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Ultimate X-Men | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
Schedule | Monthly |
Publication date | February 2001 – February 2009 (original) March 2024 – present (relaunch) |
No. of issues | 101 |
Main character(s) | |
Creative team | |
Created by | List
|
Written by | List
|
Penciller(s) | List
|
Ultimate X-Men is a superhero comic book series, which was published by Marvel Comics, from 2001 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running X-Men comic book franchise as part of the Ultimate Marvel imprint.[1] The Ultimate X-Men exist alongside other revamped Marvel characters in Ultimate Marvel titles including Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four and The Ultimates.
The protagonists are the X-Men, a group of teen-aged mutants: a subspecies of the human race, who possess latent super-human abilities from birth, due to the presence of the mysterious "X-Gene" within their genetic codes. It sets them apart from the rest of humanity and despite being feared and distrusted by the general public and authorities, they use their super-powers to prevent and stop unnatural threats to both the human and mutant race, while being mentored by Professor Charles Xavier, The X-Men's founder and a world-renowned expert on genetics and the world's most powerful telepath. The series features many characters and storylines similar to those of the original X-Men series. Ultimate X-Men almost completely ignores supernatural or mystical elements as plot devices, and the X-Men have no secret identities, and mutants are distrusted and hunted down.
The series began in 2001 under writer Mark Millar and artists Adam Kubert and Andy Kubert, while the final issues of the series were written by Aron Coleite and penciled by Mark Brooks. Ultimate X-Men was met with considerable commercial success, even outselling most of the other X-Men comic titles and received a generally positive response from critics and readers, who praised the art-work by various artists, the writing runs of Millar, Bendis, Vaughan, Kirkman and Coleite, the character development and progression of the titular superheroes throughout the series and the unique and interesting twists on conventional X-Men themes and concepts, along with the fresh and distinctively modernized re-imagining of the classic X-Men mythos, while the uneven quality of the writing, the somewhat edgy and unnecessarily adult-oriented tone and direction of the comics and some of the changes and deviations from the original X-Men comics were singled out for criticism.
A quasi-sequel/spinoff titled Ultimate Comics: X began in February 2010, but only lasted for 5 issues. The series focused on Wolverine's secret son Jimmy Hudson, Jean Grey, and several other mutants dealing with the aftermath of Ultimatum.
Ultimate X-Men was later relaunched by Nick Spencer and Paco Medina, with the title now called Ultimate Comics: X-Men.
Upon its debut in February 2001, Ultimate X-Men was the second comic of the Ultimate Marvel line, preceded a few months by its sister title Ultimate Spider-Man. The heads of the Ultimate Universe line, Bill Jemas and Joe Quesada, originally tried to hire Brian Michael Bendis to write the title, but he declined.[2] Marvel hired Scottish writer Mark Millar, who was best known at the time for his run on The Authority and was largely ignorant of the X-Men franchise. With the 2000 X-Men film as his only reference, Millar reinvented the X-Men.[3] As a result, Millar's original X-Men consisted of telepath Professor X, Cyclops, whose eyes shoot concussive beams, telepathic and telekinetic Jean Grey, weather-manipulating Storm, simian genius Beast, metal-skinned Colossus, and cryokinetic Iceman. Millar's roster soon expanded to include teleporting Nightcrawler, intangible Kitty Pryde and power absorbing Rogue.
Common to the Millar period was an edgy tone, featuring quick action-driven plots and less moral X-Men. For instance, Wolverine tries to kill Cyclops in "Return of the King" because he is envious of Jean's love. In an interview with Sequential Tart, Millar commented, "You're not competing with Cartoon Network on these books; you're competing with 'Buffy'...Superhero comics aren't adult, but they shouldn't be written for five-year-olds either."[3] Millar shaped Ultimate X-Men into a commercial hit, consistently outselling its sister titles, X-Treme X-Men and Uncanny X-Men.[4]
After Mark Millar's run, Ultimate Spider-Man writer Brian Michael Bendis took over for a year. Bendis stated that his run on the book would be more character-driven, especially concerning Wolverine, who had previously tried to kill his teammate Cyclops.[5] Bendis' run was marked by the introductions of Angel and Dazzler to the team, relative absence of major villains and was also notorious for killing Beast, who was killed when a Sentinel attacked the White House. This made Beast the first dead Ultimate X-Man. As a side note, 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.
The third Ultimate X-Men writer was Brian K. Vaughan, best known at the time for his work on Y: The Last Man, and, subsequently, Saga. His run was marked by the relative absence of Wolverine as the main character and the re-imagining of second-string X-Men characters. He introduced Mr. Sinister as a mutant-killing scientist with hypnosis and stealth powers in "The Tempest" (#46–49), German twins Fenris as mutant corporate criminals in "Cry Wolf" (#50–53), as well as Mojo and Longshot as a corrupt TV producer and a mutant felon, respectively in "The Most Dangerous Game" (#54–57). Both are of non-alien origin in this world and have the civilian names "Arthur Centino" and "Mojo Adams", a play on the names of their creators, writer Ann Nocenti and artist Art Adams. Further arcs were centered on Professor X (#58) and Deathstrike in "Shock and Awe" (#59–60). Lady Deathstrike possesses adamantium claws and regenerative powers. Vaughan also reintroduced Magneto,[6] and established Ultimate Colossus to be homosexual.[6]
On working within the Ultimate Universe, Vaughan wrote: "In my mind, the X-Men shouldn't be teachers or celebrities or even traditional superheroes. They're students, confused, sometimes reckless teenagers who are feared and hated because their bodies are undergoing frightening changes... The Ultimate Universe restores that small but crucial element."[7]
Vaughan's run was followed by Robert Kirkman, author of The Walking Dead and Invincible comic books. Kirkman's run was noted for adapting several major storyarcs from the regular X-Men series. These included Jean Grey's transformation into Phoenix, the arrival of Cable and Bishop, and the appearance of Apocalypse. Kirkman reintroduced Wolverine as an important character, and played with issues of team loyalty. Under his authorship, major characters such as Nightcrawler and Colossus left the team. His tenure also featured Cyclops' decision to turn Xavier's into a more traditional school and consequently disband the X-Men. When this was done an alternate team of X-Men was formed by Bishop as part of the upcoming fight against Apocalypse. After the Ultimatum storyline, nearly all of the X-Men were killed, and the team disbanded.
After the events in Ultimatum the book, along with Ultimate Fantastic Four, was canceled after its 100th issue.[8] A follow-up one-shot, called Requiem, was released and concluded the series' story. A new series, Ultimate Comics: X, debuted in early 2010 and featured Kitty Pryde, Wolverine's son, Jimmy Hudson and Jean Grey.
Ultimate X-Men was then relaunched as Ultimate Comics: X-Men with writer Nick Spencer and artist Paco Medina. The series stars Jimmy Hudson, Kitty Pryde, Johnny Storm, Bobby Drake and Rogue.[9][10]
In October 2023 at New York Comic Con Marvel revealed that, following the conclusion of Ultimate Invasion and the creation of a brand new Ultimate Universe, a new volume of Ultimate X-Men would launch in March 2024 written and illustrated by Peach Momoko.[11]
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 to the mainstream titles.[12]
Date | Ultimate X-Men | Uncanny X-Men | New X-Men | X-Treme X-Men |
---|---|---|---|---|
March 2001 | 97,985 | 96,271 | n/a | n/a |
November 2001 | 100,688 | 125,044 (400th issue) | 116,782 | 84,326 |
March 2002 | 96,150 | 95,386 | 104,138 | 72,892 |
November 2002 | 89,390 | 83,581 | 97,023 | 55,043 |
March 2003 | 86,795 | 83,626 | 92,618 | 58,322 |
November 2003 | 105,737 | 90,764 | 102,591 | 61,574 |
March 2004 | 97,002 | 86,431 | 117,253 | 53,207 |
November 2004 | 92,133 | 92,051 | (ended) | (ended) |
March 2005 | 83,835 | 86,365 | (ended) | (ended) |
November 2005 | 74,264 | 82,825 | (ended) | (ended) |
March 2006 | 72,765 | 79,789 | (ended) | (ended) |
Ultimate X-Men introduced revised versions of classic X-Men villains, such as mutant supremacist, would-be world conqueror, and evil genius mastermind Magneto. He heads the anti-human and genetic terrorist group Brotherhood of Mutant Supremacy. The series also features the amoral, Mengele-like mutant super-weapon project Weapon X, the shady Hellfire Club and many more.
In addition, the Academy of Tomorrow is the Ultimate Marvel version of a spin-off X-Men team called the New Mutants. In this world, the group consists of: headmistress Emma Frost, who can turn her skin into organic diamond; Cyclops' older brother Havok (Alex Summers), who shoots concussive blasts from his hands; airborne Sam Guthrie, or Cannonball; mutant genius Doug Ramsey, also known as Cypher; Canadian speedster Jean-Paul Beaubier, or Northstar; Havok's girlfriend, Lorna Dane, the magnekinetic Polaris; Roberto da Costa, the Brazilian solar-powered Sunspot; and recently Angel. The Shi'ar are a religious movement, led by "Majestrix Lilandra". They worship the "Phoenix God", which they think is reincarnated in the X-Man Marvel Girl (Jean Grey).
The Ultimate version of Cable is revealed to be a future version of Wolverine, who kidnaps Charles Xavier in an attempt to prevent the coming of Apocalypse.
"Syndicate" is the name of two mutants, psi-resistant conjoined twins named Luke and Matthew. They try to rob a bank to help their terminally ill sister, but are stopped by Professor X. Realizing their plight, he gives them a chance to redeem themselves by working as his private agents. Created by Brian K. Vaughan and Steve Dillon, they first appeared in Ultimate X-Men #58. The characters have an unusual heart which pumps out electromagnetic pulses with each beat; this disables almost any electrical system. Their interlinked brain matter also makes them immune to telepathic control, although they are still susceptible to mind readings.
In the shared universe of Ultimate Marvel, the X-Men have more than once crossed the paths of other superheroes: Peter Parker is a good friend of the X-Men and is Shadowcat's ex-boyfriend. The X-Men share a wary truce with Nick Fury and the Ultimates, who have been both their best benefactors ("New Mutants" arc) and as adversaries (Ultimate War) in the past. The Ultimate Fantastic Four have met the X-Men in Ultimate X4 and the teams are generally on positive terms.
# | Title | Material collected | Pages | Released | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Tomorrow People | Ultimate X-Men #1–6 | 160 | 30 Jul 2001 | 978-0785107880 |
2 | Return To Weapon X | Ultimate X-Men #7–12 | 144 | 1 Apr 2002 | 978-0785108689 |
3 | World Tour | Ultimate X-Men #13–20 | 192 | 9 Dec 2002 | 978-0785109617 |
4 | Hellfire & Brimstone | Ultimate X-Men #21–25 | 144 | 3 Mar 2003 | 978-0785110897 |
5 | Ultimate War | Ultimate War #1–4 | 112 | 14 Apr 2003 | 978-0785111290 |
6 | Return Of The King | Ultimate X-Men #26–33 | 192 | 1 Sep 2003 | 978-0785110910 |
7 | Blockbuster | Ultimate X-Men #34–39 | 144 | 22 Mar 2004 | 978-0785112198 |
8 | New Mutants | Ultimate X-Men #40–45 | 144 | 7 Sep 2004 | 978-0785111610 |
9 | The Tempest | Ultimate X-Men #46–49 | 112 | 26 Nov 2004 | 978-0785114048 |
10 | Cry Wolf | Ultimate X-Men #50–53 | 96 | 9 Feb 2005 | 978-0785114055 |
11 | The Most Dangerous Game | Ultimate X-Men #54–57 | 104 | 27 Jul 2005 | 978-0785116592 |
12 | Hard Lessons | Ultimate X-Men #58–60; Ultimate X-Men Annual #1 | 120 | 30 Nov 2005 | 978-0785118015 |
13 | Magnetic North | Ultimate X-Men #61–65 | 128 | 1 Mar 2006 | 978-0785119067 |
14: | Phoenix? | Ultimate X-Men #66–71 | 144 | 18 Oct 2006 | 978-0785120193 |
15 | Magical | Ultimate X-Men #72–74; Ultimate X-Men Annual #2 | 112 | 17 Jan 2007 | 978-0785120209 |
16 | Cable | Ultimate X-Men #75–80 | 160 | 30 May 2007 | 978-0785125488 |
17 | Sentinels | Ultimate X-Men #81–88 | 192 | 23 Jan 2008 | 978-0785125495 |
18 | Apocalypse | Ultimate X-Men #89–93 | 120 | 30 Jul 2008 | 978-0785125501 |
19 | Absolute Power | Ultimate X-Men #94–97 | 112 | 5 Nov 2008 | 978-0785129448 |
Ultimatum: X-Men/Fantastic Four | Ultimate X-Men #98–100; Ultimate Fantastic Four #58–60 | 152 | 23 Dec 2009 | 978-0785134336 |
# | Title | Material collected | Pages | Released | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ultimate X-Men: Ultimate Collection Book 1 | Ultimate X-Men #1–12, ½ | 336 | 29 Mar 2006 | 978-0785121879 |
2 | Ultimate X-Men: Ultimate Collection Book 2 | Ultimate X-Men #13–25 | 336 | 1 Aug 2007 | 978-0785128564 |
3 | Ultimate X-Men: Ultimate Collection Book 3 | Ultimate War #1–4; Ultimate X-Men #26–33 | 304 | 2 Sep 2009 | 978-0785141877 |
4 | Ultimate X-Men: Ultimate Collection Book 4 | Ultimate X-Men #34–45 | 304 | 13 Oct 2010 | 978-0785149231 |
5 | Ultimate X-Men: Ultimate Collection Book 5 | Ultimate X-Men #46–57 | 312 | 3 Mar 2015 | 978-0785192923 |
# | Title | Material collected | Pages | Released | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Tomorrow People | Ultimate X-Men #1-12, ½ | 336 | 15 Apr 2025 | 978-1302963019 |
# | Title | Material collected | Pages | Released | ISBN | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ultimate X-Men Volume 1 HC | Ultimate X-Men #1–12, Giant-Size X-Men #1 | 352 | 7 Aug 2002 | 978-0785110088 | ||
2 | Ultimate X-Men Volume 2 HC | Ultimate X-Men #13–25 | 336 | 24 Mar 2003 | 978-0785111306 | ||
3 | Ultimate X-Men Volume 3 HC | Ultimate X-Men #26–33; Ultimate War #1–4 | 312 | 10 Dec 2003 | 978-0785111313 | ||
4 | Ultimate X-Men Volume 4 HC | Ultimate X-Men #34–45 | 304 | 23 Feb 200 | 978-0785112518 | ||
5 | Ultimate X-Men Volume 5 HC | Ultimate X-Men #46–57 | 296 | 4 Jan 2006 | 978-0785121039 | ||
6 | Ultimate X-Men Volume 6 HC | Ultimate X-Men #58–65, ½; Ultimate X-Men Annual #1 | 256 | 30 Aug 2006 | 978-0785121046 | ||
7 | Ultimate X-Men Volume 7 HC | Ultimate X-Men #66–74; Ultimate X-Men Annual #2 | 256 | 8 Aug 2007 | 978-0785126058 | ||
8 | Ultimate X-Men Volume 8 HC | Ultimate X-Men #75–88 | 352 | 25 June 2008 | 978-0785130802 | ||
9 | Ultimate X-Men Volume 9 HC | Ultimate X-Men #89–97 | 232 | 26 Aug 2009 | 978-0785137795 | ||
Premiere Hardcover | |||||||
Ultimatum: X-Men/Fantastic Four | Ultimate X-Men #98–100; Ultimate Fantastic Four #58–60 | 152 | 20 May 2009 | 978-0785134329 |
# | Title | Material collected | Pages | Released | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ultimate X-Men Omnibus Volume 1 | Ultimate X-Men #1–33, ½, Ultimate War #1–4 | 1,024 | 25 Oct 2022 | 978-1302946357 |
2 | Ultimate X-Men Omnibus Volume 2 | Ultimate X-Men #34–74, Ultimate X-Men Annual #1–2, Ultimate X-Men/Fantastic Four, Ultimate Fantastic Four/X-Men | 1,160 | 13 Feb 2024 | 978-1302950118 |