And you just wasted a huge post because not one of those things is like Ultimate X-Men. And if that’s Marvels feeling then don’t use the title Ultimate X-men to prop up their sales.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.