Ultimate X-Men (story arcs)

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This page contains plot summaries of the Marvel comic Ultimate X-Men, written by Mark Millar, Chuck Austen, Brian Michael Bendis, Brian K. Vaughan and Robert Kirkman.

Contents

The Tomorrow People (#1-6)

writer Mark Millar, artist Adam Kubert
Magneto's Brotherhood has declared war on the human race and has committed huge bombings in Washington and New York. The US government enforces a zero-tolerance stance on mutants and build the Sentinels, giant mutant-killing robots . Professor Charles Xavier recruits several reluctant mutants in order to stop the vicious circle of violence. He is unaware that one recruit, Wolverine, is a sleeper for Magneto and has orders to kill Xavier. Matters worsen when Wolverine seduces Marvel Girl and causes heartbroken Cyclops to defect to the Brotherhood. But when Magneto launches his final attack on mankind, both men fight for the X-Men and allow Xavier and Magneto's estranged son Quicksilver to defeat and seemingly kill the Master of Magnetism.

Return to Weapon X (#7-12)

writer Mark Millar, artist Adam Kubert
While Wolverine is away, Xavier and his X-Men are kidnapped into Weapon X, a concentration camp which turns mutants into mindless killers. They are experimented on, forced to commit heinous crimes and must witness how Beast is turned into a blue monster. When Wolverine is also captured, the Weapon X staff try to subvert the US military. But then it turns out that Wolverine lead the Brotherhood into Weapon X and frees his companions. The mutants are ready to commit a massacre, but then General Nick Fury steps in, arrests the Weapon X staff and declares all mutants free.

You Always Remember Your First Love (#13-14)

writer Chuck Austen, artist Essad Ribic
Cajun mutant Remy Lebeau is a homeless bum on the streets of New Orleans. One day, he takes in a little girl whose parents have been murdered. When she too is abducted, he takes bloody revenge on those responsible: Hammerhead and his mob henchmen.

World Tour (#15-20)

writer Mark Millar, artists Chris Bachalo and Adam Kubert
The X-Men are shocked to find that Magneto is still alive. Xavier has brainwashed him and wants to slowly rehabilitate him. Then Xavier's mutant son David MacTaggert escapes from his mother's keep on Muir Island and leaves a wake of destruction. The X-Men travel to Scotland and get help from British agents Betsy Braddock and Dai Thomas. Feelings become uneasy when Xavier's dark past as a heartless husband and neglectful father becomes evident. Then David possesses Betsy, defeats Xavier and his X-Men and forces his father to watch while he ruthlessly kills thousands of people. At last, David is killed by Colossus. Xavier is deeply traumatized and forced to rethink his world.

Hellfire and Brimstone (#21-25)

writer Mark Millar, artists Kaare Andrews and Adam Kubert
To the terror of new recruit Shadowcat, Wolverine and Cyclops have a violent fistfight over Jean. Charles Xavier sends the two rivals on a rescue mission to the Savage Land. The two fight a giant computer which plans to destroy humanity and are saved by their unwanted passenger Shadowcat. Meanwhile, the other X-Men are invited to a high-society party by X-Men sponsor Sebastian Shaw. They ambush the X-Men and awaken the "Phoenix force" in Jean in a pagan ritual. Jean/ Phoenix kills the whole Hellfire Club before Xavier just manages to end her insanity. But then hell breaks loose when the Brotherhood manages to free Magneto.

Ultimate War (Ultimate War #1-4)

writer Mark Millar, artist Chris Bachalo

Note: Ultimate War is not an X-Men arc as it is a crossover between the Ultimates and the Ultimate X-Men. It is important for understanding some of the continuity, specifically the "Return of the King" arc, but not vital.

The Brotherhood declares the second war against humanity. Xavier and the X-Men are branded as traitors. Things get worse when Wolverine and Shadowcat report that Cyclops has been killed in the Savage Land. The Ultimates track down the X-Men and have an all-out fight in NY. Xavier is captured, but thanks to Iceman, the rest can escape.

Return of the King (#26-33)

writer Mark Millar, artist Adam Kubert
The Brotherhood plan their final attack on humanity. Forge, a mutant cybernetic genius, has built a machine which amplifies Magneto's powers to a near godlike status. It is revealed that Cyclops is still alive, lying heavily injured in a pit. Wolverine deliberately dropped him down to murder his rival for Jean's love. At the brink of death, Cyclops is picked up and nursed by Brotherhood scouts who do not recognize him. Cyclops recuperates just enough to lead the X-Men into Magneto's hideout. Shadowcat destroys Forge's doomsday machine, and the Brotherhood is defeated by the battle-savvy X-Men. Magneto causes a nuclear meltdown, but Rogue and Marvel Girl miraculously prevent a catastrophe and are hailed as heroes. The X-Men turn themselves over to the authorities and are granted amnesty. Cyclops takes revenge on Wolverine and kicks him off the team, but then asks him to return to the X-Men to redeem himself.

Blockbuster (#34-39)

writer Brian Michael Bendis, artist David Finch
Wolverine is ambushed and brutally attacked by unknown assailants. He gets helped by Spider-Man, the Black Widow and Daredevil and tries to find out the motives of his attackers. It seems that they are ex-Weapon X members who want to kill him. In the showdown, Wolverine is saved by the X-Men. But the assailants rather kill themselves than reveal any information, leaving him clueless and frustrated. Seconds later, a SHIELD attack force arrives and reveals that the Weapon X team members are only flunkies in a larger, more insidious anti-mutant conspiracy that reaches into the highest levels of the US Government.

New Mutants (#40-45)

writer Brian Michael Bendis, artist David Finch
The first three issues of this 'arc' are stand-alone introductions of individual characters. The first story deals with Angel, the millionaire son of a family which despises him, the second one focuses on an unnamed mutant who kills anyone around him and begs Wolverine to mercy-kill him, and the last one focuses on punk-rock singer Dazzler, whose antisocial attitude shocks the X-Men.

Meanwhile, the US government is interested in building up a state-sponsored, media-friendly mutant team. School teacher Emma Frost (who is a former student of Xavier) is entrusted with this task and recruits Alex Summers, Dazzler and Beast, who does not feel comfortable in the X-Men anymore. But there are powerful forces in the military that see mutants as a threat and will do anything to eliminate them. They summon a large Sentinel at the kickoff of Emma's new team. The X-Men defeat the Sentinel, but cannot prevent Beast being killed. Nick Fury manages to track down the men responsible for the attack (as well as reactiving the ex-Weapon X team in the previous story arc) and arrests them.

The Tempest (#46-49)

writer Brian K. Vaughan, artist Brandon Peterson
The X-Men, still reeling from the loss of Beast, investigate a series of mutant killings. The killer is Nathaniel Essex, aka Mr. Sinister, an ex-scientist who made himself into a supervillain at the cost of his sanity. He has delusions of a "Lord Apocalypse", who is ordering him to kill more mutants. Sinister infiltrates the Institute, defeats Xavier, Iceman and Angel and is about to go on a killing spree, when Rogue knocks him out and saves the day. Sinister is brought into SHIELD custody.

Cry Wolf (#50-53)

writer Brian K. Vaughan, artist Andy Kubert
On a field trip to Coney Island, the X-Men are ambushed by Gambit. He leaves a wake of destruction, blasts away Wolverine's face and uses the chaos to kidnap Rogue. He presents her to his superiors, the Fenris twins. They want her to become their spy and offer the one thing she desires: the ability to touch. Rogue is very tempted but refuses. Fenris attack both, but Rogue and Gambit can flee. But then Wolverine appears, almost beating Gambit to pulp before Rogue steps in. She states that she is alienated by the X-Men and goes away with Gambit, leaving the X-Men dejected. Wolverine and Storm temporarily leave the team.

The Most Dangerous Game (#54-57)

writer Brian K. Vaughan, artist Stuart Immonen
On the island state of Genosha, TV celebrity Mojo Adams hosts a hugely successful reality TV show in which criminal mutants are hunted to death. The latest victim is "Longshot", who is said to have killed a local politician, Lord Scheele. Cyclops, Iceman, Marvel Girl and Shadowcat start investigating in Genosha, but secretly, Dazzler persuades Angel, Colossus and Nightcrawler to steal the Blackbird to rescue Longshot by themselves.

The latter four X-Men fight bounty hunter Arcade and are saved by Longshot. When Mojo abducts Angel and tortures him, they proceed to destroy Mojo's TV station and help Longshot escape. The other X-Men stumble upon a mysterious six-armed mutant called Spiral. It turns out that Longshot is indeed guilty. His off-and-on-girlfriend Spiral, sick of being ignored by Longshot, had an affair with Scheele. When Longshot - a deeply despicable racist - found out, he killed him.

When the eight X-men return to the Xavier Mansion, Professor X is very angry about the rogue X-Men and is ready to expel the mastermind of this maverick action. Dazzler is ready to confess, but then Angel claims it is his fault. Xavier refuses to expel the tortured man, and out of thankfulness, Dazzler hooks up with him.

A Hard Lesson (#58)

writer Brian K. Vaughan, artist Steve Dillon
Charles Xavier visits a bank and finds out that the Hellfire Club's vast bank accounts, of which he has full control over, are not blocked. As he tries to clear up the issue, he witnesses a holdup by a grotesque, psi-resistant conjoined twin mutant called "Syndicate", whos mutant power allows him to generate a powerful electromagnetic pulse every time his heart beats. By liberal use of mind control, Xavier makes the bystanders believe in their dormant talents and fight Syndicate to a standstill. Xavier realizes that they only became criminal to help their terminally ill sister, and he offers the conjoined twins a chance to redeem themselves. He then fakes Syndicate's death and instructs him to wait in a safehouse, saying that Sydicate's powers will prove useful in resolving the issue involving the Hellfire Club's bank accounts.

Shock and Awe (#59-60)

writer Brian K. Vaughan, artist Stuart Immonen
In search of his secret past, Wolverine has moved north. He is picked up by Storm, who is haunted by her darkest memory: when she was still a thief, she caused an accident in which her colleague Yuriko Oyama was maimed by a truck. Suddenly, an adamantium-laced, cybernetically enhanced Yuriko attacks them. Her benefactor is the sinister Dr. Cornelius from Weapon X, and both have joined forces to take revenge on Wolverine and Storm. The two X-Men just manage to remain victorious. Cornelius is apparently killed and Yuriko is restrained. After the battle, Wolverine and Storm realize that running away from their problems will not solve anything.

Ultimate X-Men Annual #1

writer Brian K. Vaughan, artist Tom Raney
In this annual, Juggernaut escapes out of SHIELD custody and tracks down Rogue, his old flame from Weapon X days. He meets her with her lover Gambit in Las Vegas, where they have just stolen the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak from a safe of their old enemies Fenris. They fight, and Gambit shoots the gem at Juggernaut, but he absorbs it and magically becomes stronger than ever. Remy brings down a skyscraper, which buries them both. Rogue retrieves her dying boyfriend, and she grants him a last kiss before he seemingly dies. When Rogue phones her ex-boyfriend Iceman, she is afraid that she permanently absorbed Gambit's memories and powers. Indeed, her eyes are now red on black.

Magnetic North (#61-65)

writer Brian K. Vaughan, artist Stuart Immonen
Emma Frost has assembled the Academy of Tomorrow, a second heroic mutant group consisting of Havok, Polaris, Northstar, Sunspot, Cypher and Cannonball. However, their first mission ends in a disaster, when Polaris' powers flare out of control and kills dozens of bystanders. She is brought into the only structure capable of keeping her safe, namely the plastic prison cell of none other than Magneto. Nobody suspects that the real culprits are of the incident were Forge and Mystique.

The AoT is livid and - without Emma Frost knowing - tries to break her out. When the X-Men try to stop them, they run into the Ultimates, and after both sides have knocked each other out, the AoT breaches the prison cells. But not only Polaris, but also highly dangerous criminals like Deathstrike, Longshot and Magneto flee.

Due to Angel's negligence, Deathstrike puts Dazzler in a coma, and Magneto is seemingly knocked out by Cyclops. Nick Fury is very angry about this incident, but is blackmailed by Wolverine into keeping still. Livid, Fury breaks his ties to the X-Men. In the end, Magneto returns to his cell... but then, it is revealed that Mystique has taken his place, and the real Magneto and Longshot have successfully fled.

Professor X "expels" Angel for insubordination, only to send him to the AoT as a spy. Colossus reveals to Nightcrawler that he is dating Northstar, a barndoor hint that he is coming out. Rogue returns, deeply confused and her eyes red on black.

Notes: Wolverine blackmails Nick Fury by threatening to reveal the truth about the boy he mercy-killed in the "New Mutants" arc. It becomes evident that Fury sent Wolverine to do this chilling task.

Date Night (#66-68)

''writer Robert Kirkman, artist Tom Raney

In this arc, many independent plot lines are laid out. The X-Men all get ready for a night off: Scott and Jean see a movie, Logan and Ororo go into a bar, Piotr and Kurt visit comatose Alison, Kitty meets her new crush Spider-Man and Professor Xavier shares a dinner with a mysterious female benefactor. Bobby and Marian stay alone at the Mansion. In the meanwhile, a young teenager somewhere is horrified because he somehow killed his parents with newly-awakened mutant powers.

Jean confronts Scott for repressing his feelings for her, but then Scott lets loose, passionately makes out and then makes love with her, leaving her deeply pleased.
Kurt reveals that he had hoped to date Alison, stating his disapointment that a girl like her would "choose the angel over the devil." He also shows major discomfort around Piotr, who finally confirms he is gay.
Logan and Ororo stumble upon Sabretooth, who takes Ororo hostage and claims to be Wolverine's son. Logan calls him a liar, and they square off, and the brawl ends in a draw.
Xavier's dinner partner reveals herself as Lilandra, head of the powerful, vastly rich Shi'ar cult (which oppose the Hellfire Club) which worships a Phoenix god, apparently reborn in Jean Grey.
Kitty and Peter Parker have a good time fighting criminals and then making out.
The young teen (Elliot Boggs) is apprehended by Nick Fury, despite offering strong resistance with his apparently reality-warping powers.
Marian and Bobby bond while watching funny videos, and then she surprises him by violently kissing him. Finally, they have (off-panel) sex.

The story ends with Nick Fury dumping Elliot onto the X-Men, Lilandra buying herself into the X-Men in exchange for the right to examine Jean Grey, and with Sabretooth delivering a blood sample of Logan to his superior, Doctor Cornelius of Weapon X, who wants to make "his own Wolverine", hinting a possible introduction to the character X-23, Wolverine's clone in the 616 universe.

Phoenix? (#69-71)

''writer Robert Kirkman, artist Ben Oliver

As in the former arc, several independent plot lines are laid out:

One main plot deals with the newest X-Man, Magician aka Elliott Boggs. Professor X and Jean calm down the terrified youth, and Cyclops takes him under his wing. In a Danger Room session, Rogue shows off her new, Gambit-esque powers. When the Homecoming Dance of the Academy of Tomorrow, attended by Angel, Colossus and Northstar, is attacked by the reformed Brotherhood of Mutants, the X-Men are so shorthanded that Scott reluctantly takes Elliott along. With his help, the X-Men take out the BoM. Elliott is hailed as a hero and becomes a media darling.

Another main plot deals with the examination of Jean Grey by the Shi'ar Church, led by Lilandra and her assistant Gerald. Jean is visibly stressed by the interrogation, and the very idea she could be a goddess terrifies her. In the end, the Phoenix inside her flares up, and when she wants to kill Lilandra, Gerald and Professor X just manage to end her insanity. Lilandra fears that her assumption (she thought of the Phoenix as benign) may be wrong. Jean's mental health seems fragile. Jean admits to Cyclops that she is in fact crazy, and Cyclops leaves while figments of Jeans imagination crawl around her. Gerald is hinted to be a Hellfire Club spy.

Nightcrawler confesses to comatose Alison Blaire that he hates Piotr and himself ever since Piotr said he was gay.

Wolverine is asked by Nick Fury to help him out on a difficult job. This is most likely to be the proposition of Wolverine fighting the Hulk which can be seen in Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk].

Magical (#72-74)

''writer Robert Kirkman, artist Ben Oliver

This article or section contains information about a scheduled or expected comic book release, or a series already in progress. It is likely to contain tentative information and the content may change dramatically as the product release approaches and more information becomes available.

Cable (#75-80)

''writer Robert Kirkman, artist Tom Raney

Ultimate X-Men Annual #2

''writer Robert Kirkman, artist Salvador Larroca

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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"
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