Ultimate X-Men #1 Reviews/Spoiler

[SKJoker]

I guess it's a good thing that I like comics and manga a lot? I loved this first issue. It's one of those things that is building a bit slowly, but I don't think we really have any clue where it's going.

But even with that, we have a nice bit of room for depth even with just how the story started. I'm very curious as to how it develops, and I can't wait for the next issue & to see how the X-Men as a whole play into this universe. This was a great start; loving all of the Ultimate line so far.

[Malachi]

See, I still think the tree is involved. Her leaving flowers near the end of the chapter could be chocked up to her seeing Tsubasa's ghost there earlier. But earlier, we also saw what looked like to be flowers by the tree, just before we aswTsubasa's ghost. When the shadow figure said "Until he died," it showed Tsubasa next to a tree. Which I think is very deliberate, since those flashbacks had no backgrounds whatsoever, besides the tree. So bringing Hisako to this spot would make it a lot more symbolic; like yeah it's isolated. But this would also be where her friend died. It'd be even more painful here for her.

If the Shadow King theory is true, the suicide stuff could still be at play. The Shadow King drove an already-fragile person over the edge, like he tried to do with Hisako here. It's still a look at how mistreatment can lead to someone seeing no other way out but suicide. But this time, it's also showing how someone can manipulate someone at their very worst, under the guise of trying to help them. Or you could see Shadow King as a metaphor for depression or some crap, idk it's pretty early.

Yes it certainly seemed like the tree was the spot he died. It’s weird for a random tree, temple grounds or not, to be the one you leave flowers at. It reminds me of traffic accidents and people building impromptu shrines and leaving flowers were the accident happened.

It fits the mmo of the shadow king to toy with people. Feed on misery and depression, driving them towards suicide. I just prefer if he came in after the suicide, as I believe it cheapens it a bit. But that’s the problem, what I want and we’re the story is heading. As of now, a whole whopping issue in, it feels very possible that he at the very least influenced the death or more likely made it come to fruition. Driving the poor boy towards it because he might have been a mutant.

[Frontier]

I think people are waaaay too quick to write this off as being just oddball and irrelevant because its not going more obvious, traditional routes with its storytelling. I think Hisako's friend being the Ultimate version of 616's Wing is a huge indicator that Momoko is absolutely paying attention to X-Men lore while crafting her story. Its only the first issue, I could easily see a number of ways this could be a lot more looped into the rest of the new Ultimate line and traditional X-Men mythos than ppl are assuming. For instance, what if the shadowy figure ISN'T actually the Shadow King as is being presumed, or if it is, its a merger/revamping of the Shadow King concept combining it with the most famous character introduced in the story Hisako and Wing debuted in over in the 616 universe: Cassandra Nova?

I mean, imagine if the Maker, trying to keep mutant heroes or influential figures from arising in his new tailor made timeline, and becoming potential obstacles to him.....did something to get Magneto and Xavier out of the way early on....and in the latter's absence, this new Ultimate universe's version of Cassandra Nova was able to grow in influence, unchecked by Xavier? Becoming a Shadow King type figure that sought out new mutants the way Xavier does in many timelines, but rather than do so in order to gather them together, recruit them or teach them, she does so in order to suppress them, keep them from ever embarking down a heroic path via tormenting them with their fears, guilt and inner demons? Maybe being the instrument that tempts some of them down darker paths - like we've already seen elsewhere, that this timeline's version of the Rasputins and Sunfire are all part of the villain cabal ruling from the shadows.....

If the main ongoing arc is alienated, outcast mutant teens discovering their powers and overcoming the dark, shadowy figure trying to keep them mired in their own inner torments & struggles so they never step up and become heroes, slowly coming together on their own in a world where Xavier & other major mutant leaders' absence has led to figures like Cassandra and/or the Shadow King preying on them in isolation and stunting their 'social evolution' as a community and as heroes.....I think such a narrative would definitely be in keeping with the X-Men's themes and major tropes, with the indie horror manga vibes just being a unique and novel way of unfolding that direction initially.

Maybe they should've called it Ultimate New Mutants.

[Kingdom X]

That last statement genuinely scares me because this final product in which it’s basically unrecognizable as even being X-Men is what we got with working with editors to keep it as a Marvel title. I don’t think I want to know what this book would have looked like had carte blanche been given.

Article for some additional context: https://screenrant.com/peach-momoko-...rmor-maystorm/

CB approached Momoko and then looped Hickman in, and both gave her a ton of freedom and very little expectation to connect to traditional X-Men OR to Hickman’s overarching plan. Not that it won’t ever connect back to those things, but I’m not so surprised we got something very different because the people up top kept things very open.

[Kurolegacy]

Article for some additional context: https://screenrant.com/peach-momoko-...rmor-maystorm/

CB approached Momoko and then looped Hickman in, and both gave her a ton of freedom and very little expectation to connect to traditional X-Men OR to Hickman’s overarching plan. Not that it won’t ever connect back to those things, but I’m not so surprised we got something very different because the people up top kept things very open.

I just can’t wrap my head around why they’d want for 1/3 of their line to not bother connecting to the overarching narrative of the universe especially when the other 2/3 of it does. It just feels so counterproductive to the cohesion of the brand new universe.

[Kingdom X]

I just can’t wrap my head around why they’d want for 1/3 of their line to not bother connecting to the overarching narrative of the universe especially when the other 2/3 of it does. It just feels so counterproductive to the cohesion of the brand new universe.

This is pure speculation territory, so not to be taken too seriously. But it could be a couple things:

1) Hickman didn’t have a strict vision for Ultimate X-Men because it wasn’t so long ago that he did his big X-Men story (which itself was a pretty big departure from the norm), so he was far more willing to give over full creative freedom.

2) Hickman and co. knew from the beginning they wanted X-Men to take place in Hi No Kuni (this universes territory that contains Japan), so they went to the biggest Japanese creator they know at Marvel and let them put their spin on it.

3) Marvel knew that they were going to have a X-line relaunch around the same time that this came out, so to not undermine those efforts they choose to start Ultimate X-Men off with a smaller scale story.

[MarvelMaster616]

Article for some additional context: https://screenrant.com/peach-momoko-...rmor-maystorm/

CB approached Momoko and then looped Hickman in, and both gave her a ton of freedom and very little expectation to connect to traditional X-Men OR to Hickman’s overarching plan. Not that it won’t ever connect back to those things, but I’m not so surprised we got something very different because the people up top kept things very open.

This kind of gives the impression that CB and Hickman don't really care about X-Men in this new Ultimate universe. They seem to only care about what's going on with the Ultimates and with Spider-Man. If that's the case, then that's just negligent on their part. It means they had no plans or vision for what mutants would be in this new universe. And they're just letting Momoko tell what could've just as easily been another non-canon AU story, but slap Ultimate X-Men on it for padded sales.

It's a dumb gimmick and one that will drag down the rest of the Ultimate universe if they let it. You just can't relaunch an ambitious series like this and not care at all about one of the main pillars of Marvel Comics.

[MarvelMaster616]

This is pure speculation territory, so not to be taken too seriously. But it could be a couple things:

1) Hickman didn’t have a strict vision for Ultimate X-Men because it wasn’t so long ago that he did his big X-Men story (which itself was a pretty big departure from the norm), so he was far more willing to give over full creative freedom.

2) Hickman and co. knew from the beginning they wanted X-Men to take place in Hi No Kuni (this universes territory that contains Japan), so they went to the biggest Japanese creator they know at Marvel and let them put their spin on it.

3) Marvel knew that they were going to have a X-line relaunch around the same time that this came out, so to not undermine those efforts they choose to start Ultimate X-Men off with a smaller scale story.

I genuinely hope you're right. But having followed Ultimate X-Men through its rise and fall the last time...my gut tells me that this isn't the case. Because Ultimate X-Men #1 is coming out just weeks before X-Men 97. What better opportunity would there be to give us a whole new, refreshing take on X-Men that fans can just jump into? But that's not what we're getting. We're getting what is basically an X-Men story without X-Men, mutants, or any of the themes, aesthetics, or characters that people know from the franchise.

That says to me that there was no plan. They just picked Momoko as a way to leech off some manga and anime fans. There's no indication they care at all what form this series takes. If they did, they wouldn't have had a first issue in which the word "mutant" was never even said.

[Souther]

Let's try to be objective here and look at the big picture:

a) You've got X-Men 97 coming out soon, which already features a very traditional X-Men team with famous figures and will at least partially adapt classic comic story arcs.

b) You've got the main X-Men comic line re-launching in 2024. While the storytelling content itself will be new, the teaser already suggests two traditional teams.

c) You've got the X-Men coming to the MCU in the future. We don't know much, but it's a fair guess that the shape of the team won't stray too far from the Fox model.

d) Finally, you've got Ultimate X-Men doing something very unique and not limited by the existing orthodoxy, which doesn't even feature a team at the moment.

Frankly...if this isn't the right time to allow some room for freedom, experimentation and flexibility, a different way to play with the concept of mutants and other related themes without simply recycling our already preexisting memories into permanent storytelling expectations, then when could you possibly do that?

It's clear that Hickman himself doesn't want to try to upstage anyone by going: Look at me, folks! I'm here doing the X-Men...again! He's already been there, done that. It's become a part of publishing history. Hell, I can easily imagine that Hickman told CB that repeating himself wasn't remotely part of his plans for the Ultimate line. Which is how I assume CB went looking for someone else with talent and name recognition who could bring an entirely fresh approach. They picked Peach Momoko, who wasn't a hardcore X-Men fan at all and thus isn't psychologically nor emotionally obsessed with the idea of trying to relive the glory days of the past.

Regardless of whatever happens down the road, since I assume we will also continue to see familiar mutant characters pop up in different books such as Black Panther and Spider-Man, among others, I'm willing to stick around and see more of what Peach Momoko is trying to do here. Yes, it's essentially a character study, in practice, but I thought the first issue was well-executed and is a good example of how to bring some actual creativity rather than being held down by the chains of past mutant storylines.

[Kurolegacy]

Let's try to be objective here and look at the big picture:

a) You've got X-Men 97 coming out soon, which already features a very traditional X-Men team with famous figures and will at least partially adapt classic comic story arcs.

b) You've got the main X-Men comic line re-launching in 2024. While the storytelling content itself will be new, the teaser already suggests two traditional teams.

c) You've got the X-Men coming to the MCU in the future. We don't know much, but it's a fair guess that the shape of the team won't stray too far from the Fox model.

d) Finally, you've got Ultimate X-Men doing something very unique and not limited by the existing orthodoxy, which doesn't even feature a team at the moment.

Frankly...if this isn't the right time to allow some room for freedom, experimentation and flexibility, a different way to play with the concept of mutants and other related themes without simply recycling our already preexisting memories into permanent storytelling expectations, then when could you possibly do that?

It's clear that Hickman himself doesn't want to try to upstage anyone by going: Look at me, folks! I'm here doing the X-Men...again! He's already been there, done that. It's become a part of publishing history. Hell, I can easily imagine that Hickman told CB that repeating himself wasn't remotely part of his plans for the Ultimate line. Which is how I assume CB went looking for someone else with talent and name recognition who could bring an entirely fresh approach. They picked Peach Momoko, who wasn't a hardcore X-Men fan at all and thus isn't psychologically nor emotionally obsessed with the idea of trying to relive the glory days of the past.

Regardless of whatever happens down the road, since I assume we will also continue to see familiar mutant characters pop up in different books such as Black Panther and Spider-Man, among others, I'm willing to stick around and see more of what Peach Momoko is trying to do here. Yes, it's essentially a character study, in practice, but I thought the first issue was well-executed and is a good example of how to bring some actual creativity rather than being held down by the chains of past mutant storylines.

See, what I keep seeing is people complementing this series for being different. However, the whole thing just comes across as it being praised as being different just for the sake of being different rather than it having any kind of actual X-Men feel to it. Like, look at both Ultimate Spider-Man and Black Panther. Both of them are different than the kind of thing that you’d see in 616 but take the title off of the book and you still know what it is that you’re reading. Ultimate X-Men on the other hand, remove that and you have no idea you’re even reading a Marvel comic. And given the volatility of the comic book market as is, you’d want to cast the biggest net possible rather than choosing to be experimental to the point of unrecognizable especially when you’re establishing your universe. Being a different take is fine, but at least remain recognizable.

[sbp1972]

Maybe I am oversimplifying this, but why not just launch an Ultimate X-Men book more in line with the aesthetics of the rest of the new Ultimate line AND launch a new Marvel Manga line, with Momoko's X-Men book as the tentpole? Then you're pulling in more $$$.

[Factor]

Maybe I am oversimplifying this, but why not just launch an Ultimate X-Men book more in line with the aesthetics of the rest of the new Ultimate line AND launch a new Marvel Manga line, with Momoko's X-Men book as the tentpole? Then you're pulling in more $$$.

Yes, I think they’re sleeping on the potential of an actual manga line. And this would let Ultimate X-men actually be about the X-men and connected to the rest of its universe.

[Kingdom X]

See, what I keep seeing is people complementing this series for being different. However, the whole thing just comes across as it being praised as being different just for the sake of being different rather than it having any kind of actual X-Men feel to it. Like, look at both Ultimate Spider-Man and Black Panther. Both of them are different than the kind of thing that you’d see in 616 but take the title off of the book and you still know what it is that you’re reading. Ultimate X-Men on the other hand, remove that and you have no idea you’re even reading a Marvel comic. And given the volatility of the comic book market as is, you’d want to cast the biggest net possible rather than choosing to be experimental to the point of unrecognizable especially when you’re establishing your universe. Being a different take is fine, but at least remain recognizable.

I don’t think that’s a fair statement. Within this thread itself there are folks digging into the lore, researching aspects of Japanese culture, and coming up with theories about what might come next. It’s clear that those folks genuinely enjoyed the content. Beyond that I’ve seen plenty of praise for the art and in particular the emotion it conveyed throughout the issue.

Don’t get me wrong I myself am still wondering what an Ultimate X-Men more in line with the rest of the line would look like, but I don’t wanna brush off the folks who are perfectly happy with what we got.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I don’t think that’s a fair statement. Within this thread itself there are folks digging into the lore, researching aspects of Japanese culture, and coming up with theories about what might come next. It’s clear that those folks genuinely enjoyed the content. Beyond that I’ve seen plenty of praise for the art and in particular the emotion it conveyed throughout the issue.

Don’t get me wrong I myself am still wondering what an Ultimate X-Men more in line with the rest of the line would look like, but I don’t wanna brush off the folks who are perfectly happy with what we got.

I guess it would be seeing the Yoshidas form their own team of mutants and Armor being one of them. That feels like what issue 3 would be about based on its solicitation and cover.

[Frontier]

Yes, I think they’re sleeping on the potential of an actual manga line. And this would let Ultimate X-men actually be about the X-men and connected to the rest of its universe.

They should revive Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane Shojo manga style .