Ultimate X-Men

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Ultimate X-Men
X-Men (Ultimate Marvel characters).jpg
Cover art for Ultimate X-Men #65, by Stuart Immonen.
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
ScheduleMonthly
Publication dateFebruary 2001 – February 2009
No. of issues101
Main character(s)
Creative team
Created by
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 .

Contents

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 .

Publishing history

First issue of Ultimate X-Men. Cover by Adam Kubert. Ultimate X-Men 1-vol.1 (Feb. 2001).jpg
First issue of Ultimate X-Men. Cover by Adam Kubert.

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]

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 to the mainstream titles. [11]

DateUltimate X-MenUncanny X-MenNew X-MenX-Treme X-Men
March 200197,98596,271n/an/a
November 2001100,688125,044 (400th issue)116,78284,326
March 200296,15095,386104,13872,892
November 200289,39083,58197,02355,043
March 200386,79583,62692,61858,322
November 2003105,73790,764102,59161,574
March 200497,00286,431117,25353,207
November 200492,13392,051(ended)(ended)
March 200583,83586,365(ended)(ended)
November 200574,26482,825(ended)(ended)
March 200672,76579,789(ended)(ended)

Characters

X-Men

Villains and supporting cast

Writer Mark Millar signing a copy of the first issue during an appearance at Midtown Comics in Manhattan. 4.25.13MarkMillarByLuigiNovi50.jpg
Writer Mark Millar signing a copy of the first issue during an appearance at Midtown Comics in Manhattan.

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.

Settings

In other media

The two incarnations of Wolverine, from X-Men: Evolution. On the left his look in seasons 1 and 2, inspired by his look at the beginning of the traditional X-Men comics, on the right his look in seasons 3 and 4, inspired by his later look in the Ultimate X-Men comic. Wolverinevo.PNG
The two incarnations of Wolverine, from X-Men: Evolution. On the left his look in seasons 1 and 2, inspired by his look at the beginning of the traditional X-Men comics, on the right his look in seasons 3 and 4, inspired by his later look in the Ultimate X-Men comic.

Collected editions

Trade Paperbacks

#TitleMaterial collectedPagesReleasedISBN
1The Tomorrow PeopleUltimate X-Men #1–616030 Jul 2001 978-0785107880
2Return To Weapon XUltimate X-Men #7–121441 Apr 2002 978-0785108689
3World TourUltimate X-Men #13–201929 Dec 2002 978-0785109617
4Hellfire & BrimstoneUltimate X-Men #21–251443 Mar 2003 978-0785110897
5Ultimate War Ultimate War #1–411214 Apr 2003 978-0785111290
6Return Of The KingUltimate X-Men #26–331921 Sep 2003 978-0785110910
7BlockbusterUltimate X-Men #34–3914422 Mar 2004 978-0785112198
8New MutantsUltimate X-Men #40–451447 Sep 2004 978-0785111610
9The TempestUltimate X-Men #46–4911226 Nov 2004 978-0785114048
10Cry WolfUltimate X-Men #50–53969 Feb 2005 978-0785114055
11The Most Dangerous GameUltimate X-Men #54–5710427 Jul 2005 978-0785116592
12Hard LessonsUltimate X-Men #58–60; Ultimate X-Men Annual #112030 Nov 2005 978-0785118015
13Magnetic NorthUltimate X-Men #61–651281 Mar 2006 978-0785119067
14:Phoenix?Ultimate X-Men #66–7114418 Oct 2006 978-0785120193
15MagicalUltimate X-Men #72–74; Ultimate X-Men Annual #211217 Jan 2007 978-0785120209
16CableUltimate X-Men #75–8016030 May 2007 978-0785125488
17SentinelsUltimate X-Men #81–8819223 Jan 2008 978-0785125495
18ApocalypseUltimate X-Men #89–9312030 Jul 2008 978-0785125501
19Absolute PowerUltimate X-Men #94–971125 Nov 2008 978-0785129448
Ultimatum: X-Men/Fantastic FourUltimate X-Men #98–100; Ultimate Fantastic Four #58–6015223 Dec 2009 978-0785134336

Ultimate Collections

#TitleMaterial collectedPagesReleasedISBN
1Ultimate X-Men: Ultimate Collection Book 1Ultimate X-Men #1–12, ½33629 Mar 2006 978-0785121879
2Ultimate X-Men: Ultimate Collection Book 2Ultimate X-Men #13–253361 Aug 2007 978-0785128564
3Ultimate X-Men: Ultimate Collection Book 3Ultimate War #1–4; Ultimate X-Men #26–333042 Sep 2009 978-0785141877
4Ultimate X-Men: Ultimate Collection Book 4Ultimate X-Men #34–4530413 Oct 2010 978-0785149231
5Ultimate X-Men: Ultimate Collection Book 5Ultimate X-Men #46–573123 Mar 2015 978-0785192923

Ultimate Epic Collections

#TitleMaterial collectedPagesReleasedISBN
1The Tomorrow PeopleUltimate X-Men #1-12, ½33615 Apr 2025 978-1302963019

Oversized hardcovers

#TitleMaterial collectedPagesReleasedISBN
1Ultimate X-Men Volume 1 HCUltimate X-Men #1–12, Giant-Size X-Men #13527 Aug 2002 978-0785110088
2Ultimate X-Men Volume 2 HCUltimate X-Men #13–2533624 Mar 2003 978-0785111306
3Ultimate X-Men Volume 3 HCUltimate X-Men #26–33; Ultimate War #1–431210 Dec 2003 978-0785111313
4Ultimate X-Men Volume 4 HCUltimate X-Men #34–4530423 Feb 200 978-0785112518
5Ultimate X-Men Volume 5 HCUltimate X-Men #46–572964 Jan 2006 978-0785121039
6Ultimate X-Men Volume 6 HCUltimate X-Men #58–65, ½; Ultimate X-Men Annual #125630 Aug 2006 978-0785121046
7Ultimate X-Men Volume 7 HCUltimate X-Men #66–74; Ultimate X-Men Annual #22568 Aug 2007 978-0785126058
8Ultimate X-Men Volume 8 HCUltimate X-Men #75–8835225 June 2008 978-0785130802
9Ultimate X-Men Volume 9 HCUltimate X-Men #89–9723226 Aug 2009 978-0785137795
Premiere Hardcover
Ultimatum: X-Men/Fantastic FourUltimate X-Men #98–100; Ultimate Fantastic Four #58–6015220 May 2009 978-0785134329

Omnibuses

#TitleMaterial collectedPagesReleasedISBN
1Ultimate X-Men Omnibus Volume 1Ultimate X-Men #1–33, ½, Ultimate War #1–41,02425 Oct 2022 978-1302946357
2Ultimate X-Men Omnibus Volume 2Ultimate X-Men #34–74, Ultimate X-Men Annual #1–2, Ultimate X-Men/Fantastic Four, Ultimate Fantastic Four/X-Men1,16013 Feb 2024 978-1302950118

See also

References

  1. Brevoort, Tom; DeFalco, Tom; Manning, Matthew K.; Sanderson, Peter; Wiacek, Win (2017). Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History. DK Publishing. p. 304. ISBN   978-1465455505.
  2. "Bendis_UXM". Newsarama. Archived from the original on 2005-11-01.
  3. 1 2 "Sequential Tart: Mark Millar – Ultimate Writer (vol V/iss 3/March 2002)". Archived from the original on 2004-02-18. Retrieved 2004-12-24.
  4. "ICv2News: ICv2's Top 300 Comics & Top 100 GN's Index". Archived from the original on 2014-07-03. Retrieved 2006-01-18.
  5. Untitled Document Archived November 1, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  6. 1 2 "Magnetic North" (Ultimate X-Men #61–65)
  7. Vaughan, Brian K (4 January 2006). Ultimate X-Men Hardcover Volume 5. Marvel. p. 3. ISBN   978-0785121039.
  8. "Mark Millar Summons The Ultimate Avengers". Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
  9. "Marvel Announces Jonathan Hickman on Ultimate Comics: Ultimates in August!" Archived 2011-07-24 at the Wayback Machine , Hypergeek, May 2, 2011
  10. Manning, Shaun. "Marvel's '-Men'" Archived 2011-05-26 at the Wayback Machine , Comic Book Resources, May 3, 2011
  11. "ICv2's Top 300 Comics & Top 300 GN's Index" Archived 2014-07-03 at the Wayback Machine , ICv2, November 18, 2008
  12. Ultimate X-Men #5
  13. "NYCC 2023: Marvel Comics Reveals a New Ultimate Universe". www.marvel.com. Archived from the original on 2023-10-22. Retrieved 2023-10-24.

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