Ultimate X-Men
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Ultimate X-Men is a superhero comic book published by Marvel Comics. The series is a modernized reimagining of the long-running marvel comic X-Men. This title is set outside of the Marvel Universe continuity in the Ultimate Marvel Universe, and started from scratch with new versions of each character. The series began in 2001 under writer Mark Millar and artist Adam Kubert. Subsequent writers have included Chuck Austen, Brian Michael Bendis, and Brian K. Vaughan. Andy Kubert, Esad Ribic, Tom Derenick, Chris Bachalo, Kaare Andrews, Ray Lai, Ben Lai, David Finch, Brandon Peterson, Stuart Immonen and Steve Dillon have worked as artists since then. The book is currently written by Robert Kirkman and pencilled by Tom Raney and Ben Oliver, who alternate with every story arc. These X-Men live in a darker world than their mainstream counterparts and their different fashion sense is reflected in their costumes.
In this version, the X-Men, other than Professor X and Wolverine, are still teenagers. The team originally included these two as well as Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Colossus, Iceman, Beast and Storm. "Ultimate" versions of a number of others, including Nightcrawler, Rogue, Shadowcat, Angel, and Dazzler have since been introduced. Their enemies have included revised versions of the Hellfire Club, the Sentinels, and Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutant Supremacy.
Contents
Commercial success
Ultimate X-Men quickly established itself as a hit comic, lauded by critics and popular with the fans. The following table shows the development of comic sales in comparison with the mainstream title, Uncanny X-Men (reference: Diamond Comics [link]).
| Date | Ultimate X-Men | Uncanny X-Men |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2001 | 100688 | 125044 (400th issue) |
| Nov 2002 | 89390 | 83581 |
| Nov 2003 | 105737 | 90764 |
| Nov 2004 | 92133 | 92051 |
| Nov 2005 | 74264 | 82825 |
Characters
In contrast to the mainstream version, where the very existence of mutants was unknown to the public for a long time, mutants were a known minority from the beginning. In the very first pages of Ultimate X-Men #1, Magneto proclaims the existence and the superiority of mutantkind, and in Ultimate X-Men #7, the X-Men went public. Throughout the whole comic, mutants are a minority which is not always directly persecuted, but looked warily upon.The Ultimate X-Men
- Professor X, aka Charles Xavier, is the wheelchair-bound founder and patron of the X-Men. He is an idealist and a pacifist, but less saintly than his mainstream counterpart. He is the ex-husband of Dr. Moira MacTaggert and had an estranged son named David with her, and also been in relationships with Emma Frost and Mystique. Remarkably, his spine was shattered by his old friend Magneto.
- Cyclops, aka Scott Summers, is the boy scout-like X-Men field leader. Shy and aloof at first, he had to learn to be a leader. After clashing with his teammate Wolverine for the love of Jean Grey, he has won a whole lot of self-confidence and is currently the unrivalled field leader of the X-Men.
- Beast, aka Henry "Hank" McCoy, was turned into a blue, furry beast by the insidious Weapon X project. He had a troubled romance with Storm until he was killed by a Sentinel attack.
- Dazzler, aka Allison "Ali" Blaire, is a tough-as-nails punk rocker who is heavily pierced and tattooed and wears slashed clothing. She became Angel's girlfriend after he took the blame for something she had done. Recently, she was stabbed and put into a coma by Yuriko Oyama, a.k.a. Deathstrike.
- Colossus, aka Piotr "Peter" Rasputin, reluctantly worked as an arms smuggler before joining the X-Men and was hinted to be a closet homosexual for much of the earlier series and recently outed himself.
- Iceman, aka Robert "Bobby" Drake is a hotheaded youth in the throes of puberty, but loyal to the X-Men's cause.
- Magician, aka Elliot Boggs, is the newest member to the team. He seems to have reality-warping powers. He killed his parents after manifesting his powers, and was captured by Nick Fury and a squad of S.H.I.E.L.D. troops. Fury delivered Boggs into Xavier's care and forced Xavier to accept him.
- Marvel Girl, aka Jean Grey, is outgoing and foxy, but also a very responsible young woman and is the unofficial second-in-command behind Cyclops. After an affair with Wolverine, she began a steady relationship with Cyclops. She has difficulties controlling her Phoenix powers.
- Nightcrawler, the Bavarian mutant Kurt Wagner, was a Weapon X prisoner. He had a crush on Dazzler, and was resentful that she chose Angel instead of him. He also seems to have a homophobic streak.
- Rogue, aka Marian, was abducted into the Weapon X program under unknown circumstances. When she was liberated, she first joined the Brotherhood of Mutant Supremacy, then defected to the X-Men and left the team in the company of Gambit. After permanently absorbing his powers during a battle with the Juggernaut (in which Gambit died), she now has his red-on-black eyes seems to be able to touch people without draining their abilities or memories.
- Shadowcat, aka Kitty Pryde, is a young but dedicated X-Man. Like her mainstream counterpart, her devotion to her Jewish faith is evidenced by her everpresent Star of David. In Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #1 she began dating Peter Parker, better known as Spider-Man.
- Storm, aka Ororo Munroe, started a skilled car thief before joining the X-Men's cause. She fell in love with Beast, and when he died, it caused her to adopt a darker edgier costume and hairstyle (similar to the way the mainstream Storm adopted the new punk look). She has since dabbled in an on-again-off-again romance/friendship with Wolverine.
- Wolverine, aka "Logan", was turned into an amnesiac, emotionless killer by Weapon X.He resurfaced as the cold-blooded elite assassin of Magneto and infiltrated the X-Men to kill Professor X, however, doublecrossed Magneto and joined the X-Men.
- Syndicate is the name of two mutant, psi-resistant conjoined twins called Luke and Matthew. They tried to rob a bank to help their terminally ill sister, but were beaten by Professor X. Realizing their plight, he gave them a chance to redeem themselves by working as private agents of his. It should be noted the other X-Men know nothing about them.
Supporting cast
Ultimate X-Men contains reimagined versions of other characters. The Academy of Tomorrow is a second heroic mutant group, consisting of Emma Frost, Havok, Angel, Cannonball, Cypher, Northstar, Polaris and Sunspot. In addition, characters like Dr. Moira MacTaggert, Psylocke, Dum Dum Dugan, Gambit, Karma, Lilandra and Spiral have appeared in smaller roles, and Wolfsbane, Bishop, Warlock, Blink and others in cameo roles.
Villains
Ultimate X-Men introduced revised versions of classic X-Men villains, such as Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants, Weapon X, the Hellfire Club, The Acolytes, Arcade, Mojo and many more.
Additional notes
In the Ultimate X-Men universe, several locations and elements of the mainstream comics are reintroduced, albeit sometimes in altered form:
- The Brood appeared as enemies in the Danger Room.
- Corsair and the Starjammers appeared as a figment in the mind of Cyclops, brought to life by Jean Grey. "Corsair" was the name Cyclops gave to this imagined world.
- The Crimson Gem of Cytorrak is a gem with strange powers. It was once owned by Fenris, but was recently absorbed by Juggernaut.
- Genosha is an apartheid state in which mutants are discriminated.
- Krakoa is an island not far of Genosha and the place in which Hunt for Justice is held.
- Murderworld is a first-person shooter game, created by Arcade.
- Muir Island remained essentially unchanged as the location of Dr. Moira MacTaggart's lab
- The Shi'ar are a religious movement, led by "Majestrix Lilandra" They worship the "Phoenix god".
Writers
- Mark Millar (UXM #1-12, #15-33, #1/2): Millar was the first writer of UXM, created the setting and therefore arguably had the largest impact on the comic. He introduced his typical "widescreen", action-driven approach to UXM, mixing adult themes, big action scenes and dark humor. Millar's run was lauded for being rejuvenating and for generally "bringing the X-Men into the 21st century". On the other hand, critics argued that his run included scenes of gratuitous violence and portrayed the X-Men in a morally ambiguous light. However, the general reception of Millar's run was positive, and his influence on UXM can be felt today.
- Chuck Austen (#13 & 14): Austen acted as a two-issue stand-in for Millar when he was recuperating from a serious kidney illness. His arc, which introduced Gambit, was arguably received better than his sharply criticized work on the mainstream X-Men.
- Brian Michael Bendis (#34-45): After Millar left, Bendis plotted UXM for 12 issues. He introduced his typical style of dialogue-heavy, carefully progressing plots. Under Bendis, UXM became more down-to-earth and less "widescreen," focusing more on the characters and their interactions, as well as bringing in a half-dozen new mutants. Wolverine was especially changed: from an animalistic killing machine into a more responsible, though brooding, character.
- Brian K. Vaughan (#46-#65, Annual #1): Vaughan took over after Bendis' run, and he also wrote character-driven comics. His run was lauded for sound, yet surprising plots and for concise, spot-on character handling where even secondary figures were given their moment to shine. He included a lot of pop culture references. Even if some critics did not like the relatively subdued action, Vaughan established himself as a popular UXM writer.
- Robert Kirkman (#66-??, Annual #2): Kirkman followed Vaughan's run, and was slated to write nine issues from #66-74[link], but is now going to be doing more[link]. He recently finished his first arc, introducing a new character and subplot.
Future developments
Recent previews have revealed that Robert Kirkman's next arc is titled "Magical", and stars Magician. After that, Ultimate Cable will debut[link].
Relationship to other Ultimate Marvel characters
In the shared universe of Ultimate Marvel, the X-Men have more than once crossed the paths of other superheroes. Especially Wolverine has had his share of run-ins.
- Peter Parker is a good friend of the X-Men. The X-Men are aware of his secret identity and have fought on his side on numerous occasions. However, Peter and Wolverine share a love-hate-relationship. Logan sees Peter as a snotty schoolboy, and Peter's run-ins with Logan have tended to be both dangerous and embarrassing for Spidey. Since recently, Peter and the X-Men are connected even more tightly, because Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde) has become his new girlfriend. In issue 91 of USM, Kitty takes on a new secret-identity to prevent people from putting two and two together.
- Nick Fury has been both greatest enemy and greatest benefactor of Charles Xavier and his X-Men. His brave intervention freed the X-Men out of Weapon X, but on the climax of anti-mutant hysteria, he led the Ultimates against the X-Men and locked captive mutants in Camp X-Factor, a Guantanamo Bay-like prison for mutants. Then, for a longer time, Xavier and Fury held a truce, in which Fury held his distance, but often gave valuable help. However, after the Polaris debacle, he has angrily cut his ties to the X-Men. Nick Fury is also connected to Wolverine in the way that Logan - then a mindless Weapon X killing machine - once saved his life in Operation Desert Storm. It is hinted that Fury returned the favor and secretly freed Logan.
- The Ultimates, Fury's team, and the X-Men share a deep love-hate-relationship. On one hand, they respect each other for their awesome superpowers. But on the other hand, the Ultimates see the X-Men as constant threats to national security, and the X-Men see the Ultimates as figureheads of an oppressive government. An interesting fact is that Wasp, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are mutants themselves, and that Wasp has kept her nature secret to the world and the latter two - being ex-terrorists - live in seclusion from the media anyway. Both groups have squared off several times each fight ending in a draw. Their relationship is strained at best.
- The Ultimate Fantastic Four have recently met the X-Men in Ultimate X4. Johnny Storm and Iceman have a friendly rivalry, whereas Invisible Woman snubs Shadowcat.
Trivia
- Mark Millar stated that he wrote his first stories with practically no deeper knowledge of the X-Men. Additionally, he revealed that he was suffering from great pain while writing Return to Weapon X, due to a potentially deadly kidney disease which kept him in hospital for months. This explains why there is so much gruesome suffering during this storyline. [link]
- World Tour, the third arc, takes place in the UK and is labelled as the story with the most mistakes.
- *It lists Land's End as a part of Scotland although it is a part of England.
- *It puts the London Eye on the wrong side of the Thames.
- *When the X-Men fight Proteus, Beast is shown in his normal pre-Weapon X look without any blue fur. However, this could be an effect of the reality warp Proteus is using against them.
- *The same scene, which takes place in Scotland, is witnessed by Jean Grey, although the next page depicts her in Russia at that time.
- *A sign in a Berlin airport says "Dublin Airport".
- *The colors of the Union Flag on Colossus' shirt are wrong. Although this could be said to be a fashion statement as many UK companies play around with the colours of the flag.
- In World Tour, Colossus saves the crew of a capsized Russian submarine from certain death. It is an allusion to the real-life Kursk submarine disaster, which ended tragically and was still sorely remembered.
- In the same arc, Wolverine is wearing a Celtic jersey, and Proteus a Rangers jersey.
- As a running gag, some vehicles have the license plate "FLHRCI" which is an acronym for a Harley-Davidson Road King Classic (Fuel Injected) motorcycle.
- Part 7 of Return of the King mirrors the final conversation in the first X-Men movie between Professor X and Magneto in the famous "plastic jail cell". This issue, which was also the swansong of the Mark Millar and Adam Kubert run, features also two security officers who are called "Millar" and "Kubert".
- Ultimate X-Men #40 features what Marvel claims to be the first marriage proposal in a comic book letters column, which is answered in Ultimate X-Men #44 with a positive response.
- In The Tempest, Angel calls the mutant killings a Mutant Massacre, and when Professor X and Jean Grey explore New York with their minds, Jean's astral image shows her wearing a green minidress with a yellow bladed mask, causing her to exclaim why she is wearing "her third grade Halloween costume". This is an obvious reference and jibe to the classic (and by today's measure, ridiculous looking) Marvel Girl costume Jean wore in the early X-Men comics.
- In the same arc, the yellow and green jersey Roberto da Costa is wearing is a jersey of the famous Brazilian national football team.
- The last page of UXM #55 features Angel hanging from a wall with his wings impaled by knives, a nod to the famous mainstream picture when his wings are impaled by Harpoon.
- The famous Danger Room has been used several times for in-jokes and pop culture references. Once, the junior X-Men fought the Brood, and for recreation, there were simulations of Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings.
- In Hellfire and Brimstone, the e-mail-address of Charles Xavier was revealed to be Charlesxavier@x-men.org, while Theresa Pryde, Shadowcat's mother, seems to be reachable by Theresapryde@yahoo.net. Kitty Pryde herself, it was revealed in Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #1, has the address kpryde@xavier.org.
- In the mainstream continuity, Mojo and Longshot have no civilian names. In Ultimate X-Men, they were christened "Mojo Adams" and "Arthur Centino", a play on their creators, namely writer Ann Nocenti (No-Centi became Centi-No) and artist Arthur Adams.
- In the Magnetic North storyline, Iceman writes an email to Rogue and mistakenly spells her name "Rouge". This is probably a nod to the fact that spelling Rogue as "Rouge" is arguably the most common error in X-Men fan fiction.
- As of April 2006, after almost five years and 69 issues, Colossus and Wolverine have not done their trademark fastball special move yet. Colossus mentions it in the Return of the King arc, but decides its not the best time to go through it in detail. It is mentioned after Colossus wants to tell Wolverine something bottled up in him, and Wolverine tells Colossus that he should stay bottled. It has appeared on the cover of UXM #25, but was not seen yet in panel. However, In Ultimate Spider-Man #94 — the last issue of a storyline in which Spider-Man and the X-Men are kidnapped by Deadpool and must fight for their lives against him and the Reavers on Krakoa — Kitty has Colossus throw her at a group of the cyborgs, effectively performing the maneuver.
- It is semi-ironic that Nightcrawler is apparently anti-LGBT as the actor who plays him in is bisexual and his mother in the Marvel universe is bisexual.
Story arcs
- "The Tomorrow People" in Ultimate X-Men #1-6
- "Return to Weapon X" in Ultimate X-Men #7-12
- "You Always Remember Your First Love" in Ultimate X-Men # 13-14
- "World Tour" in Ultimate X-Men #15-20
- "Hellfire and Brimstone" in Ultimate X-Men #21-25
- "Return of the King" in Ultimate X-Men #26-33
- "Blockbuster" in Ultimate X-Men #34-39
- "New Mutants" in Ultimate X-Men #40-45
- "The Tempest" in Ultimate X-Men #46-49
- "Cry Wolf" in Ultimate X-Men #50-53
- "The Most Dangerous Game" in Ultimate X-Men #54-57
- "A Hard Lesson" in Ultimate X-Men #58
- "Shock and Awe" in Ultimate X-Men #59-60
- "Magnetic North" in Ultimate X-Men #61-65
- "Date Night" in Ultimate X-Men #66-68
- "Phoenix?" in Ultimate X-Men #69-71
- "Magical" in Ultimate X-Men #72-74
- "Cable" in Ultimate X-Men #75-?
Collected editions
Trade paperbacks| Ultimate X-Men: Ultimate Collection Book 1 | (ISBN 0785121870) | collects Ultimate X-Men #1-12 & #1/2 |
| Ultimate X-Men Vol. 1: The Tomorrow People | (ISBN 0785107886) | collects Ultimate X-Men #1-6 |
| Ultimate X-Men Vol. 2: Return To Weapon X | (ISBN 0785108688) | collects Ultimate X-Men #7-12 |
| Ultimate X-Men Vol. 3: World Tour | (ISBN 0785109617) | collects Ultimate X-Men #13-20 |
| Ultimate X-Men Vol. 4: Hellfire & Brimstone | (ISBN 0785110895) | collects Ultimate X-Men #21-25 |
| Ultimate X-Men Vol. 5: Ultimate War | (ISBN 0785111298)
| collects Ultimate War #1-4 |
| Ultimate X-Men Vol. 6: Return Of The King | (ISBN 0785110917) | collects Ultimate X-Men #26-33 |
| Ultimate X-Men Vol. 7: Blockbuster | (ISBN 0785112197) | collects Ultimate X-Men #34-39 |
| Ultimate X-Men Vol. 8: New Mutants | (ISBN 0785111611) | collects Ultimate X-Men #40-45 |
| Ultimate X-Men Vol. 9: The Tempest | (ISBN 0785114041) | collects Ultimate X-Men #46-49 |
| Ultimate X-Men Vol. 10: Cry Wolf | (ISBN 078511405X) | collects Ultimate X-Men #50-53 |
| Ultimate X-Men Vol. 11: The Most Dangerous Game | (ISBN 0785116591) | collects Ultimate X-Men #54-57 |
| Ultimate X-Men Vol. 12: Hard Lessons | (ISBN 0785118012) | collects Ultimate X-Men #58-60 & Annual #1 |
| Ultimate X-Men Vol. 13: Magnetic North | (ISBN 078511906X) | collects Ultimate X-Men #61-65 |
| Ultimate X-Men Vol. 14: Phoenix? | (ISBN 078512019X) | collects Ultimate X-Men #66-71 |
Hardcovers
| Ultimate X-Men Vol. 1 | (ISBN 0785110089) | collects Ultimate X-Men #1-12, Giant-Size X-Men #1 | |
| Ultimate X-Men Vol. 2 | (ISBN 0785111301) | collects Ultimate X-Men #13-25 | |
| Ultimate X-Men Vol. 3 | (ISBN 078511131X) | collects Ultimate X-Men #26-33 & Ultimate War #1-4 | |
| Ultimate X-Men Vol. 4 | (ISBN 0785112510) | collects Ultimate X-Men #34-45 | |
| Ultimate X-Men Vol. 5 | (ISBN 0-7851-2103-X) | collects Ultimate X-Men #46-57 | |
| Ultimate X-Men Vol. 6 | (ISBN 0785121048) | collects Ultimate X-Men #58-65, Annual #1 & #1/2 |
External links
- [Ultimate X-Men @ ULTIMATE X]
- [Interview with Mark Millar]
- [thexaxis.com, in-depth Ultimate X-Men issue reviews]
- [UncannyX-Men.net Ultimate X-Men current title info] and [issue summaries]
| X-Men | |
|---|---|
| Bibliography | Uncanny X-Men | X-Men vol. 2 | Astonishing X-Men | Exiles | New Excalibur | | X-Factor | X-Men Unlimited | Ultimate X-Men |
| Major | "Dark Phoenix Saga" | "Mutant Massacre" | "The Fall of the Mutants" | "Inferno" | "The X-Tinction Agenda" | "X-Cutioner's Song" | "Fatal Attractions" | "Phalanx Covenant" | "Age of Apocalypse" | "Onslaught" | "" | "E Is For Extinction" |
| In other media | : X-Men | X2 | ' : Generation X | Mutant X | Pryde of the X-Men | X-Men: The Animated Series | ' |
| Locations | Avalon | Asteroid M | Genosha | Madripoor | Muir Island | Savage Land | X-Mansion |
| Things | Cerebro | Crimson Dawn | Danger Room | Fastball Special | Legacy Virus | M'Kraan Crystal | X-Jet |
| Other | History | Teams | Bibliography of X-Men titles | Comics | Video games | |
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