
  First
Edition
United States VIZ Media August 11, 2020 ISBN 9781974715527
  First
Edition
Singapore Shogakukan Asia July 2021 ISBN 9789811442070
  First
Edition
France Kurokawa August 20, 2020 ISBN 9782368529898

Differences between the anime and the manga

  • The manga begins with Mewtwo's awakening in the laboratory on New Island, omitting the movie's opening scene of Dr. Fuji's expedition in Guyana.
  • When Mewtwo is destroying the laboratory, he carries out his final attack while face-to-face with Dr. Fuji. In the movie, Dr. Fuji exits the main lab before the explosion and slumps against a wall alone.
  • In the manga, Mewtwo says that he doesn't like Giovanni as he begins to rebel, prompting Giovanni to activate the restraint protocol in his armor. In the movie, Mewtwo begins destroying the armor before Giovanni activates the restraints, which he only does moments before Mewtwo destroys the Team Rocket HQ.
  • After Mewtwo begins breaking out of the armor, Giovanni sends out his Rhydon and battles Mewtwo, ultimately trying to subdue him using Horn Drill, only to break Mewtwo's armor and allow him to escape. None of this occurs in the movie, in which Rhydon doesn't appear, no battle occurs and Mewtwo escapes entirely with his own power.
  • As Ash introduces himself, he narrates short introductions to his traveling companions, during which flashbacks to his battle against Brock at Pewter Gym and to Misty and the Sensational Sisters occur. These are not present in the movie.
  • In the manga, Ash's battle with Raymond begins as a Double Battle pitting Bulbasaur and Squirtle against Raymond's Donphan and Machamp. In the movie, the battle begins with Bulbasaur versus Machamp alone.
  • The invitation Mewtwo sends to Ash in the manga is a letter written on ordinary paper, instead of the hologram communication of Nurse Joy issuing the invitation featured in the movie. Additionally, Ash does not have to return a message accepting the invitation in the manga.
    • As a result of the manga removing Ash having to accept the invitation, Team Rocket merely overhear the discussion and decide to follow him instead of encountering Dragonite and finding Ash's reply.
  • The first scenes at Old Shore Wharf are cut from this adaptation up until Ash, Brock, and Misty board Team Rocket's boat. Their boarding the boat, capsizing in the storm and making their way to New Island are all explained in flashbacks after they arrive. However, when Mewtwo releases Nurse Joy from his control, Brock has a flashback to seeing the missing person notice about her at Old Shore Wharf.
    • Despite the above cuts, Ash, Brock, Misty, and the others are sent back to Old Shore Wharf at the end of the story. This scene unfolds in much the same way as it does in the movie, but Miranda is not present, and thus does not appear in the manga at all.
  • Team Rocket are not shown arriving on New Island in the manga. They simply appear in the castle after Mewtwo makes his appearance in the main hall, exploring while Jessie complains that they "followed them all this way for a stupid party."
  • As the cloning machine explains the replication process, it displays Meowth without taking a sample of his DNA and making a clone, instead of cloning him during the explanation like in the movie.
    • As a result of this, Meowthtwo is never created and therefore is absent from the manga's story.
  • The conflict between Mewtwo and the Trainers prior to the first partner Pokémon battles is significantly shortened, involving only Fergus and his Gyarados. Mewtwo's exchanges with Pikachu and Corey's Rhyhorn are cut, as is the brief exchange Mewtwo has with Charizard.
  • In the manga, Mewtwo's Venusaur does not use Leaf Storm, while Bruteroot does not use Energy Ball.
  • Pikachu is captured nearly immediately by one of the Mewtwo Balls in the manga, while in the movie, a lengthy chase occurs before he is captured.
  • In the manga, Mewtwo deliberately summons the clone army to his side after giving the humans permission to leave New Island. In the movie, it is implied that he did not expect their presence.
  • When Mewtwo and Mew begin fighting, Mewtwo uses a move that resembles Stone Edge and physically grabs Mew before blasting it away into the sky, and Mew responds by hitting Mewtwo with a point-blank attack. In the movie, Mewtwo only uses Shadow Ball and they fight at a distance from each other.
  • Mewtwo clearly enunciates his motives during the climactic battle in the manga, explaining that the clones must win because if they prove to be inferior to the originals, they have no right to exist; therefore, their rebellion is their revenge upon the humans who placed such standards upon them.
  • When Ash recalls seeing Ho-Oh on the first day of his journey, Ho-Oh makes a cameo in a brief flashback. This flashback is not in the movie, which follows the first movie's ending.

See also


Movie manga adaptations
M01M02M03M04M05M06M07
M08M08 short (Yoshino Emiko)M08 short (Miho Asada)M09M09 shortM10M11M12
M13M14M15M16M17M18M19M20 (1)M20 (2)M21M22M23


  This article is part of Project Manga, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each series of Pokémon manga.